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The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Jul 2018 : 17:37:17
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| Yes, the creation of an animus was more complicated in the story, but that's just because its the story of Greyhawk. No reason there can't be another method in the realms. "Presto Chango - you're an animus. Good thing I saved that powerful spell scroll until I needed it" or some such. |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jul 2018 : 20:59:45
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quote:
Originally posted by The Masked Mage
Yes, the creation of an animus was more complicated in the story, but that's just because its the story of Greyhawk. No reason there can't be another method in the realms. "Presto Chango - you're an animus. Good thing I saved that powerful spell scroll until I needed it" or some such.
It's true that if Animi existed in the Realms, the method used to create them need not be identical to the Greyhawk one, but both logically and thematically, the creation of a form of undead much more powerful than lichdom should probably be correspondingly difficult. Making a lich can't be done simply by casting a single spell from a scroll, it requires a long, arduous and risky process, and I would imagine making an Animus is much harder than that.
Gula is motivated in large part for her search of eternal youth, heallth and beauty. She is 93 years of age, but looks like a beautiful woman in her thirties. Well, at least a pretty one, beautiful perhaps requiring kind lighting, as she is not model gorgeous in form and figure, like her former handmaiden and familiar. Still, for 93, Gula looks stunning when dolled up. This she accomplishes with various beauty treatments, cunning use of cosmetics, much self-discipline, dressing to impress... and having used necromancy to steal sixty years worth of youth from some unknown, unfortunate victims.
Gula has no intention of allowing her hard-won looks to fade with age, but any sort of permanent solution has even more flaws than her current stop-gap measures. Even with preservation magics, 'life' as a lich or any lesser form of intelligent reanimated corpse lacks appeal. Cold, clammy flesh, dry hair, dull, glassy eyes (or horrible glowing pits of unearthly hatred), the list of unappealing traits is long. Besides, what is the point in remaining young and beautiful if you're too dead to enjoy sex, drugs and Untheri belly dance music?
Untheri vampires have fun, but come loaded with a laundry list of weaknesses, being at the mercy of fairly stupid evil spirits that animate their blood. Worse than that, they are irrevocably metaphysically bound to their vampiric creator, which to Gula is entirely unacceptable.
She is, of course, seeking some form of super-vampirism or another undead form where she can both 'live' forever, retain her looks forever and have all her fleshly pleasures forever. I don't know from them Wikipedia article how well the Animus suits, but it is at least much closer than lichdom. |
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Undead who almost appear alive
