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| {{Info afflictions | | {{Info afflictions |
| |image = Undead.png | | |image = Undead.png |
| |races = All | | |races = All, though some can avoid it. |
| |contraction = Resurrection
| | |origins = Unknown |
| |origins = [[The Beyond]] | |
| |}} | | |}} |
| The stuff of nightmares for some, figments of folklore for others and the steadfast guardians of ancient faith to even fewer, the most prominent of [[the Beyond]]'s influences in Aloria are the Undead, the results of the Shades of the deceased who return to the world of the living through one means or another. Undead take a variety of different forms, whether it be as a walking corpse or an incorporeal phantom, but they share a common trait in being Shades and not proper souls anymore: this means that they are mere conglomerations of memories of who they once were and not truly the person anymore, resulting in altered personalities, behaviors and wants. Undead have existed as long as anyone alive can remember and even longer than that, having had incarnations as varied as the living peoples they used to be: the adage goes that so long as there have been corpses in [[Aloria]], Undead have persisted. | | The stuff of nightmares for some, figments of folklore for others, and the steadfast guardians of ancient faith to even fewer, Undead are a barely understood Affliction that has started wreaking havoc in Aloria in the past century or so, leaving scholars unable to figure out why. Undead take a variety of different forms, often dictated by the faith and belief they held in life as they are barred from the gates of the afterlife, but they share a common trait in being damned by the living for their very existence is a revolt against nature and the cycle of life and death. The Undead struggle to exist in a world that is so strongly against them, always forced to carve something with a semblance to normality on the edges of society, always hunted by the forces of religious virtue, even if they have done nothing wrong, and are themselves the victim ill-will of others. As Undeadism across the world is becoming worse with each passing year, both the living and Undead are forced to grapple with the arising morality of Undeath, and the subsequent violence that is erupting over these questions. Playing an Undead is not recommended for new players, as Undead are almost universally hunted by all Races and Religions, with very few exceptions. Roleplaying as an Undead results in hostility from other Characters, and roleplay opportunities are denied with unrelenting opposition. Undeath (unlike in some other lore universes) is not a Race of its own, and rather just builds on existing Races. You may convert a living Character into an Undead at any time. Resurrecting a past character that died some time ago, will require approval from Lore Staff. |
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| ==Becoming Undead== | | ==Core Concept== |
| ===Playing an Undead in Regalia=== | | ===Becoming Undead=== |
| Existing as an Undead in [[Regalia]] is almost entirely illegal and fraught with danger, and even the other illegal groups of Afflicted and Occult people in more remote parts of the city like Crookback often look upon Undead with revulsion. Nonetheless, the Sewers are generally safe, but an Undead should take care not to make too many enemies there and wear out what good will they have. Because they are completely incurable and permanent in their state of being, Undead are considered at all times to be destroyed on sight by the [[State Metropolitan]], and so often have to hide as they are frequently hunted. Undead are always obvious in their nature and are easy to spot, making it rather difficult to safely exist in the city without making friends and finding sanctuary among other Undead and people who are sympathetic to their plight. There are some Undead, though, that still cling onto what few threads exist of their past lives and try their very best to live in normalcy. These Variant Undead are called Husks, working to find some degree of social acceptance in the capital outside of the darkest recesses of the Sewers.
| | In Aloria, all living things have a body and soul bound together through some unknown force. A soul can only ever belong to one body, and even though some Magic exists to remove a soul from a body without destroying it, by far and large the majority of people who die in Aloria pass into the afterlife. For some, however (and with increasing frequency), their souls are unable to pass into the afterlife, or only briefly do so before being forced to re-inhabit their bodies. When a soul has been severed from its body, even if it returns later, a state of Undeath occurs, where the body is technically still functioning and controlled by the soul, but the merger is imperfect, decay has set in, the body no longer needs to eat, sleep, or breathe, and a variety of things can happen. First, examine the manners by which one can become Undead: |
| ===Creation===
| | * '''Violenced Undeath:''' is a common form of Undeath, and one that has been researched but few have any understanding of. In many recorded instances, a person came to a violent end in either extreme tragedy or anger, and as a result became Undead, awakening shortly after death had set in. |
| Undead come to be via one of three methods. Firstly, they can return from the Beyond through sheer willpower and emotional force: those who die with unfinished business, unresolved trauma, far too young or far too disturbed are quite commonly returned in this way. After their Shade emerges in the Beyond, they can wander the realm for a variable amount of time before either finding one of the many scattered doorways into Aloria or stumbling across the mirrored location of their demise. All Shades have an intrinsic sort of connection to the place they died, and those that wander in the Beyond often find themselves drawn to it. If they ever do find it, and they have some reason to return as an Undead, then they will find a sort of metaphysical door there that they can enter and figuratively claw their way back to Aloria through. If there is anything left of their corpse they will inhabit it, but in cases where the corpse has been completely destroyed they might inhabit armor that belonged to them or even re-create an image of themselves as a Wraith. Secondly, Undead can rise from the grave as a result of some ambient [[Ordial]] presence near their resting place (like a particularly powerful artifact, magic embedded within a holy site or the influence of an Ordial God). The presence of [[Ordial Essence]] can dredge up dead Shades from the Beyond and force them back into their bodies nearby, or even cause things like suits of armor or other suitable vessels within proximity to become inhabited by Shades. In the case of places like temples or places of worship for Ordial Gods, this is something of an intrinsic defense mechanism for the latent essence and power in the location: it manufactures defenses for itself, seemingly magnetizing Shades there. Thirdly, Undead can be resurrected by the hand of an experienced necromancer or in extremely rare cases an Ordial God themselves. Necromancers resurrecting Undead are much more purposeful, able to pick and choose what sort of vessel the Shade will inhabit. Undead can be prevented from being resurrected via the rituals and abilities of people like the Bene Vixit [[Isldar]] or others with similar powers, and such practices are utilized by the Regalian Empire and its State Metropolitan to keep executed criminals from returning from beyond the grave. All Undead who ‘naturally’ or ‘accidentally’ are resurrected as Undead do so as Ghüls, the catch-all term for ‘basic’ Undead, while only necromancers can create a particularly empowered variant of Undead called Wights.
| | * '''Unfinished Undeath:''' is an equally common form of Undeath, where a person had such a strong connection to unfinished business in life that their soul refused to pass into the Afterlife and returns to the body. This may also occur if a person dies just before the conclusion of earthly business. |
| | * '''Forced Undeath:''' is a less common form of Undeath, that involves a person being forced to become an Undead. This can happen through a variety of means, for example Ordial rituals, Ordvaan Rituals (see Estellon Undead), Rituals of the Bone King, or Death Isldar rituals that deny the Afterlife to the soul. |
| | * '''Gateshut Undeath:''' is a very rare form of Undeath, that follows a soul being actively rejected by their Afterlife for religious reasons. A good example of this is Old Gods Undead, who are rejected from the Afterlife by their Gods because their Soldi (Honor) is so low that they may not feast with heroes of the past. |
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| Characters who die on server may be made into Undead, but only if it was within 24 hours of their death, if there is a body left, and under the following umbrella: Players can choose to become Undead in their own personal roleplay, but they cannot decide to if other people (outside of their own RP friends/circles) are involved, such as the state. What this means is, you can coordinate with someone to have your character killed, and then revived, but if a character is executed by the State, they cannot be revived. Characters who have been dead for longer, state executed, or without body may be revived as Undead, but only through specific Event or unique mechanics.
