About ruin names
Abandonment soaks these results, pairing a settlement word with decay or mood: "The Overgrown Reef", "Labyrinth of Solitude", "Village of Illusions". The formula tells players what the place was and hints at what ended it, which is half the dungeon brief written for you. Save the abstract names like chaos and silence for ruins where the cause should stay unexplained.
How ruin names are built
Ruin names use two templates: one pairs a 20-entry feature-word bank with a 100-entry concept bank joined by "of", and the other leads with "The" plus an adjective from a 127-entry bank before a feature word. So the engine builds Labyrinth of Solitude, Village of Chaos and The Overgrown Reef.
Labyrinth of Solitude
Labyrinth (feature bank) + Solitude (concept bank)
feature-of-concept template
The Overgrown Reef
Overgrown (adjective bank) + Reef (feature bank)
The-plus-adjective-plus-feature template
Village of Chaos
Village (feature bank) + Chaos (concept bank)
feature-of-concept template
Naming notes
The first template joins a feature word (Labyrinth, Village, Cove, Reef) to a concept word (Solitude, Chaos) with the literal of between them; the second fronts an adjective from the 127-entry bank onto a feature word. The feature bank is the smallest at 20 entries, so feature words recur across both templates. The of form reads grand; the The-plus-adjective form reads physical.
Questions about ruin names
- What is the difference between the two templates?
- A feature word plus a concept word joined by of (Labyrinth of Solitude), or The plus an adjective fronted onto a feature word (The Overgrown Reef).
- Why does the feature word recur?
- The feature bank holds only 20 entries and is used by both templates, so feature words like Reef and Village come round sooner than the concept or adjective words.
- Are these good for an exploration game?
- Yes. The feature word hints at what the place was and the concept or adjective adds mood, giving a quick hook for what lies inside.