About the Random Superhero Generator
Every hero is built from four parts. A title such as Captain, Doctor or Agent, a colour or element word from a list of 80, a hero noun from another 80 covering everything from Sentinel and Vanguard to Kestrel and Prism, and a power drawn from 86 abilities. The result reads like a comic book credit: Doctor Cobalt Vanguard, powered by gravity manipulation.
No element of the name is borrowed from an existing character. The word lists were written for this generator, so the combinations belong to whoever draws them and can go straight into a comic script, a tabletop character sheet or a school project without a rights problem. Roughly half a million name and power combinations exist, which means a class of thirty will not collide.
The power is the part worth paying attention to. Pairing an unremarkable name with an awkward ability, say friction control or inertia control, forces you to work out what such a hero would actually do, and that question is where interesting characters come from. For the ability on its own use the Random Superpower Generator, and for the world the hero operates in try the Random Planet Generator.
How to use
- Choose how many heroes to roll, one per player or a whole roster.
- Press Generate and read the power as a constraint rather than a bonus.
- Copy the ones worth keeping, or download the roster as a text file.
Common questions
- Are any of these existing comic characters?
- No. Every word list was written for this tool, so the names are not taken from published characters.
- Can I use a generated hero commercially?
- The names are generic word combinations, so yes, though it is worth checking that your favourite is not already a registered trademark.
- How many combinations are possible?
- Eight titles, eighty adjectives, eighty nouns and eighty-six powers give well over four million distinct heroes.
- Can I get a villain instead?
- Reroll and read the same output as a villain. Lady Obsidian Basilisk works either way.