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About the undead
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7898335" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>That is... a lot of text. Dude is in dire need of an editor. Here's my attempt to sum up:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When a creature dies, its soul spends a while in the <s>Shadowfell</s> Plane of Long Shadows before passing on to the outer planes.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Part of the process of passing on is shedding the dark emotions and impulses that burden the soul.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The cast-off dark impulses form an entity known as a shade, which can find its way back into the material plane. There, it possesses either a corpse or an animus (the animating force of a living creature), creating a corporeal or incorporeal undead respectively.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This being the case, undead are inherently evil. Creating undead is bringing evil things into the world. Trying to use undead for good purposes is playing with fire at best.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">"True undead" are created when some force anchors the original soul to the undead being, either within the same body (e.g., a vampire) or within a separate object (a lich). Such souls are relentlessly corrupted and twisted, sinking into horrific evil.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When a lot of creatures die in one place, or a creature dies in a way that evokes powerful negative emotions, the veil is thinned and shades can more easily find their way back there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Properly disposing of the bodies of the dead can reduce the chance of an undead arising.</li> </ul><p>I feel like he started with the 4E view of undead and fleshed it out into something more coherent and well defined. The results are pretty neat once you pare away the excess verbiage. Though I'm not sure why it is necessary to distinguish "animus" from "shade" - seems like it would work fine to have incorporeal undead be simply "naked shades" that have slipped back into the material plane.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7898335, member: 58197"] That is... a lot of text. Dude is in dire need of an editor. Here's my attempt to sum up: [LIST] [*]When a creature dies, its soul spends a while in the [S]Shadowfell[/S] Plane of Long Shadows before passing on to the outer planes. [*]Part of the process of passing on is shedding the dark emotions and impulses that burden the soul. [*]The cast-off dark impulses form an entity known as a shade, which can find its way back into the material plane. There, it possesses either a corpse or an animus (the animating force of a living creature), creating a corporeal or incorporeal undead respectively. [*]This being the case, undead are inherently evil. Creating undead is bringing evil things into the world. Trying to use undead for good purposes is playing with fire at best. [*]"True undead" are created when some force anchors the original soul to the undead being, either within the same body (e.g., a vampire) or within a separate object (a lich). Such souls are relentlessly corrupted and twisted, sinking into horrific evil. [*]When a lot of creatures die in one place, or a creature dies in a way that evokes powerful negative emotions, the veil is thinned and shades can more easily find their way back there. [*]Properly disposing of the bodies of the dead can reduce the chance of an undead arising. [/LIST] I feel like he started with the 4E view of undead and fleshed it out into something more coherent and well defined. The results are pretty neat once you pare away the excess verbiage. Though I'm not sure why it is necessary to distinguish "animus" from "shade" - seems like it would work fine to have incorporeal undead be simply "naked shades" that have slipped back into the material plane. [/QUOTE]
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