| | ===Perception of Death=== |
| | To most Religions of Aloria, Undeath is a perversion of faith, because most faiths have the principle of divine judgement, where a person's soul shall be judged by a God of the afterlife, and deemed worthy to paradise. The logic that many faithful uphold, is that any type of Undead they meet, must have been rejected by their god and is therefor an immoral and sinful being, or one who actively wanted to avoid the judgement of their God and thus commit blasphemy. The reality is more complicated however, as the vast majority of the Undead did not ask to become Undead, or worse, were forced into by other more nefarious individuals. Undeath has only really become a major problem in the last 40 years with the rate of Undeath exploding exponentially each year. Undeath has existed for as long as death and life were a thing on Aloria, with references found even in Seraph murals, but it was always a fringe issue, until the gruesome murders at the Imperial Palace that saw all the sons of Emperor Justinian II slain by an outbreak of Undeath in the Palace itself. Since then, most faiths and societies have adopted anti-Undeath burial practices, like cremation and beheading before burial (the latter of which prevents Undeath from ever taking place). |
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| ===Mental Changes=== | | ==Types of Undead== |
| Undead mentality is as varied as their forms and origins. At their basest, there are Undead who have completely lost all sense of their living selves and even any sapience: ghouls who act like nothing more than ravenous animals. These mindless Undead are a common result of ambient Ordial Essence creating them or they are created by Theurgists and amateur necromancers for the purposes of simple laborious tasks or to bolster the infantry of a wicked army. Even some that are resurrected as intelligent but are allowed to wander Aloria for so long that their memories and identities completely ebb away eventually turn to becoming mindless and feral. The ones not under the control of a specific necromancer tend to aimlessly wander Aloria until they collapse from the rot of their bodies or they are killed. Some have observed these feral Undead collecting themselves in ever-growing groups through some odd instinct of theirs. These hordes tend to be cut down to size before they can ever get too out of control and rampage over an entire village, but in remote and lifeless places like vast swaths of Ellador and the Sundered Lands there are some swarms of shambling dead that could easily overrun a town. Other Undead resemble completely intelligent and sapient beings, almost entirely indistinguishable from the living. Generally, though, Undead will cling to what memories remain of their lives, even if they are hazy, and typically do not change much from how they were. It is impossible to ignore the fact that the Shade itself is just an echo of the person they were in their life, however, and this affects the potential personality of the Undead: sometimes lacking empathy or the true intent of their feelings and memories. Undead resurrected for a particular purpose by necromancers or maybe by the influence of an Artifact at times feel innate attachments and drives to remain dedicated to and fulfill these purposes, leading to degrees of unnatural zealotry for some causes. The Undead guardians of the Sefakhem’s Vault of the Dead voluntarily allow themselves to be sealed within impenetrable layers of the great tombs for what is most likely an eternity, for example, and the ones making up the Bone King’s army will fight and die with completely mindless dedication to their cause. | | There exist multiple types of Undead, usually categorized based on Religions, as each Afterlife has different rules for entry (and those who are rejected). These types provide general "theme traits", which should be respected, but Players have a great deal of freedom beyond the standard. For example, if the requirement for Unionist Undead is just to have glowing eyes and pale skin, Players have the freedom to add more, so long as they don't detract the minimum that is there. As a general rule, no form of Undeath can make a person appear like any normal person. Afflictions cannot be hidden, Undeath being more so because Undead do not have basic body biology function. Note, they don't still need to believe in these Religions, Undead often lose their faith due to being refused by their old communities. Atheist and Ordial Cultist Undead move on straight to Deathrot. Is is important to note that if one of the Types states it is accepted by a particular religion, it means they won't be attacked on sight by them, but the law is still very much against them and they will have other enemies. |
| | | <table style="width: 100%;"><tr><td style="width: 33%; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"> |
| ==Forms== | | {| |
| Undead are primarily divided into three broad categories based on the physical form they take: Corpsefolk, Hollows and Wraiths. Each of these physical forms confers different abilities, specials and aesthetics. Furthermore, Undead can be one of a number of Variants on top of the form they take. All Undead choose 1 Form and 1 Variant, and by default gain the Racial Specials but not Abilities of the Race they were when they were alive. Undead who purchase [[Spell Point Buy]] and [[Theurgy]] packs can only have Ordial-aligned Magic and Theurgy.
| | |[[File:Unionismundead.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| ===Corpsefolk=== | | | |
| The catch-all term used to refer to ‘general’ Undead, Corpsefolk make up the bulk of known, existing Undead in Aloria. They come in many shapes and sizes, varying just as wildly as Aloria’s many peoples themselves and also being both visually and mentally impacted by the nature of their death and resurrection. Many Corpsefolk still retain their faculties in their undead state, leading simple lives in regions of the world that are tolerant or outright amicable to their existence, such as the people beneath the Bone King’s throng. A great deal of them have withered and degenerated over the course of their years, though, wandering the world aimlessly as walking corpses reduced to their base selves.
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Mortis Undead'''</center></span> |
| | | Mortis Undead are very common among Unionists, but not bound to any specific Religion and generally seen as the "default" Undead for those who do not want the cultural or thematic connections the other Undead Types have. Mortis Undead start with only two notable traits: glowing eyes of whatever eye color their eyes were before death/milky white opaque eyes, and a much paler skin/darkened eye sockets. Over time, Mortis Undead can rot, stay roughly the same, or need new body parts to amend those that were lost. |
| Physically speaking, Corpsefolk are Shades inhabiting a dead cadaver in any state of decay ranging from entirely skeletal to freshly-dead. The cadaver can be of any Race and can have a varying amount of traits inherent to its state of decay that conflict with the original Race’s restrictions like their eyes being darkened, milky or even missing and their skin appearing mottled or pale in comparison. Additionally, they can bear impossible amounts of permanent decay and injury and other oddities thanks to their undead state like missing body parts, lethal burns, objects remaining embedded in them, plants growing throughout their body or even stitching to indicate their corpse shell was cobbled together by hand. If they are fully decayed like walking skeletons they can even have cloth, twine or other material binding their bones together for stability, visible Ordial Essence running through any exposed sections of their body, and Deathspeech runes etched into their very bones. All types of Corpsefolk can sometimes bear some Ordial Magic aesthetics like green tattoos and gaping wounds.
| | |} |
| ====Corpsefolk Abilities====
| | </td><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 33%;"> |
| {| class="wikitable";
| | {| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| | |[[File:Burningchoir.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| ! Ability Name
| | | |
| ! Ability Type
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Burning Choir Undead'''</center></span> |
| ! Ability Range
| | Burning Choir Undead are exclusive to [[Unionism]], [[Evintarian Unionism]], or [[Guided Unionism]]. These Undead are formed when devout Unionists die in service of the Emperor or the faith, for example Knights or soldiers or priests themselves. Burning Choir Undead are always a skeleton enveloped in flames, usually golden, but other colors too. Burning Choir Undead are still seen as anathema by the priesthood, but some among the Unionist population secretly help them. with their service in undeath. |
| ! Ability Description
| | |} |
| ! Modifiers
| | </td><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 33%;"> |
| |- | | {| |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Weakening Poison
| | |[[File:Estellonundead.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| | Mundane Technique
| | | |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Self | Self Range means that it applies to the user themselves, or something they can directly touch after casting it.}}
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Deathwatch Undead'''</center></span> |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Weakening Poison | The user sneakily coats their weapon, bullet or arrow with a sinister poison. The next attack they make that damages an opponent, they suffer from -1 Constitution and -1 Highest Combat Stat. If this Ability is countered or the target is immune to poison, then the technique is placed on cooldown. This effect lasts for 15 minutes. Weakening Poison has a 1 hour cooldown. The same person can only be affected by Weakening Poison once per 2 Hours. The weapon, bullet or arrow can be poisoned and held for a maximum of 5 minutes.
