Traditionalism: Suffixes
A fair number of the people here are already familiar with traditionalism, but just in case you aren't, I'll explain. Warriors traditionalism is based around the idea of the Clans having certain prefixes and suffixes that are acceptable or unacceptable and all have certain meanings. Prefixes describe the cat physically, while suffixes describe the cat's skills, personality, or appearance (for example, a cat named Sandtail is a golden colored cat who's skilled at climbing and balancing high up in the trees; Blackclaw is a black cat who's a talented fighter, etc). You can read more about it
here (warning for swearing), but all you really need to know right now is that there's a select list of prefixes and suffixes that are considered traditional, and thus acceptable.
One of the biggest things traditionalism gets flack for is the limited number of suffixes. There's at least a hundred potential prefixes no matter where you go, but only about 20 official warrior suffixes, 3 of which are only allowed for renames and 4 more which describe nothing of great significance (-pelt/-fur/-stripe/-face, depending on who you ask). Discounting -star, that's 13 ~special~ suffixes to choose from, and not all of them will fit a particular cat. While traditionalism is not focused on specialness, just practicality, this limitation drives a lot of people away, especially when laid out in such an official manner.
However, I'd like to argue that even the official list overlooks some things. For example, say a Clan lives in a series of tunnels, with no streams to swim in, just a pond or two that don't hold any fish. While -stream would be nonexistent, a suffix for a cat skilled at burrowing would be regularly used. On a treeless moor, no one would think to have a suffix like -tail for a climber, but a cat good at making themselves invisible in plain sight would be considered important enough for a whole name. A traveling Clan would likely need a suffix for a good scout or bargainer with hostile strangers, a street Clan might have one for a good scavenger, any Clan with a rich history would want a good stroyteller, so on and so forth.
How would one go about picking suffixes in a way that would fit with traditionalism? Well, there's a few things to keep in mind.
Context and Practicality As far as each Clan is concerned, they are the center of the universe. Everything beyond their home (if they're stationary) is unimportant and useless. For a Clan, their world extends to their borders and then cuts off completely. Because of this, a Clan would only be interested in what serves them best.
Suffixes are meant to say a cat is X in a way that helps their Clan. A -cloud cat is calm and soothing and might help stop fights, a -heart cat drives their Clan's morale upwards and onwards, a -claw cat defends their family and friends with their skill in battle. So a Clan would have suffixes specifically for things they consider useful. If a Clan places heavy value in music (or at least their variant) and legends, believing that it helps keep their ancestors' spirits within their reach, then they would definitely have a suffix for someone who keeps cats glued to their seats with their fantastic storytelling. Similarly, a Clan living in a place where food has an equal chance of being poisonous or life-saving would need a suffix for a cat with the ability to pick up on the smallest details that hint about the potential meal's health.
Traditionalism focuses solely on what's practical and necessary, but both of these things vary between Clans. What doesn't vary, however, is...
Naming PatternsThere's a certain rhythm to traditional names. Skills tend to get names based on body parts (-whisker, -foot, -nose) - more specifically, the body parts one would use for that skill (you use whiskers to hunt, feet to run, and noses to sniff and track things down). Suffixes for personalities are more metaphorical (-storm, -flower, -heart), things that tend to bring up an image similar to the cat's traits (a wild and moody cat, a nurturing queen who helps kits blossom, a moralistic and fiercely driven cat who follows their instincts). Even appearance names (-fur, -stripe, -face) have their own pattern, if it's merely stating the obvious (an average cat will have fur, a notably patterned tabby, an attractive cat).
With this information, it's best to categorize potential suffixes based on what they'll mean.
Physical - a cat with a
skill will be named for the body part that is essential to that skill.
Metaphorical - a cat's
personality will be named for something that describes it best.
Appearance - an
average Joepaw will be named for something they have that's most notable.*
With these in mind, the next question becomes - What defines something as a skill or personality traits? Here's some things to ask yourself if you aren't sure:
-Does the Clan consider it vital to their structure? Would they be unable to continue onwards or at least be severely disrupted by the sudden disappearance of this skill?
-Are the cats that have this suffix better known for what they've done or who they are? (That is, do others see them and say "that's the cat that can do X", or "that's the cat who's X"?)
-Is it a genuine necessity, or at least a good "in case of trouble, break this glass" sort of thing?
And, finally, if a trait is simply a trait, and not something you can see saving the Clan or keeping it holstered up in troubled times, there's no need for it to be a name.
Possibly coming soon: a list of potential suffixes!*Does this mean being called -fur or -pelt can be considered disappointing? Perhaps, but there's always the possibility that a cat will be useful in ways that their Clan doesn't have a suffix for.
by .kestral » Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:05 am 
