I have a question so stupid I almost want to create a fake account to ask it...
I've always assumed that the peasants' names I run across in the books denoted their birth village, e.g. Hrort of Num being Hrort born in the village of Num. But as I was glancing at some generated HarnManor data (forgive me, I forget who uploaded them) everyone in the village had different... I guess you call them surnames. While I realize they were probably randomly generated statistically I would expect at least one household to have been originally from that village. There were also too many variations to be clan names. So, what does the harnic name mean?

In an attempt to salvage some forum cred (if I ever had any) let me say that I've never taken my stories into the villages, always remaining in the towns and cities where it made sense that last names would indicate origins. Thanks ahead of time.
Konnel

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Cheers, Konnel
KoDa RPG Games Site
Featured: Kèthîra ● Tékumel ● Mystara ● Greyhawk ● Lankhmar ● Kamakura.

My take is most use Clan Names locally, in Hundreds because the default is the clan structure and the authority of clan law and clan heads:

Hrort of Kleve (Clan) [of Num or Kaldor (Depending on where Travelling)]

100 Bushels of Rye and Loban Manor.

I've always assumed the formula was Name, then Clan, so Hrort is from clan Num. Some writers have a small number of clans in a village, while others rarely repeat within a village, and they act more like a modern last name.

The usual convention used in canon is for names to be PersonName of Clan

In my own fanon I've also used PersonName Clan, especially for nobles.

YMMV

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It's a Narrativist thing. You wouldn't understand.
Visit the Knights of Kaldor (http://www.harnmaster.us/knights/)

I've only been playing this game since '93.

Among nobles it's easy to suss out, it just seems like too many variations for the peasantry (and I seem programmed to expect Hrort von Clan but Farmer Ham of Giles).

It's difficult to believe I've never had to think about it before, but my games have always dealt with military campaigning or gargun hunting and returning to town for fresh supplies. Not grok new things head hurt.

Thanks for the replies.

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Cheers, Konnel
KoDa RPG Games Site
Featured: Kèthîra ● Tékumel ● Mystara ● Greyhawk ● Lankhmar ● Kamakura.

Zrayyan...you might also want to be aware of the Ivinian convention of patrinymical names.
i.e. Hans Petersen (John Son of Peter).

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Leave the gun, take the cannolli.

I believe that is one of the issues that you will come across, not enough familial connections in write ups. I often change the names in write ups to reflect a more clan integrated society. You should see several clans within a village and region reflecting the clan structure.
Caldeth

I also took this approach when I wrote up Fethael Hundred in Kaldor. The family ties and the relationships between the clans are central to the setting.

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It's a Narrativist thing. You wouldn't understand.
Visit the Knights of Kaldor (http://www.harnmaster.us/knights/)