| | Deathwatch Undead are exclusive to [[Estellon]] and [[Estelsoor]], always created rather than spontaneously risen. These Undead are created by the Offering of Amelaan, performed by a priest(ess), who plunges a ritual dagger into their heart during a ceremony, binding them in eternal service as a protector to a place, person, or family, creating Deathwatch Undead who remain clean and unaffected by mutations, save for glowing eyes and porcelain skin color. These Undead are tolerated by the Estellon and Estelsoor faithful. |
| }}
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| | | {{#simple-tooltip:Undead Modifier | The poison comes from the Corpsefolk’s own fetid fluids, and can be applied via an unarmed attack.}}
| |
| |- | |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Instant Leap
| |
| | Movement Power | |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}} | |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Instant Leap | The user can instantly leap towards a Target person in Emote Range. The Target's speed does not matter, and the user can choose to land in front of, to the side of, or behind the target. This leap can only be used horizontally, and does not allow for any vertical movement outside of slight incline increases. Instant Leap has a 30 minute Cooldown.}} | |
| |} | | |} |
| | | </center> |
| ====Corpsefolk Specials====
| | </tr></table> |
| *'''Corpsefolk Shell:''' Corpsefolk do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. They can only be killed through complete destruction of the head (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
| | <table style="width: 100%;"><tr><td style="width: 33%; vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"> |
| *'''Corpsefolk Mend:''' While out of combat, Corpsefolk can physically consume the flesh of either living or dead people or animals in order to heal their body up to the original point of their decay as an Undead. They must eat for an hour to restore wounds and surface level damage to the flesh, and must eat for 4 hours to repair any maims inflicted upon them. Severed pieces do not have to be recovered, and any regenerated flesh will appear as if it was the original piece of their body.
| | {| |
| *'''Dead Familiar:''' Corpsefolk are often lonely in their undeath, and impart some small amount of their lingering essence into a resurrected animal to serve as a companion, choosing an animal from the Animals Page (barring Magus or Dragon species). The familiar takes on an Undead form itself, being composed of any degree of decaying flesh and bone. The familiar cannot inflict harm. If killed, the familiar will collapse into a pile of dead matter, after which the user can resurrect a new one from a graveyard, though can have a different aesthetic appearance. The familiar can carry a single object around and perform mundane tasks and hunt with the user to help retrieve flesh for the purposes of healing.
| | |[[File:Oldgodsundead.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| *'''Split Attention:''' Corpsefolk’s unique state of cadaverous being allows them to seamlessly detach and reattach their body parts at will, operating them with ease even while they are detached. They cannot ever leave emote range of their owner, but can act freely and even have an imparted personality (like a severed hand acting on its ‘own’). None of these functions may be used competitively, or mid-combat.
| | | |
| *'''Dead Sight:''' Corpsefolk are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Draugr Undead'''</center></span> |
| *'''Death Speech:''' Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
| | Draugr Undead are the mortal enemies of the [[Old Gods]] faithful, rejected from the afterlife by the Old Gods for being Honorless (without Soldi), and cursed to wander in an Undead state of torment. All Draugr have gray skin and their (often) Velheim tattoos and eyes glow, but further rot and mutations can take place. Draugr Undead are particularly hunted by the Old Gods faithful who mostly ignore other Undead, because these Undead in particular have offended their people and Gods greatly. |
| *'''Corpsefolk Aesthetics:''' Corpsefolk are shambling cadavers held together with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on rot and decay. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
| |
| ===Hollows===
| |
| The restless sentinels and soldiers of the Dead, Hollows are specifically manufactured by their makers with purpose in mind for them. Whether that purpose is inevitably fulfilled, however, is up to fate. Hollows are most often seen forming the vanguard of the Bone King or other necromancer’s armies, or standing on eternal guard as wardens and watchers of sacred places in the case of those built to serve Unionism and its Everwatcher or similarly faithful purposes.
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| | |
| Hollows are a Shade inhabiting a vessel composed of inorganic or manufactured materials like a suit of armor or a person-sized doll, with a specially crafted binding runes inside that bind the Shade to the body. They are always placed within the torso of the vessel where their heart would be, and sometimes even artificially beat with energy like a heart would. A necromancer can transplant them from one vessel to another. These vessels can be as uniform and complete as a matching, clean set of armor or as patchwork and cobbled together as pieces of carved wood, animal bone and twine in the shape of a person. A Hollow Undead can be made of fundamentally anything except the cadaver(s) of people, but the inherent defensive effectiveness of its body will never be any stronger than the metal of armor. They can sometimes bear some Ordial Magic aesthetics like glowing green eyes, light or essence coming out from gaps in their bodies and ritual Deathspeech or symbolic markings.
| |
| ====Hollow Abilities====
| |
| {| class="wikitable"
| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| |
| ! Ability Name
| |
| ! Ability Type
| |
| ! Ability Range
| |
| ! Ability Description
| |
| ! Modifiers
| |
| |- | |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Deathmarch | |
| | Movement Power
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Deathmarch | The user can select a target in range that they can see, causing a visible symbol to appear over the target’s head, and move toward them. They cannot stop themselves until the ability ends and must move in a direct line for the target, and can do anything that doesn’t make them stop. They cannot be slowed below their movement speed or halted, by any means. Any Ability-created barriers are shattered when they make contact, but normal barriers will stop them if they can’t be climbed over. The Ability ends once they are within 1 block of the target. This Ability has a 4 hour cooldown. | |
| }}
| |
| | N/A | |
| |- | |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Endless Watch
| |
| | Movement Power
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Endless Watch| The user's soul leaves their body, scanning Emote Range around themselves, and identifying each person within Emote Range, and who they are (unless they are presently Disguised or Shapeshifted.) The user may then choose one person in Emote Range, and instantly teleport behind them. This process is instant and can be performed in the same Emote, however any actions performed afterwards are new actions and new Emotes. This Ability has a 1 Hour Cooldown, regardless of whether the teleport was used or not.
| |
| }}
| |
| | N/A
| |
| |-
| |
| |} | | |} |
| | | </td><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 33%;"> |
| ====Hollow Specials==== | | {| |
| *'''Hollow Shell:''' Hollows do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. They can only be killed through complete destruction of their body (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
| | |[[File:Sadunssdead.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| *'''Hollow Mend:''' While out of combat, Hollows can enter a state of self-repair by replacing any lost parts and restoring damage done to their vessel with scraps of whatever material they are composed of. They must spend an hour grafting material on to repair simple injuries, and must spend 4 hours replacing maimed parts. Severed pieces do not have to be recovered, and any replaced parts will appear as if they were original portions of their vessel.
| | | |
| *'''Body of Infinite Holding:''' The nature of a Hollow’s Shadecore results in the interior of their hollow body being a distorted space of indiscernible emptiness, allowing them to store an impossibly large amount of objects within themselves. Hollows contain roughly a 3x3 cube of space inside of their bodies, from which they can place and remove objects while outside of combat. Artifacts cannot be placed inside this storage space, and neither can people.
