I recently read
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and I was inspired by his use of epithets. This led me to create a chart of epithets for use in any fantasy rpg. When creating characters, roll a d20 and add the epithet to their name.
Epithet Chart - roll a d20 and add the epithet to the character name (ex. Black Leaf the Kinslayer)
- Kinslayer
- Honorable
- Black-hearted
- Just
- Outlaw
- Noble
- Petty
- Traitor
- Lost
- Stargazer
- Vengeful
- Weird
- Tall
- Fierce
- Kind
- Cruel
- Sellsword
- Sharp
- Usurper
- Horrid
Here are some ideas for using this chart in your game. You can have the players use it to add flavor to their characters. Award the players stat bonuses, magic items, or cool weapons for creating interesting backstories to go with their epithets. Allow the players to create a way that they can use their epithet to influence the story (with limits). You are creative gamers, I am sure that you will figure out a cool way to use this chart.