-
Posts
952 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Personas
Wiki
Rules
War
Systems
Safety
Player Conduct
Forums
Forms
Posts posted by Sorcerio
-
-
Spoiler
Just wanted to say how happy I am to see something like this finally happening with the Frost Witches. Good work!
10 -
A-again..?
1 -
1 hour ago, Valannor said:
- A Black-And-White lens of viewing the world and other individuals
- Natural inclination to adhere to social norms/the social order
- Aversion to ‘chaotic’ behaviors and activities
- Empathetic to a fault
- Aloof view of the world, struggle to form attachments
- Stubborn and averse to change, stuck in one’s ways
- Prideful and vain to an extent
- Possessed of a superiority complex
- Easily dogmatized
- Overly Optimistic
- Natural inclination towards their patron Aengul’s values - those born of Aerielan sorcery carrying a deep sense of compassion, for example, or those of Malcheladiel’s magicks possessing an inherent sense of personal duty and honor
- Natural inclination towards established religion, not necessarily in worship of any Aengul.
You've successfully established the character drive of pretty much every holy mage in a single spoiler. How do you feel?
6 -
Lifeforce and the Lifebanks
Lifeforce is the paramount essence which sustains all living creatures and things. It is a naive energy, malleable and moveable and present in all life, whether true, young, and ornery; or false, fleshless, and undead. When life manifests or is mended, lifeforce flows to it and sustains it; the birth of a child, a cleric’s mending of wounds, and a druid’s coaxing of nature to bloom are all examples of lifeforce granting healing, rejuvenation, and new life. Inversely, when a beast falls to the hunter, or a warrior to battle, their lifeforce will begin to seep aways, flowing back into an antipodean spring to be renewed. Once it has replenished itself, lifeforce will once again rise up from the earth to grant life elsewhere. This font of lifeforce, known as the Lifebanks, is the wellspring from and to which all life flows. Though it has been said to lie within the earth, in actuality the Banks are not physically present within the realm, but is separated by a thin, metaphysical veil which confines the unseen energy to its vibrant cycle and order.
Only when torn from its cycle is the raw and primal nature of lifeforce revealed, assuming the appearance of an oppressive black mist – a feat achieved only by those who meddle with death. In this form, lifeforce cannot replenish or grant life, but instead spreads malignant tumors and growths in its wake, leaving the earth permanently scarred by decay yet unable to fully perish.
Though oft unseen, there are some materials that can interact with this esoteric substance, chiefly that of Aurum. Gold can store lifeforce within itself, saturating itself with it so as to discontinue lifeforce from its cycle. This was often employed by ancient Gravelords who sought it as a means of stopping the flow all together, or even witch-hunters seeking to banish the dead.
Key Points:
- Lifeforce exists as an energy which powers all organic life in the mortal realm; even the dead, who do not harbor ‘life’, require it to pilot their decrepit frames,
- When a living being dies, most of their lifeforce will be lost, though some amount of it will remain, gradually seeping gradually into the earth. Even long-dead corpses, so long as they are not entirely decayed, will have very trace amounts of lifeforce saturating their bodies.
- Lifeforce cannot be created nor destroyed. Lifeforce may be displaced and its flow damaged, causing it to become “stagnant”, but can be readjusted given the proper means.
- Lifeforce is considered a "mortal" energy just as is genus or ectoplasm. It may be superficially exploited by deities and other entities, though it ultimately has no true master. Only necromancers may directly draw upon pure and unadulterated lifeforce.
Stagnant Lifeforce
When lifeforce is forcibly pulled from its deep and eternal cycle, it is no longer able to flow to the Banks and thus becomes "stagnant". Unable to pass from death nor grant life, the blasphemed lifeforce creates a peculiar limbo in which the land becomes sick and stifled, and the world is choked by the grasp of the undying. Necromancers have learned to tear fissures similar to these, dubbed by the men of Rh’thor as Heith-Hedran – a fabled and malformed darkness where the curtain of life has been pulled back, and the banks are made raw within the mortal realm.
These fissures, once opened, expel unprecedented surges of raw and unruly lifeforce, warping the world around them into a dark and desolate wasteland. Where the expanse lies, the fields grow barren, and the skies shriek with anomalous storms of black lightning and roaring thunder, shadowing the land in an unnatural twilight. Cysts and festering tumors grow upon living things, and the pungent aroma of rot poisons the water and the air. No manner of rest can be mustered here, and various maladies, both physical and mental, will begin to afflict those who enter the embrace of stagnated land, worsening the longer they remain. To those who are keen to the voice of the land, the earth does not scream out in agony but is plunged into eerie silence, retaining only a sickened heartbeat – like a wounded animal merely pleading to be put down.
Creatures particularly susceptible to corruption will find themselves to be physically and mentally impaired within the reach of stagnation their health degrading until they are eventually overcome.
Key Points:
- Lifeforce is made stagnant and raw only when forcibly torn from its cycle, most commonly by feats of necromancy. Stagnant lifeforce entails lifeforce which ‘animates’, but no longer flows in and out between life and death, thus giving way to rot and perpetual decay without release of death. Sickness runs rampant, and disease is commonplace. Nothing new can grow nor be born where the stagnation lingers; trees will wither away and yet remain, leaving gnarled and decrepit husks where great oaks once stood; and the heartbeat will slowly dwindle up until the brink of death, but will never be allowed to cease.
- Stagnant land is not a ‘spreading’ corruption in and of itself. The extent to which land stagnates is based on the size of the originating wound, typically being a necromantic rift. The greater the wounds become, the more its stagnating influence expands.
- Creatures susceptible to blight will find their lifeforce stagnated more quickly than that of regular mortals, corrupting as described in their respective lores.
Mending the Wound
While stagnant land itself can easily be purged, the festering corruption is merely the symptom of an even greater disease, and any attempt to banish it without removing its source will simply result in the land twisting itself again after a short while. To truly banish the spoilage of the earth and allow lifeforce to flow once more, the heart of the stagnation must first be located and sealed before attempting to heal the land. Upon locating the heart of the blight, a group of competent Farseers or Druids may gather to repair the tear in the Banks, ‘grabbing’ the metaphysical fringes of the rift before weaving their magics to bind it shut like suture over a wound.
Yet even a full assembly of shamans or a council of druids would struggle to repair the same wound that only a handful of necromancers were able to rupture – depending on the scale of the rift and the extent to which it has twisted the land. Should the rift be sealed, the flow of life would once more be made possible, but the scar wrought upon the land would still take time to fully mend; for just as the stagnation was not immediate in its arrival, so too will its expulsion be a lengthy process. Trees might finally be allowed to fall and die, but new ones will still take decades to grow; stagnated rivers would flow again, but the rot would need time to wash away from its banks.
Though not consumed by agony as before, those attuned to both spirits and nature would hear the earth issue a languishing cry as they nurse her wounds, one which does not subside until the once-stagnant land has been fully suitable for grass to grow, trees to sprout, and flowers to bloom.
Key Points:
- Healing stagnated land without healing its source will cause the stagnancy to return.
- Wounds in the Banks may be sealed by Druidic Blighthealing, or a Farseer’s blessing of Scorthuz. The number of individuals and the level of skill is roughly determined by the size and influence of the wound, the mechanics for which are described in the Necromancy lore.
- While adjacent land may be allowed to heal following a rift's sealing, the process will take an incredibly long time – anywhere from years to decades if left to heal on its own. Even with the aid of druidic magic, this process may at best be shortened to several years.
SpoilerPurpose
The purpose of this piece is to solidify the baseline rules of lifeforce, its natural presence in the world, and how it ultimately achieves the corrupting effects which magics such as necromancy employ. These concepts already exist in practice, but since there is no accepted lore for it outside of a few brief and scattered mentions across various lore pieces, I thought it fitting to consolidate that knowledge within a single piece for ease of access, while also not overstepping the mechanics of other lores — hence the lack of practical mechanics in this submission. While the base effects are outlined here, the in-depth effects, effect ranges, means of creation, usage in rites, and modes of removal are still outlined in the respective lore pieces, with this piece serving only to canonize the nature of the concepts which many of them draw from.
Citations
27 -
No! A man must live to spite dragonkind!
1 -
It's incredibly unfortunate that you had to experience something like that so early on.
The sad reality is that there are many who seek only self-preservation and the fulfillment of their own goals over contributing to narrative or giving to the community. It's not wrong for a community to have their own vision or aspirations, but if it reaches the point where they to toxicity and OOC targeting to achieve their goals, then I think the best thing to do is simply find another community. LOTC is incredibly transient and fickle, and both the server and its communities are constantly undergoing shifts in leadership and vision, and the bottom line is that to take root in that community means you have to risk things that may be upheaved.
Does that mean it's all hopeless and not worth your time? Absolutely not. We can still make long-lasting things and impactful relationships with other individuals, but when things do go south, we also need to be willing to pick ourselves back up and not take it too much to heart. It is a game after all. And, as I said, the community changes very quickly, and there are tons of new communities that pop up all the time. Theres a wide range of groups willing to take in just about anyone. Find one that suits and welcomes you — or even multiple if you like!
In the end, we can't really enforce the ideal on every single player — people have tried and failed. But we can try to live out that ideal ourselves with the hope that we can lead by example. Learn from how others might hurt you so that you don't end up doing the same. Be welcoming to those who might be new and looking for a new community or home. Treat others the way you want to be treated. These may sound as nice anecdotes that offer no real solution, but I can almost guarantee that if you manage to do these things you will make more meaningful friends than you will spiteful enemies.
You just need to keep your chin up and move on.
6 -
Haha no sex
4 -
I gave a brief look over the lore, and it's certainly interesting. I have a few reservations regarding theme and some of the lore used, though none of that is really conducive to improving the lore itself, and I otherwise enjoyed the flavor and unique spin it had on this particular niche of RP. However, there are a few questions that came to mind. For one, these seem very mechanically similar to how Mystic's function in terms of the spirit bonding and the corporeal/incorporeal merging; beyond aesthetic and abilities, what serves to prevent it from just being another flavor for the same niche? Also, what kind of spirits are these? Are they dead, inferi, or shamanic spirits? I wasn't very clear, but maybe I just missed it.
Otherwise, I wish it luck.
2 -
7/10; 0.73 post/rep ratio.
0 -
As someone who enjoys villainy roleplay, random encounters are the cream of the crop. They enable you to create a unique and lasting encounter with someone that doesn't just end in death, whether they're new or old. There's nothing I enjoy more than coming upon some hapless pink tag and (instead of massacring them) I offer them engaging roleplay, advocate my characters views, and maybe even recruit them — all this done with a stranger on a road.
I have noticed this has become increasingly more difficult to do. While I think roleplay with strangers is still possible, it has become a much more rare occurrence and requires much more effort than before.
There are multiple causes of this, but the primary one can be addressed simply as map size.
Most people already RP in certain groups or regions and simply don't go beyond their designated city or capital. It's not that they are entirely opposed to the idea of new encounters, but that they're comfortable where they are and seeking out new environments is more trouble than its worth. They're not going out as much and exploring the roads to different cities, nor the woods and mountains between them; if someone wants to travel somewhere of importance to RP usually they just use their bound soulstone.