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Saydir Undead'''</center></span> |
| *'''Artificial Hands:''' As beings made of artificial, manufactured shells, Hollows gain an innate understanding of working with a mundane material. They gain access to one of the Crafting Point Buy packs for free.
| | In Farahdeen, there are many dead and undead things, Saydir Undead being one of them. The Saydir are Sariyd dead whose souls became trapped in a pseudo-sand-and-body state, where part of their body spontaneously shift to sand, seep away, before reforming, with sand trickling from most body parts. Saydir are hunted by Qadir and Songaskians alike to put them out of their misery, as they live in the eternal knowledge of all that they have lost, their emotional instability contributing to the deluge of sand slides. |
| *'''Dead Sight:''' Hollows are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
| |
| *'''Death Speech:''' Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
| |
| *'''Hollow Aesthetics:''' Hollow Undead are suits of armor animated with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on sickly green ordial light, or black metal. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
| |
| ===Wraiths===
| |
| In comparison to their other Undead kin, Wraiths tend to prefer more solitary and reclusive existences. Their frail bodies are not suitable for combat or much in the way of physical exertion, and so most end up leading scholarly or dutiful un-lives. It is not unheard of for Wraiths to haunt the libraries they once studied in, the graveyards where they were buried, or the temples and holy places they once knelt in. Others who seek a more ‘driven’ purpose often find some use as informants and sometimes even employees of more quiet, out-of-sight businesses. | |
| A Wraith is specifically a Shade bearing a conjured physical husk, containing a phantasmal apparition within them. The husk appears like the person did in life, albeit much paler and with dark circles of cracked, decaying flesh beneath their eyes. Their eyes are always a shade of Ordial green. They can sometimes have parts of their body that are ebbing away to expose gaping holes, bone, green Ordial essence or whatever gaseous material their Wraith form is composed of. The Wraith form appears like some kind of ghostly specter, made up of a gaseous material (like ash, smoke, frost, vapor, etc.), sometimes wearing clothes or other garments, with distinct Ordial green eyes and is only ever shown in out-of-combat situations when the Wraith chooses. If they are ever attacked while showing off their Wraith form, they immediately revert to their physical husk.
| |
| ====Wraith Abilities====
| |
| {| class="wikitable"
| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| |
| ! Ability Name
| |
| ! Ability Type
| |
| ! Ability Range
| |
| ! Ability Description
| |
| ! Modifiers
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Thoughtseize
| |
| | Instant Power
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Self | Self Range means that it applies to the user themselves, or something they can directly touch after casting it.}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Thoughtseize | The user’s hand becomes incorporeal and reaches into the mind of the target. They choose one ability of theirs (including Custom Kit abilities) with a cooldown under 2 hours and then place that ability on cooldown. The information gained from this ability cannot be used to infer anything about the character. The same person can only be affected by one instance of Thoughtseize once per 2 hours. Thoughtseize can only be used once per day.
| |
| }}
| |
| | N/A
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Rift Step
| |
| | Movement Power
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: 10 Blocks | X Blocks range means that it must occur within that number of Minecraft blocks from where the User currently stands.}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Rift Step | The user can cast this spell at a target area they can see within 10 blocks of them. Their body is swallowed by magical essence, and they immediately teleport to the chosen location. The user cannot carry anyone else with them when using this Ability, and only objects that fit on their person travel with them. This Ability can be used to teleport horizontally, diagonally, or vertically as long as it is still within the 10 blocks range, and as long as the target area is a flat surface the user can stand on. Rift Step can only be used once every 3 hours.
| |
| }}
| |
| |
| |
| |-
| |
| |} | | |} |
| | | </td><td style="vertical-align: top; width: 33%;"> |
| ====Wraith Specials====
| | {| |
| *'''Wraith Shell:''' Wraiths do not have to breathe, do not need to eat or drink, do not require sleep and are immune to Gas, Toxins, ingested Alchemical Substances and Diseases. They have a dulled sense of physical pain, though cannot ignore the actual debilitation that being tangibly wounded results in. Upon being physically wounded, they do not bleed and instead spew whatever gaseous material their Wraith form is made of. They can only be killed through complete destruction of the head (or other mechanics that specifically target Undead or Ordial Afflicted), and do not require Maim Permissions to be maimed.
| | |[[File:Foreborn.png|170px|thumb|left]] |
| *'''Wraith Mend:''' While out of combat, Wraiths can make direct contact with another and slowly sap away their energy in order to slowly heal their wounds and any Maims they have endured. They must spend 30 minutes sapping from another to restore simple wounds to their husk, and an hour sapping to replace a lost body part. While being drained from, the target experiences a distinct sensation of exhaustion and lethargy and physically grows paler and weaker-looking up to the point of unconsciousness if a Wraith spends more than an hour draining them, though a full night of sleep will restore them.
| | | |
| *'''Poltergeist:''' Because of their potential to haunt, Wraiths can remotely perform a variety of mundane tasks by sheer will alone such as letting a broom brush the floor by itself, letting dishes wash themselves, opening curtains with the wave of a hand, lighting candles with the flick of a finger, opening (unlocked) doors with the flick of a wrist and more. None of these functions may be involved in Combat Roleplay, but there is no limit to the amount that may be running at any given time, and there is no cooldown.
| | <span style="font-size:130%;><center>'''Foreborn Undead'''</center></span> |
| *'''Confront Mortality:''' As representations of Death, when Wraiths make physical contact with a person they can project a lucid vision of the person’s potential death in the near or distant future. The vision is one that the Wraith creates and imparts onto them, letting them control the details of the ghastly premonition.
| | Foreborn Undead come from a mixture of [[Asaredu]] and [[Baskarr]] Religions, both of which are protective and supportive of the Foreborn Undead. Foreborn Undead have been judged as "serving the dead" by their respective Gods, which for the Eronidas means fighting the Ordial forces, and for the Asha recovering the past, both aligned on the fight against the Elves and Allorn forces. Foreborn Undead are exceptionally unstable due to their physical power often ripping their body apart, needing frequent replacements. |
| *'''Dead Sight:''' Wraiths are immune to Darkness, whether mundane or created by an Ability. They also have Night Vision, giving them perfect sight at night and in dark places.
| |
| *'''Death Speech:''' Undead are capable of speaking and understanding Death Speech or Shadetongue either when it is spoken by Ordial Entities, or by others. Death Speech is a unique language because it cannot be learned the traditional way, only specific Races and Afflictions have access to it. Additionally, it is also a language that has no defined alphabet and cannot be properly read, the runes and markings varying between the cultures and Ordial cults that use it, though it is always identifiable as Deathspeech. It also defies being recorded, as the sound just becomes gibberish when any type of recording medium is used to try and replay it, even memory Abilities.
