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[Inithis]

I've been following this story for a while and I finally decided to contribute to this wonderful work of art. I'm willing to wait for updates from Monk, so long as he doesn't let this die.

Has it been stated that golems can only be created in the form of humanoid or animal creatures? Remember the time with that rock? We invested vitality in it. While it didn't seem to have any intelligence, it was "alive" in a sense. Could we then have used that vitality to have it perform tasks? Say we invest a door with vitality. Using Animate Object and Alter Golem could we then "program" it to perform tasks? We could have it keep track of people entering and leaving, or even refuse entrance to predesignated individuals or groups. It could also have the side-affect of making the door stronger and resistant to damage. On a grand scale we could invest entire buildings, castles, or towns.

If the above holds true, it may be possible to create entire automated defense systems using golems. This would be even more useful if Necromatic Sight is required to view the enchantment without the casting of a Detect Vitality spell or some other magical detection.

I do recognize that my ideas would most likely take astronomical amounts of vitality. We could get around this somewhat if we find a way to store vitality in potions, or have people volunteer to give a small amount of their vitality. We could easily get the amount we need if we have enough volunteers. Prejudice against Necromancers will make finding volunteers difficult though.

Nononononononono, you don't get it. First of all, it was never confirmed that vitality is what is needed to create the semblance of life in objects, aside from that inherent in being animated. That was my own hypothesis. Besides, while an imaginative concept, Alter Golem was never indicated to be able to bestow intelligence or programmable function; bestowing an object with "vitality eyes" is far removed from giving it the ability to differentiate between that creature and this creature, and is most definitely nothing like making an object more durable in any sense of the term.

As for the humanoid/animal argument, I didn't mean that we couldn't create golems in other shapes; I apologize for wording my sentence like that. What I meant was that, due to the implications of how we gave that golem sight- which was by imagining ourselves looking at the forest canopy as if we were the golem, and we had eyes- it makes me wonder if we're able to give a golem any ability that we ourselves are not capable of- we can't imagine what it's like the move a set of reverse-jointed legs because we don't have any, we can't imagine what it's like to see like a bee because we don't have bee vision, and because we can't imagine either of those scenarios- if the implication holds true- we can't bestow either of those abilities onto a golem. See what I mean here?

Coming back to this, we can know what it's like to have bee vision. Simply kill a bee, and command undead it. We get to see through it's eyes and use it's muscles. Therefore, we have examples to use in our golems!

[RAM]

So it is just a matter of performing dubious medical experiments...

[Deep Waters]

So it is just a matter of performing dubious medical experiments...

And dubious magical experiments. But hey, we were already doing/planning that anyway.

[Cellmonk]

So it is just a matter of performing dubious medical experiments...

And dubious magical experiments. But hey, we were already doing/planning that anyway.

I was thinking we might as well do some physics experiments too. find out the gravity of our planet. might factor into some of our decisions when it comes to potential flying machines/projectiles. Do we have a unit of measurement for time and length?

[RAM]

Well presumably birds fly, and we can work with birds so the math is all taken care of already...

[Inithis]

So... for the immeadiate future, how are we planning to tell Omo? I seem to remember a good suggestion before we got to the town, but I can't find it now.

[RAM]

I think most of them boiled down to "tell him from a safe distance, preferably from hiding, and be ready to run away as fast as possible...

I think sitting down and telling him the story of how we found out about it also came up at one point...

[Inithis]

Ah, this thread lies in perfect wait for Monk's return.

Hope that is within my lifetime. XD

[Parisbre56]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

What! What could possibly be possessing you to hare off into a warzone!?!

...oh, be careful, you stubborn fool. Just be careful.

[*snip*]impulsively give Elana a big bear hug. She stiffens in surprise for a moment before hugging you back fiercely. After a long moment, you separate, and exit the apartment.