I don't blame them for this, of course. The map is unnecessarily vast and there is so much empty space that it takes forever to get anywhere. New players I feel especially encounter difficulty finding active roleplay environments, given that no matter which Hub you travel to you're going to have to walk for about 4-7 minutes before finding anything remotely active. Instead of finding roleplay in two minutes or less, new players will be spending their time perusing empty roads and the abandoned California-esque flats which sit beside them (take a look at the Northeast). They'll come across the capital sooner or later, but if they're greeted with a sparse population they're likely not going to want to walk another ten minutes to find somewhere else to RP.
Given how our current system is, I wouldn't say random-encounter RP is dead, but more so hurt. It can be fixed, but we need to be willing to fix it. While fast-travel may help to temporarily solve the problem of quickly finding RP, it doesn't actually address the issue; people will teleport from place to place toseek RP and then simply stay in that group and not go out and explore the world. Real random encounters happen on the roads, and that only works if the roads are short and can be traversed in only a couple minutes.
13 -
-
This looks actually pretty cool +1
6 -
-
Carry on the torch!
1 -
What good is an oath taken in perjury;
To speak a vow one knows they will break?Can eternity reconcile us with that offense
And return our spirits once more to grace?
Or are we to forever languish in our sorrows,To wrestle with our sins to the end of days?
The embrace of night was suffocating, the dark clouds casting an oppressive shadow which denied even the stars their light. The wind, reduced to no more than a whisper, muttered of ostensive conspiracy amidst the trees, and bones rattled deep beneath the fetid earth as men gathered within their derelict vaults of stone, driven by an odious purpose. For it was these men, mortal and destined for death, who sought to twist both themselves and others into something far more terrible — and it was on this night that they would manifest their treacherous enterprise, to bid forth a relic of antiquity in their campaign for their promised Lord. Thus the tombs were alight, and the altar draped red in fevered anticipation, prepared to spurn the clutches of death which had rewarded the fallen champion for his martyrdom.
Blasphemous incantations echoed throughout the halls of stone; the red embers crackled spitefully in the tomb, their gleaming mirth deprived as darkness soon swallowed their light whole. And from the throes of shadow and dark, a lifeless silhouette would rise, shackled to a dilapidated coil as the hollow fragment of a man who pretends to be whole. The assembly gazed upon their fell creation, possessed by a conceited pride in its cruel perfection.
The unorthodox dirges ceased, and the chieftain of the red men stepped forward to marvel at this immortal slave. From the bowels of his robes he procured a single talisman of thorns, one that shone with an oppressive radiance which compelled, by pain of fire, the soldier to kneel.
And so he knelt.
So it was that he would carry his blade with a terrible plight, tethered to this earth as an omen of red and black possessed by agony and wroth, and obliged to crusade on behalf of the very apostasy which he had once forsworn himself against. No longer would he abide by knightly creed or moral code which bound him in life, but rather to the whims of misfortune, forever consigned to the bidding of the masters that have ensnared him — and no living man can say what cruelties he may be forced to commit in their stead.
16 -
MC Name:
Sorcerio
Character's Name:
Geithwald
Character's Age:
Antediluvian
Character's Original Race (N/A if not applicable):
Man
Transformed form:
Darkstalker
Creator's MC Name:
_Security, Lhindir_, Melpomenne, Nebelsbad
Creator's RP Name:
Ludwig, The Crimson King, Catalina Nadia, Bogdan
Briefly explain the lore behind this construct or creature:
The epitome of undeath, Darkstalkers are the eternal undead servants of the necromancers. Born as derelict cadavers, these creatures house the souls of great warriors which a necromantic cabal has chosen to anoint as one of their own. They do not eat, sleep, rest, nor suffer the throes of mortality, not exhausted after prolonged activity nor finding themselves stricken by any pain. Darkstalkers can wield weapons and armor with the aptitude of a well-trained knight, possessing strength at the peak of whatever was their initial race. But the burden of this affliction is far worse than that of the living man, for they are ultimately cursed to despondency, isolated entirely from the living. They develop cruel, sadistic, and violent tendencies, becoming entirely devoid of any emotion until they resemble only a hollow shell of what once was. As undead, they suffer a handful of weaknesses that strain their malevolent powers, most namely that of aurum and holy magic which sear the flesh like flame. Fire and sunlight also prove as apt weaknesses of these creatures, requiring them to skulk about in darkness and shadow for fear of it. The gravest of all their plights, however, is the Memento Mori, which stands as an eternal testament to the horror of their circumstance. This relic, oftentimes one of emotional significance to the Darkstalker, is employed by necromancers as a means of inflicting great anguish in the mind of the undead thrall, thus forcing them to obey their masters’ will for fear of further pain. They wish for nothing less to destroy such a relic, and yet they cannot, for it is often kept under lock and key by those who seek to coerce the undead knight to do their bidding.
The Darkstalker bears a perpetual hunger for lifeforce that must be sated periodically via Darkening in order to maintain their decrepit flame. Additionally, more apt Darkstalkers may choose to ascend the capacities of their undead brethren by ritualistically sapping life from the living, allowing them to attain new heights of power. The stages which a Darkstalker undergoes include the Nascent, the Regressed, and the Paramount, with each of these harboring their own unique traits and affinities which further serve the Darkstalker and their necromantic overlords.
If this construct or creature has some form of aesthetic choice, can you describe how they look?
Geithwald is the shell of a former knight, donning blood-stained armor and draped in tattered crimson and black silks. Both in life and undeath, Geithwald stands slightly taller than the average human, though to no advantage. As an undead, he is significantly distinguished from the living, with taut and wiry gray flesh clinging to his frame so that one might even see the bones beneath. His eyes are hollow and bear an eternal portent into the dark abyss, and his hair, once rich and auburn in life, has now been reduced to a sooty, oily black which flows downwards from his scalp — though more often than not it is concealed by the tainted suit of armor which he inhabits. The voice of Geithwald is deep and gravelly, and though not necessarily ‘unnatural’ on its own, would be deemed frightening when paired with his otherwise ghastly appearance.
Do you have a magic(s) you are dropping due to this app? If so, link it:
N/A
Do you agree to keep Story writers updated on the status of your magic app?:
Yes.
Do you understand that if this creature's lore is undergoing an activity trial and that trial fails, you will no longer be able to play this creature and will be forced to either revert the character back to its normal form (if it was a transformative type) or stop playing the character entirely (if it is an entirely new creature)?:
Yes.
Memey RP or using this CA for subpar villain/bandit RP can lead to your app being denied, even after acceptance. Please put "I understand" as your response once you have read this part and understand the consequences.
I understand.
Have you applied for this creature on this character before, and had it denied? If so, link the app:
No.
4 -
-
Ok actually that's actually kind of epic; so epic that I'll grace it with my fleeting presence.
2 -
God I love Mordu.
0 -
Its oftentimes said that people would be better off without having come to LOTC, and while perhaps that may be true for a good few, I don't think I can say the same for myself. It's funny, actually... LOTC, with all its problems and blemishes, has helped me to grow tremendously in ways I could not have possibly hoped to have achieved had I not come upon this server. My ability to write during this time was minimal, and I possessed very poor social and communicative skills throughout that period of my youth. But over the few brief years I've been here, I've honed my skills in varying fields that have served me well in my life, particularly my ability to write. Not only that, but the community which I surrounded myself with gave me much needed reprieve during an otherwise anxious and difficult time in my life.
Without this server, I don't believe I would've ever learned to do the things I can today, and likely would have been left as some bland, inarticulate kid in the back of the class. Instead of hurting me, it made me better off by allowing me insight and wisdom of not only the server, but the functions of people and their behavior overall — and for that I am truly thankful.
1 -
These are actually really cool. Perhaps I'll commission some time later in the future.
1 -
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
“From the moment that we sign on after our first application, we acknowledge an unspoken duty—to preserve this experience and to help each other enjoy our time here. To support a stimulating, encouraging, and jolly place—a community that you can grow and develop in.”
— Telanir, Community Guidelines
Everyone who joins LOTC does so with the promise of community, fun, and safety, allowing an environment in which their roleplay can flourish no matter their experience or skill. However, even since its inception, there have been a tragic many who have abused the environment we have strived to build for their own, grossly perverted intentions. Of course, I refer here to the matter of pedophelia which ever-so-frequently rears its ugly head within our community, only for the perpetrator to be unceremoniously cast out for their perverted ways. Now it pains me to mark my return with such loathsome news, but I am compelled to share it out of concern for those who also enjoy this server as well as I.
It has recently come to my attention that another such instance of revelation is necessary in order to preserve the community which the players of this server stand for.
Before I divulge on the topic at hand, I will take careful note to mention that moderation and the administration have closed this investigation and are no longer considering it. This post may otherwise well be deleted because “ban reports shouldn’t be made public”, or because it's a “sensitive topic”, or because it “circumvents staff decisions”. But this is NOT a ban report, nor is it any effort to get the staff to change their minds on the issue, because frankly I don’t believe they will. No, this is an effort to reach out to the community in order to show them the objective truth, so that the matter may at least be taken into their own hands. After all, if staff truly value transparency as much as they say they do, then they should expect that same level of transparency among members of the playerbase as well.
Over the last month, gradual information has been made accessible to me from a number of individuals, including a private ban report against the player “KP”. The evidence is clear, outlining the fact that when he was 23, came after a minor.
SpoilerFor those unaware of who KP is; the ban report refers to them under the name “TangoIsPointless”, or “Happy_Shackles”. Currently they are the nation leader of Oren, and have so far received support from much of the current administration despite their actions.
For the sake of the victim (of whom I’ve received ascent to post these logs) I’ve only provided some of the more relevant screenshots, though the document was also filled with various discussions, at least those that could be obtained from Skype. I would rather not spread the document, that would make it easy for both this post and myself to be taken down for doxxing.
Again, staff have been made aware of this, mind you. This matter has been brought up on multiple occasions but has always been rebuffed. This evidence has already been “reviewed”, and the case has been dropped, not because the logs provided are fake, but because the evidence provided is simply “too old” regardless of how damning it is.
Yet the age of the logs is irrelevant, and the fact of the matter is that a heinous crime against our community’s dignity was nevertheless committed. Whether past or present, the permittance of this act has violated the core principles which the server claims to be built upon, and that simply standing by in idleness further degrades the promises we make to every wide-eyed new player who hopes to become a part of our community.
To Tythus, Telanir, and all those in power who do genuinely want what's best for the server, I say this: by standing by and choosing not to act, you actively destroy the foundations of the community you wish to serve. No, players do not have the power to act, and anything other than us simply pleaing for change is nothing more than idealism. So for now, we can only encourage player initiative within the community, and hope that we may expel those who would commit such atrocities from our ranks with fervor, so that the players, not merely the staff, preserve the same integrity for others that we seek for ourselves. But if we are indeed to be silenced every time we bring genuine pleas for change in our community, then we have truly strayed in every way from what this server was supposed to be.
