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nasredin · 10-10-2008, 05:57 AM

ruckus> What is a necromancer?
KaVir> The original meaning? Someone who summoned the spirits of the dead in order to ask them questions. Today you'd probably call such a person a "medium" or "spiritualist".

ruckus> What does a necromancer do when he/she is not animating the undead? What is their secondary ability/spell?

IMHO, KaVir's definition is your best starting point.

Why would someone someone summon the dead and ask them questions, instead of asking the people (or Gods) around? Because the Ancients are better informed than the living (including the Gods), they are also smarter and more willing to answer. Or at least the necromancer must think so.

In other words, a necromancer is fascinated by the Dead - by their civilization, their moral and culture, their knowledge. A necromancer is willing to learn their way of living, to explore their world, even to live there - if it were at all possible. Not a surprise, the necromancer calls for his (or her) beloved Dead when in need of help of advice.

Thus, here is a brief list of typical necromancer activities:
- any Ancient studies (ancient languages, history, mythology, archeology, petrifactology)
- religion. death and afterlife. undeath. probably no resurrection (unless that's the word the necromancer uses for animation). any other interactions with the Gods who supervise the contacts between the living and the Dead.
- spiritualism. any types of direct contact with the Dead for information exchange.
- medicine. mummy studies. animating corpses and summoning spirits. plane travels. any types of physical contacts with the Dead.
- medicine. vivisection. eugenics. attempts to "improve" the living (i.e. to make them more like the Dead)
- any practical activities in their everyday life (like any other human, a necromancer needs money. or at least, food, closing, housing and materials for their research and experiments). mercenary or advisor services. in any case, the necromancer is likely to rely on using their knowledge and any available powers of the Dead.

HTH,
Nasredin

10-10-2008, 05:57 AM	#10
nasredin Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Name: Boris Location: Moscow Home MUD: ArcticMUD (mud.arctic.org 2700) Posts: 38	Re: What makes the perfect _Necromancer_? ruckus> What is a necromancer? KaVir> The original meaning? Someone who summoned the spirits of the dead in order to ask them questions. Today you'd probably call such a person a "medium" or "spiritualist". ruckus> What does a necromancer do when he/she is not animating the undead? What is their secondary ability/spell? IMHO, KaVir's definition is your best starting point. Why would someone someone summon the dead and ask them questions, instead of asking the people (or Gods) around? Because the Ancients are better informed than the living (including the Gods), they are also smarter and more willing to answer. Or at least the necromancer must think so. In other words, a necromancer is fascinated by the Dead - by their civilization, their moral and culture, their knowledge. A necromancer is willing to learn their way of living, to explore their world, even to live there - if it were at all possible. Not a surprise, the necromancer calls for his (or her) beloved Dead when in need of help of advice. Thus, here is a brief list of typical necromancer activities: - any Ancient studies (ancient languages, history, mythology, archeology, petrifactology) - religion. death and afterlife. undeath. probably no resurrection (unless that's the word the necromancer uses for animation). any other interactions with the Gods who supervise the contacts between the living and the Dead. - spiritualism. any types of direct contact with the Dead for information exchange. - medicine. mummy studies. animating corpses and summoning spirits. plane travels. any types of physical contacts with the Dead. - medicine. vivisection. eugenics. attempts to "improve" the living (i.e. to make them more like the Dead) - any practical activities in their everyday life (like any other human, a necromancer needs money. or at least, food, closing, housing and materials for their research and experiments). mercenary or advisor services. in any case, the necromancer is likely to rely on using their knowledge and any available powers of the Dead. HTH, Nasredin