Outrage

In the same way that Thieves have confidence, Paladins have soul state, and so on, Necromancers will have three different "necro-meters." Two of these are forms of Outrage and the other is state of being. For each form of Outrage, there is also a shorter lasting version called Corruption, which non-Necromancers can suffer from.

Outrage will be used to determine a Necromancer's relative position to Perversion. It's intended to be as fuzzy as possible, but as you accumulate more Outrage you accrue more of the supernatural and social qualities of being one of the Perverse, such as the ability of Clerics to easily sniff you out.

Outrage will decay gradually as you are logged in, but you can only get a total of 2.5 hours worth of drain per day, or 6 hours for The Fallen.

It should be noted that non-Necromancers can get Social and Divine Corruption. See the specific sections for more information.

Divine Outrage

Divine Outrage would be a measure of how upset you've made the gods, and is specific to the Necromancer's relationship with the Thirteen Immortals. If someone wants to say that a never seen, pagan god of a distant continent thinks necromancy is the bee's knees, that's swell. But the actual, verifiable gods that grant your character favor and claim authority over the Starry Road will take exception.

In general, the gods are a pretty mellow bunch. They're usually content to ignore casual blasphemy, probably because they figure the person that yells "Screw Kertigen!" on the gweths is a moron that can't actually do anything to injure them or disrupt their religion.

For whatever reason, necromancy is different. There is some quality to necromancy that causes the gods to react and react hard. And when you put it in perspective, it's just a little weird. The Immortals are perfectly fine with Warrior Mages creating pyroclastic clouds of death; Moon Mages get a pass even when they're bringing extraplanar monstrosities into reality through a field of broken spatial planes; Barbarians never have a problem, even if they raze entire villages and slaughter nations of innocent life. Yet if you raise one little corpse as an undead minion, you're public enemy #1.

• There will be signs as you are nearing the top end of Divine Outrage. If you hit endzone on Divine Outrage, casting any further spell causing Outrage will have a >5% chance of being slain on the spot in entirely undramatic fashion.
  • Liches or people who have achieved some measure of true Transcendence (though not necessarily full) are above being struck down by the gods' whimsy.
  • The struck dead penalty is an expression of the gods' contempt. You are being struck down with as much concern and effort as you would swat a bug on your computer desk. The living, mortal Necromancer is within the Immortals' control.
  • When a Necromancer has taken the Descent, and especially if a Necromancer ever managed to complete the Great Work, the Necromancer is not so much anymore. They're Something Else and the gods cannot simply wish them away anymore. The gods have to approach them as legitimate threats, demonic pawns...or, the Philosophers would argue, equals.

Causes of Divine Outrage

First off, there's three ways a spell can give you Divine Outrage.

1. Being in the Animation spellbook.
2. Being in the Transcendental Necromancy spellbook.
3. Being an especially nasty spell.

When speaking of this mechanic in the fiction, we refer to a spell that triggers any of these conditions as "evil spells."

For conditions #1 and #2, after you cast your first spell from that spellbook, you do not gain any more Outrage for doing so in the next five minutes. Cast Butcher's Eye and you can cast any other Transcendental spell for the next five minutes without pissing the gods off further. Animation and Transcendental Necromancy are tracked seperately for this (casting Quicken the Earth and Butcher's Eye back to back is two hits, casting Butcher's Eye and Kura-Silma back to back is one).

3 can vary on a spell by spell basis, but will usually give you a hit every single time its cast, in addition to any Outrage gained from the first two categories. Also note that spells outside those two spellbooks can be flagged as evil, but usually aren't.

Also bear in mind that spells that require the Transference link will also get nailed by Outrage for doing Thanatology, in addition to the spell based Outrage. Thanatology Outrage accrues per ritual performed.

In addition, simply the act of leveling will increase in Divine Outrage, raising the minimum amount of DO that a Necromancer is capable of dropping to.

Lastly, Forsaken Necromancers risk DO for hanging around holy spots.