180 -
I generally approve of these. The one thing I would change is, at least, the susceptibility to necromantic curses and the Wretch's Sigil. Because such afflictions are magical and occult rather than natural, it would be more difficult, I believe, for alchemy to muster entire immunity to them. Alternatively, you could compromise by allowing some sort of "improved resistance" to the aforementioned, albeit not entire immunity. Otherwise, neat! Good work.
7 -
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
I’d never imagined myself writing one of these, but I suppose it’d be a bit unfair to many people if I simply vanished without a word. Besides, real life circumstances seldom respect the lack of foresight, so I suppose it is only fitting of me to play the fool.
I remember when I had first joined LOTC some three-odd years ago. It was everything I’d hoped for and more: an open platform where I could meld my creative mind with my love for a simple block game. I still fondly recall waiting until the end of every school day where I could rush home and log on to experience the vast and vibrant world of Atlas, immersed fully at the crossroads of Belvitz. From a bright-eyed new player desperate for a taste of magic and fantasy, to an active and experienced member of this community, it would seem I’ve gone through my LOTC arc surprisingly fast in the meagre span of three years. Nevertheless, every encounter and experience all added up rather profoundly in the end, helping me to grow in ways I could not have imagined.
On the matter of why I am leaving, or at least stepping back for a while; as much as I love writing lore, it is a rather draining process, and once you are committed to building the world of LOTC, there’s no turning back. Unfortunately, it’s a lot less engaging to participate in a world where all its secrets and mysteries are already known. Still, I was more than willing to take on that responsibility, knowing fully well what it might entail.
Very much to the warnings of my friends I have, in short, burnt myself out. If the poor in-game presence and infrequent discord activity weren’t proof enough, I’ve been slowly shedding my ties to LOTC, continuously pushing off projects to the next day until it has amounted into one great tower of work. It eventually grew into too much, and I realized it was time for me to be fully transparent regarding my absence.
But just because I am taking my leave does not mean I have given up hope on the server, far from it fact. I still believe that the server is set on a track to succeed especially under the recent administration. What we have built here together is unlike anything found in any sort of storybook or fairytale. Sure, it’s no “happy-ever-after” and there are surely improvements to be made, but for the collaborative project it is, it has succeeded in what it was designed to be. I only hope more players can recognize the same.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my time on LOTC, it’s that LOTC is not fun because staff make it fun, but because of player initiative. We can only give you the tools with which to build, but it’s up to you to actually build it - to mould something with your own hands and to truly make it your own. There may be times when it's difficult, and no one is promising it’s gonna be easy. But taking a look at how those who enjoy the server, and those that don’t, interact with other players, I think it's fair to say that taking initiative pays off far more than waiting for someone else to take it for you.
With that said, I wish you all a very fond farewell. I’ll probably check in from time to time, and maybe I’ll even make a return at some point, though for now it seems like I have other matters to which I must dedicate myself. I wish to especially thank those who have stuck with me throughout my time on LOTC and tenure on staff, especially the other ST. I’ll still be around on discord if you want to reach me (pundimonium#9142). I’m always around just to chat or chill out!
I hope that, if I ever come back, the server will have grown even more, perhaps to the point where I'll even feel like a new player again. Good luck and take care, LOTC.
84
[✗] [Magic Lore] Rh’thorean Necromancy
in Denied Lore
Posted
Necromancy: The Gift of Widukind
Necromancy is among the few primeval arts which has based itself within the mortal realm since the days of antiquity, festering as some rotting tumor within the unlit corners of the world. Those who dare to tamper with its power are the sort recanted in woeful tales and fables seldom sung, amassing great legions of undeath and crumbling empires all in the pursuit of their own empowerment. But over an age the art adopted a more subtle role, inspiring its practitioners to amass in unseen convocations, quiet and reserved as they enact their blasphemous rites, fashioning for themselves a foothold in this realm so that when the time came to rise again they would not so easily be weeded out. Now, illuminated by the flames of revelation, the necromancers and their wretched cabals have once more sought a means of expanding their fell gospel, propagating their legions of undead to pave a road for their Promised Lord to come forth in all his glory.
Explanation
Those who seek to evade the grasp of death are marked as an accursed lot; doomed to be inevitably quelled by the hand of their own craft, for the lifebanks ultimately reclaim all back to itself, and even those who toy with life are no exception. Fear absorbs each step, and every breath pulls the necromancer closer to the brink, with the pale visage of death looming behind each corner. For this reason, these foul occultists are forever ushered to flock back to their decaying crypts along with their dark fellowship for fear of what might transpire should they remain alone, spurning companionship that lies beyond their dark, somber walls and deep, hidden vaults.
Connection
A feat only accomplished by an elder; the ordination of a necromancer is the essential rite of passage for any would-be aspirants of the occult, granting them the capacity to reach mastery over life and undeath. To do this, a necromancer with a valid TA may plunge the initiate into a state of near-death at a rift of Heith-Hedran, before tearing back the spirit of the initiate and closing shut the wound used to slay them. The acolyte necromancer may now put up an MA and begin learning under the elder necromancer's tutelage. Necromancy takes up four magic slots to perform, though upon becoming an Archlich it is lowered to three. Once a descendant becomes a necromancer, there is no means of reversing the slots consumed.
Necromancers ultimately dwell in a state between life and undeath, being “alive” in the mortal sense of the word, but simultaneously is perpetuated by the powers of death. Unlike previous iterations, necromancy only slightly weakens the physique of its practitioners unless they have gone without lifeforce for a prolonged period of time. Many necromancers will still find themselves to age outwardly faster than regular mortals, with their hair thinning and their flesh becoming white as they grow in their mastery. Though in appearance they may seem frail, a regularly fed necromancer, at best, retains the strength of an unathletic adult of their race; they still lack the physical prowess necessary to practice feats such as knighthood. Thus, most rely on wit and magical skill when forced to participate in combat, though often take many precautions to avoid it. In addition, due to their dabbling in the occult, necromancers are granted immunity to all natural diseases. Only plagues wrought by necrotic pestilence itself or other magical diseases may infect a necromancer.
Though a necromancer does not take on many new psychological attributes inherently, their dealings within the macabre often lead to emotional numbness, withdrawal, and other dissociative traits. As one progresses in the art, food begins to taste like ash in their mouth, and while they must still eat to preserve their mortal coil it is unsatisfying. The exception to this is raw meat, which necromancers grow to especially crave up until the point of mastery, when pure lifeforce becomes the only thing that grants them reprieve.
Lastly, because their souls are warped and are placed in a unique ‘limbo’, the Monks refuse to return necromancers, requiring them to rely on their unholy brethren to bring them back.
In addition to the powers of traditional Necromancy, Rh'thorean Necromancy oversees certain expansions of dark and undead power, namely including the following:
Lifeforce and Heith-Hedran
Necromancy is powered by the esoteric substance lifeforce, the primordial energy which passively flows through all living things in an eternal cycle, unseen. From mortal men, to insects and grass, each and every creature is filled with an esoteric vitality that grants them the privilege of life. This energy cannot be created or destroyed, but rather, when a lift is at its close and all vitality has expired, lifeforce will return to a metaphysical reservoir deep below the earth to replenish itself.
Necromancers have learned to harness this raw energy to fuel their dark sorceries, rupturing the metaphysical veil which confines lifeforce to its primordial cycle and thus turning it black and malignant. Thus they may use it, not only to control the life to which it would flow, but to grant modus to things that would otherwise be dead. In the land where the veil between the lifebanks and the living realm is torn, the world is choked by the grasp of the undying. Forces of death seep into the land itself, plaguing it with famine and disease. Blackened bile seethes from the ground, arising in a culmination of tumors, cancers, and maladies on the land, before consuming the sun in a tenebrous shadow of thin, blackened haze. What’s left behind is a quasi-ethereal wasteland where fiends and ghoulish horrors flourish. It is where death itself has become visible in the realm of men, where the esoteric residue of life can call upon forsaken souls, where one may simply reach out to pluck the damned themselves from the heavens or hells below.
It is the necromancers of Rh'thor that have learned to utilize the scars of this reservoir, dubbed by Rh’thorean sects as Heith-Heidran, permitting them to conduct their soulrending sacraments and use the power here to fuel their insidious art. Through this weakened fabric of the lifebanks, a necromancer can fuel their power here, molding vitality and life to be twisted into death.
Effects of Heith-Hedran:
Stagnated land consists of anywhere that has been “touched” by the expanse of a rift of Heith-Hedran, having been permeated by stagnated lifeforce. Here the land grows barren and cold; grass dies, trees wither, and animals become sickly, lying about as half-corpses just barely clinging to life. The sun may appear black or entirely consumed by clouds of a thick, suffocating black haze. Aesthetic appearances of said terrain are widely open so long as they pertain to the nature of corruption/darkened land and retain no unique benefit. Pools of water within stagnated land may be poisoned and given a designated plague of the necromancer(s) choice (see Plaguecrafting), so that any who drink from it would suffer the effects of the chosen malady. Ghouls and other undead creatures may prowl the lands, able to be utilized for event purposes, though not to defend necromancers themselves.
Druids are unable to manipulate flora within a successfully stagnated region, for such are nigh dead; communingwith stagnated flora/fauna would only result in them hearing a sort of “whimpering”, much like a wounded animal.
All living mortals within this region will find themselves gradually corrupted by the following effects, growing to their extreme over two-and-a-half narrative hours:
1. Individuals feel nauseated by the rank and fetid air.
2. Individuals develop coughs, sneezing, and other minor flu-like symptoms.
3. Individuals will begin to feel “stuffy” in the head, as though subject to an intense cold. Individuals begin to feel lethargic and slightly sapped of stamina (not necessarily strength).
4. The onset of psychological maladies begins: individuals will start to hear faint whispers in their mind, formless shadows may flicker briefly in the corners of their eyes, etc.
5. Individuals feel as though it is harder to breathe, even though no less air is reaching them.
6. Hallucinations grow more intense, making it difficult to focus (though not impossible).
7. Individuals will begin to develop paranoia and delusions, having a distrust of even trusted fellow company. They may lash out at the slightest offense, or be entirely unwilling to cooperate with others.
Once an individual leaves stagnated land, the effects may gradually recede. Those wishing for the effects to last longer for narrative purposes may do so of their own chosen volition.
Sealing Heith-Hedran:
It is far easier to rend something than to mend it, and for a rift of Heith-Hedran to be successfully sealed, a circle of blight-healers or farseer shamans (via a blessing of Scorthuz) are required. The number of participants must be at least double the number of necromancers initially used to tear the fissure, though may be slightly more should the rift have been expanded – this is up to ST managerial discretion if needed. Artifacts curated for the intent of sealing rifts may be used to decrease the minimum threshold of participants if written into the MArt’s mechanics, though never to the point of letting a single person seal a rift alone.
Once the necessary number of participants is met, they may “circle” the rift and begin to seal it, pulling at the fringes of the aperture shut and binding the veil back together like suture over a wound. While this will effectively seal the rift and prevent the persistence of stagnation, corrupted land must still be purged by hand.
