December 11, 2024, 07:23:40 AM

Author Topic: Alternate Necromancer  (Read 62334 times)

iNano78

  • Ambassador
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1296
  • Banana Stickers 4
  • Playing face-to-face in Ottawa again soon
    • View Profile
    • Ottawa/Gatineau Mage Wars (FB group)
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #45 on: August 25, 2015, 03:03:08 PM »
I would love an Egyptian themed Necro

Agreed.  Doesn't even need to be undead (and I can imagine both game play and thematic reasons why she/he shouldn't be).  See my "speculation" posted in another thread.
  • Favourite Mage: Salenia Forcemaster

jhaelen

  • Full Mage
  • ***
  • Posts: 126
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #46 on: August 27, 2015, 02:22:55 AM »
Well, isn't the Mage Wars setting different from Ancient Earth?
I think it's extremely lazy to simply copy each of Earth's cultures and create a fantasy version of it. Therefore I'm strongly opposed to having something like an Egyptian Necromancer.

JasonBourneZombie

  • Playtester
  • Sr. Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 459
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #47 on: August 27, 2015, 09:05:18 AM »
Couldn't agree more. Honestly, you lost me at non-undead using necromancer. Undead is the theme of the mage after all. Egyptian themed monsters, especially anything to do with Egyptian gods, treads incredibly close to Yugi-oh themes.
  • Favourite Mage: Darkfenne Necromancer
...ergh...argh...

Laddinfance

  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 4646
  • Banana Stickers 2
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #48 on: August 27, 2015, 10:29:54 AM »
Couldn't agree more. Honestly, you lost me at non-undead using necromancer. Undead is the theme of the mage after all. Egyptian themed monsters, especially anything to do with Egyptian gods, treads incredibly close to Yugi-oh themes.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is hardly the only story to use Egyptian themes or uses of their gods and myth. Hawkman and Hawkgirl in DC comics have strong Egyptian ties, as does Black Adam. The sci-fi series Stargate also borrows from Egyptian mythology. The Mummy movies are clearly based in ancient Egypt. The Tomb Kings of Warhammer are unique, but clearly influenced by popularized myth about ancient Egypt. Even traditional Dungeons and Dragons uses the "mummy" as a classic monster (and yes they are undead). Osirion in Pathfinder is another take on Egypt of antiquity.

So, why bring all this up? Well, ancient Egypt is a fantastic setting with numerous themes and ideas that can easily be used today. So, I don't think just because something feels Egyptian, that it will feel like Yu-Gi-Oh!

Now I may be overreacting because you mentioned Yu-Gi-Oh! but I'm going to err on the side of caution. :-)

iNano78

  • Ambassador
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1296
  • Banana Stickers 4
  • Playing face-to-face in Ottawa again soon
    • View Profile
    • Ottawa/Gatineau Mage Wars (FB group)
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #49 on: August 27, 2015, 10:59:41 AM »
I don't know anything about Yu-Gi-Oh. 

Regarding "non-undead using necromancer," just to be clear I meant a Living Necromancer Mage who, by definition, is still all about summoning and dealing with Undead creatures - similar to the current Necromancer.  Some were suggesting that the next Necromancer him/herself should have the Undead trait, and I'm not convinced that should be the case.  But any Necromancer should certainly deal with raising the dead, have a preference for non-living creatures, etc.

*edit*
By the way, am I the only person who thinks that the current Necromancer's art is inspired by a Voodoo witch-doctor or something like that?



« Last Edit: August 27, 2015, 11:03:53 AM by iNano78 »
  • Favourite Mage: Salenia Forcemaster

silverclawgrizzly

  • Charlotte Mage Warrior
  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2480
  • Banana Stickers 4
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #50 on: August 27, 2015, 11:18:06 AM »
I like that you used WWF Pro Wrestler Papa Shango as your comparison pic :)

I agree that Egyptian does not mean Yo-Gi-Oh. Also Egyptian lore in the real world shows us they clearly had a fascinating with death. Their methods for embalming and preservation of corpses were well ahead of other cultures. Much of their mythology involved life after death and the manipulation of energies to influence spirits and death energy itself.

I'm a huge Egyptology buff personally(it shows when I run Scion: Hero.) Off the top of my head I can think of about half a dozen different ways to incorporate the lore into a Necromancer without treading on the toes of other games.
  • Favourite Mage: Straywood Beastmaster
What we must all remember is no matter the game we were all newbies at one point.

