Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: How does a necromancer work?  (Read 1701 times)

Berossus

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
How does a necromancer work?
« on: February 03, 2014, 05:52:27 pm »

BY work i mean, does he need line of sight, direct access or just generally be near to raise a corpse?
Like, if a necro in a room with glass windows to another room in which a rather dead being is located, can he raise it?
And, like, if theres dwarves with hammers to kill it again, can he, like raise it again?
Just want to know, just in case i get the inevitable vampire on my new evil embark, and he could stumble across a hammer and a chamber with a target that never truly expires... (if this works id call him Ham-pire. Cause of the hammer and stuff.)
Logged
My son, many speak of the honor in war.
My preferred method is to wait until their back is turned, then impale them with a pike held by someone else.
Preferrably from a distance.

WanderingKid

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Overfiend
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2014, 06:01:41 pm »

BY work i mean, does he need line of sight, direct access or just generally be near to raise a corpse?
Line of Sight and range.

Quote
And, like, if theres dwarves with hammers to kill it again, can he, like raise it again?
Yes.

EvilBob22

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #2 on: February 03, 2014, 06:04:59 pm »

The raising happens pretty much instantly, so make sure there is a way to cut off the line of sight.

Also, vampires are generally not attacked by undead, although it may be different with a necromancer that is "at war" with your civilization.
Logged
I will run the experiment to completion anyway, however. Even if the only reason why there is a punctured equilibrium in the fortress is because I have been brutally butchering babies
EDIT: I just remembered that dwarves can't equip halberds. That might explain why the squads that use them always die.

ShadowHammer

  • Bay Watcher
  • God is love.
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2014, 10:00:26 pm »

The raising happens pretty much instantly, so make sure there is a way to cut off the line of sight.

Also, vampires are generally not attacked by undead, although it may be different with a necromancer that is "at war" with your civilization.
The undead are only aggressive towards the living*, so they won't attack vampires no matter what unless they are attacked first, which the vampire will only do if you directly order them to. This can get a little tedious, having to renew the kill order every time the vampire kills its target. However, if you are willing to put in the effort, it is very effective training.

*actually I have heard that different necromancers' zombies will fight each other, but I don't think that's accurate. Not sure though.
Logged

WanderingKid

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Overfiend
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2014, 06:36:35 am »

*actually I have heard that different necromancers' zombies will fight each other, but I don't think that's accurate. Not sure though.

They don't, at least not in vanilla.

Lich180

  • Bay Watcher
  • Avatar by PlutoniumApe, "Urist McGuyFieri"
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2014, 07:01:08 am »

Husks and thralls that are created slightly apart well fight each other, but that's because of the way they get the "opposed to life" tags IIRC.
Logged

4maskwolf

  • Bay Watcher
  • 4mask always angle, do figure theirs!
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2014, 11:16:32 pm »

I've seen amusing things with horse husks because they retain their civ loyalty after husking, resulting in an endless battle.

Necrisha

  • Bay Watcher
  • 0.0 0.o o.0 o.o -.- zzzZ
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2014, 11:35:33 pm »

Wait- I can have a nearly endless battle between husk dwarves and husk goblins + associated animals?
Logged
EDIT: Keas restricted to tropical forests where they belong.  Those evil, EVIL, foul little things.
 
Edit: The baby murderer became a friend of the fortress, which started a loyalty cascade, and now most of the squad is dead.

Button

  • Bay Watcher
  • Plants Specialist
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2014, 11:52:10 am »

*actually I have heard that different necromancers' zombies will fight each other, but I don't think that's accurate. Not sure though.

IIRC that's a loyalty spiral sort of issue that can happen with a player necromancer in Adventure mode.
Logged
I used to work on Modest Mod and Plant Fixes.

Always assume I'm not seriously back

misko27

  • Bay Watcher
  • Lawful Neutral; Prophet of Pestilence
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2014, 10:03:15 pm »

Husks and thralls that are created slightly apart well fight each other, but that's because of the way they get the "opposed to life" tags IIRC.
I believe so. They are still enemies of the things they were enemies of before, so they will fight it out.

The permanent resurrection thing will be gone in the next version though.
Logged
The Age of Man is over. It is the Fire's turn now

ImagoDeo

  • Bay Watcher
  • [NOT_THINK:UNTHINKABLE]
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #10 on: February 06, 2014, 05:22:25 pm »

I've seen amusing things with horse husks because they retain their civ loyalty after husking, resulting in an endless battle.

I have this going on in a succession fort right now. It sucks. None of my dwarves can fight the husks or it starts a loyalty spiral among my dwarves. At the same time, the husks are camping out right by the trade depot, and I don't want to abandon the surface or anything. *sigh*
Logged
What would it be like to live in a world that was copy/pasted? Would we even notice? If not, how many times have we switched celestial harddrives or whatever?

KingBacon

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: How does a necromancer work?
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2014, 02:48:58 am »

Man I had a hallway of traps where necromancers would constantly resurrect he pieces of dead necros. I believe if the bodypart has the grasp tag, it can also resurrect. So you have the hands of necros being raised to call up the bodies of dead necros.

Now imagine a giant centipede where every limb has the grasp tag. Now imagine it being a necromancer and fighting axe dorfs.
Logged
    e    e   e    U   U     
, , , . , , , , , , , ; , , , , , ; , , , , , 
. . . . . . . e U e   . . 0╬0 
###x##############
###x .  . ☼ ☼####£####
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~