obviously dead apes whose bodies were animated through some sort of necromantic technology -- tubes, gears, and silvery-black replacement parts.Which gave me the science-fantasy idea that all corporeal undead are "cyborg" constructions. Mostly skeletons and zombies in all their countless variations. I've never been sold on undead as a "class" of beings. There just sort of boring and the ones you could poke always seemed to diminish the incorporeals' impact.
I like having "spirits" be the real "dead" and the "walking dead" being necromantic abominations. I'm fine with having ghouls just be cursed cannibals. Vampires being somethings altogether unique. What others are there?
Being associated with necromancy, gives reason for technology to be (wrongly) shunned. It all just fits much better with my world/underworld view and with the science-fantasy setting I'm migrating towards. Half the reason I'm using LL is cause I think it's a only short hop away from MF.
Hmmmmm, there's amazingly few images of zombies or skeletons with gears and such findable with 5min of google searches. Everything is about the terminator or Gears of War video game. :(
All I could find was this break-dancing samurai pirate.
If you choose to relate technology and necromancy, then probably the upper class might be interested in using extremely cheap labor which doesn't eat or rest which could finance the necrotech research.
ReplyDeleteProbably that same kingdom doesn't have breathing soldiers, but wave after wave of undead legionnaires leaded by necromancer commanders (necrotecnicians?).
I picture a kingdom where 'service after death' is part of the social contract and those people who avoid it are considered spineless unpatriotic cowards. A very pragmatic society whose living population lead comfortable and effortless lives, while the undead do the hard labor. A legal evil society similar to the Necromongers of the Chronicles of Riddick.
@Path
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Feeding on/off of ideas like yours is the BEST part of blogging.
I think you've just described the ancient, declined empire whose ruins the party is looting, er I mean exploring.
I think there was a d20 supplement called Hallowfaust - City of Necromancers, that described something similar to Path's idea (review here).
ReplyDeleteI remember browsing through the first few pages of it, and finding it interesting in how it twisted preconceptions around a bit.
The in White Wolf's Exalted the Deathloords have a sort of necrotechnology, though it is a "magical technology," if that makes sense, so I don't think it has gears and such.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, I'll be mulling this over for awhile.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I like is it gives a reason clerics can turn undead. Being the ones who rose up and defeated the Necromatic Empire.