The result sealing a rift will leave all participants afflicted with a benign form of blight that appears like a blackened rot, beginning on their hands and slowly creeping up along their flesh over the course of one IRL week. The rot makes the flesh numb as if it were experiencing ‘pins-and-needles’, making dexterous acts increasingly more difficult until the individual eventually loses proper use of corrupted areas. However, the corruption may easily be warded away by the appropriate blight-healing methods or spirit blessing, though if treatment does not begin within 1 IRL week, then the scarring will be permanent, and any CAs afflicted that are fully corrupted will be officially made into their “blighted” form.
Removing the rot from oneself will take three sessions (which must be at least 12 IRL hours apart), and with each session the spread of the corruption ceases and gradually recedes.
Darkening
A perverted sign, shunned of Rh’thor, Darkening is a wicked, albeit primary instrument of Necromancy which embodies the occult desire to consume. It is this vile testimony to the darkness, passed down from heretic sects and malignant guilds, that remains a staple of the necromancer’s power, permitting them to tear lifeforce from the living and sew it among the dead.
Cantrip Darkening
To perform darkening, a necromancer must manifest an abysmal aura of thick black haze which swirls around their hand. With this, the necromancer may manipulate lesser living life forms as they see fit in a non-combative setting, such as a patch of grass or shrubbery, so long as it is touched or within 5 meters. This grants no benefit to the necromancer save for a slight euphoria, and does nothing to replenish their energy or ability to cast. Alternatively, when at T3, the necromancer may hide the aura and perform this through skin-to-skin interactions, such as leaving an individual feeling lethargic after exchanging a handshake.
Combat Darkening
Necromancers are capable of actively sapping the lifeforce from a descendant through Darkening. This would require 2 emotes to channel the haze, before the necromancer must grapple their target victim and begin to drain the lifeforce. This feels hot needles which are pulled out from under the flesh, which overwhelm the victim and cause them great degrees of pain. Over the duration of 2 more emotes, assuming direct physical touch was sustained, the victim will become gradually weaker until they are incapacitated. This first darkening would not kill them outright, though would render them unconscious and gaunt for a moderate duration until aroused, requiring a narrative day to fully recover. Should the victim be drained yet a second time consecutively, the individual would perish.
Necromancers who have achieved a proficiency of T4 or higher may perform draining from a distance rather than by direct touch. This requires an adequate amount of concentration and limits the necromancer’s movement to a slow, strolling pace while sustaining the tether. Two emotes must be taken for the necromancer to manifest the haze, lock upon their target and weave it. So long as the victim is within 10 meters of the necromancer, the tether would drain their lifeforce over the course of four emotes before leaving them incapacitated. This tether may snap should the gap widen beyond 10 meters, or if it is severed by other energy-affecting forces, including fire (or fire evocation), thanhium, aurum, or holy magic.
Darkening Effects
The area afflicted by Darkening will, upon its completion, become stricken with a withering necrosis that eats away at the flesh. The victim would require immediate treatment within one narrative week, whether that be through mundane medicine or alchemy, lest they risk amputation or death. The visual aspect of Necrosis is immediately noticeable from when it is inflicted upon the victim, appearing to be an imprint of the casters hand when removed. In contrast to the victim’s agony, the necromancer is granted a fleeting euphoria and sense of vitality when draining, equivalent to a brief yet potent high which lasts for a few moments after the draining is complete. Though this does not make them any stronger or improve their physical state to any significant degree, it would be heavily addicting and drive them to great lengths the longer they attempt to go without it. Necromancers who deny themselves the act of draining will often go mad from their lack of the vital sustenance they so crave in their state, becoming weak and lethargic until they shrivel away and die.
Maledictions
The earmark skills of the necromancer, who in their defiance of the natural, may bequeath grotesque invocations and anathematic weavings to sow suffering among mortal men. Though delicate in practice, the scythe of death is unforgiving, and woe to those who’ve been plagued with such misfortune as to have themselves set in the presence of he who has delved into the arts of undeath.
Maledictions are the purposeful disturbing of lifeforce within a target, particularly with the intent of causing suffering and the impairment of one’s foes. In order to fuel these dark spells, necromancers possess a number of spell slots proportional to that of their tier of mastery. Spell slots may be recovered by means of Darkening, or passively over the course of one OOC day; consuming liquid lifeforce may also restore a necromancer’s spell slots fully, albeit at the cost of addiction. Because they are still living mortals, necromancers possess two base slots in addition to their extra ones. However, it is ill-advised for a necromancer to go beyond this threshold, as it would begin to draw upon the necromancer’s own personal lifeforce; the first of these would cause devastating fatigue, and using the last slot would result in the necromancer’s ultimate demise from which they may not return.
T1: 2 Slots + 0
T2: 2 Slots + 2
T3: 2 Slots + 3
T4: 2 Slots + 4
T5: 2 Slots + 5
Unless specified otherwise, every spell or ritual consumes at least 1 slot. A necromancer who binds an oculus to themselves will be granted an additional 2 lifeforce slots for use unless it is destroyed or not on their person.
Reverse Tether
An inverse of Darkening, Reverse Tether entails the necromancer funneling lifeforce into an object or entity for the sake of either rituals or combat imbuement. Through establishing a Reverse Tether, the necromancer opens up their reservoir of dispensable lifeforce, allowing them to weave it into an object; this can be used in both cantrip and combative form, similar to regular Darkening. In non-combat, this could be used to restore life to a withered flower the necromancer had drained, so long they could maintain touch. At further levels of proficiency they can restore life in a similar fashion within a five meter radius. As it is more benign than other uses of lifeforce, and thus cantrip tethering can be used at no cost to the necromancer’s spell slots, though when used in non-combative rituals and sacraments the amount of lifeforce a necromancer must spend may vary.
In combative settings, tethering requires 3 emotes to perform, to various effects based on the target. Between necromancers, tethering can be used to exchange a single unit of lifeforce at minimum, with every additional unit exchanged requiring an additional emote. Alternatively, when used on undead, tethering would grant them a brief sense of euphoria as if they had fed themselves with Darkening. If they are already over their maximum limit of feeding then the undead would be capable of exerting an additional half of their strength, as well as gain an additional half of their endurance for a duration of 4 emotes.
Bursting
Not only can necromancers return the dead to faux life, but they may also rescind their animation in brutal fashion, causing the corpse to bloat until it bursts in an infectious display of gore. After imbuing volatile lifeforce into a corpse over the course of 2 emotes, the body’s residual lifeforce will begin to reach critical mass. Upon the third emote, the cadaver would begin to noticeably swell, though this may be delayed for a brief period as to perhaps set a trap for an unsuspecting victim. The fifth emote would have the body explode in a virulent expulsion of disease-ridden gore, with the size of the corpse determining its range. A small corpse, that being from the size of a house cat up to the size of a halfling, will cause an explosion with a diameter of 2 meters, being relatively non-lethal and at most causing the vicinity to be hailed with the shrapnel of bones and mutilated appendages capable of piercing flesh that later can cause infection. The residual impact of this ability is the air of plague it leaves in its wake. If inhaled by the living, they will be stricken with immediate shortness of breath and infection of the lungs if detours are not made.
Meanwhile, a descendant corpse or larger would create an explosion with a 5 block diameter, with victims caught in the immediate blast being moderately wounded by fragments of bone and viscera, as well as breathing in the infectious fumes. The largest corpses that a necromancer may craft are those of flesh golems, abominations of lumbering rot that may span up to the size of an olog. These monstrous corpses may cause an explosion size of 8 meters, having the largest area of diseased air and gore. Those within the area may be wounded by wayward pieces of ligament and bone, causing infection if left untreated. Victims within three meters of the colossal corpse are subject to the brunt end of the force, with the blast able to push such an unlucky few two meters from the epicenter of the explosion. Those in this immediate range are subject to lethal or grievous wounds, maiming and mangling limbs from such a force, as well as inhaling the fumes.
Cauterization
Derived from the vile practice of fleshsmithing and honed in the depths of Devirad, Cauterization is a more crude employment of necromancy, yet not one without its merits to the servants of death. This harrowing practice is one of versatile use to the necromancer, whether they sew back the chest of a wounded ally, or perhaps sever appendages and only to reattach them in a merciless fashion — threading lifeforce and weaving flesh alike as if it were but needle and thread. Though this may be used as a means of sealing wounds and tearing flesh, it may also be applied to reattach lost limbs and appendages. Such employment requires the greatest amount of time and dedication, unable to be performed merely in combat as other means of cauterization might, leaving a tumorous sealant between the reattached limb and the flesh. To weave a lost limb back onto an individual requires that the limb not be any older than one IRL day, and that the ‘victim’ grants OOC consent to have it reattached, regardless of whether or not it was initially theirs.
This process is nonetheless excruciating to the recipient, each quiver and motion of flesh feels as if hot needles were weaving through the skin, an acute and lingering pain which remains as a reminder of this traumatic experience. The end-result of this taxing process is a twisted patchwork of tissue, the flesh now plagued by a vulgar scar in place of what very well could have been some life-threatening wound.
Cursing
Necromancers may disturb the lifeforce of an individual to yield harrowing afflictions. These take the form of lesser and greater ‘curses’, which a necromancer can begin to learn at T2. These must be incited by touch, requiring 2 emotes to channel the lifeforce, before imbuing it within the target on the second; more adept necromancers can do this more subtly and exchange the curse through a mere handshake. Upon reaching T4, a necromancer can incite the curse from a distance of up to twenty meters, requiring they maintain unbroken gaze upon the individual. When invoking a ranged curse the signs are more apparent; for example the necromancer might speak in a cursed tongue, stygian mists might leak from their hands, feet, or eyes, etc. Ranged curses require 3 emotes to apply, though the necromancer cannot move while doing so. Lesser curses last for up to 6 emotes after they are successfully seeded into the target, consuming a single lifeforce slot per inflicted curse.
Greater curses, on the other hand, are more non-combative, often requiring that the victim be restrained or placed in a state of unconsciousness to prevent interruption. Necromancers may incite a greater curse by summoning the black miasma of lifeforce and weaving it into their victim; causing excruciating amounts of pain that wrack the body until the curse is fully embed. The effects of greater maledictions take place as soon as the curse is set in, lasting for up to two OOC weeks before fading on their own. Additionally, if a cursed mortal is to conceive a child during the period of their affliction, they may choose to have their child inherit the curse, causing a life-long affliction, or even stillbirth if the curse is truly severe.
While a single necromancer’s curse will last for a maximum of two OOC weeks, a coven of necromancers may expand the duration of the curse by combining their powers and having additional necromancers participate in the ritual. Each additional necromancer, disincluding the first, will add two weeks onto the maximum length of the curse, with this hard-capping at eight OOC weeks. Greater curses require a minimum of 2 units of lifeforce from each participant to perform, and thus are not partaken of lightly.
