Necromantic spells banned
- Thread starter Festivus
- Start date
darthkilmor
First Post
Festivus said:
take off the trailing ), sorry.
Graf
Explorer
Cheiromancer said:
This has another interesting benefit.
What happens after control is enforced?
Books are burned. Somebody panics and starts claiming (or trying to claim or steal)) books with necromantic magic.
Initially they could have good intentions but they could become tainted over time as well.
It plays to expectations while still allowing some novel story developments.
arscott
First Post
It could be simple politics. The guildmaster is an enchanter with necromancy as a prohibited school, and his allies in the guild also have little use for the art. His main political rival, however, is a necromancer.
The guildmaster is a follower of Cyric, and skilled in the arts of manipulation and deceit. Seeing opportunity after the necromancer's defeat, he arranged to have the local preist of kelemvor killed and replaced by a doppelganger cleric. Once the doppelganger was in place, it called for restrictions on the practice of necromancy and the guildmaster quickly aquiesced.
With the new restrictions in place, the guildmaster can insure that only his trusted allies have access to necromancy spells. Meanwhile, the doppelganger and other highly-placed followers of Cyric encourange mistrust of necromancy among the city's non-wizard elite. Soon, the guildmaster's necromancer rival will have almost no support outside the guild.
Internally, the guildmaster plans to enact even more odious restrictions on necromancy. He'll claim that the guild should police their own, rather than let the supersitious citizenry go on a witchhunt against all arcane casters. This should result in a polarization within the guild--On one side are the guildmaster and his supporters, along with those who really do mistrust necromancy and those who don't want to be seen as necromancy supporters or just don't want to rock the boat. On the other (much smaller) side are the necromancer, his allies, and those few folks willing to stand up against the witchhunt.
The guildmaster hopes that the necromancer or one of his allies will openly defy the ban. That will give him the justification to expel the necromancer and his allies from the guild, or even eliminate them in a more permanent fashion.
The guildmaster is a follower of Cyric, and skilled in the arts of manipulation and deceit. Seeing opportunity after the necromancer's defeat, he arranged to have the local preist of kelemvor killed and replaced by a doppelganger cleric. Once the doppelganger was in place, it called for restrictions on the practice of necromancy and the guildmaster quickly aquiesced.
With the new restrictions in place, the guildmaster can insure that only his trusted allies have access to necromancy spells. Meanwhile, the doppelganger and other highly-placed followers of Cyric encourange mistrust of necromancy among the city's non-wizard elite. Soon, the guildmaster's necromancer rival will have almost no support outside the guild.
Internally, the guildmaster plans to enact even more odious restrictions on necromancy. He'll claim that the guild should police their own, rather than let the supersitious citizenry go on a witchhunt against all arcane casters. This should result in a polarization within the guild--On one side are the guildmaster and his supporters, along with those who really do mistrust necromancy and those who don't want to be seen as necromancy supporters or just don't want to rock the boat. On the other (much smaller) side are the necromancer, his allies, and those few folks willing to stand up against the witchhunt.
The guildmaster hopes that the necromancer or one of his allies will openly defy the ban. That will give him the justification to expel the necromancer and his allies from the guild, or even eliminate them in a more permanent fashion.
Kesh
First Post
Take a page from modern practices. Maybe it's politics: the mages' guild allows the clerical order to impose this restriction because there's enough of an outcry from the citizens and government that, if they refused, the clerical order could raise a serious issue with the government. And if it becomes law that necromancy is banned... well, things could get very ugly very quickly.
That could lead to the PCs becoming an activist group of sorts, which may or may not be fun for the players.
The other possibility is that the clerical order has certain information that the mages' guild does not want public. Perhaps the necromancer the PCs took down had a "deal" with certain members of government and, if that were revealed, it would ruin the guild's reputation within the city/nation.
That could lead to the PCs becoming an activist group of sorts, which may or may not be fun for the players.
The other possibility is that the clerical order has certain information that the mages' guild does not want public. Perhaps the necromancer the PCs took down had a "deal" with certain members of government and, if that were revealed, it would ruin the guild's reputation within the city/nation.