Hm. Elana's showing an inordinate amount of concern for someone I have a feeling we haven't seen in a long time (how long does it take for an elf to finish their novitiate? It was about that long, right? For that matter, how old are we, exactly? I don't recall any mention of our age), even if we recently got back in touch. She may be a friend and former lover, but it seemed as if the break-up was... not pleasant. Especially if it precipitated such a long period of no-contact. In other words, Elana may still have feelings for our lovely necro-elf, which makes the romantic in me swoon with delight. :3 If so, it's unlikely that anything will come of it for various reasons, though I hope we'll at least see her again someday. I doubt romance of any kind, at any time, and with Elana or anyone else will enter this thread, but more exploration into our past, no matter how boring compared to our probable future, would be interesting, I think.
^^^^^^^^thisthisthisthisthisthisthisthis

You could use a golem messenger (since human messengers would be hard to come by, slow and expensive) to keep in touch and ask about magic, once you figure out how golems work and if they can accept conditional orders. Simply take a piece of deadwood, carve it into a crude envelope, add wings and/or propellers, add eyes and ears, add muscles (or whatever golems use), add a brain and tell it to move west until it reaches it destination and then return once a certain word is spoken. You could say that you got it from a merchant who said it's dwarven to avoid some suspicion (even if she does decide to examine it and find it uses Death magic you could say you didn't know).
Once this is done you could do several upgrades to it, mostly to lower detection chance:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

• You could add a small cover that would automatically close when traveling to protect its contents from the elements.
• You could add a compartment for the eyes that would close, hiding them.
• You could use leather to cover it once raised, to lower the chances of detection by sense vitality or purple light.
• You could use the least vitality possible to raise it.
• Order it to deliver its messages at dawn.
• If golems can have visual memory, order it to fly as high as possible when nearing populated lands or the elven border.
• If you can transfer memories to the golem you could order it to only open for a specific person.
• The golem could issue a warning when being handled by someone else, and if that warning is not heeded it could trigger a self-destruct mechanism, similar to a Cryptex.
• On the first message exchanged you could agree on a password, maybe something that only you two would know, something sentimental, as a way to not only increase security, but also make the messages more personal, lead to an overall closer relationship and thus decrease the chances that she will betray you if exposed.
• You could add menacing spikes, right angles or engravings, make the golem out of stone or anything else that could make it look more dwarven.

However this does involve some risks:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

• Even if the device was dwarven and animated through Earth magic it would still be something suspicious and worth of studying.
• Elana might detect the Death magic in the object, automatically marking you as at least suspicious if not more.
• Even if she doesn't someone else might, marking as traitor not only you but Elana as well. This will also probably destroy your relationship with her unless you find a way to tell her you are a Necromancer, however this will be extremely hard with just a letter.
• With magical defenses being set up along the border this form of communication could be hindered (or worse detected) with some kind of undeath ward.
• Enemy mages, necromancers and other entities might be able to intercept your messages and/or feed you false information.
• If golems use up vitality reserves over time the golem might run out of fuel mid-flight, providing someone with information if it is found and scaring you, since you won't know what happened. However since its vitality would have been used up nobody will be able to guess it was made by a necromancer.
• This device requires both the recipient and sender to remain stationary (much like regular mail). If you or Elana are forced to relocate someone else might read the letter.
• Depending on how golems work the device may not function as intended.

Overall, this is a high risk low return investment.

Anyway just a thought.

Great story. Keep up the good work.

[monk12]

Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)

Whoo, beat my self-imposed deadline! Don't mind the six month hiatus. I make no promises about frequency of updates, especially with the holiday season coming up, but we're back. Game on.

For anyone who doesn't remember what the hell we're doing here, I will remind you that each part is linked in the OP for quick reference, whether you want to read the whole shebang again or if you just want to refresh yourself on the particulars of one of your known spells or whatever.

tl;dr - You are heading to the wasteland formerly known as the Sacred Grove, ancestral homeland of the Elves, in the hopes of being able to remove whatever curse despoils that land. The first leg of your journey takes you south to Aloclesno, "The Shaken Forest." With any luck, you'll be able to circumvent the forces of the vile (and supposedly insane) Necromancer Curo Nightroar while also avoiding whatever evil thing haunts the forest. But first, you need to reveal your true nature to Omo Thunderjaw, your best friend and traveling companion.

I say south. It is a forest, we are elves. Given that the locals are spooked, we should stick to the edge if we can, but stay close enough to seek refuge inside the forest without being seen. And we still haven't mentioned to Omo that we have an important secret to tell them...

