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Author Topic: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere  (Read 910 times)

Grek

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Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« on: May 10, 2011, 10:47:42 pm »

In the most recent dev log, Toady said that the secrets of raising the dead and gaining eternal life are going to be something that you can learn from gods with the Death sphere. I disagree with this decision, and feel that you should NOT get the ability to reverse death from the Death sphere. Death-related secrets should involve causing people to die, preventing things from reversing death, banishing ghosts and possibly predicting/prevent death. But it probably shouldn't allow one to reverse death. That power should go under the doman of a Life Sphere, or, more likely, an Undeath sphere. Maybe even by having secrets of both Life and Death, as the phrase "mastery over the secrets of life and death" would suggest that you'd need.

Likewise, the Life sphere, when it gets powers, should not get the power to take away life nor the power to reverse life and undo someone's birth. And a strong argument could be made that the Light sphere shouldn't allow you to cause rooms to become dark by making the light go away, and that the Fire Sphere shouldn't have an ability to put out fires by forcing the fire to stop burning.
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ullrich

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Re: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2011, 11:57:42 am »

In most games death spheres are associated with undeath if there is not a specific undeath sphere.

Keep in mind that undead are also referred to as the walking dead, and not thought of as being alive so any association with life sphere would be kind of silly, resurrection (as in coming back from the dead and being alive not undead) could be associated with the life sphere.

As in the eternal life thing, if its associated with the death sphere I would assume it would be in terms similar to being a lich, i.e. intelligent undead, or sacrificing others to extend his life, i.e. offerings to the death god in exchange for and extension on his life. If it is normal life forever it should be associated with the life sphere.
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Silverionmox

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Re: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2011, 01:33:19 pm »

I think it's a good occasion to break the stereotypical death=zombies=evil association. I'd really love to see a benevolent death god.
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lordnincompoop

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Re: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2011, 01:42:51 pm »

I think it's a good occasion to break the stereotypical death=zombies=evil association. I'd really love to see a benevolent death god.

Hades. Despite modern belief, Hades tended toward a more passive attitude in Greek mythology, chiefly concerned with maintaining balance. He occasionally committed acts of altruism, but was never outright evil; simply distant and cold.
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Neonivek

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Re: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2011, 01:56:03 pm »

Hades the place tended to be REALLY REALLY passive agressive... with emphasis on the aggressive. It was probably THE most dangerous torture filled locations in Greek mythology... and that is INCLUDING Tartarus (depending if you consider Tartarus part of Hades)

It is rather common for places of the dead/death to be UTTARLY dangerous for those living. Even when a culture respects death itself.

Not to mention "Undeath" isn't too uncommon for places of death. They just tend not to be a bad thing in a place of death because they are simply moving onto the afterlife. Mind you they tended not to be mindless zombies... but ehhh.

So to me it isn't that Death lands are evil... it is that Death lands are FOR the dead and accomidate for those that are unliving.

In Kings Quest 6s underworld it wasn't an absolutely horrible place... It is just that the dead (in the form of ghosts) slay the living with but a touch.
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Silverionmox

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Re: Death Sphere =/= Undeath Sphere
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2011, 02:18:51 pm »

I think it's a good occasion to break the stereotypical death=zombies=evil association. I'd really love to see a benevolent death god.

Hades. Despite modern belief, Hades tended toward a more passive attitude in Greek mythology, chiefly concerned with maintaining balance. He occasionally committed acts of altruism, but was never outright evil; simply distant and cold.

Yes, that. Also:

The exact origin of Mother Hulda is difficult to trace but it is thought that the character originated in Norse mythology, where she is associated with a number of different deities including Frigg and Hel; also in German, there is an etymologic connection between the name Holle, the name Hel, and the word for hell (Hölle).

Hel is the queen of Hel, the Norse underworld, and described in Norse mythology as a half-dead, half alive monster, but in German mythology she was viewed with some beneficence, as a more gentle form of death and transformation. In this context, Mother Hulda is connected with Hertha, the goddess of peace and fertility, otherwise known as Hlodyn in the Edda. Hlodyn herself was more commonly referred to as Jord, the personification of the primitive, unpopulated, and uncultivated Earth. She is one of the wives of the chief god Odin and the mother of the god Thor. Since the term mother goddess is used interchangeably in various texts across Europe it is possible that some confusion exists over the exact status of Jord and Frigg in this context.
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