Curses may be cured by various means, the most obvious being holy magic which may dispel the effects of the curse. Either paladins or shamans may purge a curse, but require the same number of participants as the number of necromancers used to incite it; for example, a curse inflicted by three necromancers requires three shamans to remove. Alternatively, alchemical remedies may diminish the effects of curses should they be suited for that particular ailment; for example, hemo-flow may more quickly dispel a lethargic curse, reducing its duration by half. Deadman’s Cure is another remedy which applies to curses universally, albeit it is much more rare. Below is the list of available greater and lesser curses. While the applicable maledictions are limited to those below, custom curses may be used via an accepted MArt.
List of Applicable Curses:
Physical Lesser Curses
Mental Lesser Curses
Greater Physical Curses
Greater Mental Curses
Redlines:
Reanimation
The power from which Necromancy derives its name: the revival of the dead in order to serve their wicked master. It is by reanimation that a necromancer may feign life within corpses and cadavers, creating their own faux children born of undeath in the dark, secluded places of the earth. No doubt the practice is tedious, and men so bold as to call themselves necromancers go about weaving bone as if it were clay and flesh as though it were thread, for to the heretic lots of Rh’thor this is an art, and with it even the dead are made anew with a perverted perfection in mind.
General Mechanics
To effectively command their undead, necromancers require the use of an oculus: a focus which allows them to channel their lifeforce and weave it between themselves and their reanimation(s). The relic consists of a lifegem imbued uniquely bound to the necromancer, its dark properties fostering an air of anxiety and despair in mortals who gaze upon it. While all necromancers rely upon an oculus to command undead, novice necromancers will require teachers to aid them in the creation of their first oculus, not having the necessary prowess to obtain the materials on their own. To create an oculus a lifegem must first be manifested, and may be carved or chiseled depending on the preference of the necromancer – though it may be used simply as is. Once created, the necromancer must cast Reverse Tether upon the oculus, causing it to take on the color of the necromancer’s aura and signaling that it has been fully bound. The oculus may be embedded within necklaces, scepters, crowns, amulets, and the like, permitting the necromancer to wield it through an object that appears more mundane and reasonable than casually carrying about some enigmatic and foul orb.
In order to maintain their connection with their reanimations, necromancers must allocate some of their spell slots, with the number of allocations allowed based on their proficiency. Lifeforce slots correspond with the maximum number of reanimations one can have, up to a maximum of 3 slots utilized. So long as these slots are filled, they may not be used to cast spells without the reanimation being released and crumbling away.
Reanimated undead are granted basic senses, and even a more basic intellect; capable of heeding simple, one to three word commands such as “attack”, “take his sword”, “kill him”, “defend me”, etc. These actions will be performed in the same emote commanded, so long as they are able to be heard by the reanimation directly; otherwise leaving the undead to wander aimlessly should they go without orders. More complex orders such as “build a barn” or “find Uthrandl” would be received with confusion, with the undead servants striving to do what little lies within their power and just that; their best. Furthermore, undead may only be commanded within a twenty-meter range, save with the exception of couriers or birds which may be reanimated for the solely non-combative purpose of delivering roleplay messages; adhering to all general rules and mechanics of in-game birds. For aesthetic purposes, one might also have some rotting house-servant or shambling rat for a pet, these also limited strictly to non-combative interaction. If they are not bound to a slot when combat begins, they will simply crumble away or depart the battle, unable to interact with conflict at all.
Summoning
Summoning consists of awakening unprepared corpses for use in combat, typically when a necromancer does not have any embalmed reanimations accompanying them. This may be done either direct touch, or from distant incantation. To reanimate by close contact, the necromancer must directly touch, or at least be within a single meter of a deceased corpse; the corpse may be a descendant, humanoid, or animal, and may be raised over the course of two emotes. Alternatively, necromancers may raise corpses which lie up to five meters away from them over the course of 3 emotes, with one emote added for every additional four blocks of distance between the corpse and the necromancer. Up to two undead may be reanimated simultaneously. Once the unprepared corpse has been reanimated, the necromancer must maintain their full gaze upon it, unable to move at more than a walking pace lest it fall apart. Reanimated corpses will persist until they are destroyed or the necromancer’s connection ceases, with an unprepared reanimation occupying spell slots proportional to their size. The corpse may be puppeteered from up to twenty meters of the necromancer, wherein after this point the reanimation will move even more crudely and soon crumble over the course of the next 2 emotes.
For further information regarding unprepared undead, see Cadaverous in the Simulacra.
Embalming
The process of embalming is one which may be practiced by even the youngest fledglings of the necromantic cabal, commencing their journey in tampering with undeath. Though there is no particular timeframe in which this process is to be performed, it does require the utmost focus of the necromancer performing it, performed in a location where the necromancer has easy access to the variety of the tools involved in the preservation of the dead, as well as seclusion and concentration. Embalming is a tedious practice and the reaches of a necromancer’s application in the field are dependent on their own proficiency. Upon fully embalming the cadaver, the necromancer weaves their stagnating lifeforce into the corpse and causes it to undergo a pseudo-petrification holds the corpse more tightly together.
Novice necromancers are limited to more basic applications of embalming, sanctioned to the treating of relatively uncomplex creatures such as mice, cats, wolves, bears, deer, and other entities smaller than the average humanoid. These reanimations are relatively crude, and are unlikely to be effective against something as a trained soldier. Yet what they lack in prowess they make up for with their natural capabilities, such as a wolf's speed paired with its bite
However, with time and experience, the necromancer may partake in more intricate embalmings, now capable of constructing more preponderant cadavers and corpses. These reanimated corpses may be like that of descendants, retaining strength at most akin to whatever it was prior to its death — spare some durability lost due to their decaying forms. These creatures may wield heavier armor and weapons to little obstruction, though are still restrained by intelligence and the commands they may follow. At even later levels of proficiency, a necromancer may yield cheap and expendable skeletal cadavers which they may bind respectively; dexterous, though frail. These must have their bones bound by tendons, leather, flesh and hinges in order to retain their form, lasting until the skeletal minion falters in combat and is thus reduced to a pile of remains. Due to their expendable nature, skeletal reanimations may occupy only half a slot each.
Prepared reanimations do not consume liturgy slots, but rather occupy them - making the slot unusable so long as the reanimation remains bound. Necromancers may choose to either dismiss the construct to use the slot, or regain it once the creature is destroyed. Should the necromancer have no lifeforce slots left to sustain their reanimations, or use a slot to which a reanimation is bound, the construct will crumble away.
Fleshsmithing
Fleshsmithing is a unique extension of reanimation, allowing a necromancer unprecedented amounts of creativity in their manipulation of death. By saturating mounds of flesh with lifeforce, the tissue would become soupy and soft, allowing it to be easily manipulated by hand. An extensive understanding of anatomy is necessary in order to yield even a crude creation, though after much trial and error an adept necromancer might be able to create their own custom cadavers to reanimate as undead thralls assuming they are capable of reasonable autonomy. Custom reanimations may have additional teeth, multiple squirming appendages, razor-sharp talons protruding from their fingers, etc. This requires a delicate balance, as too many out-of-place additions will cause the reanimation to falter and reduce it to no more than a useless heap of mumbling goo; even the most expertly crafted of fleshsmithed creatures will still bear numerous unsightly deformities.
Alternatively, necromancers may also choose to create pseudo-sentient objects out of moulded flesh, such as an umbrella, a jacket, or book-binding. These objects bear no true intellect, and simply emit unintelligible sputtering, groans, and screams, and bear little self-autonomy: an umbrella or book may open and close itself, but a jacket will not hover through their air or move around. These require ST signing.
Custom reanimations are still limited to the previously outlined summoning proportions, with the largest of these being Flesh Golems: meaty amalgamations, of up to olog proportions, which require extensive amounts of periodic upkeep. Anything larger than that of an olog would require multiple necromancers to come together and perform a ritualistic fleshsmithing over the course of many narrative days, or even weeks, and submitting a MArt detailing the mechanics of the custom creature (see Sacrament of the Aberrant).
The process of fleshsmithing overall is a tedious process, requiring utmost concentration from the necromancer and thus necessitating it be performed somewhere in non-combat.
Boneforging
Like flesh, cartilage and bone may be ‘smithed’ by the necromancer through weaving their lifeforce, before carving and sculpting the morbid element to produce cheap armaments that compare to iron in their durability — though these remain far more brittle than most plating or mail when used in something such as armor, shattering from only a few substantial blunt hits. Furthermore, bonesmithed blades will often be unable to retain their form against weapons or armor of greater durability, cracking after only a few heavy strikes and eventually shattering against said material. This makes boneforging more apt for creating daggers or spear tips to attack on the end of a weapon rather than the creation of such a large weapon itself. But the true strength of this artifice lies in the fact that it can be imbued with curses and plagues by a necromancer, allowing them to inflict the imbued malediction upon wounding a mortal with a cursed boneforged weapon.
As for armor, in addition to being cheap to produce, another benefit of bonesmithed armor is that it is relatively lightweight. Because of this, necromancers are capable of equipping bonesmithed armor without it at all inhibiting their casting ability. Of course, the armor cannot be imbued with plagues to effectively curse a mortal, but it provides a substantial alternative to chain or leather armor in a pinch. While this armor may be more effective against slash and puncturing attacks, it will quickly succumb after a three or four strikes from a sword; heavy weapons on the other hand, such as a mace of great axe, can easily shatter it in a single well-placed blow.
Performing boneforging requires the necromancer to be in a relatively quiet and focused environment in non-combat, such as a dungeon or lab. Regular bonesmithed weapons and armor may merely be signed by the necromancer who made them, unless imbued with a plague, in which case they would require ST approval.
Plaguecrafting
Necromantic pathomancers and plague doctors have long sought the fabled "Infinite Malady" as a means to inspire great suffering — an affliction that harbors every type of disease simultaneously. Though no such devices truly exist within the realm of men, this foul pursuit gave birth to many other dark and deathly afflictions that may appeal to the necromancer’s fancy, thus allowing them to instill terror and misery within the living. Through weaving their own stagnating lifeforce, necromancers may exploit life to become twisted and vile, divorcing it from its natural flow and function to instill these dark maladies. Woe to the man who hath killed a necromancer’s mercy, but vengeance to the tribe that wrought the ire of death.
Necromancers may learn Plaguecrafting, or ’pathomancy’, at any point in their studies so long as they have learned to manipulate lifeforce. These plagues are the result of twisting lifeforce to foster afflictions within food, drink, flesh, and even imbuement into bone weapons via boneforging. The effects of plagues last for up to two IRL weeks before eventually dispersing, though they may be treated and their symptoms mitigated via alchemical or medical means — the Deadman's Cure in particular is a viable means of purging these afflictions entirely. Likewise plagues may be cured by shamanic healing, targeted by both witch doctor healing and latauman blessing. Note that the intent of these is to inflict suffering, and seldom will the pathogen cause the victim to die unless they go without any treatment whatsoever and are predisposed to succumbing to illness. The applicable diseases are listed below, though custom diseases may be submitted via MArts:
After being inflicted, whether by touch, consumption, or wounding, the individual will notice the subtle onset of the plague’s symptoms within the coming narrative days. By the second IRL day, the symptoms would have fully matured and the character would likely be moved to seek treatment if they can. As the duration of the illness draws to a close, assuming it has not been purged, the symptoms would slowly recede before vanishing over the course of one to two IRL days, though, depending on the plague type, scars may still remain if they had not been treated properly during the duration of the curse.
