Why are Necromancers evil?

Lloyd DeVirr · Post by **Lloyd DeVirr** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 10:49 pm

Necromancers are evil because they defile the body of the dead, as said above.
But they are also, to a certain degree, driven to be evil; how can you get a corpse to animate? Few would give their son our daugther to someone, who'd raise the body and make it do weird things.
But necromancy could be a fitting punishment for someone, who had done a bad deed in life and was executed.. a millenia of servitude to a governmental-sponsored Lich?

As for the matter of Summoning and Necromancy is the one and same..
Perhaps, by the real deffintion of the two it is the one and same, but in TES, and many fanatsy settings, it is the other way around; that they are seperatet. it is "the real deal"; in the TES world, the laws of magicka and physics are -the- laws, hence if they aren't the one and same somewhat can't be judged, as Bethesda saw it fitting to keep them as two different thing.
Sorry if i wrote some rubbish, it's just how i was tinkered

CAESAR · Post by **CAESAR** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:48 am

Right on Lloyd DeVirr. We are playing in Tamriel and must abide by the laws set by Bethesda no matter if they are legal and fine in our world. This is Bethesda's world. It can be as screwed up and incorrect as they want it.

mikeycrazy · Post by **mikeycrazy** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:23 am

they're evil cuz they have sex with corpses...nuff said

Kavatch99 · Post by **Kavatch99** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 2:12 pm

I've just joined the Mage's Guild and when i went to get my staff, one of them said: "You shall dance for us, little one. Yes you will! We'll make your corpse dance!"

Like others said, they basically revive the dead with their own magic and use them for their own gain. The Mage's Guild believes that if someone dies, then their spirit is at peace at whatever afterlife they believe in in the game. The Necromancers disrespect the dead by forcing the body to come alive again.

Or it could be that the dude just thinks that playing with dead bodies are just plain gross beyond words, so he is against it.

Lloyd DeVirr · Post by **Lloyd DeVirr** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:06 pm

Perhaps he has some unsolved trauma with necromatic magics? Perhaps he has killed a member of his family in his youth and revived him/her through the use of the dark arts? By the Nine Divines! It's a plot! A plot, i tell ya!

Matthias · Post by **Matthias** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:01 pm

Ya'll are missing the point.

1) Necromancy is legal in Cyrodiil. Murder is not.
2) Mage's guild decides they, as a group, are going to ban necromancy (which is no more meaningful than the warrior's guild banning the use of hammers for their own members).
3) Murdering anyone in Cyrodiil gets you into trouble. Murdering a necromancer does not.

His question is, why is it ok to murder a necromancer? The mage's guild doesn't set the laws for the region. You don't need to get into if necromancy is evil or what it can be compared to any of the other nonsense... because if your answer doesn't answer the question of, "Why would it be ok to kill fighters who use hammers" then it's not a real answer.

One possibility I just thought of is you can kill anyone who is hostile to you. And as an emissary of the mage's guild, the necromancers generally attack on sight.

weka · Post by **weka** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:23 pm

Matthias wrote: One possibility I just thought of is you can kill anyone who is hostile to you. And as an emissary of the mage's guild, the necromancers generally attack on sight.

That is exactly the point. You seen anyone hang for being a Bandit? Normally it's just jail-time if you get caught yourself, but you don't get into trouble for killing Bandits either, as it's all basically taken to be self-defense (even if you start it).

Moo · Post by **Moo** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:37 am

Matthias wrote:His question is, why is it ok to murder a necromancer? The mage's guild doesn't set the laws for the region. You don't need to get into if necromancy is evil or what it can be compared to any of the other nonsense... because if your answer doesn't answer the question of, "Why would it be ok to kill fighters who use hammers" then it's not a real answer.

You have to bear one thing in mind though: the Fighters Guild does not possess a powerful figure of authority. The High Chancellor Ocato is the single most influential member of the Guild. What Ocato says, goes - remember that it was he who forced the Morrowind Arch-Mage to retire in favour of the Nerevarine. Ocato being the de-facto ruler following the crisis meant his eye wasn't on the ball, thus the Arch-Mage Traven was free to attack necromancy with the fervour he did. There's also the history of Necromancy that needs to be taken into consideration, a history recorded by the Arch-Mage no less.

It's like anything really. When the leader of a powerful faction campaigns against what has been in the past an enemy they're free to do as they see fit within the confines of general law. Thus the Fighters Guild outlawing hammers would have no footing. Even if they had an Ocato of their own, they'd need to oppose a powerful faction that has proven to be wicked. They could, for example, lead a war against the Dark Brotherhood. Or perhaps a more ample example would be if they lead a war against the Morag Tong; writs of execution are perfectly legal yet the Morag Tong is frowned upon by many and the Empire has long seen it a thorn in their side.

Essentially, Ocato or his right-hand, the Arch-Mage, are able to wage war with anything so long as they can provide reason enough. In this instance the people of Cyrodiil need little proof as to why the Necromancers are worthy of hunting and execution. And the main proponent of it all is the fact that Traven is the Arch-Mage and Mannimarco just happens to be behind it all. Prior to Mannimarco's return and Traven's ascension, little was ever cared about when it came to Necromancy. Even half the Council of Mages resigned over it, probably due to their own beliefs or practices. Traven's vehement attacks on Necromancy were driven by his own hatred and fears expounded by the history of Necromancy (his extreme bias is expressed in the Black Arts on Trial book linked above) and thus should have been quelled by the Council of Mages stepping in. Unfortunately Mannimarco's hand in the rising of Necromancy and the threat it presented only gave justification to his actions which is why he got away with it. Traven wasn't a bad man, just misguided and blind. Had Mannimarco not returned, or had there not been so many anti-necromancy supporters (such as the Magister of the Anvil Guildhouse) then things would have turned out quite differently. Such is the irony of the story; Traven's loathing caused him great madness that infuriated so many and yet though blind he successfully stumbled upon the coming invasion of the Necromancers under Mannimarco's leadership and was the sole reason the Champion of Cyrodiil slew the King of Worms.

It's one of those tales really. Traven was, in essence, wrong for his staunch opposition and the discrimination that ensued and yet this saved Cyrodiil from a repeat of Daggerfall. Was he right? Was he wrong? It's down to us to decide really. Personally I was annoyed with him but after he sacrificed himself to stop Mannimarco I gained a better understanding that, though he was consumed by his fanaticism, he ultimately was a slave to the death of Black Arts and atoned for his sins in doing so. Sometimes deeds are neither good nor evil, just necessary. I think the whole Necromancy fiasco proved that this approach, though costly, is not always without merit.