Guild Wars 2

I don’t understand? Aren’t they supposed to be anti-evil?

Necromancer’s in this game aren´t bad guys..There is no bad guy profession in this game, necromancer’s are just another form of magic that can fight evil.

Necromancers, more than anything, are magic users who specialize in death and the dead; none of which is “evil”. It’s like a fascination with it, in a loose sense.

Most Sylvari that are necromancers are such because they are fascinated and intrigued with death; as they mostly have no understanding of what it is and what happens when one dies. To many Sylvari, death is just as wondrous as life.

The same way they can be justified for any profession, my friend – curiosity.

Read Ghosts of Ascalon sometime, it gives a Very Fun example of a curious Sylvari Necromancer (More entertaining by far than Trahearne,I’d say.)

Trahearne actually has a line where he says his necromantic minions were never alive. So they apparently don’t have to raise formerly living things.

Nageth.5648:

Trahearne actually has a line where he says his necromantic minions were never alive. So they apparently don’t have to raise formerly living things.

Technically not true. There are no “alive” Flesh Golems, but Flesh Golems are made out of the raw parts of something(s) that was/were once alive. That’s probably what he meant. Or he was just being kitten ol’ Trahearne.

Like the Bone Fiend, you can clearly tell how it is partially constructed out of two rib cages – one of which is children-sized…

Oglaf.1074:

Like the Bone Fiend, you can clearly tell how it is partially constructed out of two rib cages – one of which is children-sized…

Well, I’d say Asura-sized.

Who could claim to be closer to nature than the Sylvari? Who better to understand and wield the powers of life and death?

I know Traehearne is everyone’s favorite, but hey, his explanation actually makes sense here. Traehearne is a necromancer because his life goal was to fight Zhaitan. When you’ve spent your whole life studying how the dead are raised, it stands to reason that you’d learn a few tricks.

All sylvari fight the undead in one way or another, according to your personal story, so it stands to reason that Traehearne isn’t the only one with a “know thy enemy” thing going on.

Advent.6193:

The same way they can be justified for any profession, my friend – curiosity.

Read Ghosts of Ascalon sometime, it gives a Very Fun example of a curious Sylvari Necromancer (More entertaining by far than Trahearne,I’d say.)

And okay, maybe some are just creepy.

Oglaf.1074:

Nageth.5648:

Trahearne actually has a line where he says his necromantic minions were never alive. So they apparently don’t have to raise formerly living things.

Technically not true. There are no “alive” Flesh Golems, but Flesh Golems are made out of the raw parts of something(s) that was/were once alive. That’s probably what he meant. Or he was just being kitten ol’ Trahearne.

Like the Bone Fiend, you can clearly tell how it is partially constructed out of two rib cages – one of which is children-sized…

Yeah, I figured he meant that the golem that was a mix of squirrel and chicken bones as never an actual entity. Zhaitan would probably be too embarrassed to control such a thing but lets let Trahearne keep his self-esteem.

Necromancers aren’t evil. And Sylvari, as they have only been around a short while, have not experienced much death from natural causes. As far as I know, the only Sylvari who have died so far have died from sickness, violence, etc…

Add to that fact that they are an EXTREMELY curious race (with tendencies towards magic), and it should comes as no surprise that several of them have devoted their lives to studying death magic.

There’s a Sylvari who works as an undertaker in Divinity’s Reach. I believe he’s standing near the graveyard. Speak to him for an excellent insight into how the Sylvari regard death and why some might be fascinated with it without being evil.

Killeen in Ghosts of Ascalon is, in my opinion, a great example of one of the ways sylvari and necromancy make sense. She was certainly not evil, nor is necromancy itself evil [a theme explored often in GW1 already].

The race is still so young, the individuals often new to everything in the world, that an almost innocent curiosity permeates through a lot of what they do. How better to study aspects of death and disease than through its very manipulation and relevant magics?

**edit: And yeah as noted above death and sickness and all that overall is something sylvari don’t really get, since their race differs quite a bit from the others in areas like this, emphasizing the opportunities afforded by the profession.

How my Sylvari Necromancer thinks about this stuff:

“Where life goes, so too should you” — All life leads inevitably towards death. Naturally, death is something that should be explored.

“All things have a right to grow. The blossom is brother to the weed.” — Just because you find it distasteful due to cosmetic reasons, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be studied. What grows is ones knowledge.

Back story is that he worked as a mender. Learning from the dead how to help the living (and to understand the undead) makes sense.

Also, once one has died, the body is all that is left. The person is no longer present within that body, it is discard, or waste material. Re-using dead bodies and/or experimenting on them should be seen as part of the life cycle. It is material that can and should be reused for other purposes. Ppeople have been using wood for material for a long time. Tables turned!

While slaughtering random bunnies for more life force, my necro happily contemplates all the new and interesting life that she’s making room and food for! It’s wonderful!

Die, wicked bunnies!

Udolpho.1209:

People have been using wood for material for a long time. Tables turned!

I am not sure if the “tables turned” part was supposed to be part of the joke, but if it was excellent job sir.

