Random Ship Name Generator

This is an idea that I've been kicking around for a while; hopefully it's useful to GMs. Note that, while it's designed for  a space fantasy campaign, it can easily be used for more traditional nautical fantasy; the big change for any campaign setting is to provide a different list of place names for Table 7. 

-Nate 

Random Ship Name Generator

The following tables are designed to help GMs quickly and easily generate names for ships. Start with Table 1—Basic Name, and then move forward as directed. As always, the GM should feel free to interpret dice rolls as needed for the enjoyment of the players and the benefit of the campaign—and especially when results are nonsensical or otherwise inadvisable.

Table 1—Basic Name Roll 1d10 and consult the following results. 1-4. Adjective—Roll again on Table 3. 5-6. Animal/Monster—Roll again on Table 4. 7-8. Other thing—Roll again on Table 5. 9-10. Two parts—Roll again on this table, and roll on Table 2.

Table 2—Additional Descriptors Roll 1d8 and consult the following results. 1-2. Color—Roll again on Table 6. 3-6. Adjective—Roll again on Table 3. 7. Location—Roll again on Table 7. 8. Choose whichever result you want, or roll again.

Table 3—Adjective Roll d100 and consult the following results. Note that, in addition to providing names for vessels, these descriptors also provide hints as to the natures of the vessels' crew and passengers, along with their purpose in traveling the Void. 1. Able 2. Absolute 3. Adamant 4. Adventurous 5. Amorous 6. Avenging 7. Awesome 8. Beautiful 9. Benevolent 10. Blessed 11. Bountiful 12. Brilliant 13. Calamitous 14. Capricious 15. Carefree 16. Celestial 17. Charming 18. Comely 19. Cunning 20. Daft 21. Dark 22. Dastardly 23. Defiant 24. Dominant 25. Elemental 26. Eminent 27. Enchanted 28. Eternal 29. Famous 30. Fateful 31. Favored 32. Fell 33. Fickle 34. Fighting 35. Free 36. Glad 37. Godly 38. Grandiose 39. Grim 40. Harmonious 41. Hateful 42. Hellacious 43. Holy 44. Humble 45. Illustrious 46. Infinite 47. Interplanetary 48. Interstellar 49. Intrepid 50. Itinerant 51. Jaded 52. Jolly 53. Jovial 54. Joyous 55. Kindly 56. Limitless 57. Lost 58. Luminous 59. Magical 60. Magnificent 61. Majestic 62. Marvelous 63. Melodious 64. Militant 65. Nebulous 66. Numinous 67. Omnipotent 68. Omniscient 69. Opalescent 70. Otherworldly 71. Patient 72. Penitent 73. Pleasant 74. Proud 75. Questing 76. Radiant 77. Redoubtable 78. Regal 79. Resilient 80. Resolute 81. Royal 82. Splendid 83. Stalwart 84. Steadfast 85. Stellar 86. Strange 87. Tempestuous 88. Tumultuous 89. Ultimate 90. Undaunted 91. Unfettered 92. Unrepentant 93. Valiant 94. Vigilant 95. Vindictive 96. Virtuous 97. Wandering 98. Wicked 99. Wondrous 100. Zealous

Table 4—Animals and Monsters Roll d100 and consult the following results. Here again, the name chose provides some insight into the character and purpose of those who crew the vessel. 1-2. Albatross 3-4. Asp 5-6. Barracuda 7-8. Bat 9-10. Bear 11-12. Boar 13-14. Bull 15-16. Carp 17-18. Cockerel 19-20. Crow 21-22. Dolphin 23-24. Dragon 25-26. Eagle 27-28. Eel 29-30. Falcon 31-32. Fox 33-34. Ghost 35-36. Ghoul 37-38. Grackle 39-40. Griffin 41-42. Hag 43-44. Harpy 45-46. Hart 47-48. Hawk 49-50. Hound 51-52. Ibis 53-54. Jaguar 55-56. Kingfisher 57-58. Kraken 59-60. Lark 61-62. Magpie 63-64. Manticore 65-66. Mermaid 67-68. Narwhal 69-70. Nereid 71-72. Owl 73-74. Porpoise 75-76. Quail 77-78. Raven 79-80. Roc 81-82. Serpent 83-84. Shark 85-86. Siren 87-88. Spectre 89-90. Spirit 91-92. Squid 93-94. Tempest 95-96. Tyrant 97-98. Walrus 99-100. Wraith

Table 5—Other Things Roll d100 and consult the following results. As mentioned above, the chosen name provides hints regarding who crews the vessel and what business they might be pursuing. 1-2. Arbiter 3-4. Bastion 5-6. Beggar 7-8. Breeze 9-10. Bulwark 11-12. Cad 13-14. Centurion 15-16. Damsel 17-18. Dancer 19-20. Dirge 21-22. Dowager 23-24. Entropy 25-26. Explorer 27-28. Fire 29-30. Flame 31-32. Gale 33-34. Hammer 35-36. Hunter 37-38. Interloper 39-40. Intruder 41-42. Jester 43-44. King 45-46. Knave 47-48. Liberator 49-50. Lightning 51-52. Lotus 53-54. Maiden 55-56. Martyr 57-58. Merchant 59-60. Minstrel 61-62. Nereid 63-64. Outlaw 65-66. Pilgrim 67-68. Prince 69-70. Princess 71-72. Queen 73-74. Rock 75-76. Rogue 77-78. Rose 79-80. Runner 81-82. Siren 83-84. Thunder 85-86. Venture 87-88. Victor 89-90. Vow 91-92. Warrior 93-94. Wave 95-96. Wind 97-98. Youth 99-100. Zealot

Table 6—Colors Roll 1d20 and consult the following results. 1. Azure 2. Brown 3. Cerulean 4. Copper 5. Crimson 6. Ebony 7. Emerald 8. Golden 9. Grey 10. Indigo 11. Ivory 12. Lavender 13. Ruby 14. Sable 15. Sapphire 16. Scarlet 17. Silver 18. Turquoise 19. Umber 20. White

Table 7—Locations Roll 1d12 and refer to the following results. In this case, the nature of the beings who inhabit the given location can provide insight into just who is traveling aboard the vessel in question and what manner of business they might be pursuing. Note, too, that the location names can be used in different ways to go with different corresponding words. For example, a given set of rolls could result in the Spirit of the Sun, but the Solar Spirit might be more agreeable as the name for a ship. 1. Sun/Sol 2. Wodan 3. Freya 4. Homeworld 5. Luna 6. Tyr 7. The Belt 8. Thonar 9. Kronos 10. The Void 11. The Galaxy 12. The Universe

An Example of Use

Let's say the GM needs to generate the name for a random ship. She starts by rolling 1d10 on Table 1, yielding a 9; the result is a two-part name, and she rolls again. This time she rolls a 6, calling for an animal or monster. Her 1d8 roll on Table 2 is a 3, resulting in an added adjective. As such, she rolls once on Table 3 (yielding a 65) and once on Table 4 (a 68). This results in the christening of the Harmonious Narwhal.