Feed Me Your Creativity. It Sustains Me

That's right~!

Sorry if the thread disappoints anyone.

I really am just looking for ideas and suggestions.

So, inspired by an unbelievably fun Fallout roleplay, I'm drawing a comic version of the stort free of Fallout lore so that I might publish it one day. I'm having a lot of mental blocks and I'd like to hear any ideas you guys have for my story.

I already have the main characters figured out, but the bigger picture is what I'm still creating and somewhat struggling with.

There are three main factions in this post-apocalyptic world;

The Republic -- A fanatical paramilitary organization who was founded by a handful of individuals that uncovered bits and pieces of American patriotism propaganda in the ruins of the country, and are now enforcing their misguided idea of good old 'murica on the rest of the wasteland

(Insert antagonistic name here) -- A tribe which I haven't come up with a name for yet (THAT'S SOMETHING I NEED HELP WITH!!) who worship war and find glory in killing. They oppose the Republic and their ideas of *freedom* and they are an incredibly bloodthirsty tribe built on slavery and pain. Don't mistake them for anarchists simply because they're ruthless; they all face the most merciless discipline from their superiors imaginable. They wear salvaged kevlar, melted steel on their left sides fashioned into armor, and they make clothing, headdresses and jewelry from the bones, skin, and fur of their victims, human and animal.

The Alliance -- A group which spawned from the division of the Republic and the tribe of war. They're simple rebels, wearing leather and spikes -- but they aren't as harsh as they look. Their primary goal is to eliminate the conflict between the other two factions, because the war has caused so much pain and loss in the wasteland.

What I REALLY need is a name for the war tribe faction, something simple, and doesn't involve the word "Legion." This faction was loosely inspired by the Legion in Fallout New Vegas and I'm trying to keep this story as far from Fallout as possible.

If you want to see the first three pages I have, see my Deviantart.

Sorry for such a self-indulgent thread. Peace!

I don't know anything about Fallout, but the second factions sound like a mix between the Reavers of Serenity/Firefly and the Spartans of ancient Greece. So how could a society of the kind of military ethic and discipline of ancient Greece grow up while at the same time embracing the seeming chaos of the Reaver aesthetic? And what sort of name would such a group have ...

Perhaps you could add in a dash of the Necromunga ethos -- You keep what you kill in the most graphic way imaginable, of course.

So a society that prizes extreme feats of endurance and discipline among the unit/pack because as savage as they are, they have to have some they can trust. Those who triumph the best and the most have the most trophies -- bits of their kills that they keep to wear to remind others of what they have done. The bigger and more gruesome, the better and more intimidating.

Even the ladies compete in their own physical ways to present themselves as the most fit and most savage mates (yes, Spartan women competed like this for the favor of their men; it was a source of pride). Perhaps they favor scarification to trophies from their kills.

Hmmm you want a name ... This doesn't get you much closer and it's just ideas that come to mind based on what you gave me with no real background from the game mythos.

Hey man thats pretty cool dude! I am doing a graphic novel as well, I often come to parts where I get stuck, I pre wrote the story and organized them into pages so being organized helps, the last thing I do is the actual art, usually that takes the longest as well as I really like to think about what it is I want to show, I would imagine it is similar to being a film director in some ways.

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

Given the context, I suggest looking at US military unit nicknames. There's some pretty hardcore ones out there, past and present. And it would be easy to backstory the name they chose, as somebody having some connection to whatever unit.

Some of the cooler ones in the Marine Corps: hell in a helmet, the mad ghosts, the terror from the north, cold steel warriors. And that's just off the top of my head, there's tons more across the Corps and the other branches.

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

The Steel Horde

Or something like that...?



Oh oh oh

Or.... like Steelgrave Horde

I'm thinking orcs here they remind me of orcs...

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

Flesh Reavers
Shade Makers
Skinwalkers
Collectors
Flayers
The Hungry Ones
Acolytes of Entropy


There's a few to get on with, name wise! I do hope your blocks fall away like so much vapour from a steaming beverage, since when your creative juices are un-dammed, the results are always fantastic!

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

How about "the plauge" like these guys

Since they are a society based off the remnants of what was left after an apocalyptic disaster (nuclear war in Fallout's case), you can take an iconic societal institution like the Boy Scouts or something that people would readily recognize that might have that flavor that you could plausibly warp into what this group has become.

Then, sit down with your notebook and sketchpad and start playing with the familiar names and logos until you manage to warp them almost into the realm of unrecognizable. Then start dropping hints and clues as the story progresses until you get to the moment of the big reveal. It would be like that Star Trek episode where they found out that the post apocalyptic society was actually misreading one of the Foundational docs. I know you've already done that with group A, but it's readily apparent what they're doing.

Wouldn't it be interesting if both groups are doing the same thing and in some ways the savage groups is closer then group A? But because of the window dressing you give them ... the reader may not make that connection until quite late in the read.

Thanks everyone!

TruBrit, you're really getting my brain going with those.

I may well just leave the Republic out of the story. The Alliance serves a lot of purposes apart from alleviating the factions--they'd be a faction of order without tyranny, one run by the people.

I have a lot of plans for the Alliance and the war group, but none for the Republic. It's difficult and time consuming to draw as it is without adding filler to the story. Rule number one -- NEVER throw filler into the story. You spoil the whole basket of apples doing that.

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

You need not discard the republic entirely from your thinking about your story. The most difficult thing about ideas, is remembering that not all of the ones you have, need to be placed within the story arch immediately. There is nothing wrong with saving something up for another chapter.

Do you remember my Fallout-esque story, The Sculptor? I had so many ideas for that thing, that the entire time I was writing it, I was surfing a wave of possibilities, and I had no idea, until I placed the last full stop in the thing, where I was going to go with it. I was thinking during the writing of that tale, that it would have been cool to write in some sort of vertibird attack, enclave types fast roping into combat, assaulting from amongst the dunes, and so on.

Its rainy day thinking really. Save something for another instalment later on!

a reply to: XxNightAngelusxX

Try google translate-that's an excellent way to come up with exotic names.

For instance I couldn't come up for a name for a character I was working on, so I translated 'Warrior' into Swahili and I got My characters name-Shujaa.

I hate having to come up with names- I have no problem with conjuring up a bio, background, personality, political affiliation, etc but the moment I need to come up with a name? nothing.