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PostPosted: Jan 15th, '08, 16:20 
Twilight Council
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Joined: Nov 13th, '06, 13:41
Posts: 1249
Location: In ur base killin ur doods.
Despite all the dark tales of black-cloaked mages armed with bone wands hiding in the depths of ruined castles, surrounded by hordes of ghouls and zombies, there really is no such thing as a typical necromancer. The water is muddied further by the fact that, as one of the shcools of magic, wizards from all fields may dip into the practice to seek tools they require in their own studies. A great many use necromantic magic in some way, though they tend to keep such secrets to themselves. On the other hand ,a master necromancer, corrupted by the negative energy in which he almost permanently shrouds himself, may not be easy to spot but the unnerving thought is that virtually any wizard may be a necromancer choosing to portray himself as otherwise, with no one being any the wiser.

It is a truism that onle a mage greatly skilled in the necromantic arts can truly judge whether the practice itself may or may not be inherently evil in the nature and yet who could accept such a biased view? What tends to be more important are the reasons why a wizard has chosen to adopt necromancy as his specialist pursuit, rather than the nature of magic itself. As with any other shcool though, you will find practitioners who merely dabble, others who make it their lifes work, and a tiny fraction who become so obsessed in their persuit of knowledge that they become entirely ignorant of the dangers they pose to others.


A mage may have many reasons to persue the necromantic arts, beyond that of simply utilising the potent spells he uncovers that harness the negative energies central to this practice. There are evil men, of course, who seek power at any cost, willing to sacrifice the body and mind in order to create legions of the dead that no army may stand against. Such practitioners are few and far between, or at least make it seem that way, though even the one maycause tremendous harm and they are ultimately those who cause the entire vista of necromantic arts to be dismissed as nothing more than the work of pure evil.

Others believe that the art holds the key to immortality, to what life truly is beyond the grave. These individuals may be motivated by nothing more than an intense fear of death itself, and the end of all their dreams, hopes and passions. A few more selfless, may work hard to restore life to the still corpse of a long-lost lover or friend. Perhaps because their relatively short lives, humans form, by far, the greatest part of such practitioners.

It is easy for others to mock such work. Priests especially will pronounce the gift of immorality to be granted only by the eternal gods, at their own whim to reward the service of their most faithful followers. There may be no little truth in these proclamations for whilst it is just possibly to extend and prolong life through the harnessing of negative energy, there are scarce answers to the question of tru immortality that do not involve becoming undead, quite literally a creature of the night. It is a tragedy of necromancy that those studying within the purest of hearts succeed in doing little more than creating a nightmarish undead, creatures that only parody life, rather than assume a natural form. Whatever their goals, the practitioners who delve into the deeper secrets of necromancy are set to unlock powers that have the potential to rival any school of magic. Far from being a poor cousin to the likes of evocation and transmutation, necromancy has the ability to grant a wizard understanding of the greatest mysteries, to comprehend the fine boundries between life and death. So long as he is willing to stake both body and mind on realisation of his goals, his arcane powers will increase exponentially. As to whether such strength is equal to the weakening of the body and shattering of the mind, this is a question for the individual necromancer. Some would no doubt argue though, that to achieve undeath, to leave behind the petty weaknesses of the living for imortality, at least a of a kind, is the greatest power of all.

There are many different paths into the study of necromancy and all practitioners tend to concentrate their efforts in one specific field of the art. The archetypal necromancer is the specialist wizard who focuses on this school of magic to the detriment, though not the exclusion of, all others. such a mage can be a powerful enemy to those who gain his ire for not only will he have access to spells that manipulate negative energy, he will also likely have a vast repertoire of magicks from a variety of disciplines. These specialist necromancers rarely go far into the practice of the art though, contenting themselves with the safe magicks, sanctioned by wizards and colleges of great power. The door is always nearby, however, and ultimately any wizard, specialist or no, may uncover the arcane lore that reveals necromancy to be far greater in breadth than they ever dreamed before.

Other necromancers, sensing the power they unlock through study and research, are drawn irresistibly to certain fields of the art. These specialist necromancers will be detailed in a later book.

in dealing with matters of life, death and negative energy, the practitioner is exposed to, and expected to learn, whole new vistas of knowledge. Any field of the arcane is one of study and research so that no wizard or sorcerer may proceed far without becoming extremely learned.

Every practitioner of the dark arts will become familiar with the anatomy of various types of creatures, including themselves. It is a passion for many necromancers to gain a greater understanding of the body and how it works, not least because so many of the spells they seek to cast require material components, which can be harvested from the body. Bones and organs are often required, so knowing the tibia from the fibia and the kidney from the liver is often essential for a practitioner.

((You may use your lore skill against various DC's to express your knowledge of the anatomy. Below are some example DC's

DC 10: Knowing where the major organs lie in a corpse of the same race
DC 15: Recognising the effects of disease or poison on a healthy target
DC 30: Remembering how minor organs function in creatures completely different to your own race.

DC 45: Knowing the location of the major organs on a creature or animal different to your own race.

DC 50: Knowing the weak points in verious bones and where to strike, should you wish to break them.

DC 65: Total familiarisation with the body of a creature other than yourself, including major and minor organs (the location of), even if that organ would not normally apply to your base race. This includes knowing where muscles lie and how they effect a creatures movement.

DC 75: You are so familiar with the body of your own race that you know at a glance where tendons and small veins lie. Should you be able to catch and tie one down, you may spend a round per action cutting into each of these tendons and veins. This is very painful to the victim, though they will not die from it. It is an effective method of torture

DC 85: As above, but with races that are similar to you (Example: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Orc etc. Aberrant creatures are not subject to this kind of lore)

))

The practitioner, of course, also has a vast knowledge of undeath and the utilisation of negative energy. This is identified from practitioner to practitioner as Necrology. It is the ability, or lack there of, to identify undead creatires or manifestations of negative energy and predict their possible threat or abilities, as well as in more regular studies.

((As an alternative to the lore of the anatomy, or including, depending on how you wish to play your necromancer, you may also use your lore skill to represent knowledge of Necrology. Below are some example DCs

DC 10: Telling the difference between a zombie and a ghoul
DC 15: Recognising a vampire as it manifests its powers (Blood Reserves, blood buff as an example)

DC 30: Recalling the history and lore of a famed but ancient lich

DC 65: Telling the difference between two different types of wraith (Example: Allip and Spectre)

))


The realm of the spirits, those who have quite literally gone beyond the grave, is a unique and convoluted area that a necromancer may know a great deal about, full of misconceptions and faleshoods. A sage well-versed in spirit lore is able to tell truth from lie.

((As another alternative, or including the above, you may also use your lore skill to represent knowledge of Spirit Lore. Below are some example DC's

DC 10: Telling the difference between a good and an evil spirit after conversing with them.

DC 15: Recognising the manifestation of a spirit in the material world.
DC 30: Recognising that a spirit may be lying.
DC 35: Recognising that a spirit may be, or is present based on physical finds from up to three hours ago.

DC 45: Knowing that a spirit is lying
DC 65: Knowing at a glance what the spirit in question feeds from.
DC 75: Knowing tell tale signs that a spirit is present, even if it is ethereal
))

_________________
Never under estimate the power that language imparts. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break hearts.

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