| |
| *'''Wraith Aesthetics:''' Wraith Undead are ghostly creatures infused with Ordial energies. Any summon or ability aesthetics should focus on sickly green Ordial light, or shadows. Weapons should be made of bone or other necromancy-related imagery, and magical themes should be based on undeath.
| |
| *'''Phantom Form:''' A Wraith can, at any time, choose to unveil their ‘true’ phantasmal form to somebody, discarding the barely-present facade of life they put on and assuming a full ghostly image. The Phantom Form is fully aesthetic (with some caveats, as explained below), though can function as a disguise if the Wraith chooses for theirs to be unrecognizable.
| |
| **Phantom Forms may never imitate other Transformations of other Abilities or other Races. Additionally, some element of green must be prominent, but exactly where is up to the player.
| |
| **Phantom Forms must remain within the general aesthetic of being a ‘ghost’, though whether this means being a full spectral image or a cloaked wraith or anything else ghostlike is up to the player. Appearing like a ghost does not affect their combat capabilities at all, and they are still treated as corporeal.
| |
| **The Player may decide that their Phantom Form is unrecognizable from their normal appearance, or has the same face. It functioning as a disguise is optional.
| |
| | |
| ==Variants==
| |
| While Undead Forms determine the physical body the Undead inhabits and some of their powers, Variants further specify them. Undead are created as different Variants depending on the kind of person they were in life or the purpose the necromancer had for them upon raising them. All Undead choose 1 Form and 1 Variant, recorded on their character app sequentially (i.e. Corpsefolk Titan) and by default gain the Racial Specials but not Abilities of the Race they were when they were alive. Undead who purchase [[Spell Point Buy]] and [[Theurgy]] packs can only have Ordial-aligned Magic and Theurgy.
| |
| ===Titans===
| |
| Undead Titans are the strongest, resurrected and built for physical labor and combat. They often form the front ranks of Undead armies and are a terrifying force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. Many are stitched together from piles of corpse-parts in order to achieve their impressive stature and body mass, as most living beings do not get so large, though the demand for Undead Titans does lead necromancers in need of cadavers to prefer those of larger races. Plenty of Titans are forged as Hollows too, becoming behemoths of metal and bone. The Bone King employs a force of them as siege weapons, able to cluster together and smash through enemy ranks and fortified defenses with ease. | |
| ====Titan Abilities====
| |
| {| class="wikitable";
| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| |
| ! Ability Name
| |
| ! Ability Type
| |
| ! Ability Range
| |
| ! Ability Description
| |
| ! Modifiers
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Brawl Stampede
| |
| | Mundane Technique
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: 10 Blocks | X Blocks range means that it must occur within that number of Minecraft blocks from where the User currently stands.}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Brawl Stampede | The user commences a charge in one straight line in a particular direction, stampeding forward by 10 Blocks. If they ran through a Barrier, someone behind Mundane Cover, or a Magical Shield or Barrier, said barrier, or cover is destroyed, though no damage or Displacement is applied to anyone along its path. This can also break a small hole through wooden and stone walls, but only if they are 1 block thick. This Ability has a 3 Hour Cooldown.
| |
| }}
| |
| | N/A
| |
| |} | | |} |
| | </center> |
| | </tr></table> |
| | ==Deathrot== |
|
| |
|
| ====Titan Specials====
| |
| *'''The Bigger They Are:''' Titans break the Strength proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7.
| |
| *'''The Harder They Fall:''' Titans, however, cannot wield a Shield or use any abilities that require one.
| |
| *'''Colossus Strength:''' Titans can wield oversized weaponry, dual wield large weapons and use large objects as fully functional weapons, like swinging rubble on a chain around as a flail. This confers no benefits in CRP.
| |
| *'''Cursed:''' Titans can spend points in [[Curses Point Buy]].
| |
|
| |
|
| ===Warden===
| | [[File:Sadsad.png|230px|thumb|right|A Deathrotten Mortis Kul.]] |
| Undead Wardens are born with the purpose to defend what is most precious to them, be it family members or loved ones from their previous lives or places of faith to them or even the necromancers that created them. They are sometimes born more stoic and devoted in their personalities, fitting the purpose they were resurrected for, and develop both physical and emotional attachments to the places and people they defend. A host of impenetrable Sadeir Wardens defend the many locked doors leading to the inside of their goddess’ precious archive. | | Deathrot is a process that threatens every Undead at some point or another and causes some of them to become Ordial Corrupted. Undead, no matter how strong their belief in their religion, or their mental fortitude, struggles with a constant urge to slide towards hatred of the living, envy of being what they can never return to, or rage against the Gods for having permitted this. In the Beyond, a malicious entity known as the Malefica (found in [[Ordial Cultism]] preys on this, trying to infect the mind with such intense hatred of the living, that they let Ordial power into their body and soul. When this occurs, this is called Deathrot, which sets in a slow but steady spiral, culminating to the individual completely being corrupted by the Beyond and becoming an agent of death of the Beyond. Many Undead face a constant battle with this creeping hatred in their heart, with exclusion and violence inflicted on them from their old societies and often friends and family, tipping them over the edge. Deathrot coincides with steady increases in Ordial mutations, with aesthetics slowly shifting towards Ordial the more Deathrot sets in, including Ordial green eye colors, bone protrusions, ghostly effects and more. Deathrot can be a fast process that only takes weeks, but for some Undead it can take decades if not centuries. When Deathrot sets in, the Dimensional Alignment of the Undead swaps to Ordial, meaning any Void or Exist Abilities will become Ordial instead. Atheist and Ordial Cultists who become Undead start Deathrot immediately. Becoming infested with an Ordial Shade of any kind also sets in Deathrot, or at the very least forces the Undead to become Ordial Aligned. Deathrotting Undead do not have to specifically align with the Malefica or be Ordial Cultists. They can at any point in time align with a different Ordial Entity, or simply fester and derive power from the hatred in their heart. Deathrot does also not necessarily make an Undead unequivocally evil, or always a hateful person. Hate can express itself in remorse, grief, or envy towards the living, or even just resentment over how they were treated, hunted, and often put down without recourse or mercy. In this way, Deathrot represents a detachment from living society and a will to make a society for the Undead, or find some way to punish the living for what they have done to the Undead, and continue to do to them. Deathrot can also be halted, by a return to faith, or outside factors like a Deathrotting Undead finding love among the living. Ordial Alignment can never be taken away, but by temporarily halting Deathrot, the Undead can let go of their hatred and violence towards the living, and live a reasonable normal life of undeath. |
| ====Warden Abilities==== | | ===Afflicted Form=== |
| {| class="wikitable"; | | Afflicted Form is a Transformation that can be used by Deathrotting Undead for a variety of reasons ranging from disguise to a surrender to hateful emotions and look cool in combat. Afflicted Forms are more monstrous forms of their normal body, and allow some more creative freedom like making the Character appear more like a hulking beast, so long as it remains vaguely humanoid, and should not add additional function (like wielding more than one weapon with multiple arms). Afflicted Form cannot imitate other types (like Vampire, Cahal, or Marken), and must always remain the same, and be predominantly green or Ordial-themed. |
| | ==Undead Traits== |
| | This section puts all Abilities, Free Packs, Limitations, and Mechanics together for ease of reference. Keep in mind, Afflictions are not Races, these Traits are additive, they do not replace Racial Traits. |
| | ===Abilities=== |
| | {| class="wikitable" style="width:50%;" |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;" | | |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;" |
| ! Ability Name | | ! Ability Name |
| Line 170: |
Line 83: |
| ! Modifiers | | ! Modifiers |
| |- | | |- |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Leader’s Rally | | | style="background-color:#e5ffcc;" | Chem Revive |
| | Mundane Technique | | | Active Technique |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}} | | | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}} |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Leader's Rally | The user rallies their allies into combat, granting up to two other people 2 Strength that can break cap up to a maximum of 9 for their next two basic attack emotes. This technique requires an ally to be used, and goes on a 2 hour cooldown immediately after being used. The same person can only be affected by Leader's Rally once per hour. | | | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Chem Revive | To empower an Ally, Target them with this Ability. If the Ally reaches 0 HP, they are instead revived with 1 temporary HP, and given 2 more Attack Emotes. If either of these Attack Emotes was able to put an enemy down to 0 HP, the 1 temporary HP is converted to permanent HP. If they fail to put an enemy to 0 HP, the temporary HP is removed, and they KO properly. This Ability cannot be used on a person already affected by Radiant Revive and vice versa. Chem Revive has a 2 Hour Cooldown. |
| | }} |
| | | {{#simple-tooltip: Undead Modifier | Undead cannot use this Ability on anyone but themselves. Instead, this Ability is always active (meaning they do not need to use it), and automatically triggers when they go to 0 HP. Also, this Ability has a 1 Hour Cooldown for Undead instead of 2 Hours. |
| }} | | }} |
| | N/A
| |
| |}
| |
|
| |
| ====Warden Specials====
| |
| *'''Warden’s Will:''' Wardens break the Constitution Proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7.
