What's your True Name?

DCC RPG p. 293 gives us the Cleric spell True Name which grants some boons related to casting against a target whose true name is known.

True names (and furthermore, "words of power" and onomancy in general) are a fascinating subject to me. DCC gives it the same treatment as it does with many other magical concepts and gives you just enough of a foundation and some nice flavour to build from. One of the things it gives us is this:

"Due to the complexities and magical nature of true names, the cleric cannot easily share a true name with another person. Attempts to write or speak the true name become garbled in the communication process[...]"

This sets up true names as something that exists in the untamable fabric of the universe, beyond mortal ken, that cannot be easily understood or disseminated. This is both flavourful and acts as a limiter for something that could break the game and the fiction, and it means you don't actually have to come up with a true name for everyone. Imagine if you had to invent a meaningful and dramatic true name for Bob the Costermonger because your players developed an obsession with him - and then again for every second NPC they attach themselves to.

Hell, the existence of onomancy could extend to needing to come up with a true name for literally every thing; you aren't expected to know what all your Wizard's incantations are because depending on the magic system this could wind up meaning you need to create an entire darn conlang just so you can have someone throw fireballs. That's a lot to expect of someone who just wants to play elf games. So we kind of just say these words exist but we as players don't know or understand them.

And yet I'm not entirely satisfied with that. If a PC can learn their own true name, the player probably wants to know the name too.

Below I've created a table of types of true names of various languages. The first 6 are literal languages, all of which are ancient languages of immortal beings significant to the cosmology of my setting. The latter 8 are not a specific language, just ways of describing a unique individual. Each time the spell True Name reveals a name, you can roll on this table to decide what kind of name it is and then create (or have the player create) something of that format which suits the character. This also accounts for the odd little detail in DCC that entities seem to have at least three true names: lesser, greater, and secret. This is made possible because they can be from multiple "true" languages or formats.

All of the given types of names can still only be spoken as a true name if the user knows the true name, i.e. they are able to comprehend the name in its magical essence. They can also only be understood by those who know it or can decipher it, as per the spell's rules.

The table can be adjusted to your needs (as all tables can) by replacing languages or changing which title types are available.

The first six language-based examples were generated using Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names - a useful tool, but you may have your own rules for names or languages in your world.

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Types of True Names

You can roll:

• d14 for the full table
• d12 to exclude the silliest options
• d6 for ancient-language-based names
• d8+6 for non-language-based names

Result	True Name Type	Description	Example
1	Fae	A whimsical name given in the fae language. If Chaotic, it will be Unseelie in nature.	Glaxando
2	Draconic	A name given in the draconic tongue, harsh and spoken with a hiss.	Keruxamanthys
3	Infernal	A demonic name from the depths of the abyss.	Yalmozleegh
4	Astral	A name that echoes across the heavens in the fabric of spacetime.	Var-Talas
5	Outer	Given by the elder gods in a language that can drive you mad to listen to it.	Volekdurnim
6	Alignment	A name in your Alignment tongue, inexorably tying you to cosmic forces.	Rinderlin (Lawful)
7	Title	A title given based on your most significant act.	John who Freed the Gladiators
8	Prophetic	A title that foretells your destiny. (may or may not be true)	John, Usurper of the Theocracy
9	Specific	A wordy descriptor so specific it could only ever apply to you.	John Smith born in Nearport to Jack and Jane, apprentice blacksmith who uncovered the ruins of Karros' Tomb and used Karros' staff to [...]
10	Serial	A unique identifier.	Human #2002767391
11	Given	Just your name.	John Smith
12	Epithet	A simple descriptor that applies to you.	John the Brave
13	Unpronounceable	Something absolutely unintelligible.	Xxxxxk'liiiiipiiscinous;j
14	Targeted Shirt	A descriptor that appears to be specific but is actually designed to appeal to a broad audience.	John the freaking awesome Warrior born in the Month of Harvest, don't mess with him!!!