Sylvari aren’t anti anything. The pale tree happens to be good due to the teachings of the Ventari tablet. A lot of Sylvari are like that, but then there’s the Sylvari who have too many energy drinks and their Dream turns to Nightmare

They don’t consider death to be evil, it’s just another part of existence. This is actually the case for all of the races, which is why none of them have problems with necromancy (though humans do sometimes find it a little creepy because dead things).

Sylvari have even less hangups about it than the other races.

I have only one Sylvari and he’s a necromancer.
Cause that was the best combo ever for me.

So yeah, I don’t really see your point cause whatever race and profession you take you’re still a good man. Everyone are fighting the same thing in the end.
So there’s nothing really evil about the players.
Only the enemies of course ^^

Whats wrong with undead, after all they are just another form of meat. Its not like your raising undead plants. Live fleshlings dead fleshlings they all look alike just seems at least in Orr the dead ones move faster.

Here’s how I will put my Sylvari Necromancer.

Sylvari are based off of Fae from Irish mythology. There are two types of Fae: Summer Fae and Winter Fae. Summer Fae are representative of growth, warmth, light, and green forests. They can also represent the violent and savage aspects of nature, such as predators killing prey. Winter Fae represent death, decay, cold, and disease. They also can represent the gentler aspects of nature, such as hibernation and sleep.

A Sylvari necromancer is simply a Winter Fae who can make manifest the power of nature he or she represents. It isn’t evil, just perceived as such who view nature in a certain way. Death is neutral.

I will share my belief.

Necromancers are these evil and dark shadow-y monsters. But I believe that the “good” Necromancers use their dark and evil powers for good hence they have been forgiven and accepted as a good guy. I think the good Necromancers have found that no matter what there is no true “evil” power and all powers have a good and evil.

Though I haven’t read the GW books (yet) and hence have not been studying the lore too much so I will appreciate if any lore experts can correct me.

Gold.7126:

I will share my belief.

Necromancers are these evil and dark shadow-y monsters. But I believe that the “good” Necromancers use their dark and evil powers for good hence they have been forgiven and accepted as a good guy. I think the good Necromancers have found that no matter what there is no true “evil” power and all powers have a good and evil.

Though I haven’t read the GW books (yet) and hence have not been studying the lore too much so I will appreciate if any lore experts can correct me.

The view of necromancy in Tyria is a bit different than the vast majority of fantasy worlds. Historically, at least in human society, necromancy has been viewed as just another school of magic, though necromancers themselves still tend to have the stigma of being rather creepy individuals. The reason it’s accepted in human society has to do with Grenth being an even part of the pantheon and not usually depicted as a fair, if stern, god.

That said necromancers as a profession still have a higher tendency to go off the deep end and form cults or turn themselves into abominations.

As for how Sylvari view necromancers, they generally have even less stigmas against them than humans. Generally they see death as natural as life and just as other schools of magic manipulate life and the natural world there’s nothing wrong with magic that manipulates death. I don’t have any exact quotes but Killeen from Ghosts of Ascalon provides a lot of insight into this subject, being a stereotypically cheerful sylvari while also being a necromancer. At one point in the story she reanimates a soldier that the group just had to kill and the two humans in the group show some disgust at it and she is genuinely surprised that people might find reanimating corpses weird or disturbing.

Riot Inducer.8964:

Gold.7126:

I will share my belief.

Necromancers are these evil and dark shadow-y monsters. But I believe that the “good” Necromancers use their dark and evil powers for good hence they have been forgiven and accepted as a good guy. I think the good Necromancers have found that no matter what there is no true “evil” power and all powers have a good and evil.

Though I haven’t read the GW books (yet) and hence have not been studying the lore too much so I will appreciate if any lore experts can correct me.

The view of necromancy in Tyria is a bit different than the vast majority of fantasy worlds. Historically, at least in human society, necromancy has been viewed as just another school of magic, though necromancers themselves still tend to have the stigma of being rather creepy individuals. The reason it’s accepted in human society has to do with Grenth being an even part of the pantheon and not usually depicted as a fair, if stern, god.

That said necromancers as a profession still have a higher tendency to go off the deep end and form cults or turn themselves into abominations.

As for how Sylvari view necromancers, they generally have even less stigmas against them than humans. Generally they see death as natural as life and just as other schools of magic manipulate life and the natural world there’s nothing wrong with magic that manipulates death. I don’t have any exact quotes but Killeen from Ghosts of Ascalon provides a lot of insight into this subject, being a stereotypically cheerful sylvari while also being a necromancer. At one point in the story she reanimates a soldier that the group just had to kill and the two humans in the group show some disgust at it and she is genuinely surprised that people might find reanimating corpses weird or disturbing.

Ah. So necromancy is seen as a normal magic.

Thanks for correction.

There are evils and good, look at the nightmare court, they felt like they wanted their own different path, they did not want to follow the path most sylvaris did. In my opinion, I believe Sylvari can be evil or good or both. I say its on their path they wish to choose. My sylvari is an evil Sylvari Necromancer because ofc Necro fits evil style but it is not evil, the magic user that wishes to use it into bad deeds makes it evil, not the magic itself.