| |
| *'''Made to Serve:''' Wardens, however, constantly suffer a -2 to their Main Combat Stat.
| |
| *'''Eternal Watch:''' Wardens can seamlessly enter a hibernatory state while in a Clandestine Base or religious temple, appearing indistinguishable from statues or other decor.
| |
| *'''Cursed:''' Wardens can spend points in [[Curses Point Buy]].
| |
| ===Lich===
| |
| Undead Liches are magically potent and often begin as necromancers seeking to artificially extend their own lives by entering a magically-enhanced state of Undeath. Driven by the pursuits of absolute power and knowledge, those who become Liches are so ambitious that they would discard their very lives and mortal souls in order to become something they perceive as greater. It is no coincidence that of most Undead Variants, Liches tend to be the least sane and also the most ruthless and cruel. A nameless Lich who calls themselves ‘the Archmage’ and claims to be the last existing Archmage from the Allorn Empire is rumored to dwell within ancient ruins in the Sundered Lands.
| |
| ====Lich Abilities====
| |
| {| class="wikitable";
| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| |
| ! Ability Name
| |
| ! Ability Type
| |
| ! Ability Range
| |
| ! Ability Description
| |
| ! Modifiers
| |
| |- | | |- |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Power Hex
| |
| | Control Power
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Power Hex | The user can choose a Target in Emote Range to hex. This person becomes controlled by the user. The user must then choose a direction (north, east, south, or west) and move the Target in that direction (this all happens instantly). The Target is moved by their total Strength Points and total Constitution Points combined, times two. If the Target would be moved over 20 Blocks (regardless if there is space), they are also Dazed for 2 minutes. Dazed allows them to still move and fight, they just cannot use Abilities or Mundane Techniques for this duration. This Ability has a 30 Minute Cooldown. The same person can only be affected by Power Hex (from any source) once every 30 minutes.}}
| |
| | N/A
| |
| |} | | |} |
| ====Lich Specials==== | | ===Limitations=== |
| *'''Accursed Bargain:''' Liches break the Magic proficiency cap by 1, meaning they can invest up to 8 points, instead of 7. They can also choose an additional Greater Mage Spell Pack if they are a Greater Mage. | | * '''Undead Limitation I:''' Bralona, and Suvial cannot be Undead under any circumstances. Undead also cannot become other Afflictions, or [[Marken]] or [[Archon]]. |
| *'''Fragile Soul:''' Liches, however, cannot invest any points in Constitution.
| | * '''Undead Limitation II:''' Affinities not blocked like [[Arkenborn]] and [[Godborn]] lose their Traits upon becoming Undead. Some visuals may also have to change. |
| *'''Polymath:''' Liches have access to every Special from Spell Point Buy.
| |
| *'''Cursed:''' Liches can spend points in [[Curses Point Buy]].
| |
| ===Reaper===
| |
| Undead Reapers are the persistent, unstoppable pursuers of Death: almost always seen mounted and hunting down their quarry, there are many a folktale in remote corners of Aloria about their terrifying presence and the fear that their thundering hooves in the distance creates. A regiment of Khannar’s Claws, The Basalt Raptors, ride wicked steeds made of Elven bones and Living Metal twisted together and hunt down their prey with vicious swiftness atop them. The Reaper Variant is only for Server Donators with the Supremium Rank, as the Mount Technique requires access to the Pets Plugin. The Pets Plugin has the Mounting feature limited to the Supremium Rank to help support funding for the server which runs on Donations. | |
| ====Reaper Abilities====
| |
| {| class="wikitable";
| |
| |- style="font-weight:bold; text-align:center; background-color:#c0c0c0;"
| |
| ! Ability Name
| |
| ! Ability Type
| |
| ! Ability Range
| |
| ! Ability Description
| |
| ! Modifiers
| |
| |-
| |
| | style="background-color:#beffe5;" | Wild Hunt
| |
| | Mount Technique
| |
| | {{#simple-tooltip: Emote Range | Emote Range means that it can target anyone who is within Emote Range (thus who can see your emotes when you use them).}}
| |
| | Grants the user {{#simple-tooltip: Wild Hunt | The user enhances their mount, allowing them to ethereally ride through people uninterrupted and also become immune to being dismounted for 15 minutes. This ability has a 1 hour cooldown.}}
| |
| | N/A
| |
| |}
| |
| ====Reaper Specials====
| |
| *'''Born to Ride:''' Reapers can choose 2 of the Cavalry Point Buy Packs for free, gaining the Cavalry Summon ability with them.
| |
| *'''Unearthed Mount:''' Reapers can summon and use their Mount in places where Mounts are normally disallowed, such as the Regalian Sewers, using their magic to avoid problems a Mundane Horse would have.
| |
| *'''Soulbound Steed:''' Reapers may ride an Undead mount with unique magical aesthetics, so long as the mount’s appearance obeys the aesthetic guidelines of Undead and it is still recognizable as a mount.
| |
| *'''Cursed:''' Reapers can spend points in [[Curses Point Buy]].
| |
| | |
| ===Husk===
| |
| Undead Husks are those Undead that still cling to who they once were in life, holding onto fragmented memories in hopes they might exist in normalcy again. As a result, they are able to disguise their affliction with relevant Disguise-granting abilities while other Undead cannot, but can only disguise using full body coverings due to their natural decay (meaning they can never use disguises to look like a completely mundane person with no coverings). They do not gain any Abilities or Specials besides the one from their Form, but have access to their Racial Abilities. Wights cannot be Husks.