Effects of Divine Outrage

The following happen as more Divine Outrage is accrued. Because the minimum level of DO increases as you circle up to 100th, most of these become unavoidable at some point in a necromancer's career.

1. Clerics are unable to cast beneficial magic upon the Necromancer.
2. The ability to gain new favors is lost, though any already possessed remain.
3. The Necromancer is now detectable as such to Clerics, Moon Mages, and Empaths. (Use AVOID TOUCH to avoid being outed by Empaths.)
4. Empaths are no longer able to heal the Necromancer (even with Rite of Contrition) and may receive a very small amount of Empathic shock for TOUCHing a Necromancer with high levels of Divine Outrage.
5. Harm Evil will now be usable on Necromancers?
6. The Necromancer now counts as a cursed being for the purposes of holy magic.
7. Their alternate spell preparation is unusable.
8. Each time more Divine Outrage is accrued, there is a small chance of the Gods simply killing the Necromancer outright.

Unfortunately, some of these levels may occur at the same time, and the exact order may be incorrect. Data currently is scarce.

Checking Divine Outrage

PRAYing will give you some indication of your current level of Divine Outrage. When initial Outrage thresholds are reached you'll get messaging about paranoia or anxiety which progresses to physical pain as your Outrage level becomes worse.

Divine corruption

Casting necromancy results in Divine corruption for non-necromancer characters. All necromancer spells cast by non-necromancers result in additional Divine corruption.

It is possible for non-Necromancers to pick up the taint of Necromancy without actually practicing it. So far, the only demonstrated way is for Moon Mages to attempt to align their predictions to the thanatology skill. Though it may have more severe levels, currently, this results in approximately 30 minutes of being immune to beneficial holy spells.

Social Outrage

Social Outrage would be a measure of how upset you've made society (and how badly society as a whole wants you dead right now). Social Outrage is entirely a negative experience. It never benefits the Necromancer to be caught in the act, unless he enjoys being persecuted.

Causes

• Having a Necromancer title up.
• Having the Necromancer profession visible.
• Having Transcendental Necromancy spells active in a justice zone.
• Having a construct or Risen with you in a justice zone.
• Acquiring warrants for any crime.
  • Casting most Necromancer spells in a justice zone will incur a Forbidden Practices charge.
  • Sorcerous Backlash in a justice zone will incur a Forbidden Practices charge.
• Wearing or holding a "blatantly necromantic item".
• Gwething (possibly only if in a justice zone). This will give a fraction of the existing Social Outrage.

Accusations

The ACCUSE NECRO command has been removed. In its place, the system now automatically evaluates a Necromancer's location, suspicion, and Social Outrage to determine if it is appropriate for the citizenry to level an accusation against the Necromancer. Unsullied and Redeemed Necromancers of low SO will no longer accrue suspicion at all and can theoretically spend indefinite amounts of time in civilization as long as they continue to be on the low down. Forsaken Necromancers still accrue suspicion at the same rate as before.

There are three things that can cause a successful accusation: social outrage, looking like a necromancer, and the mechanic formally known as suspicion.

1. Social Outrage: over a certain threshold (more than 50% of the maximum possible) and you are considered a known Necromancer in the region and will face accusations.
2. Looking like a Necromancer: There's a few things that feed into this, but broadly it includes "visibly doing Necromancer stuff." Having transcendental buffs up, casting visible Necromancies in general, using a title, and wearing some rare items can trigger an accusation.
3. Suspicion: Forsaken Necromancers have a tolerance meter for town called suspicion that slowly builds up in normal situations. While in a justice area, this meter builds towards an accusation. While outside of a justice area, this meter drains away. Unsullied and eventually Redeemed Necromancers are exempt from this.

Successful Accusations

• If successfully accused, the person will not automatically be arrested unless they interact with town services, such as the bank.
• If the accused lingers in a justice area, they may be subject to arrest, or death at the hands of Hounds of Rutilor.

Jurisdiction

• Social Outrage is handled on a per-province basis, though there are actions or items that can affect your Social Outrage in multiple provinces at a single go.
• Social Outrage incurred in non-provincial areas (like the Soul of Maelshyve, some Festival grounds, etc.) default to Zoluren.

