Wow it's been a long time since I've checked this thread out. Time to catch up and see what I can contribute.
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Ward: It's simple. Find a clearing, cast Alarm triggered sensing Necromantic Energy (maybe connect that to a major ward, or even a Sanctuary if his alcohol is secretly a mana potion/we're willing to share ours). If Alarm is tripped, that obviously means something is there and we won't need to explain how we know something is there without tipping Eko off about our necromantic abilities. Of course, we should probably find out what the range specifications of all those spells are before finalizing that. Alternatively, cast an Alarm that triggers a Minor Ward centered on Eko (if we want more mobility), cast an Alarm that triggers a Major Ward centered on Eko (if we want more mobility AND if we're willing to share our mana potions) or simply cast a Minor Ward centered on Eko (if we want to let our Necromantic Sight do all the work).
Using Sense Necromancy/Necromantic Sight with the Ward in Place: If the ward works, presumably the creatures won't be able detect our presence. Eko will likely cast divinations at that point-- which, from past experience, will probably detect nothing. At that point, we could suggest that the divinations can't detect creatures of necromancy, but it's hard to tell what Eko will say to that-- on one hand, he seems to have been indoctrinated pretty strongly that Order magic is all that matters; on the other hand, he's also clearly been questioning some of that doctrine. We could also suggest that it's Eko's divinations alone that can't detect them, but that seems somewhat callous to say-- especially when there's strong hints that the former explanation is far more likely. If they do detect something, however, then we might not have the luxury of explaining why we're stepping outside of the safety of whatever spell he casts.
Telling Eko About Necromancy/Recruiting Him: I'm not entirely sure it's a bad idea to just tell him once we're in Aloclesno proper-- while he's expressed more neutral facts and the general opinions of Thrimesdur than his own perspectives on the subject, he's presented them in a thoughtful, open-minded manner that points toward the ability to accept us. Alternatively, we could tell him after we dispel the creature, but it might already be obvious by that point. As for coming along, we should offer only if we:
A) tell him about our necromantic abilities and he doesn't outright reject us,
B) extract a sworn oath from him that he won't tell anyone (as long as we don't turn evil, of course),
C) beat the monster(s) of Aloclesno,
D) and are still in Aloclesno, even if it's the outskirts.
If he proves reluctant to believe in our good intentions even after C, we can invite him along as someone with more magical abilities and enough lack of bias to keep an eye on us where Omo, being unskilled in magic and our best friend, might not. If he does accept us, we can appeal to his desire to help others-- by that point we will have shown our unique ability to assist via A and how effective we can be via C. If he rejects our offer, then we should be safe via B and D-- he's an Order mage, oaths have got to be important to him, and no one will be going deep enough into Aloclesno to overhear us, not even Bale. As for what we do if he
does outright reject us... let's not dwell too much on that.
Thinking on it, the monsters of Aloclesno sound as if they're actually not very powerful at all, magically-speaking. They've only preyed on humans with no magical ability, like soldiers and children. Girus' army lost their wizards before they even retreated into the forest, and all the mages they've had look into the problem only examined the aftermath (the victims), not the cause-- well, okay, Kiros tried to look into the cause, but he found nothing. Speaking of which, that seems to imply that either Order mages can't detect the presence of these creatures with divinations or that the latter are both too weak to face a mage/anyone prepared for an attack, as well as smart enough to identify and avoid them-- perhaps both. Of course, that's no reason to go unprepared in the face of uncertainty, but wouldn't it be hilarious if we were making such a big fuss about the Necromantic soul-stealing equivalent of a goblin?
The Prophecy: It'd be amazingly tragic if *we* were the necromancer destined to kill the Emperor because he's a horrible bastard or something like that. Far more likely is that Curo will end up doing that at some point, or maybe Fale/any one of Morka's unknown number of followers.
Regarding the profiles: "Clarity" is slightly confusing, imo. How long does Eko have to meditate to get that effect? Does he have to meditate during the attack or beforehand in preparation? If the latter, how long does the effect last? Etc. The wards could use range specifications in their descriptions (assuming we know their range; if not we should probably ask Eko). Nym's "Sense Necromancy" passive ability reads "Sense Necromantic Energy at a range of 5*Vitality*Vitality feet;" was that intended to be Vitality^2? It looks like a typo.
Also, the fact that Eko, who is clearly far more experienced than us, has 9 Mana in comparison to our 12, and has only twice the number of spells we have when we've only been a true mage for twenty-two days really says something, I think.
Something about our TALENT.
Edit: mfw I'm editing my post and forget that indenting lines doesn't work in forum posts right before I try to insert another paragraph above the line by pressing enter. -_-
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Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 685535 times)