gfn/Instructions.md

# Introduction

Fantasy Name  Generator has  two interfaces that  each strike  its own
balance between ease of use and functionality. The Simple Interface is
extremely easy but only offers you  a limited form of control over the
names that get generated. The Advanced  Interface is not quite as easy
to learn  -- see  instructions for  using it below  -- but  allows you
practically  limitless  control  over  the  type  of  names  that  get
generated. Among  other things, it  allows you to generate  names that
are variations on a name you already have in mind.

# Simple Interface

The Simple Interface provides a drop-down box to allow you to set what
kind of names you want to generate. The "Default Names" choice in this
list contains  a diverse mix  of generic  name types, while  the other
choices are more specialized.

To  use the  Simple  Interface, simply  select a  name  type from  the
drop-down list and hit the Generate Names button next to it.

# Advanced Interface

The Advanced Interface offers a maximum of control over the names that
get  generated.  You can  use  it  to  generate  names or  words  with
unfamiliar linguistic  roots or to  generate variations on  a specific
name.

The Advanced  Interface has  a "Collapse  Triples" checkbox,  which is
checked by  default. When  on, names  with three or  more of  the same
letter in  a row will  be reduced reduced to  just two prior  to being
printed  out.  So  if  the  name "Purghinnn"  was  generated  and  the
"Collapse  Triples" checkbox  was  checked, it  would  appear as  just
"Purghinn." In addition, if the letter in question does not make sense
to have  even doubled,  it will be  reduced to just  one. So  the name
"Leguiin" would be reduced to just "Leguin." If the "Collapse Triples"
checkbox  is  left  unchecked,  this  reduction  step  will  not  take
place. It doesn't mean you will get unnatural double and triple letter
sequences; it just  means no efforts will be made  to prevent them. We
recommend you  leave this option turned  on unless you have  a special
need for it to be off.

The heart of the Advanced  Interface is the "Name Generation Template"
field.  The name  generation template  describes how  names should  be
constructed. For instance, a template  could dictate that all names be
a consonant  followed by a  vowel or  vowel combination followed  by a
consonant or consonant combination. This template would generate short
names. The  template could  also employ the  use of  random predefined
syllables (such as  'tor', 'ash', 'ald', and 'dar');  a very effective
template, one used  frequently when default names  are generated using
the Simple Interface, is one that dictates names should consist simply
of two predefined syllables.

Templates  get  more  complicated  than  that,  but  they  don't  have
to. Simple  and effective templates may  do nothing but list  how many
consonant  combinations,  vowel  combinations,  and  syllables  should
comprise  a  word, and  in  what  order.  At generation  time,  random
consonant   combinations,  random   vowel  combinations,   and  random
syllables will  be placed together  according to the template  to form
each  name.  The  randomizer  used  will  be  weighted  so  that  more
frequently seen letters,  such as 't' and 's', will  appear more often
than less  frequently seen letters, such  as 'j' and 'z'.  This goes a
long way toward generating good, pronouncable names.

A consonant  combination is two  or three  consonants that tend  to go
well together, such as 'ch', 'ck',  'tt', and 'str'. Examples of vowel
combinations are 'ou',  'ai', and 'ee'. In your template,  you will be
able to  specify whether  you want only  single consonants  and single
vowels or whether you want to allow the possibility of combinations.

Each name type in the Simple  Interface uses its own set of predefined
templates,  hence  the  diversity  of  names  you  can  get  from  it,
especially  when using  the "Default  Names" choice.  In the  Advanced
Interface,  you can  define your  own by  entering it  into the  "Name
Generation Field."

In a template, a single  case-sensitive character is used to represent
each  component of  the name.  's'  means syllable;  'v' means  single
vowel;  'V' means  vowel or  vowel combination.  The consonants  are a
little more  complicated, because  the template  distinguishes between
consonant  combinations  that are  appropriate  for  the beginning  of
names,  like  'wh' and  'chr',  and  consonant combinations  that  are
appropriate for the middle or ending  of names, like 'nd' and 'ck'. To
avoid generating  names that,  for example, start  with 'nd'  or 'ck',
this distinction  is necessary,  although most  consonant combinations
are members of both groups, as they can appear anywhere. In templates,
the character  'c' represents  a single  consonant and  is appropriate
anywhere  in a  name.  The character  'B' (note  that  it is  capital)
represents a  consonant or  consonant combination appropriate  for the
beginning  of a  name; the  character  'C' represents  a consonant  or
consonant  combination  appropriate   anywhere  else.  The  apostrophe
character  can be  used to  insert an  apostrophe into  the name;  the
hyphen character can  be used to insert a hyphen  into the name. These
symbols and other, special-purpose symbols,  are all documented in the
quick reference guide. Some example templates:

* `ss`
* `BVC`
* `s'vCv`
* `Bv-s`

Templates can be more complicated when you add parentheses into them. Any character in parentheses appears in the generated names literally. The template (str)VC, for example, will generate short names starting with 'str', like "Stript", "Stroagh", and "Strun". If you include an or bar, the '|' character, then either what's on the left or what's on the right will be chosen to be included in the name. The template (st|tr)VC will generate short names that start with either 'st' or 'tr'. Parentheses are useful when you already have an idea of what you want a name to look like but want to see variations on it. Here are some more sample templates:

* `ss(ien|ian)`
* `(d|t|p|w)(r)VCv`
* `ss(ly|ily|ish|ing)`

Angle  brackets  are  another  valid  construct  in  templates.  Angle
brackets  can  be  used  with  `|`  characters  in  the  same  way  as
parentheses can,  but what  goes inside  angle brackets  isn't literal
text  but template  codes for  syllables, consonants,  vowels, and  so
on. The template `<s|ss>v` generates  names that consist either of one
or two syllables, followed by a vowel. Here are some examples:

* `<c|cvc>s`
* `(ma)<VC|s|Vs>`
* `<Bv|V>(ck|kk|k)v`

If  there  is  nothing on  one  side  of  an  or bar,  it  allows  the
possibility  of  nothing.  For  example,  the  template  `(s|)(mor)ss`
generates  names that  start  with  `mor` and  names  that start  with
`smor`. The template  ss<|v> generates two syllable names  that may or
may  not have  an extra  vowel appended.  Also, parentheses  and angle
brackets can  be nested;  the template `(ghoa|<s>)VC`  generates names
that start with either `ghoa` or  a predefined syllable. Here are more
examples:

* `(s||t)VC`
* `<|s|ss|sss>s`
* `<V|VCV|((a|e)i)>`

Nesting  can influence  the frequency  certain choices  are made.  For
example, a  template starting  with (r|s|t)  will generate  names that
start with  either 'r', 's', or  't', where each of  the three letters
appear with approximately  equal frequency. But if you  use a template
starting with (r|(s|t)),  roughly half the generated  names will start
with 'r', and only  a quarter will start with 's',  and a quarter will
start with 't'.

Although the  vast majority of  the time, you  won't need to  use very
complex constructions with nested parentheses and angle brackets, once
in a while this functionality can be very helpful.