Omo gestures at the map, tracing your possible paths with his finger. "If we leave now, we can probably make that second village before nightfall. After that, we'll be leaving civilization and need to pick our direction. Going straight along the road should take us two/three days, while detouring could take as long as five. The thing is, we don't know exactly where the Necromancer is- he could be well north or south of the main road and easy to avoid, or he could be squatting on the whole thing with a massive army stretched out to either side."
"Hm... I say we go South. Both ways seem dangerous, but we're both much more familiar with forests than hills. Besides, we can probably just skirt around the edge of the forest if we need to- you said it was only people who went into the forest that vanished, right?"
"Well, he wasn't very clear on the specifics, but that sounds reasonable. The villages closer to the forest probably have more information."
"Good enough- next stop, Aloclesno!"

Shouldering your pack, you accompany Omo down from the walls of the keep before purposefully leading him to the Eastern gate of Larathor. The enormous, iron-strapped wooden doors stand open, vigilant guards on the parapets and tower keeping watch on the traffic below. Most of the incoming travelers appear to be dispossessed farmers- refugees from the depredations of the Necromancer. You and Omo are the only travelers going East.

Go check the horse prices and get mounted if the price is at all reasonable. Ride on until out of sight of town, then stop and tell Omo what we need to tell him. If all goes well, he won't freak and we'll have time to go to the first village on our route and stop for the night. The next day, we ride on to the third village and detour south through the haunted forest. Sound good?

But yes, once we are beyond the edge of the forests, we will truly resume our experiments in earnest. There will be one last thing that needs to be done, though, first. Perhaps a days travel past the boundaries, we will tell Omo there is something we need to show and explain to him. Remind him that he knows us fairly well, and we wouldn't have kept something secret from him this long unless it was important - and to hear us out, in full, before making any decisions. But we hope he decides to stay with us - we need him, not just for his abilities to fight and survive off the land, but to be our ethical compass and a reminder of what we have to lose should we err. Tell him you will explain the rest once camp is set.

Once we've set up camp in a well secluded area, ask him to hunt us up something for dinner while you prepare your story. Once he returns, start at the beginning. Explain how your powers revealed themselves - and how if you didn't use them, they manifested themselves on their own. Ignoring them wasn't an option, so you attempted to learn about them. You don't need to go into details about the specific experiments, simply tell him of the things you learned, and of coming to terms with this. Of your internal conflict, and renewed determination to do something good with what you have realized is a gift. Pevo has told us that not all Necromancers are evil - merely, humans expressing the magic on their own without guidance corrupts an already dangerous discipline even further. Our nature, our life experience, allows us a different path - though we are wary of the dangers, and we wish to rely on Omo to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Then explain how, with these powers, we believe we have a chance to do what the Life Mages could not - remove the taint from our elven homeland. Perhaps it will be beyond our abilities, but if nothing else there is surely something valuable to be learned. If we can learn how to turn our powers in such a way so as to counter the undead, even better - we can use those powers defending out people, should it come to that.

At no point should we outright state "I'm a Necromancer, Omo." Doing so will only scare him.

Instead, we should tell him our story. How one day we went fishing and the fish came back to life. How we went to sleep one night and woke up from a nightmare to find that our bait had risen from the dead. How we discovered that the only way to keep from accidentally making undead was to exhaust our mana every day. Tell him that we're scared and we don't want to become a monster like the necromancers are, but we're also scared of telling anyone because they'd want to kill us. Explain that we've managed to learn enough to keep any accidents under control until we could destroy them, and that we hope that we can do something good with the power, something that will convince the world that we're not evil, not dangerous, and that, until then, we plan to hide our powers and keep out of trouble. If he hasn't attacked us yet, answer his questions as honestly as possible without incriminating ourselves. We've not done anything really wrong, so that should be easy.

Further, the golem thing probably isn't the best idea. Omo is sure to be weirded out by the idea that we've been using necromancy behind his back the whole trip. If he wants proof, and only if he wants proof, offer to raise a dead bug or something small like that. The golem can come later, when we're telling him about our plans to use necromancy to fight necromancy and defeat the evil necromancers by undoing their magic.