“Where life goes, so too should you”
All life leads inevitably towards death. Naturally, death is something that should be explored.
Notice however that it strictly says where life goes thus implying that you shouldn’t focus on the destination, which is unknowable since life is unpredictable, but the journey. As death is the cessation of the journey of life you should avoid it. It is especially important to point out that Sylvari don’t really have a concept of death because their memories and I guess you could call them souls return to the Mother Tree where they can be given life again. So in that instance it is almost saying don’t worry about what happens to you in life because you will never know death.

“All things have a right to grow. The blossom is brother to the weed.”
Just because you find it distasteful due to cosmetic reasons, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be studied. What grows is ones knowledge.
This relates specifically to a species that considers itself to be a plant. As plants are generally stationary they are stuck next to their neighbors regardless of whether they like them or not. And some plants kitten the growth of their neighbors. Taken in the context that a Sylvari would understand this then you have saying that means something along the lines of “Don’t covet thy neighbor’s wife” or “Don’t judge others lest you judge yourself.”

Back story is that he worked as a mender. Learning from the dead how to help the living (and to understand the undead) makes sense. [How? How does that make sense?Yes it is true that doctors dissect bodies in order to learn how the organs function but our modern medicine is a very crude and inefficient thing compared to the magic that Sylvari use to heal themselves and each other]

Also, once one has died, the body is all that is left. The person is no longer present within that body, it is discard, or waste material. Re-using dead bodies and/or experimenting on them should be seen as part of the life cycle. It is material that can and should be reused for other purposes. Ppeople have been using wood for material for a long time. Tables turned!

That is complete ridiculousness given Sylvari beliefs. A Sylvari would never think or do this. For the Sylvari, their bodies were given to them by the Mother Tree so profaning the body would be profaning the Mother Tree. And since Sylvari’s bodies were made to look human it is only natural that they would tend to associate the bodies of their allies as sacred too and therefore hold that profaning any body is profaning the Mother Tree. Bodies should naturally be left to complete their cycle of birth and decay, where yesterday’s bodies are the nutrients for today’s life. Reanimating bodies breaks this sacred cycle and is to be abhorred.

Ellisande.5218:

That is complete ridiculousness given Sylvari beliefs. A Sylvari would never think or do this. For the Sylvari, their bodies were given to them by the Mother Tree so profaning the body would be profaning the Mother Tree. And since Sylvari’s bodies were made to look human it is only natural that they would tend to associate the bodies of their allies as sacred too and therefore hold that profaning any body is profaning the Mother Tree. Bodies should naturally be left to complete their cycle of birth and decay, where yesterday’s bodies are the nutrients for today’s life. Reanimating bodies breaks this sacred cycle and is to be abhorred.

Except this isn’t the case. Sylvari just don’t think that way.

Firstly, they have no concept that profaning the body profanes the mother tree – there’s a sylvari in the Grove who speaks very morbidly about what happens to the bodies of the dead, with not a hint of reverence.
Secondly, the first tenant on Ventari’s tablet specifically tells them to waste nothing; there’s no reason this wouldn’t apply to the bodies of the dead.
Thirdly, (as has been mentioned above) they really have no problem reanimating the bodies of their allies, as witnessed by Killeen in GoA – the others are shocked that she reanimates a corpse of someone they knew, but she doesn’t see any problem with it.

Death is a natural part of the life cycle.

Elli: Is there like a natural approach for the Charr to certain classes? Like ranger? Oh, sorry, for the Sylvari?

Ree: Sure, sure! A Sylvari does tend toward more magical classes. but they also tend towards classes, that are capable of simply mixing it up in combat. I mean, a stright up warrior, who defend the Tree, defends the groove. They are a little less likely to be engineers. For obvious reasons, but they’re curious. They want to know how things work, so you find all sorts of Sylvari. Necromancers are also a little less common, but the necromancers the Sylvari do have look at death as a natural part of life. We live and we die and when we die, when a plant dies, its body returns to the soil and fuels other plants. This isn’t a bad thing; this isn’t a dark thing or an evil thing. It’s just a course of nature.
http://www.wartower.de/artikel/artikel.php?id=651

Historically, Necromancy has been about divination and burial rites, which was seen as commonplace by civilization before the spread of christianity.

What you see in guild wars and other games is sort of a stereotype perpetuated by roleplaying games, particular any that see it primarily as an undead minion raising profession.

Necromancers in GW deal with death and sprits but aren’t evil by defult. Often the necromancer NPC’s seem to be caretakers of the dead, taking care of burial rights or protecting and putting spirits to rest. Besides which I don’t know that a race of linked plant people would necessarily be hung up over the idea of “repurposing” a dead body. Would they consider it defiling or simply not being wasteful? Copses do after all make great fertiliser, life springs for death, the cycle continues and all that jazz.
It also something they don’t have a lot experience with so makes sense that some would want to study.

Pfft necromancers, how can they be engineers? Ever seen a plant with a flamethrower? Lolololol