[Scoop?] Libris Mortis: The Book of the Undead, from WotC

[johnnype]

I for one hope they include a Necromancer base class. IMO it is the one focus that has yet to see a good set of rules. Sure we have the Cleric and or Wizard that can focus on necromantic spells or one of the many of prestige classes published so far that try to narrow the focus even more. I don't know about anyone else but I don't see any of those choices as sufficient. So far Green Ronin has come the closest with the class in Secret College of Necromancy but that class was a bit wonky.

Other than that I'm looking forward to this book. I suspect they will use templates to describe most of the monsters to give it the flexibility that's become so common in D20 supplements these days. Good move, Now if we could just get a book about lycanthropes...

 

[Desdichado]

I'm confused. Each time I click the link, it comes up with Charlize Theron on the left...

Which page are you getting?

Yep, with Kate Beckinsale in the center. Either way, what's the problem? I can look at either quite happily.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Well it is a relatively unattractive picture of Theron IMO.

"Relatively", of course, being the key word.

Like a relatively pretty picture of Winston Churchill, or a relatively short picture of Kareem Abdul-Jabar.

-Hyp.

 

[Taelorn76]

sometimes in translations words get transposed so could the title be "The Dead Book"

 

[Hypersmurf]

sometimes in translations words get transposed so could the title be "The Dead Book"

That would be liber mortuus.

-Hyp.

 

[Lord Rasputin]

That sounds more like "not dead" than "undead". Is there a Latin word for undead? (Hypersmurf? Rasputin?) Or do you end up with something like "Book of Those Who Are Sort Of Dead But Not Really"?

Mortuus -- dead (ppa of mori, to die)
In -- negating prefix

in + mortuus > immortuus

I suppose with D&D undead, this should be neuter. My Latin dictionary gives the same word as to die in, to die into, to get sick over, with the reason for this death or destination taking the dative. I cannot see how anyone would ever use this even once in his life, so the Ludus Domini Rasputinis changes it to its new meaning, at least for use in fantasy roleplaying.

 

[Allanon]

On the topic of the name we can only hope that WotC reads this and decides to change the name. I'd buy the book regardless but somehow I'd be more inclined the like it if the name felt... wel right . And to me either Liber Immortuus or Liber Mortuorum sound better than Libris Mortis .

 

[RangerWickett]

Why couldn't they have just called it, "The Book of the Dead," instead of trying to rip off Ambient, Inc.'s Librum Equitis line? *grin*

I mean, "The Book of the Dead" sounds appropriately creepy, and it matches up with the movie The Mummy.

 

[Dirigible]

Maybe they should do a book for PCs - Liber Morituri ?

 

[Gez]

What about Living Dead, rather than Dead or Undead?

In WotC's latin, it would be Libris Vivimortis.