Though he clearly wanted to explore Larathor more, Omo quickly gets a spring in his step as he leads the way to the horizon. You, on the other hand... you do not relish telling Omo your secret. It's the kind of thing that would shock and appall any elf, and you've got no idea how your childhood friend will respond. You've been wanting to tell him for ages now, but the time just hasn't been right. Further waiting is intolerable- as soon as Larathor is out of sight!

You step off the road along with Omo as a group of armed horsemen ride by, Imperial Chargers cantering East on patrol. What are you going to say? It's not something you can really just blurt out- there needs to be a certain amount of buildup. You're going to shock him, but there's no need to figuratively slap him in the face with it.

You continue on your way after the soldiers pass. After an hour or so of walking, you finally decide you've put enough distance between yourself and Larathor- with no other travelers in sight, this is about as private as you're likely to be for the next few days.

"Hey, Omo? Omo, wait up. I, uh, I need to talk to you."
Omo looks back at you, slowing to a stop. "Yeah? What's up? Something's been eating you all afternoon."
"Yeah.. um. I, uh, might not have been entirely forthright with you about my reasons for leaving Yicelafo."
"I kinda figured- you've never been one for roughing it before."
"No kidding- my feet are... not important right now. So, uh, about three weeks ago some weird stuff started happening around me. I mean, really, it's been going on for months now- odd headaches, and waking up with no Mana, and... kinda being aware of Vitality around me. I just dismissed it at the time, figured I was drunk or eating some bad fish or something. But three weeks ago, that's when it started happening a lot and when I was out fishing I brought a fish back to life."
"You what?"
You raise your hands. "Just hear me out, okay? I did some experimenting, trying to figure out what happened, what my powers were. I found out that if I didn't use them, the powers would manifest themselves. So I brought back some more stuff, and learned more about controlling it, and I started preparing to leave Yicelafo since I knew my gift would be used best away from the Vale."
Omo looks horribly confused, scratching at his prominent chin. "Nym. What exactly are you saying?"
"I'm a... uh, Necromancer. I'm a Necromancer, Omo."

There is a long silence as Omo visibly processes your statement, his face bouncing from bewilderment, to surprise, to horror, to concern, and back to confusion.

"That's what I was doing spending so much time with Pevo, I wanted to learn more about Necromancers. He thinks they go bad because they're only human, and I'm an Elf, Omo! I can use my powers for good, and fight the evil Necromancers, and-"
"Stop! Just, hang on... have you said this to anyone else? Pevo? Elana?"
"No. You're the only one I've told. Nobody else suspects anything. But I can't lie to you, you're my best friend. We're traveling together, and you deserve to know."
"I just... You can't be a Necromancer! Think about it logically, Nym- Elves aren't Necromancers, it just doesn't happen!"
"Well, it did. I'm still going to the Sacred Grove- I think I can reverse whatever was done there. At the very least, I have a better shot than anyone else, since I can see Necromancy spells. Are... you going to come with me?"
"You're not joking. Are you joking? Because if you're joking, you've picked up a very good deadpan you've never had before."
"Omo, I'm dead serious. I am a Necromancer."
"No, Necromancers are big and scary with bone-studded armor, or skull-topped staffs, or something! You don't look like a Necromancer, you just look like Nym!"
"I'm still Nym! Necromancy is just part of who I am now."
"Listen, Nym, I'm your best friend. I've got your back- always have, always will. So you need to listen to what I'm about to say- you are crazy. Your eggs are scrambled. I don't know if you hit your head or what, but you need to go back to Yicelafo."
"Burn you, I'm not crazy!"
"Come on, Nym, think about it. What's more likely- something knocked what little sense you had loose, causing subtle changes in behavior, indecisiveness, and delusions of grandeur, or that you've somehow manifested Terrible and Fell Magics unknown to our entire race?"
"Grrr..."

You can't tell whether Omo is in denial or just dense (although knowing Omo, the latter is quite likely,) but this approach isn't going very well. Glancing around, there does not appear to be anyone else within sight of the road- perhaps a demonstration is in order, if you can't think of a better way to convince him. Unless you just feel like ignoring the issue until you're wandering a haunted forest...