Administering the plague in the form of food or drink requires two emotes for the necromancer to subtly weave the pestilence into the object in the form of a black mist. If a consumable item is made and then distributed it does not require ST signing, but should still adequately detail information regarding the plagues effects; infusing a curse within a boneforged weapon, however, does require ST signage.
When treating these afflictions, it is important to note that unless removed by deific purging or even druidic healing, these plagues are the result of deliberately twisted lifeforce — divorced from the general flow of nature. As such, while medical and herbal remedies (outside of druidic empowerment) may somewhat soothe the pain and minimize long-term adverse effects, the affliction will usually remain until it goes away on fully its own, incentivizing the individual to seek active means of remedying the plague in-roleplay.
The Apocryphynium
Inherited by each generation of necromancers, the Apocryphynium is a tainted compendium of forgotten scrawlings and forbidden lores, each hand to which it passses furthering its iniquity. The knowledge contained within such a volume pertains to that of necromancy’s most intrinsic practices, deeply revered and passed from each timeworn master to budding apprentice. Detailed within its weather-bound and ancient pages is each and every rite and reagent which might allow one to further empower their black craft. Any individual who inherits this deposit of the occult, no matter their mastery, is obliged to expand upon it, sustaining it further so that future generations might know — recalling that which eternally binds them.
Dark Reagents
The Apocryphynium details most known reagents of the dark craft of Rh'thorean Necromancy, each of which hold some raw use or contain latent power that is necessary to expand upon the power of the occult. This knowledge, shared with acolytes of necromancy and added to by their masters, is commonly known throughout practicing covens and often reproduced several times over, allowing them to employ its wisdom in intercessory rituals and sacramental rites alike.
Some rituals require particular reagents of ingredients which must be provided prior to the rite’s taking place, whether a simple preservative, to the relic of a fallen saint. For the most part, these do not require direct Story Team oversight or signage unless otherwise stated, and many are merely collected on the necromancer’s own by either player events or simple roleplay interactions with other players. When used in any ritual, reagents must be represented by a physical item that is accordingly renamed and described, and when used in a particular ritual or rite, must be presented to the ST accordingly.
Elysian Waters
Waters drawn from any reservoir in which a phantom or apparition makes its home. These waters may be ingested by a descendant, subjecting them to the nightmarish influence of the apparition from whence it came, thus inflicting upon them a terrible curse which would make them the apparition’s puppet. It may also be applied to mystic hexes or shamanic curses in order to completely dispel and consume the effects that rest within, thus making it effective for some exorcisms. These require the signage of the phantom player.
Black Lifedust
By performing the Rite of Coagulation and creating a lifegem, then pouring out its contents before grinding and shattering it into a thin powder, one would yield Black Lifedust. This dust appears darker than ash and soot, and is finer than grains of sand, seeming to gently tug at one’s very lifeforce upon mere touch. Because it requires an approved lifegem to create Black Lifedust must also be ST signed.
Lifegems
These objects hold the durability of tempered glass, able to be shattered, carved, or chipped in order to release the flowing lifeforce that lies within, or to merely destroy this contemptible manifestation - and merely the touch of its rigid surface is enough to incite a tingling unease, as if the very gem tugged at one’s own lifeforce. How might employ such a cursed trinket is ultimately up to them, though often it is applied in the creation of a necromancer’s Oculus — it is nevertheless a horrifying artifact to behold. This requires ST signage.
Liquid Lifeforce
A ***** and baffling substance which has come to be known by many names: the Waters of Life, Liquid Ambrosia, and others. Alas, they could not be more mistaken, for the true nature of this black reagent is one which begets death and despair within the imbiber, yet never true life. This raw, unbridled essence, should it be consumed, tastes as raw ambrosia upon the tongue, granting the imbiber a sense of clarity and fulfillment alien to their wretched state. However, though briefly relieving, the consumption of this essence would lead the consumer to overindulge, fostering an addiction for the fell ambrosia, and thus plunging them into madness as they scramble ravenously to acquire more — each brief satisfaction demanding an even greater increment of lifeforce in order to appease a thirst that can never be appeased. This requires ST signage.
Mortal Blood
The Blood Magi of the First Age were privy to the secret powers woven into the blood of the descendants, that the genus they harbored could be used to fuel their own malicious machinations. Though unable to draw upon the true power of blood by means of their art alone, necromancers are able to use it in a variety of their rites, particularly those involving the reconciliation of the living and the dead. However, because the blood of the necromancer is fraught with malignant lifeforce, such a catalyst can only be procured from those who harbor regular and untarnished blood. As the reagent is merely the blood of a descendant, it needs only the player signature of the descendant from whom it is acquired.
Infernal Salts
Though a mere suffusion for demonic delicacies, this ingredient is of particular value to necromantic cabals. Scourged by hellfire and torment, the salts of Moz Strimoza embody the unyielding power of flame, reconciling the vigorous flicker of ember with the oppressive languor of undeath, thus yielding a truly terrible flame revered by ancient necromancers as a manifestation of abyssal might. As the reagent is merely salt bathed in rakir, it requires only the player signature of the Naztherak who created it.
Draconic Remains
Creatures of legend, one does not hunt dragons without being wary of the risk. Valued for many reasons among scholars, necromancers in particular hold dragonflesh in high esteem for its resilience when acted upon by copious sums of lifeforce. To obtain this reagent, a coven of necromancers must consult the ST and organize an in-depth eventline to seek out the remains and possibly retrieve them. These are not easily found, and an official endorsement must be obtained from an ST manager, as well as their signage of the remains.
Intercessions
Severed from the living, the dead and those who command them have none to turn to save for their brethren, with the vile agents of death congregating in both meager covens and vast assemblies of their own fallen ilk. United, these wayward sorcerers form mighty and baleful circles which may perform innumerable feats of darkness and undeath, from ordination upon acolytes, to mastery over the fabrics of life and death itself in heinous, blasphemous fashion. Yet they must all be wary, for even amongst their own kin they only rival to their power remains within the coven itself, imperiled by the apostates and serpents which are drawn to these impious assemblies — and one must fear not to anger their accursed servants, for the dead do not forget.
A necromancer may participate in any ritual at any level of prowess, though cannot lead rituals until they have achieved the proper tier. Do note that certain rituals’ effects may vary based on the proficiency of participants.
Rite of Draining
In their zeal, the woesome servants of death perpetually seek to acquire the primordial element of lifeforce, using it to fuel their black rites and ignominious concoctions. Two necromancers may thus work in tandem to forcibly siphon the lifeforce of a victim in a more ceremonious fashion than Darkening. The process would be excruciating to the recipient, knocking them into an unconscious daze following the rite which prevents them from recalling what occured beyond brief fever-dreams that yield no true wisdom of characteristics pertaining to the event; this means they will be incapable of recalling exact faces, locations, or other particular details that were tied to or lead up to the time of their draining. The victim may have vivid flashes or fleeting blurs of recollection, however none of these will be clear enough to allow the victim to recall people and/or places related to the event. The lifeforce that is distilled from this rite manifests in the form of a vaporous liquid, though alternatively the product may be directly imbued into a pylon if one is present nearby.
Requirements:
A living player-character with lifeforce.
Rite of Bidding
The reach of the necromancer’s influence is inexplicably vast, reaching from the mere Ebrietæs to the clockwork realm of Garumdir, the Craftsman God, or even the esoteric realms of the ancestral spirits, allowing them communion with the long passed. This sacrament may be invoked by one or more necromancers gathered before a worthy vessel, most often some bygone or neglected corpse to house the spirit. Once called, the vessel will animate but will be incapable of participating in combat, for the vessel is only meant to be a mode of communication. Though there is no theoretical limit on how long the spirit may linger, they are oftentimes rageful and volatile, both them and the forces of nature acting against this necromancer in this heretical rite. This requires that the necromancer make a great effort to maintain the seance, particularly if the tether or sacrifice employed is a weak one ill-fitting of the spirit. Whoever played the character of the spirit must grant OOC consent and should reprise their role for the communion.
Requirements:
A humanoid skeleton or corpse.
Rite of Return
Because the soul of the necromancer is warped forever by the touch of the lifebanks, they are placed in a unique limbo between both life and death, and as such the Wilven Monks do not deign to revive them. Since most practitioners will encounter death at some point in their practice, whether by rioting mobs or merely their own reckless abandon, necromancers are wholly reliant on their covens in order to be returned from death. The ritual requires two other necromancers to assemble before a corpse-worth of flesh and summon the deceased’s soul into the newly-made body. Fallen necromancers may call out to their brethren where scars of Heith-Hedran are thin, soliciting them to perform the ritual and return them to the living — though this cannot be used in any way to acquire details regarding the event of their death. Should a necromancer be denied return, their soul remains lost to the lifebanks and the character is effectively PK’d.
Requirements:
A corpse worth of flesh and bone.
Rite of Coagulation
While the Rite of Draining might manifest raw lifeforce in pure liquid form, dilution of the substance alone may not bear the necessary potency demanded by certain rites. Thus, necromancers often make recourse to a more archaic material. Known to ancient occultists as ‘Lifegems’, these loathsome crystals embody lifeforce in its most refined form and formant, a truly powerful relic amongst the cabals of death. To manifest a lifegem, three necromancers must gather themselves in one place, before each funneling forth a single measure of their esoteric lifeforce and pooling it together, before molding it in their hands. Over the course of the rite, whilst muttering fevered incantations and deplorable words, the lifeforce would congeal into a single onyx jewel, just barely larger than that of a closed fist — a lifegem in all its deplorable glory. Alternatively, a single necromancer may come before a lifeforce pylon, and assuming that it harbors at least three units of pure, filtered lifeforce, they may opt to manifest the foul lifegem on their own.
Requirements:
Rite of Cursing
Instead of inflicting a malediction by means of touch or incantation, more subtly-intentioned necromancers may weave their desired curse into a trinket or handheld object, whether that be a monarch’s crown, a magi’s ring, or even mundane cutlery. Truly anything may be cursed, so long as it is of reasonable size; a crown may cause impotence as to prevent the birth of an heir, or an axe that fosters a desire to eat human remains. The creation of a cursed relic requires only one necromancer at minimum, though multiple necromancers may participate to grant the curse greater effect; this would consume 1 unit lifeforce per participant, whether that be one, or five. The curses placed on relics are limited to those listed above, and each object may be imbued with up to two curses: one lesser curse, and one greater curse. Imbuing more than two curses, or imbuing a unique curse, would require a MArt.
How quickly the curse is incited depends upon how frequently they use the trinket. Generally, most effects will become evident after a few narrative hours of interacting with the cursed object, and the longer and more frequently it is used, the more the symptoms will deepen. After one IRL week of having no contact with the cursed relic whatsoever, the individual will recover from its effects unless they opt for it to be permanent.