Checking Social Outrage

The current design is explicitly designed so that there is no way to check your exact level of Social Outrage. By speaking to one of the Guildleaders about the Perverse, it is possible to learn whether a Necromancer posseses at least 50% of the maximum Social Outrage possible.

The JUSTICE verb will also indicate if you're still in trouble from a previous accusation.

Example:

You're fairly certain this area is lawless and unsafe.

You are also fairly sure that the people are convinced you are a necromancer.

Town services

If your social outrage is more than 50% of the maximum level, you will be unable to use many town services including banks & vaults. Attempting to access these services will result in auto-arrest, a fine, and increased social outrage. Some services are currently exempt from exclusion and are safe to use: selling gems & pelts, training stats, and paying debt.

Recovering from Social Outrage

The best way you can make sure you are not gaining any additional SO is to leave town to avoid additional accusations and accidental SO gain, not gweth, and if you must go to town, do not do anything except WITHDRAW money, PAY fines, or get your items from the guardhouse. To ensure you have left town and guard jurisdiction use the JUSTICE command. Remember, SO will gradually drain for 2.5 real life hours each real life day you're logged ingame.

Social corruption

When successfully accused of Necromancy, both Necromancers and other suffer from a short term condition in which they are treated as if they had 100% Social Outrage. This condition will message when it ends, but it is not 100% accurate. The gaining or ending of this effect does not, in and of itself, affect a Necromancer's true Social Outrage level.

When under the effects of Social Outrage, avoidance of justice zones is recommended as any interaction with services will result in arrest. The justice Command can be used to check the state of an area.

In addition, non-Necromancers suffer Social Corruption instead of Social Outrage, primarily through wearing of especially special necromancer-related items, using or teaching Sorcery, or Empathic Shifting within a justice zone.

States of being

Beyond these meters there is your state of being, and they are independent of social or divine outrage. They represent deliberate and knowing changes in the path of a Necromancer. The known states of being are Unsullied, Forsaken, Redeemed, Lichdom, and Transcendence.

All beginning Necromancers and non-Necromancers characters are Unsullied. Once a Necromancer has twice raised the dead, either themselves (Spiteful Rebirth) or others (Call from Beyond), they enter into the Forsaken state, in which they lose all favors and can never gain another.

The methods to achieve the other states can only be guessed at, as they have not been revealed at this time.

Favors

Unsullied (newbie, pre-damnation) and Redeemed necromancers gain favors and can depart like every other player in the game. An unsullied necromancer might have enough Divine Outrage to prohibit Clerics from successfully using their corpse-assisting spells on the Necromancer, but even then they retain full use of DEPART and favors. Redeemed never have any problems here.

Forsaken Necromancers lose all their favors upon their damnation and... never get any more. The secret of the necro favor is that there is no such thing as a necro favor. Instead, they can have access to up to three options.

• 1: They may do a favorless depart like everybody else. This lands them in the exact same spot and with the exact same penalties as anyone else that departed there with 0 favors.

• 2: They may DEPART GUILD. This is almost exactly like the favorless depart, except that the destination is the Necromancer guildhall. Useful if you can't be seen at a nearby shrine, just bear in mind the complications you're setting up for yourself if your grave happens to be on Mer'kresh.

In #1 and #2, the messaging is different for forsaken Necromancers, reflecting the intervention of a "patron" which protects their soul from judgment long enough to reincarnate.

• 3: With knowledge of the 4th tier, transcendental metaspell "Spiteful Rebirth," they may DEPART DEATH to resuscitate themselves. This temporarily cripples the Necromancer with a potent version of Death's Sting and brings him back at the very brink of life, but it allows him to remain in full control of his possessions and location.

There are limits to how often a living necromancer can DEPART DEATH: there's a hard limit per 24 hour period based on his spirit health and Stamina, and a short-term limit that he cannot use it again while still laboring under the Death's Sting from a previous death.

Related Forum Posts

Click here to search for related posts.