Spoiler: You (click to show/hide)

Vitality- 10/10
Mana- 12/12
XP- 19/20
Inventory- Belt Pouch (82 Silver Pieces), Elven Traveler Garb, Elven Cloak, Headband, Belt Knife, Leather Backpack(Bedroll, Flint&Steel, Weak Mana Potion, Scroll Case(4 blank Parchment, Charcoal), Trail Rations Fishing Equipment, Spare Traveling Clothes x2, Prestidigitation for the Beginning Practitioner by Joddo Meadtrust, Crystal(5oz))
Abilities- Sense Necromancy(Passive)
Skills- Competent Fisher, Dabbling Swimmer
Status- Frustrated
Nineteen days since Manifestation

Spoiler: Spells (click to show/hide)

General
Detect Magic- 1 MP - Detects spells and magical items near you
Calm Animal- 1 MP - Causes wild animals to become peaceful
Sense Vitality- 1 MP - You can detect the Vitality of living things, with a bit of effort
Brew Mana Potion- A Mana Potion takes twice the potions potency in Mana cost, and requires 1/2 hour per point in brewing time
Waterproof- 1MP/Hour duration - Makes an object non-absorbent. Does not prevent corrosion (such as from acid or rusting) or magical effects related to water/liquid

Necromancy
Raise Zombie- ? MP - You can take the formerly living body and turn it into a zombie, but you lack understanding or even much knowledge of the particulars. It seems the mana cost is related to the overall quality of the corpse, and maybe the size?
Command Undead- 2 MP - You can merge your awareness with an undead creature, gauging its general condition and issuing explicit orders it will obey to the best of its ability. You can also give orders that will persist beyond the end of the spell.
Steal Vitality- 3 MP - Range: Line of Effect. You can suck the Vitality out of living things. This spell removes up to 6 Vitality from the target and gives 1/3 of it to you.
Animate Object- 4 MP - You can force Vitality into inanimate objects, things that were never alive to begin with. It seems to be more complicated than Zombification though- your Rock doesn't do anything, which is hardly useful. You'll need to experiment with this more.
Alter Golem- 2 MP- You can make basic alterations to an existing construct or animated object.

Spoiler: Omo Thunderjaw (click to show/hide)

Vitality- 13/13
Mana- 3/3
XP- 20/30
Inventory- Elven Tunic, Elven Cloak, Belt Knife, Leather Backpack(50' Rope, Hatchet, Camping Supplies), Masterwork Elven Staff
Abilities- Track, Survivalist
Skills- Novice Observer, Competent Ambusher, Competent Staff User, Poor Liar, Dabbling Swimmer
Status- Earnest

Spoiler: Notable Figures (click to show/hide)

Omo Thunderjaw- Your best friend, brave and true. He is currently an aspiring Ranger, and is eager to leave the Vale.

Curo Nightroar- The Necromancer of Thrimesdur, said to be insane, he controls a massive army of the Undead and threatens the Cremated Empire.

Pirate King- The Necromancer operating along the Jeweled Coast, he commands a mixed force of human and lizardfolk pirates along with his undead minions.

Spoiler: Planned Experiments (click to show/hide)