To destroy the cursed object, one need only destroy it as one would its physical counterpart. However, trinkets often carry sentimental value to the wearer, as they are often directly given by a necromancer who wishes to prey upon their weaknesses; a king whose crown is cursed may wish to have the curse removed rather than destroy the sign of his sovereignty. Thus, a holy mage of T4 or higher may remove a curse from an item. Should more than one necromancer have contributed to the creation of the relic, then the number of holy mages required to purge it would be increased by one for each additional necromancer.
Requirements:
A limb or sensory organ that is cursed requires OOC consent from the person receiving the cursed limb.
Cursed limbs may be specialized, allowing for eyes that see illusions of dark figures, or cursing an arm to constantly shift and twitch.
Rite of Pestilence
Woe be to those who garner the vice of a necromancer, for their covens may harness pestilence to reap the harrowed fields of decaying kingdoms and bastions alike. By gathering a mass of lifeforce, whether in the form of lifegems, sacrifices, or the presence of a suitably filled pylon, two or more necromancers may spread disease across the land: from fields of grain being withered away, to entire lakes that subside the nearby populace with bitter and plagued water. This is done by the necromancers twisting the lifeforce and then dispersing it, causing a lesser wound in the lifebanks that causes life to stagnate and sicken; with every necromancer added to the circle, the influence of the ritual would grow. Living mortals who remain in this tainted land receive flu-like symptoms upon breathing in the stagnant air, similar to those encountered when in proximity to a Rift of Heith-Hedran. After a two or more narrative hours in the presence of the afflicted land, individuals might develop benign tumors to little effect beyond discomfort. Those who consume the plagued substance, whether that be food or drink, are then wracked with whatever plague has been planted within the chosen substance. It should be noted that the diseases can only be harbored in things already capable of sustaining life, such as a field of crops, a body of water, or even nearby animals, whether they be wild or tame.
Requirements:
Rite of Branding
To be made a scion is an atrocious undertaking, wherein the life of a willing mortal is sustained through the sorcery of a necromancer. In order to “brand” a scion, a necromancer must channel their own lifeforce as though enacting a malediction, whilst simultaneously harnessing the lifeforce of the to-be witch. This is often done in a ritual form, unique to the necromancer who performs it, though always results in the melding of the drawn lifeforces which are then simultaneously imbued into the body of the scion. This fell synergy grants the scion the unprecedented capacity to evade the clutches of death, albeit at a grave cost far beyond mortal reckoning. By appearance, the scion seems like any other man; walking as man, walking among them, and yet man he is not. Though indeed living, the loathsome scion is prone to suffering far beyond that which is meant for a mortal man, bearing a penchant for misery; and yet they seldom gain any token of merit for their toil.
Requirements:
Rite of Continuity
The advent of a necromancer’s death is a relentless threat, looming above their head like a black sword, and although a necromancer may flee to their brethren to escape such a torment if inflicted before it is due, resurrection alone cannot stave the advance of a necromancer’s age. Thus, to ensure that their deplorable missions not be adjourned, whilst not yielding entirely to the bondage of true undeath, a necromancer may augment their lifespan beyond its natural breadth, albeit at a great cost. In essence, a necromancer desiring to have their life prolonged must have a vital organ removed from their body by two fellow T4 necromancers via cauterization, with that organ then being preserved via Infernal Salts and laid to rest in a canopic jar. Once the organ is removed and preserved, the two acting necromancers would bind the lifeforce of the target necromancer in a singular loop; causing them to lose access to one slot of life-force as a result. This, in turn, will allow for the target necromancer to live for an additional fifty years, whilst also making them immune to perishing from any wounds to that particularly removed organ. The organs which may be removed include the stomach, lungs, and liver in no particular order; on the fourth performance of this rite, the necromancer would have every other organ removed save for the heart and brain, reducing them to just two lifeforce slots. Should a necromancer who has undergone the Rite of Continuity be made into a Darkstalker or Archlich, they would regain the use of all their previously locked lifeforce slots.
Requirements:
Rite of Heith-Hedran
Parabolic in nature, the Heith-Hedran is a great, aberrant darkness brought about by sorcerers and necromancers deigning to toy with material nature and breach that which is revered. This interstice between the heavens and the damned chokes that which is living, the very forces of death seeping from the godless abyss, plaguing the land with famine, disease, and nihility. From the combined efforts of an elder alongside three of their most powerful necromancers, this veil between the lifebanks and the mortal world may be sundered, allowing a coven to utilize the power of the rift for more nefarious sacraments.
These fissures, once opened, expel unprecedented surges of raw and unruly lifeforce necessary for the empowerment of the dead. In addition, due to the damage sustained by the ephemeral veil, life would be unable to pass between the mortal world and the Banks, causing the surrounding terrain to be engulfed by the effects of stagnancy. Within these regions, the sky would darken, light consumed by clouds of shadow, as the heavens are marred by storms of black lightning and screeching thunder. Mortals who enter these regions would experience the creeping onset of benign sicknesses the longer they stayed, and those foolish enough to remain there for prolonged periods of time would develop mental degeneration as well, thus inheriting numerous mental and physical afflictions. With every use of the rift, whether that be by rite, ritual, or merely necromancers seeking to broaden its expanse, the stagnation grows, and the rift would further solidify like a malignant tumor in the earth. This can be expanded even further should the coven employ a pylon network, thus enabling them to consume vast swathes of land with blight. There are no theoretical limits to its boundaries, assuming that the consent of the region’s PRO is given; if the region is wild, then the necromancers must default to the permission of the Story Team to corrupt the region.
Though the land may be purged for a time, the only true solution to banishing the blight is to seek its source, that is, the reservoir which perpetuates the cycle of agony. Both druids and shamans alike may banish the deplorable structure should they find it, though would need to be of mastered proficiency, the number of them required directly correlating with the number of necromancers responsible for its formation.
Requirements:
Rite of Petrification
Through the gathering of three or more of a single cabal, three or more necromancers may take a living mortal and bind them before a Rift of Heith-Hedran alongside a pure lifegem. Weaving their malignant lifeforce at the cost of 1 unit per participant, the gem would be ‘awakened’, encasing the sacrifice in amber-like material so as to preserve its mortal coil. This preservation turns the mortal’s body into a sort of reservoir for storing large measures of lifeforce, referred to henceforth as “pylons”. Pylons can take on numerous aesthetic forms based on the favor of the necromancers who formed them; one may appear as merely a hovering monolith of sable crystal, while another might look like a withering and wart-ridden tree which contorts to reveal the frozen terror of the victim that formed it. Pylons as these will emanate a terrible, anxiety inducing aura, inspiring both terror and awe in both necromancers and mortal men alike. In addition, pylons serve as dampeners of the veil between the Banks, creating a stagnant area proportional to the units of lifeforce that have been stored within it, whether as living sacrifices or deposited by the necromancers themselves.
Entire networks of these pylons can be formed alongside a Rift of Heith-Hedran. The first pylon must be placed within fifty meters of the Rift, at which point it would serve as an anchor for other pylons to connect to. Other pylons in the same network can thus be placed throughout the land and expand the stagnating influence of the rift to which they are bound, although the maximum distance between pylons is limited to that of an adjacent region for the circuit to be able to connect and the stagnance to spread.
Requirements:
Black Sacraments
Though through intercessory rites necromancers may indulge in malignant corruption, such rituals are far inferior to the true power harbored by its art. The Black Sacraments are what truly grants necromancy its notoriety, enabling covens to gather to bring about terrible feats, namely those which foster, nurture, and empower the undead. But whereas generations of necromancers once thought themselves to hold dominion over death, it was soon revealed that those mortals who toyed with lifeforce harbored a more particular role, and that death had in fact made servants of them.
Sacrament of the Aberrant
There exist monoliths of death, fashioned and amalgamated from mountains of flesh to walk the plane once again; these are true behemoths of undeath. At least five necromancers are required in order to undergo the immense task of creating a behemoth undead, forging the creature from entire mounds of carcasses, viscera, and gore. These behemoths may be anything: skeletal hydras, lumbering mountains of flesh, or megalodons fashioned from the bodies of perished sealife. Only the imagination of the coven is the limit. Once the structure of the behemoth has been fully formed, in order to complete the rite the necromancers must create a massive crystal or lifegem to act as the oculus, bringing it to life before a Rift of Heith-Hedran. This crystal will store the lifeforce of the behemoth, and allow for the coven to command it to their will. With the oculus and vessel forged and ready, the necromancers may combine their reserves of lifeforce before the rift, imbuing it into the behemoth vessel before conjoining it to the oculus — thus bringing it to terrible fruition. The body of the behemoth would require immense upkeep, necessitating four or more counts of lifeforce each week. Failing to achieve this intake will result in the creature’s flesh to begin falling off, the behemoth degrading and eventually crumbling back into a heap of lifeless biomass after the second week.
Requirements:
Sacrament of the Userer
From a time of yore the fabled days of Devirad lived endless knights of Xion caught between the stagnant realms of life and death. Purposed to be the puppets and undead slaves of the coven, so is their forging one of deception and dread- as who would willingly give themselves to such a grim existence.
A vessel that is worthy to house a resonant knight must be found, whether living or not. The unwilling soul must be bound and shackled to the realm, making the cadaver it inhabits its prison. This is done by inscribing runes and glyphs in the black tongue upon the body, and applying the needed reagents to prime the corpse for a new soul. A whole descendant is needed, culled to drain their life essence into the primed cadaver as their own soul is used to beckon another. Should a heinous coven opt to use a living person as the vessel for a darkstalker, they must simply carve the runes and hexes into the skin and muscle of the living. Requiring a scar of Heith-Hedran to weaken the barrier of life and death, the rite must be done near an active rift as to allow free passage of potential souls. With the corpse fully prepared, a tier four necromancer and three of his acolytes must draw forth their lifeforce, funneling it into the soon-to-be darkstalker. The body is forced into faux-life, as the soul clambers from the depths of Heith-Hedran to rejoin its mortal vessel — tricking the damned. As the darkstalker is first awakened, a trinket of their life must be shown and presented, enwreathed in lifeforce to cauterize itself spiritually as a grim reminder of a life once had.
Requirements:
Sacrament of the Thaumaturge
The art of necromancy is not without sacrifice, as the soul of a weaver is forever black. Locked away from pursuing a multitude of magics, the Rh’thorean coven lacked the unknowable chaos of the Void. With a need to forge their own sorcerers from ages past, necromancers have one more learned to coax the soul of a long dead mage, thus manifesting a Draugar — borne as a thing embodying deception and the mortal fear of death, as few would give up their soul to the twisted maniacism that is prone among these vile creatures.
The raising of a Draugar differs greatly from that of their resonant knight counterpart. Created in essence by a botched darkstalker ritual, the souls of once great wizards are sealed by the earth-rendering will of Heith-Hedran. First, the body of the mage, or whatever remains of it, is to be found prior to the ritual, though if there is no body remaining then a living sacrifice would suffice. The sacrifice would be killed just prior to the ritual, acting as a beacon for the soul alongside the phylactery — its prison. Aurum shavings and inscriptions are custom to these rituals, etched within the ground around the target vessel, necessary to prevent the escape of the soul. This is done before a scar of Heith-Hedran, requiring one T4 necromancer and two other necromancers to fuel the corpse with an excess of lifeforce as the soul is returned from death. In a horrid display is an endless miasma ripped from the scar, pouring a constant thread into the phylactery as the soul is ripped from its slumber. When the tail of the tenebrous mass is finally consumed, the phylactery radiates with the aura of its captive, the husk beneath it rising for a final time.