And it would logically follow that other schools of magic would be likewise suspect.
Once Necromancy is banned, someone is sure to protest the summoning of Outsiders (Conjuration, Druidic types in particular would be less-than-fond of Outsiders traipsing around the natural world), or magically spying on people (Divination, which the nobility and merchant class would *heartily* approve of, since they could get away with so much more), or the deliberate use of lies and deception (Illusion, various fans of truth, honor and justice, offended by the idea of an entire school of magic devoted to lying to people), or mind-controlling magics that turn break all laws and violate basic human dignity by enslaving people (Enchantment).
Once the sled gets going down that slope, Evocation really doesn't have many *nice* uses, does it? So dangerous. Best to forbid it's practice (and training, and even preparation of 'the magics of destruction and war') within the city limits, save in times of war, under appropriate military supervision, especially those related to *fire* after that massive and tragic and oh-so-convenient fire that sprung up in the poor quarter last fall...
By the end of it, Abjuration will likely be the only school of college that *doesn't* mortally offend people on a visceral level, but even then, a few (faked, obviously) instances of athletes or duelists or champions 'cheating' through the use of Abjuration spells could pump up a groundswell of support for banning this last school of arcane magic. One beloved champion being humiliated by some foreign champion, one of those thrice-damned Thayvians, because he cheated and used Abjuration spells to ward away the city champion's blade, and the tide will easily erode the last arcane school.
Who would have a reason to go anti-arcanist? Devotees of Shar, Bane or that sphere of annhilation thing they worship in Luthcheq / Chessenta or anyone else who has an axe to grind with Mystra and her mad power-grab. The clergy of Kelemvore don't have to be evil, just misguided. It's *perfectly reasonable* for them to want to control Necromancy, just as Talos would like to enhance his portfolio to include Wild Magic and destructive magic, and Cyruk has tried to move in on the Illusion school. Mystra's not in the strongest position, and the other gods are like wolves, circling in and trying to pick apart her portfolio to enhance their own.
Once Necromancy is banned, someone is sure to protest the summoning of Outsiders (Conjuration, Druidic types in particular would be less-than-fond of Outsiders traipsing around the natural world), or magically spying on people (Divination, which the nobility and merchant class would *heartily* approve of, since they could get away with so much more), or the deliberate use of lies and deception (Illusion, various fans of truth, honor and justice, offended by the idea of an entire school of magic devoted to lying to people), or mind-controlling magics that turn break all laws and violate basic human dignity by enslaving people (Enchantment).
Once the sled gets going down that slope, Evocation really doesn't have many *nice* uses, does it? So dangerous. Best to forbid it's practice (and training, and even preparation of 'the magics of destruction and war') within the city limits, save in times of war, under appropriate military supervision, especially those related to *fire* after that massive and tragic and oh-so-convenient fire that sprung up in the poor quarter last fall...
By the end of it, Abjuration will likely be the only school of college that *doesn't* mortally offend people on a visceral level, but even then, a few (faked, obviously) instances of athletes or duelists or champions 'cheating' through the use of Abjuration spells could pump up a groundswell of support for banning this last school of arcane magic. One beloved champion being humiliated by some foreign champion, one of those thrice-damned Thayvians, because he cheated and used Abjuration spells to ward away the city champion's blade, and the tide will easily erode the last arcane school.
Who would have a reason to go anti-arcanist? Devotees of Shar, Bane or that sphere of annhilation thing they worship in Luthcheq / Chessenta or anyone else who has an axe to grind with Mystra and her mad power-grab. The clergy of Kelemvore don't have to be evil, just misguided. It's *perfectly reasonable* for them to want to control Necromancy, just as Talos would like to enhance his portfolio to include Wild Magic and destructive magic, and Cyruk has tried to move in on the Illusion school. Mystra's not in the strongest position, and the other gods are like wolves, circling in and trying to pick apart her portfolio to enhance their own.
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