JasonBourneZombie

  • Playtester
  • Sr. Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 459
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #51 on: August 27, 2015, 12:09:48 PM »
I don't mean to imply Egypt is yugioh exclusive, but I still think it's going a little out of the way for Mage wars to incorporate. Especially when there are less gimmicky types of dead creatures to choose from. Ghosts are untapped, vampires in Mage wars are living so that is probably out, but is something that could have been done.

There's wights, more ghouls, shades, and other things to choose from. Mummies are fine, you just don't need to crowbar in a civilization to make a theme. I would argue that many of the examples of drawing upon Egyptian mythology (yugioh, the mummy, scion, etc) work well because they take place in a world where Egypt already exists as a historical culture.

As far as the necromancer not being undead, I apologize for my misunderstanding. Yes it doesn't have to be dead, even though I hope we get a dead Mage soon.
  • Favourite Mage: Darkfenne Necromancer
...ergh...argh...

bigfatchef

  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 603
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #52 on: August 27, 2015, 05:03:08 PM »
I completely see a voodoo-Necromancer! Why not looking more into that voodoo cult?! So many altars and conjurations waiting there!
Especially a voodoo-doll installed as Necro-only ranged-attack-"weapon" with different attack traits like cripple or slow would be cool and well themed!  ;D

*edit*
By the way, am I the only person who thinks that the current Necromancer's art is inspired by a Voodoo witch-doctor or something like that?



Coshade

  • Arcane Duels Host
  • Administrator
  • Legendary Mage
  • *****
  • Posts: 1935
  • Banana Stickers 6
    • View Profile
    • Arcane Duels!
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #53 on: August 31, 2015, 03:32:23 PM »
Dark attack spells seem like a really cool idea. There should definitely be a "cultist" mage.
  • Favourite Mage: Malakai Priest

ringkichard

  • Flightless Funpire
  • Playtester
  • Legendary Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 2564
  • Banana Stickers 18
  • Kich, if you prefer.
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #54 on: September 02, 2015, 09:24:59 PM »
Vodun, Vodou, and Voodoo are, "similar, but not entirely separable" syncratic religions practiced in Africa, Haiti, and Louisiana, as part of the heritage of the African diaspora and French and American colonialism.

As much fun as pin cushion dolls, hexes, and spirit possession are, bringing those things into Etheria raises some thorny questions: was/is there slavery in Etheria, where is it practiced,what is it like, who are the slaves, etc.

I know I'm being a funpire, sucking the joy out of a popular pop-culture thing, but Vodun is not the sort of material I would want to see casually appropriated, any more than I'd want to see Kabalah or Sufism used without care and consideration. Zombies have long since escaped their Voodoo-ish inspiration and become a mainstream popular entertainment staple, but the rest of the "voodoo doctor" trope isn't yet divorced from its historical and religious context. The fact that Anglo-America has done so repeatedly already should be a caution, not a license.

I'm not saying Vodou should be off-limits, or that I think any attempt would be doomed. But I do think that when we start basing Mage Wars mages off of the religions practiced by of millions of real people living today, we would have to be very careful to do it right (not all Dark, for example), and maybe Mage Wars isn't really the type of game that handles themes like this well. This game is a violent power fantasy (my favorite, by a long mile) and that's maybe not the direction we'd want to come from in exploring these themes.

--

Wow that ended up way longer and more academic than usual. Sleepy time for Kich, I think. G'night!
I can take the fun out of anything. It's true; here, look at this spreadsheet.

Dragonoverlord666

  • New Mage
  • *
  • Posts: 4
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #55 on: August 05, 2017, 11:34:47 AM »
Almost 2 years further from the last reply on this post
and like 4 years further from druid vs necromancer release ...

Any news of a new necromancer on the horizon? :D

ps i would like really, really love me some good ol' egyptian necromancer lovings <3
(voodoo also seems cool, but maybe an idea for another mage (?))

Iudicium86

  • Jr. Mage
  • **
  • Posts: 72
  • Banana Stickers 0
    • View Profile
Re: Alternate Necromancer
« Reply #56 on: August 05, 2017, 04:09:04 PM »
If another ever comes out, I think I'd be looking forward to a ghost/spirit commanding Necromancer. We've got skeletons and zombies, but the whole game only has one spirit creature. More would be awesome. Maybe some that can possess enemy creatures, giving Dark school a version of Mind Control.

But a swarm of all incorporeal creatures. mhmm that'd just be so fun to control.
  • Favourite Mage: Arraxian Crown Warlock