Guys I'm working on an idea of a kingdom where necromancy is normal and not considered EEEEVIL. It is of course toned down, life is pretty normal, and it is much integrated to the local culture.
Now, there have been cultures throughout history that have had a more relaxed approach towards death and macabre stuff. I'm looking for stuff I can import, like day of the dead celebrations in Mexico or embalming and mummifying in ancient Egypt.
Now I don't want the place to look like Sylvania or your typical undead place. One idea I have in mind is it for be pretty normal for the peasants and people to send their dead to the army to be raised as skeletons (not zombies, cause smell and plagues). This allows them to forgo military service, for example.
Or having temples of gods of death and undeath pretty normal and have undead be seen more as tools than actual dead people. Going with the Christian belief that the body is just a vessel and taking it to the next level.
Planescape had the Dustmen faction who used zombies as menial labour and everyone seemed to be cool with it. Of course Planescape is fucked up a bit so might not be what you are looking for.
Joshua Harris
Dumb necrofag.
Jayden Stewart
A lot of the celebrations and rituals you identify are in fact about honouring and remembering the dead, not a "relaxed" approach to death.
The way I see it any "good necromancy" culture needs the following prerequisites:
- No taboos about the handling of bodies - Family traditions that either place no attachment on physical remains or consider it fine for the bones of a relative to be used after death.
The second point relies, effectively, on a more progressive approach to postmortem organ donation than some people have now. You're not just saying "you can have bits of me to save someone else" you're saying "I am OK with my remains being used as an automaton" and society is OK with walking to work and seeing the skeletal remains of their mother or son ploughing a field as a mindless construct for eternity.
That seems a huge leap; no concept of burial, no sentimental attachment between buried remains and memory of the deceased and the ability to dissociate the serf skeletons from the memory of the people they once were in life.
It would be a level of utilitarian rationality and belief we are just meat that probably wouldn't encourage extensive funeral traditions or festivals.
Oliver Ortiz
U mad
Noah Sullivan
Well, it's fantasy, so I see no issue with this. Also, skeletons pretty much look alike, I don't see much issue with people seeing their relatives as automatons.
Let's say that there is a very specific religion that actively preaches the distinction between the body and the soul.
Jace Gomez
Then that's that really. The one weird trick anthropologists hate is that taboos, religions, ingrained prejudices are almost all irrational things formed from centuries of "we do what the guy in charge says" and "we've always done it."
So if for centuries the High Bonelord of the Skeletarium has been saying it's right and proper to enlist your grandma in the skeleton war, most people will accept it.
You don't need to rationalise everything because most ritual shit people do is irrational from an outside perspective.
Jayden Williams
During the tourist season, the undead are dressed up, faces covered and so forth to keep the outsiders from freaking out.
Unless some mad bastard dresses up a few skellies in the same overpriced clothes and masks that they sell to the tourists. Hijinks ensue.
Noah Martin
What's the kingdom's consensus on lichdom? Too far or the ultimate goal? Are there differing factions vying for power?
Nathaniel Collins
I haven't quite decided yet. I had the - perhaps bit overplayed - idea of having an immortal lich-king as a ruler.
As for factions, I was thinking of great necromancy schools and temples to be major players in local politics. Somewhat of a magocracy.
Owen James
why do people keep doing this
Jackson Mitchell
Am I trying to have the wrong kind of fun? Please let me know while there is still time.
Kevin Martin
Because it's nice to bounce ideas off people and worldbuild.
Is the Lich King still alive? Or have the heads of all the schools and temples been doing their best to keep his will enacted while also keeping up the illusion of him still being among them?
>Is the Lich King still alive? Or have the heads of all the schools and temples been doing their best to keep his will enacted while also keeping up the illusion of him still being among them?
Haven't really thought of it yet. Perhaps the King slumbers most of the time or just very distant from direct rule.
