Named Men

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I was recently turned on to the works of Joe Abercrombie, whose First Law
trilogy I just started reading. So far so good. His world certainly
has characters and concepts that feel right to a gamer.

Of the many characters and parties in the trilogy, which starts with The
Blade Itself, one of my favorites is a band of northern warriors who have, over the years, been on the same sides and opposite sides of battles, challenges and skirmishes, but who eventually ended up on the same side and over time,  formed a
strong bond of trust. And this is before the books begin. They are
all “named men.” Named men are warriors who have earned a
reputation for their skill, cunning and deadliness. They have such
names as “Black Dow”, “Dogman” and “Three Trees,” most of which are
not explained. But it is explained that the names are earned as
marks of respect from friend and foe alike and it seems to just
happen. When discussing northern armies, they refer to how many
men, Carls and Named Men they are up against.

So it’s a level thing too. “Name Level” is of course familiar to us, but I don’t recall
anything about putting a Name to a PC. I like this idea, both as a
meta-gaming reward for surviving to a certain level and also as an
in-character concept much the way Abercrombie’s northmen use the
term. When and how it is chosen of course will vary with every
campaign. As for Abercrombie, my understanding is that his best
stuff starts after the trilogy in the book Best Served Cold.