Outrage

Template:NecroDEV In the same way that Thieves have confidence, Paladins have soul state, and so on, Necromancers will have "necro-meters." The title for this is Outrage.

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 2.5hrs worth of drain per day.

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.

At this point, the Immortals have not gone to great length to explain themselves.

Before the guild is released, we will hear:

1) Why the Necromancers think the gods hate them.

2) Why the Clerics and Paladins think the gods hate Necromancers.

We will not hear:

3) Which one, if either, is the vast cosmological truth as spoken by the prophets in the holy texts of the Necromancer Guild design documents.

• 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.

• The Corruption and Blood Magic spellbooks do not directly cause Divine Outrage.

• There will be nothing in the Redeemed state that prevents outrage. It's simply that if you ever accrue any Divine Outrage after the fact, you cease to be Redeemed and can never return to the state.

• It is possible that a Necromancer who has fallen from redemption could earn more Divine Outrage per action than someone who was never in that state. It is not planned at this time, though it "isn't a bad idea."

• The Perverse and Redeemed take it for granted that the gods are jerks/infinitely wise, but the Philosophers in particular are interested in a treacherous question, "Why us?" We'll explore this a little more in the future.

Favors

• There are currently no plans to give Necromancers an auto-resurrection spell or ability.

• Before a certain point and while Redeemed the Necromancer is treated as a normal character for all death and favor issues.

• After a certain point, the Necromancer will...have difficulties. They will still be able to acquire favors, but it will be in a roundabout fashion. Clerical assistance will become increasingly more unlikely to work.

• There will be no real value in stocking up favors; once you hit the point of Divine Outrage that you start getting Necro-Favors, the Gods strip you of all regular favors.

• The entity behind Lyras is what will be giving Necro-Favors.

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, indeed, entirely a negative experience. It never benefits the Necromancer to be caught in the act, unless he enjoys being persecuted.
• Social Outrage is what allows people to squeal on you to the justice system. It is essentially guaranteed to work if you are within the justice area with your Risen or Transcendence buffs active. Beyond that Charisma will be a factor in seeing whether or not the posse is sent after you (and in sentencing if you get caught). The posse will not be the automatic one you get for in-town murder, so escaping will help somewhat. False (or unsuccessful) accusations will end up with the accuser being charged with forbidden practices, so you don't get perma-outed as a necro for having that on your rap sheet. Social Outrage is not province-specific.

Justice

The justice system was written to allow anyone to ACCUSE others of necromancy. Pretty hefty penalty for being wrong. (And you can be 'wrong', even if somebody is a Necromancer, there will have to be some kind of proof the system can notice, to among other things discourage well monied people from just accusing anyone because they can.)

• The Analogous Patterns Spellbook are legal, and not considered to be the use of sorcery or necromancy.