Easton Jones
>fresh undead function as the military commanders, teachers, clan leaders, etc. wisdom and protection of the elders, ancestor worship yadda yadda >ancient undead whose souls have faded away into the afterlife with +9999 extra karma from helping the living for hundreds of years serve as soldiers and simple workers - they lack the intelligence of fresh undead since they obviously lack a soul, but they make it up by being extremely focused, not getting distracted and bored, etc. your typical normal fantasy undead
Parker Baker
Okay so, how does one go from one to the other? After a certain amount of time, a fresh undead's mind starts to deteriorate? Because that carries some pretty tragic implications, like the poor SoB is dying all over again.
Nolan Cook
I imagine that by the time your spirit starts to fade away, your children and grandchildren are all already undead too.
Joseph Reed
I remember reading about some group in Northern Borneo who leave their dead in giant pots in their homes. The dead rot until they're nice and goopy.
At this point, the family drain the pot, pour it over rice and eat it. If they get sick, they blame upset ghosts. All cultures are valuable.
David Lopez
Try Africa, or their overseas lairs, this kind of shit is par for course with the negros.
Camden Garcia
user I don't mean to poopoo your fun, I love fluffing autism too
But we have this thread every day. Every day, good necromancer threads. Every son of a bitch thinks they're clever
Here's the thing I wanna bring up though. 1. Skeleton labour would destroy peasant jobs and probably lead to power populations over all. Why do you need people if skeletons can. Do the work?
2. Why do you need skeletons? If necromancy is "clean" then its just a matter of animating some bones. At that point it's just animation magic, and instead of animating bones you could be animating purpose built golems or automatons for much greater utliity and durability. The human form isn't really meant to hold together, you're wasting a lot of magic just reinforcing and animating those bones. It's inefficient.
Necromancy where you turn corpses to robots doesnt work. Not because it's eeeevill, but because it's dumb and inefficient.
David Baker
You're welcome. One more thing I now remember from saying in another "necroneutral kingdom" thread.
If one has a hundred legless undead, sails are superfluous, for they won't get tired, rebel or stop rowing. You could have a perpetual motion galley. You could put a bunch of undead inside a box with treadwheels and power cranes, mills, wagons on railways, ships, elevators, catapults and ropeways. One could achieve an Industrial Revolution based not on steam power and factories, but on undeath and clockwork*. They won't match the sheer power of steam engines, but don't require constant fuel or natural resources like coal or wind either, just the "spare parts" and "engineers".
The most absurd aspect of all this is that it will be more humane than the RL Industrial Revolution.
I'm trying to figure out how they don't get sick, unless the bodies are stewing in alcohol the whole time or something.
Levi Adams
Because fantasie doesn't have to be boiled down to dnd and tolkiens. Having your dwarfs always be short, sturdy humans with beards who live in mountains and elves always be beautiful longliving humans who are good with bows and love nature. Sometimes you want to see a setting that does something different. Necromancy is good. The ancient horror is actually the only good person. The side of light is actively ruining everything for everyone forever.
Play with your setting ideas. Try to make your ideas unique and maybe someday you'll make something interesting that breaks off of the homogeneous that modern fantasy setting have become.
Mason Diaz
Things to consider: Why are people disconnected to their dead relatives? Are there no souls? Are the souls undisturbed by necromancy? Who controls the skeletons? What is going to prevent that the necromancers turn the army on the people to raise more soldiers? Is such an army not extremely vulnerable to anti magic etc?
Adrian Bennett
>Why do you need people if skeletons can. Do the work? Because not all jobs can be done by mindless automatons. For instance, prostitution.
Benjamin Bennett
MTG's Amonkhet uses mummies as servants and teachers in everyday society. So maybe something like that?
Tyler Mitchell
>For instance, prostitution. Why not?
Gavin Diaz
For the last time granpa, sticking a salami between your legs doesn't make you attractive.
Anthony Allen
This sort of thing works better under certain afterlife conditions. For instance, if the afterlife looks something like Exalted, where the dead are Ghosts that have their own ghost society and civilization going on, and can genuinely use gifts from the living to continue their unlifestyle, there's a lot of room for this sort of thing to happen. Using Grampa as a skeleton servant is morally easier if any necromancer can call up his ghost to have him tell you "I'm not using my body anymore, so do what you like with it, so long as you keep sending Hell Money".
