i need a new world name. here's what ive got thus far

Irathor

or

Itharor

...and thats pretty much it so far. ive gone through name generators online, but i havent been able to find anything that i like yet. this is one of the sites ive been looking at http://nine.frenchboys.net/country.php .

suggestions?

You want to use a name that conveys the mood of the world.

Is it a paradise? Use an elvish-sounding name like Illithia or Alladiar.

Bleak mountains? Use a name with square shoulders like Tagkorat or Strakka.

Old human cities, falling to ruin? Something grandiose but outdated, perhaps derived from an invention made in a bygone age (can't give examples here - it depends on your backstory)

Creepy/exotic flair? Something that bends the tongue like D'nuth, Trygkul or Selt-nah. Unsual letter combinations and punctuation are your friends here.

Anyway, you get the idea.

My suggestion might to be another thing that Tolkien was fond of - choosing a real world language, then developing upon it - for example, choosing either Cymric or Finnish for elven, then changing from there, in much the way that Latin eventually would become Italian then continue picking up regional influences.

Tolkien invented the word 'Dwarves' - properly the word is 'Dwarfs' - however the premise used by Tolkien was that if the word had remained in common usage then the pronunciation and subsequent spelling would be changed in the same manner that 'halfs' and 'calfs' became 'halves' and 'calves'.

Other equivalents might include the change of 'oulphe' to 'ouphe' and from thence to 'oaf' and alternately 'elf' - 'oulphes' began as alternate of 'alfs' or 'elves', then became a term for those who had been felled by an elf stroke (itself the source of the term 'stroke' for a cerebral hemorrhage) - the changelings of mythology.

I would avoid doing so with the Slavic languages though - they are amazingly stable - a mediaeval Pole could speak with a modern Pole with little to no difficulty, while mediaeval French or English would be nearly incomprehensible to a modern reader without learning them as separate languages from their modern counterparts. Alternately, you might want to consider the Slavic languages for the dwarfs - stability might be desirable.

It may also be entertaining to read .

The Auld Grump, who named his homebrew world's main continent 'Panatheah' as the lands shared a central pantheon, now long replaced by a monotheistic religion. (Which may be better than naming your continent after a woman who was raped by a god in the form of a bull....)

An important thing to remember here is that nearly everything is inspired by (derived from) other things. Don't feel bad if your Tolkienesque dwarves find the Sword of Truth while searching for Isidar Mithrim - use elements of different stories and worlds to build something new. Remember, without LoTR we never would have seen the Inheritance books; without Dracula, no Twilight (ok, bad example); without Sherlock Holmes or Merlin, no Dresden Files!

The key is to take inspiration without letting the old story take over your new one.

true. if you've seen that episode of south park where butters keeps hearing "simpsons' did it" whenever he comes up with an evil plot.

k so i think instead of just one stone, i'm going to build in 3 different stones that were found a long time ago that gave the holders some kind of power. these are large stones, so not like literal "holders" but more like "keepers". anyway, the history will be that the keepers of each stone were granted some kind of good thing...eh....luck....wealth, i dunno, still working on that. if the stones are brought together, they form a portal via ritual and other magical stuff that allows the 3 demon lords to enter. maybe just one demon lord, dunno yet.

so eventually the demon lords were sent back through and the stones separated throughout the land...and sent back deep into the earth by some elemental being maybe. the elves of the time crafted a powerful warhammer that served as a backup in case the stones were ever recovered and brought back together. the hammer is the only thing that is capable of breaking the stones and preventing the return of the demon lords.

....so whatcha think?

I like it. You've got a great start, I think. You also gave yourself some options, whether or not you realize it:
-3 demons, 3 stones, only one can come through? If the stones have to be arranged in a certain way or a certain place, then you could choose which demon lord to bring through - each demon has a cult following, and they're fighting each other for control of the stones. Let's say the 'wealth stone' cult is a small group of incredibly rich merchants who can buy all the muscle they need. The 'luck' stone can be a Gypsy-type group or perhaps a political organization. The third stone will have its own followers that are greedy for more of whatever that stone gives. Your players may have to ally themselves with the 'least evil' cult to succeed, or the party may even have to split among the cults to manipulate them. Plus, you can have a secret elven order of 'stonebreakers' who control the hammer, or maybe they're impotent spies because they can't find the hammer.

Of course you don't have to do any of that, I'm just throwing out some stuff that might be useful for you. I guess I'm gaming vicariously