French, Old French, Norman, French Arthurian Mythology
Examples: Seraphine, Ugène, Yvette, Fabian, Gauvain, Melisende, Guiscard, Lyonesse, Pellias
Reasoning: Avereaux and Valdraeth have some similarities that create a “two sides of the same coin” element, which has continued with the two different flavours of Arthurian Mythos that inspire them – Medieval French for the romantic and rose-tinted Avereaux, and older Celtic names for Valdraeth. This is extended to include Norman and Old French for more variation, and
Surname Options: The most common surnames are the name of the village they are from, or the name of the tavern a party started their adventure in, which adventuring parties usually take as a group identifier as well. Some Taverns have such a pedegree of heroic adventurers who started out at their taprooms that they have their own fame. Commonly the preposition used is “of”, but “de” and “du” are also often used, and shortened to “d’” in some cases.
For example – “Fabian of Brassan”, Yvette du Trouville”, Gauvain du Ebon Floe”, “Lyonesse of the Wind Chaser”
Parties who start out in the bigger taverns usually change the name to define which party of many they are – the Sooty Pigeon has both the Pigeon’s Roar and the Sooty Sentinels, with well known Chevalier Florence of the Pigeon’s Roar and Friar Sophia de Sooty Sentinels frequently coming to blows when both are in attendance.
Group structure
Group structures are designed to give you a standard on-brief way you could create a group in Menhirs Fate for each nation. There may be other ways to organise but this is how the NPCs back home would be organising themselves as a society to tackle the problems they encounter.
The people of Avereaux have long held to the belief that the greatest stories feature a rich cast and thus the way that groups tend to structure themselves is with a diverse skillset in mind. The more varied the members are the better; this applies not only to those that set out on dangerous quests together, but also to those that tend the home or work the forges.
As such it is common in Avereaux that lines between friend and family are vague, with some groups staying together for most of their lives and others until a certain job is completed. In either case a party relies on the individual strengths of all of its members as no one person can provide everything. This also means that there is seldom a defined leadership within Parties as all skills are respected equally.
The way of things in such parties is to begin their adventures in one of the many taverns, where notice boards are often placed in the entryway for those seeking opportunities for a new challenge or to seek out new compatriots. If a party achieves any great deed it is common practice to return to the tavern where the party was formed to tell the tale where bards and chroniclers may take note and the tale be added to the many laurels of the Freehold.
Most parties start out locally, dealing with skeleton warriors menacing local farms, or removing magically-infused rats from basements, before touring more widely gaining a level of notoriety in the community. The most famous are not only well-known throughout the land, they command large reward fees for dealing with more dangerous foes. Souvenirs of their exploits can be found in taverns local to the sites of famous battles told in story and song, and many Averlaise trade these between other enthusiasts for particular parties.
Example Groups
A group of attendees wish to play a classic adventuring party called “The Fellowship of the Gilded Griffin” or the “Gilded Griffins” for short. They have varied skills and interests but primarily are looking to go on quests and make a bit of a name for themselves as daring and courageous. They have 5 members; a Chevalier with sword and shield alongside a Strider with a bow provide the physical combat skills they need, a Hedge Mage in their iconic hat is providing some battle magic support, a Gourmand is providing a series of magical pastries to keep them healed between quests and has a few potion bottles with interesting effects. Finally one of the group is playing the Chronicler who intends to write about the group but has also taken a few faith skills to find their own fun and fill a niche the others dont have covered.
A group of attendees are all keen on the magic side of the game so decide to play a group of mages who all studied together in their backstory and now advise different villages in the same region on magical matters. They decide to be from Phoenix Reach, three of them are Hedge Mages, one is a Chronicler who is primarily interested in discovering lost tales of magical derring-do in the Treasure Hunters Guild, and a fifth is a Gourmand. They collaborate on weaving in the Fire Sphere of rites and weavings, but all have their own particular interests. When collaborating they go by the name “The Phoenixfall Five”
A solo player is interested in the religious side of things, so decides to play a character who can link up with adventuring parties as and when they choose to. They are keen on the idea of both apothecary skills and faith skills, so decide to play a Friar who was once on track to become a Gourmand before being called to the faith of the Celebrant, and who still makes consumables for adventurers they meet.
A pair of characters are interested in trade and exploration, so decide to play a pair of Striders who have been out in the wilds for a long while fighting the Corruption, and get involved with the Court of Daggers to further their martial skills. One of them decides in their backstory that their character has taken over a family business in a freehold and their family is expecting them to become a Freeholder, and wants to explore this opportunity to change their character and how that will affect the pair.