Kyshakk Koan Alberich Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I get "Khoth" and "Pyrog"...he took "Hot" and "Pyro" and added some letters. I assume "Sulfras" started out as "brimstone butt"...same basic theme. But what does "Motrax" signify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Mother with extra letters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Those associations are pretty inescapable for Pyrog and Sulfras, it's true, but I think it's a stretch for any of the others. I mean, the 'h' in Khoth is silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Those associations are pretty inescapable for Pyrog and Sulfras, it's true, but I think it's a stretch for any of the others. I mean, the 'h' in Khoth is silent. it's not like avernum has voice acting, for all we know the "kh" might be meant to represent this sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Actually, Exile I *did* use a parenthetical "(pronounced xxx)" in one case. It could have been done for Khoth. Since it wasn't, and there is no standard English pronunciation of "kh" as that, it can be cleanly ruled out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Alberich Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Mother with extra letters? Now there's a thought...maybe Motrax is the child of an unholy union between Mothra and Vermithrax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chittering Clawbug Laertes Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Well, "mot" is a "pithy or witty saying" and "rax" means "stretch". It's pretty fitting considering that Motrax is a wise dragon that talks at length. Aside from stretching out conversation, he's also old so his lifespan is stretched out as well. If the name wasn't intentional, it's a nice coincidence. And maybe Khoth is inspired by the Egyptian God Thoth. In Avernum 1, Khoth is a dragon scholar whose lair is an immense library. You have to return a stolen scroll to him as one of the quests. In Egyptian mythology, among other things Thoth is the scribe of the Gods and credited with inventing writing, along with science and magic. So his name makes sense for a knowledge hoarding dragon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Soul of Wit Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Pronouncing "kh": ex post slarto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Mot-rax is a stretch. That kind of complicated name-building is not something that shows up anywhere else, even once, in SW games. There are a surprising number of hits for "Motrax" on google, though. What stands out to me is a motorcycle/supply company called Motrax. I believe Shirley had a motorcycle at the time Exile I was written. There is also a "Titan-verse" wiki that lists a dragon named Motrax, and is based on some comics from the 1970's, but I can't tell how much of it (if any) was around in the 70's and how much stems from online communities. Khoth's name being inspired by Thoth sounds plausible. It would fit with the antiquity-sounding aspect of Athron's name, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Triumph Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'm now envisioning a youthful biker dragon cruising around the caves... nikki. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Alberich Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 Well, he sounds like a medication for increased gut motility ("constipated? Try Motrax!")...that "ax" ending sounded weird on a dragon 'til I remembered Vermithrax. But if "Mot-rax" is too complicated, I guess that makes it unlikely that Ahtron is just an acronym for "ran hot"? ex post slarto 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Yeah. The vast majority of names in SW games seem to be either lifted directly from a name in another source, or lifted with a one-letter alteration. Tolkien actually had a dragon ending in -ax: Chrysophylax Dives. But wait. I did some digging. Dragonlance had a Khisanth (and a Khirsah, and a Hopsloth), a Pyros (and a Pyrothraxus, and a Pyrite), a Malystryx (and a Mohrlex, and a Smeltithraxian known for befriending humans), as well as a group of dragons called Othlorx or "the Uninvolved." It also had "five great overlords" amongst the dragons. This could be a coincidence, or it might be an actual influence. It would have been very hard to play both PnP RPGs and CRPGs in the late 80's and early 90's without encountering Dragonlance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 So let's blame Gygax for the mess even though he was no longer involved with TSR at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Tyranicus Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Yeah. The vast majority of names in SW games seem to be either lifted directly from a name in another source, or lifted with a one-letter alteration. Tolkien actually had a dragon ending in -ax: Chrysophylax Dives. But wait. I did some digging. Dragonlance had a Khisanth (and a Khirsah, and a Hopsloth), a Pyros (and a Pyrothraxus, and a Pyrite), a Malystryx (and a Mohrlex, and a Smeltithraxian known for befriending humans), as well as a group of dragons called Othlorx or "the Uninvolved." It also had "five great overlords" amongst the dragons. This could be a coincidence, or it might be an actual influence. It would have been very hard to play both PnP RPGs and CRPGs in the late 80's and early 90's without encountering Dragonlance. Exile predates the addition of Malystryx and the other dragon overlords to the Dragonlance canon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice ex post slarto Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thanks. Malystryx is the only overlord listed; I take it the other names are pre-Exile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Tyranicus Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Thanks. Malystryx is the only overlord listed; I take it the other names are pre-Exile? I had to look most of these up on the Dragonlance wiki, as some are from books I haven't read in at least 15 years, and some are from books I never read at all. Khisanth, Khirsah, Hopsloth, and Pyrite all appear in books published in the 80s, so they definitely predate Exile. Pyrothraxus, Malystryx, Mohrlex, Smeltithraxian, and the concept of the five dragon overlords are not mentioned until the late 90s, so those names would not have influenced Jeff. The Othlorx are first mentioned in a book of short stories published in 1994, so it is theoretically possible but unlikely for Jeff to have seen the the name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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