| |
| | |
| ==Wights==
| |
| Wights are Undead that possess notable power above those of the more common Undead around them, and typically are created by way of some particularly powerful Necromancer, Ordial Artifact or even one of the Beyond's entities themselves. While there is no specific numerical benchmark, an Undead that displays commitment and accuracy to the lore and fulfills a needed niche in the scope of Undead and Ordial roleplay in general can initiate a discussion with Lore Staff for a Wight Custom Kit, which will remain in effect for as long as the Undead character continues to exhibit these traits and sufficient activity. This Custom Kit will have a written set of Abilities and Specials, and as such, this section is very short, as their Ability read-out will depend on what is written for them.
| |
| | |
| ==The Black Convent==
| |
| The Black Convent is a ritual that creates a unique type of ex-Undead, transformed by [[Archon | Soothsayer Archon]]. The Black Convent is a mutual and willing agreement between a Soothsayer, and an Undead, to purge the Undead of their maligned form and putrid body, and turn them into a Primal Revenant. The only type of Primal Revenant that such an ex-Undead can be turned into, is an Anchored Spirit, however a Black Convent Primal Revenant works somewhat differently than normal Primal Revenants. Firstly, Soothsayers have no upper limit of Primal Revenant Anchors in them, so they can attach the ex-Undead to themselves, but they can also attach them to any other willing Archon present in the area of the Undead's "death". Secondly, Black Convent Primal Revenants must continue to be played by the player who played the Undead, and must abandon their body, thus creating a new body from imagination manifestation, or a more ghostly (purple or white or black) appearance of their pre-death self. Additionally, instead of the normal 12 Proficiency Points Anchored Spirits can spend, Black Convent Primal Revenants can spend 14, and cannot invest points into Spell, Theurgy, Thaumaturgy, or Technician Point Buy, but are allowed to spend points elsewhere at will. Black Convent Primal Revenants cannot be killed without Kill Perms (because when killed, they do not respawn), may retain their old name, are still recognizable as their pre-Convent Undead self, and aren't forced to the 6 healthpool, or to hate Ordial things. Note, The Black Convent is irreversible, but also saves the soul from The Beyond, instead anchoring it to the Dragon Worship afterlife. Black Convent Primal Revenants are not treated as detestable Spirits by the Regalian State, so long as they shapeshift in public to appear relatively normal, or passable (for example disguising with armor). Black Convent Primal Revenants who appear like monsters in the streets will still be attacked.
| |
| | |
| ==History==
| |
| It is impossible to discern when the Undead first emerged in Aloria proper. If the Seraph left behind corpses and any became Undead, none of them remain to this day, but their first recorded appearance is marked in the myths and legends of the [[Dewamenet Empire]] as servants of the necromantic mystic Imeshret the Night-Gazer. They aided in the creation of the Sefakhem’s great Vault of the Dead, and if anyone could ever enter its impenetrable depths they’d most likely find mummified bodies encased in sarcophagal armor still wandering the labyrinthian halls of embalmed corpses. Imeshret was said to have even bolstered the Dewamenet forces with Undead he resurrected: it is theorized that what few necromancers emerged among the [[Teledden]] both before and during the age of the [[Allorn Empire]] learned first of the existence of Undead while combating them, and then took the practice of Undead creation from the [[Asha]] peoples they oppressed and nearly obliterated. For these few Teledden, they saw Undead as a way to preserve bodies and legacies and even serve their gods, albeit with a more singular or devoted purpose than they had in life. Undead attendants would come to guard certain temples, and their nature was widely lauded by some zealots for centuries, even as the Allorn Empire declined. Fringe cults like the Children of Kruphos even employed them as soldiers and venerated undeath as a sort of hallowed status, being closer to their great God of the Beyond. At the same time, the Undead still held something of a positive significance for the Asha [[Race]], but the destruction of their empire, along with their centuries of enslavement, largely reduced this to mere legend and myth told by the slaves of their past lives. However, it seems that with the [[Cataclysm]], the [[Wildering]] and all the changes since then, the Undead have earned a somewhat darker reputation. The Grand Temple fell into disrepair, and the Undead populace that still lingered there grew aggressive and unwieldy without the control of their masters. As for wider Aloria, the Undead had an abysmal reputation among most of the [[Ailor]], mainly for religious reasons. A majority of faiths saw the resurrection of the dead as unnatural and an abomination against the will of the universe and their gods, Human souls returned to or entered a new plane after leaving Aloria, and it was torture and unjust to drag them back and force them to remain. [[Unionism]] specifically developed practices to prevent Undeadism, such as removing significant organs, burning bodies, and decapitating someone after death. There are some exceptions seen in certain (entirely heretical) cults like Therin’s Tongues. The same proved true in many other faiths that emerged as the decades wore on after the Cataclysm, but the real anti-Undead fervor broke out only several decades ago.
| |
| | |
| The leading cause for these feelings was continued problems with the Undead on [[Etosil]], which were actively concerning the [[Regalian Empire]]'s military officials. But then came an event that changed the course of Alorian history, the [[Undead Scare]]. Emperor [[Justinian II]], the last [[Ivrae]] Emperor of [[Regalia]], had three sons: Therin the youngest, Juvi, the middle, and the elder Augustus. In 279 AC, Therin attacked Juvin and slew him in his bed-chamber, after which he proceeded to confront Augustus to do the same and claim the throne for himself. While Augustus overpowered his brother and had him formally hanged, Therin rose from the family catacombs in the night as an Undead and sought his revenge. He crept back into Augustus' bedroom and murdered him in his sleep. The guards arrived too late and were horrified to see the corpse of Therin gnawing on Augustus’s throat. This single Undead attack distinguished the future of the Ivrae family. Justinian II had no male heirs left, and his brother had only sired daughters. The throne passed to [[House Kade]] 23 years later, where it has remained to this day. Opinions against the Undead increased after that evening, and they have long been slain on sight across the Empire as a result. This situation has continued into today, though ironically, [[Aetosian]]s and the Undead are at somewhat of a more positive position than any point prior in the past thanks to the Undead’s attacks against the [[Bone Horrors]] during the [[Bone Horror Crisis]] several years ago, thus saving most of Etosil. As of the present day, the Emperor has allowed some Undead to peacefully exist so long as they adhere and practice as good Unionists, though the rest are still treated with the same abhorrence.
| |
| | |
| ==Culture==
| |
| There is no defining ‘Undead Culture’ to speak of, because Undead are all born of different races and cultures from their past lives: a great many of them still remember aspects of the lifestyles and peoples they came from and still adhere to them, while others adopt the cultures of those who resurrect them. Not every Undead in the Bone King’s army was born Aetosian or grew up Evintarian, but they certainly become so once they’ve been returned for their new King’s designs. Undead quite frequently engage in [[Ordial Cultism]] as the majority of the cults accept and even encourage their existence, giving them a new home and place in the world after their resurrection.
| |
| | |
| ===Noteworthy Undead and Groups===
| |
| ====The Sadeir====
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| The Undead servants of the Ordial God [[Ordial Cultism#Seleya|Seleya]], the Sadeir is the collective name for all the Undead beneath her command and are comprised of resurrected Sariyd who perished in the Great Storm alongside a litany of vile Undead constructs made by Seleya and the strongest necromancers in her service. With their corpses so old and almost entirely obliterated by the sands that killed them, the Sadeir are almost entirely Hollows and Wraiths with even some spectral Dune Phantoms among their number. They tend to be cobbled together from fragments of old Sariyd technology and the salvaged parts of desert-dwelling animals, even taking on spider or scorpion-like physical traits in their construction like additional limbs and appendages. They constantly war with the Songaskian forces in Farahdeen and are what the [[Ordial Cultism#The Lantern|Lantern]] worshippers and Mages among the Songaskian spend most of their time and resources combating. Most notorious of them is Allehgazh Nine-Eyes, a powerful Wight in Seleya’s inner circle and the keeper of the only existing key to her sacred, secret archive. Allehgazh fused themselves with a mechanical scorpion, becoming a sort of part-Undead part-clockwork monstrosity that terrorizes the dunes when they emerge to fight the Songaskian forces. Rumors and fear mongers return from the Undead-infested deserts with chilling stories about a titanic war-machine that the Sadeir are building: a massive city-sized spider forged from the remnants of the Sariyd’s most magnanimous creations left beneath the dunes. Whether it exists or not is less concerning to some than the idea of where it could be pointed, and when it might be ready.