-This one's a bit morbid, but bear with me. Take two crayfish. Shell one, leaving the meat inside as intact as possible. Remove the flesh from the second while leaving the shell as intact as possible. Attempt to revive both and compare the results. Is vitality in flesh or in bone? In both? Neither? Regardless of what we find, it should prove instructive.
-Try to find out if zombies have a memory, if they can be made to recognize specific objects. I recomend starting with a ball or something, and instructing a zombie to follow that specific ball wherever it goes. After testing it to make sure it works how we expect, substitute in another ball that has a different colour or a different size, and see if the zombie knows it isn't the right ball to follow. We can move to more abstract things from there, like having if understand things like "any ball" "any non-red ball" "the biggest ball" and stuff like that, or even to sort a pile of pebbles into stacks by colour.
-Attempt to raise a pile of ashes from a cremated corpse.
-Raise an earthworm and then, once it is raised, cut it in half at the border between two segments. Which ends, if any, are still animate? Continue cutting into halves at segment lines until all parts are dead or it has been divided into a prostomium, peristomium, pygidium and a pile of ordinary segments.
-See how much damage a dead body can sustain before it is unraisable
-Also, it seemed interesting that the loop was recognized as the center of life. We should test raising different rope Golems, some who are linear, some who are looped or knotted in different ways. How does the golem react to music, and what if we made one out of clay, with more distinguished features?
- Test Command Undead by commanding something you've raised to self-terminate.   A further test of this would be if it could work on the undead that other necromancers have summoned.
- Test Command Undead, and see if can you over-ride commands given to a zombie summoned by another necromancer.  Does the zombie respond to the most recent order given, or does it have loyalty to whomever summoned it?  Or maybe it is under the control of the more powerful of the two necromancers.
- For Animate Object, see if you can make an object levitate, or move to your will.  Maybe this could develop into telekinesis..
- we should try pricking our finger, and stealing the vitality of an insect or something, and see if it will heal the cut.
- Another thing we need to play with is fire. Fire golem? HELL YES.
-Play with blood. Maybe that's what the golem needs. Blood. Mix some of your own blood into the clay.
-Like we tried to be the ropeman when we raised our first golem, we can try to be the earth when we make a clay or earthen golem, etc.
- Try to infuse vitality into the crystal to see what it does.
- See what happens if you infuse Mana and Vitality into the same crystal.
- Steal Vitality on self
1. Imbue a small, uncrushed mana crystal with mana. Cast Detect Magic on it, comparing it to a mana potion.
2. If successful, turn the imbued mana crystal into a golem using 2 vitality. It is important to later experiments that we use exactly 2 vitality. Continue observing with Detect Magic.
3. If successful, attempt to Alter Golem in order to imbue the mana cystal with the ability to cast a cheap spell using the mana stored within it when commanded to. I recommend Detect Magic, since that should be easy to test.
4. If successful, continue to have the crystal cast Detect Magic even after it has run out of mana, in order to see if it can cast the spell using vitality like a mage can. Assuming this works, we will be able to discern the conversion ratio between vitality and mana.
5. If successful and the conversion ratio is > 3 mana per 2 vitality, have a mana crystal that is able to hold at least 3 mana wrapped in thick leather with a single small hole. Firmly attach this leather-covered crystal to a stick that is suitable as a handle
6. Imbue 3 mana into the crystal before turning it into a 1 vitality golem that will cast Steal Vitality as quickly and often as it can on anything that comes within 4 feet of it, draining the vitality into itself.
7. Note to ourselves that, because Steal Vitality works on line of sight, only things that come within line of sight of the single hole in the leather will be drained of vitality.
8. Enjoy our new lightsaber.

Spoiler: Maps (click to show/hide)

World Map


Northwest Thrimesdur

[Felius]

It's alive, IT'S ALIVE! MHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously though, do mention that you can prove it, choose something small and relatively harmless ( say, raising a bug or a fish), tell him what you are going to do, and then do it. Don't simply spring the demonstration on him.

[bombzero]

It's alive, IT'S ALIVE! MHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously though, do mention that you can prove it, choose something small and relatively harmless ( say, raising a bug or a fish), tell him what you are going to do, and then do it. Don't simply spring the demonstration on him.

I approve of this plan.


Also Monk, congrats you are the first forum game host I have ever been even mildly excited to see return from a hiatus, most forum games lack an element of intrigue necessary to keep somebody interested for that long without updates.

[Nicholas1024]

I'm in agreement, tell him that you're going to raise something relatively harmless back to life (a fish or whatever) and then do it.

[Xantalos]

I'm in agreement, tell him that you're going to raise something relatively harmless back to life (a fish or whatever) and then do it.

Also: Yes!

[Grek]

Huzzah! It's alive!

It's alive, IT'S ALIVE! MHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Seriously though, do mention that you can prove it, choose something small and relatively harmless ( say, raising a bug or a fish), tell him what you are going to do, and then do it. Don't simply spring the demonstration on him.

This.