Requirements:
Sacrament of the Vicar
A sacrament foreign to all but the most adept of necromancy, it is seldom taught how one becomes an archlich — even among elder necromancers — for its implication and risk to the entirety of the coven. Only an elder necromancer who has garnered the full support of their coven can advance to this stage, as becoming an archlich requires absolute coordination down to every subordinate.
An archlich may only be created where the veil of Heith-Hedran is the weakest, first requiring the Sacrament of Heith-Hedran to have cursed the land. Unlike the creation of Darkstalkers and Draugar, the vessel of an Archlich must be prepared well in advance; the body must be meticulously fleshsmithed from the bones of a deceased dragon, with black lifeforce being woven into the marrows to animate the creature and allow the terrifying and raw powers of Heith-Hedran to flow freely. The appointed necromancer must then imbibe a Philter of Heith-Hedran (outlined further in Black Alchemy), before being sacrificed where Heith-Hedran is present, placing their faith in the abilities of their coven. Careful as not to allow the wrong soul into the body, the accompanying necromancers must reach through Heith-Hedran and rend forth the one sacrificed, forcing their soul into the death-forged corpse, where they are born again as undeath incarnate. These creatures do not bear phylacteries as they did in ages of old, for their soul is intrinsically tied to the lifebanks and the binding power of the Heith-Hedran which had made them manifest.
Requirements:
Sacrament of Sealing
When faced with rebellion and tyranny from undying men, there is but one option: the Sacrament of Sealing. Unable to truly destroy those who have risen in immortality against the agents of oblivion, a coven’s only choice is to imprison the dead in their own eternal bodies, banished to purgatory and encased in metal or stone. Thus, five or more necromancers, one of whom must be T4, may come together to seal away an Archlich or Darkstalker, locking them in a fashioned tomb or prison; this may be almost anything, from an iron maiden or chain-bound coffer, to a vast pyramid hidden beneath the sand. The lead ritualist may appoint the undead to be freed at a certain time, or simply be sealed indefinitely, though were the undead to be freed prior to the established time, they may go about playing their CA again as normal. Undead who remain in this state often foster an eternal enmity and disdain for those who seal them away, plotting their revenge in the deep, dark depths of wherever they had been sealed. Forever awake, forever bound, woe to the deadmen who draw the ire of their makers, for it is only at their mercy or hapless chance that they be freed from their prison.
Requirements:
Sacrament of Culmination
The ascension of an undead to its fullest potential is something which the Archliches themselves may only bequeathe, allowing them to harbor greater power than that which their reanimated coil would previously have allowed. Many immortal warriors undergo the trials and tribulations which tradition would demand, and yet few succeeded in truly rising to that fabled seat. To make a Regressed Darkstalker Paramount, an Archlich, alongside two other experienced necromantic companions, must gather before a Rift of Heith-Hedran and charge a lifegem with the corrupting essence of Heith-Hedran, making the lifeforce within it malignant and vile. This lifegem may then be used upon the Darkstalker, as the two necromancers weave the black substance into the anointed regressed, which the Archlich would then bind to their reanimated spirit. This is excruciatingly painful to the undead, causing their derelict form to be fully empowered by Heith-Hedran, and thus fully ascend to the rank of Paramount at the cost of eternal hunger.
Requirements:
Sacrament of Revilement
To be made a necromancer was a power once limited to the innermost circles, seldom encountered among men. Now, as the propagation of necromancers became evident, and with such terrible power in the hands of each coven, the threadbare ties of brotherhood amongst necromantic cabals are just barely maintained by mutual fear. To disconnect a fellow necromancer, an elder necromancer (T5) must come together with two adept (T4) before a Rift of Heith-Hedran. They may present the one whom they are disconnecting before the rift, and the two assisting necromancers may then perform cauterization upon the victim, as the elder would reopen the wound and seal the target’s access to the lifebanks in excruciating fashion, before resealing the wound. Upon being disconnected, a former necromancer would lose all their capacity for the magic, and would no longer need to adhere to the strict PK and revival clause. However, their soul, still marred by interaction with the lifebanks, would be unable to heal, permanently locking the three slots which they had dedicated to the art. And although the art itself may be stripped from the individual, the previous life of the necromancer is far too traumatic an experience to truly forget, often resulting in a deeply maddened man.
Requirements:
Tier Progression
Tier One – The necromancer has just been attuned, their soul and body beginning to take on the toll of Heith-Hedran. Not only would they be left mentally unsound for a time due to the dramatic experience of their own demise, but they would also become lethargic and weary. Their hair might gray as if they had succumbed to an intense stress, whilst still maintaining the general appearance of those within their age range. The necromancer would develop a greater hunger for rawer meats, whereas other delicacies might taste more bland and leave them dissatisfied. During this stage, the necromancer may begin to draw upon their lifeforce and study the anatomy of smaller creatures; such as insects, rats, squirrels, and so forth.
Tier Two – Two weeks have passed since the necromancer’s attunement, their appearance becoming more decrepit and aged as bags form under their eyes and wrinkles are borne upon the skin. They might appear more anorexic and pale, as if they were stricken by some obscure illness, as their utter craving for raw lifeforce consumes them further, driving them to consume greater quantities of raw meat. During this stage, the necromancer may manipulate their lifeforce in a more outward fashion as opposed to merely draining, and allowing them to move onto the embalming and reanimation of basic creatures scaling up to the size of a descendant child or halfling, albeit somewhat crude. At this tier, they may be taught how to more expertly weave their lifeforce, allowing them to perform the arts of Reverse Tethering and Boneforging.
Tier Three – The necromancer has reached a one month period since their first immersion within Heith-Hedran, allowing its malignant touch to have seeded itself more firmly within the necromancer’s spirit, and thus tarnish the body. Upon reaching this tier, the necromancer would appear two decades older than their true age, as they are stricken by incredible insomnia, and thus fostering paranoia and irrational train of thought. During this time, the necromancer may begin to practice Fleshsmithing, as well as the creation of more durable reanimated creatures. They would also be taught to weave their lifeforce maliciously within the bound thralls of another necromancer, or even their own, thus creating lesser witches.
Tier Four – The necromancer has reached the two month mark of being endowed with the gift of Heith-Hedran, their body now appearing as some infirm and decrepit thing. Whilst a mortal man in his thirties might appear as any other, a necromancer at that age may appear within their sixties or higher, strained by the lifeforce that weaves within them. Their craving for lifeforce is nigh insatiable, almost constantly present within the back of their mind as they would seek by any means to indulge in it. At this point in time, the necromancer may be marked as a master amongst the coven, soon allowing them to apply to teach new necromancers should they be deemed worthy. With this, they may be capable of leading certain rituals should they know them, and their ability to sew malediction would only grow more potent.
Tier Five – The necromancer has honed their skill for three months. After passing from tier four, few physical changes ultimately present themselves, as the body of the necromancer simply continues to age. Either they shall remain in this pitiful state for the remainder of their mortal life, or perhaps they shall ascend to Archlichdom. Either way, their mind would be wracked by the ravages of age and the dark practice they dabble in, for now the necromancer has become mastered in every branch of knowledge offered by the art and may be officially granted the title of elder. With this, they may move on to teach their own prodigy within the guidance of their coven, or simply sit upon their dark secrets and hoard the knowledge for themselves.
Below is a list of all Maledictions, Reanimation Modes, Rituals, and Sacraments that may be learned, as well as the subsequent tier at which they may be performed (spells) or lead (rites/sacraments).
Maledictions: Darkening (T1), Reverse Tether (T2), Cursing (T2), Bursting (T3), Cauterizing (T4)
Reanimation : Embalming (T2), Bonecrafting (T2), Summoning (T3), Fleshsmithing (T3)
Intercessions: Bidding (T1), Draining (T1), Returning (T2), Coagulation (T3), Cursing (T3), Pestilence (T3), Branding (T3), Continuity (T4), Petrification (T4), Heith-hedran (T5)
Sacraments: Aberrant (T4), Thaumaturge (T4), Userer (T5), Vicar (T5), Sealing (T5), Culmination (T5), Revilement (T5)
Credits, Purpose, and Citations
Purpose
Three years ago, during the Lore Games, Dardonas returned necromancy to the lore stage, something unexpected under Flamboyant’s notorious scrutiny. Unfortunately, the harsh criteria and simplistic demand of that era caused there to be many oversights and a lack of clarification regarding core concepts in the lore. However, the lore set a seemingly wonderful precedent for what necromancy roleplay should revolve around: the use of necromancy to empower individuals as a coven. The underlying problem with this though was that, while it allowed for more group oriented roleplay, the roleplay was solely limited to interacting with other necromancers. There was not really a tangible way for common players to interact with the magic outside of perhaps being drained or used as a sacrifice; and, as mentioned before, the administration at the time of the lore’s passing made it difficult to explore new concepts regarding interaction.
Though ghouls were a popular method of becoming involved with the magic, they were very limited in how they could interact with other players, and were entirely reliant on their necromancer to achieve any sort of real roleplay. The introduction of the Witchbound serves as a means for regular players to engage with the community and the lore at lower stakes risk to both them and to the necromancers. The idea of a more accessible segue into a magic or CA is a concept which a few lore pieces (in particular Siliti and Blood Magic) have explored to relatively high success, and is something that I believe necromancy will highly benefit from.
Undead CAs also received a noticeable overhaul, particularly Darkstalkers. As they stood in the previous lore, Darkstalkers were very shallow in terms of what they could do — and whereas Archliches and Draugar had other means of giving themselves purpose and application within the coven — Darkstalkers were little more than knight errants serving at the behest of their necromancer. Most had little reason to log on outside of feeding, and were limited in the amount of encounters they could have. Security remedied this in one of his additions, and it helped encourage their independent progress dramatically. Thus we incorporated those concepts, as well as added on a bit more, to encourage Darkstalker roleplay outside of service to the coven.
Overall, the intent of this lore is to expand the means by which players can interact with the lore without necessarily being themselves a necromancer, as well as encouraging the users of the magic to seek out individuals who are willing to serve as thralls or cultists — truly giving it the amount of interaction it needs to thrive as a community and a concept.
We have plenty of expansions and additions planned for the future of this magic, but for now we hope to set this foundation as a means of achieving those additions without being restricted by the vague, and at times incoherent, lore with which we’ve had to work with for the previous two or so years.
Citations
Rh’thoraen Necro Hub
Ancient Necro Lore
Denied Necro I
Denied Necro II
Zarsies’ Fourth Gen Necro
Credits
Sorcerio (Co-Writer)
Security (Co-Writer)
Dardonas (Old Gen. Writer)
Angmarzku (Support)
Lhindir_ (Consultation)
Squakhawk (Consultation)
The Necro Community (Consultation & Support)
The Player Community (Consultation)