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| ====The Bone King====
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| Perhaps the single most infamous Undead in Aloria is the Bone King of Etosil himself. Born a nameless Ailor slave who escaped with others and took up residence on the lawless isle of Etosil, the man who would become the Bone King took up the moniker Thyemos after the arrival of the Ailor Evintarians who were expelled from Regalia and migrated there, bringing order to the island. Thyemos would not find peace or satisfaction with his new rulers, though, as he had escaped slavery once before and resolved that no man would ever be his master again. He would lead an ill-fated rebellion against his town’s governance that resulted in nothing but his sparse gaggle of supporters dying upon the spears of the local militia, sending him fleeing to the rocky cliffs and shores of the island. It would be there that his fate changed forever, stumbling across an old doorway mostly covered by rubble and boulders. Forcing his way inside, he came across the deserted ruins of what was once a temple dedicated to the Allorn god Amelaan and home to a long-dead contingent of the Allorn-era Ordial Cult, the Children of Kruphos. At first, he found nothing but dust, cobwebs, desiccated tomes, and filthy skeletons among the wreckage, but the sounds of soldiers outside forced him deeper into the temple and into its sanctum. There he found an alien altar of some kind, and upon it, a crown forged of black iron and spikes of bone. It spoke to him, and what exactly it said is known only to the Bone King himself, but whatever it was, it was compelling enough to prompt him to put the crown on. The guards outside were horrified as they witnessed an army of Allorn skeletons come crawling out of the temple’s ruins, all commanded by the crown-wearing Thyemos himself, and soon enough the guards were made part of his new Undead army. The Bone King’s story from then on is clear enough to most: making a name for himself by waging war with his ever-growing Undead army, forcing victims into his sarcophagi made of bone and slaying them only to resurrect them with the crown’s power as a new soldier. He would eventually be convinced to find peace with Aetosil thanks to the urging of Emperor Cedromar during the Bone Horror Crisis, as the Exist-influenced horrors were an affront even to a servant of the Beyond like the Bone King. What his motives and goals now are entirely uncertain, but the peace has lasted: for now.
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| ====Therin’s Tongues====
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| Within the many individual sects and cults of the [[Unionist]] faith, there is a rather secretive and completely illegally heretical subsect of Evintarian Unionism that typically refers to themselves as Therin’s Tongues. Formed primarily of Undead who still retain devotion to the Everwatcher and Divines after their resurrection, the Tongues take their name and the core of their beliefs from the youngest son of the deceased Emperor [[Justinian II]], Therin, who was tangled up in a bloody conflict with his brothers that resulted in his resurrection as an Undead and subsequent murder of his elder sibling. The Tongues believe his return from the land of the dead was a holy mission and even brought about by the Everwatcher and so his murder was justified. As far as their practices are concerned, not much differs from typical Unionism aside from a reverence for their fellow Undead as all being souls returned by the Everwatcher’s will, and possessing some sort of holy duty being the reason for their resurrection. The most devout even remove their own tongues in an extreme vow of silence, keeping said tongues in phylacteries of their own for safeguarding, as the secrets of Death are not theirs to tell. Some even go a step further and take the tongues of others who they consider to have committed heinous crimes against their faith, collecting them in a similar fashion.
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| | ===Mechanics=== |
| | * '''Undead-Life:''' Undead are not immortal, but their life is extended by several centuries, up to a maximum of 500. There are in theory older Undead, but we do not permit players to play 500+ year old Characters. |
| | * '''Undead-Forge:''' Undead are able to apply Ordial aesthetics and decorations on objects they own, armor, weapons, rental regions, and areas around them, creating undead effects and decorations. |
| | * '''Undead-Biotic:''' Undead no longer need biological processes. They do not breathe, do not need to drink or eat, sleep, or rest, and cannot be fed from by Vampires, Cahal, or Geists. |
| | * '''Undead-Graft:''' Undead can add objects and body parts removed from other living or Undead to repair parts of their body, meaning they can heal themselves while outside of Combat and recover lost limbs. |
| | ===Deathrotten-only Mechanics=== |
| | * '''Undead-Speech:''' Undead are able to communicate in a secret language that only Undead, Geists and Geist-Thralls and Geist-Broods can understand, that cannot be understood through other Abilities or Mechanics. |
| | * '''Deathrot-Form:''' Undead can use Afflicted Form to transform into a Disguised Monster Form. Even though this is a Disguise, it cannot be seen through, even by Abilities or Mechanics that can see through Disguises. |
| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| *In places where necromancy is either legal or looked over, some necromancers turn a very healthy profit by resurrecting the dead pets of the wealthy who can’t bear to be parted from their favorite companions. | | *In places where necromancy is either legal or looked over, some necromancers turn a very healthy profit by resurrecting the dead pets of the wealthy who can’t bear to be parted from their favorite companions. It should be noted however, that these pets are not Undead, but rather Ordial Shades forced into corpses as Spirits. |
| *With the rise in publicity of knowledge about Ordial powers and Undead, so too has the paranoia of those who hate them risen, leading the most radical of conspiracy theorists to believe that the Regalian Empire may be entirely controlled by phantom-possessed people. | | *With the rise in publicity of knowledge about Ordial powers and Deathrotten Undead, so too has the paranoia of those who hate them risen, leading the most radical of conspiracy theorists to believe that the Regalian Empire may be entirely controlled by phantom-possessed people. |
| *A rumor for nearly two decades after it happened was that the Emperor couldn’t bear to kill his last remaining son, despite his Undead status. Instead, he kept him chained and secured away in the deepest reaches of the Imperial Palace. | | *A rumor for nearly two decades after it happened was that the Emperor couldn’t bear to kill his last remaining son, despite his Undead status. Instead, he kept him chained and secured away in the deepest reaches of the Imperial Palace. |
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| {{Afflictions}} | | {{Afflictions}} |
| {{Accreditation | | {{Accreditation |
| |Writers = Finlaggan, HydraLana | | |Writers = MonMarty |
| |Processors = Birdsfoot_Violet, HydraLana | | |Processors = Birdsfoot_Violet |
| }} | | }} |
| [[category:Afflictions]] [[category:Ordial Afflictions]] | | [[category:Afflictions]] [[category:Ordial Afflictions]] |
