Guild Wars 2

Possibly, but I don’t think the minions would smell that bad, really. None of the minions have any visible signs of decay, therefore no reason to smell, and because they don’t live for very long before dying, or being dismissed, i’d imagine they’d have no time to decay.

I’d imagine the main problem would be vultures and flies trying to eat the minions as soon as they’re summoned.

Now that you mention it, smell is pretty much a non-existent sense in GW2. I never hear NPCs discuss it. The only time I can think of is the Bartender in the Smokestead bar. She discusses how “rank” Iron Legion Charr get after their shift. Arenanet, fix this. :c More of the smells, please.

As to the death question, I asked my dad (who worked as a mortician’s assistant for a few years and had picked up plenty of dead people + grew up on a farm, dude knows the smell of death) and he says generally speaking, fresh corpses don’t smell all that bad outside the whole fact that their bowels excavate. Basically, unless they have started really decomposing and have been left out for a while the smell isn’t that bad, but floaters (people who’ve been out in water a while) and people who’ve been out in a field for a month or so, smell like nothing you can believe. However, with the exception of a floater who you accidentally poke, the smell doesn’t stay with you.

Also realize that not all Necromancers necessarily directly sit around death every second of every day. Death happens around them, and they might harness its energy or use it, but they aren’t just chilling in morgues having parties and stuff.

And as to the smell buildup, even if we do assume it happens (although why would it necessarily be any worse than say warriors who cut people up just as often as we do), there’s magic. Who’s to say that there isn’t magical ways to not smell gross.

However, your idea actually makes a lot of sense, not because of smell but just who Necromancers are. Generally speaking Necromancers were outcasts because of their craft (would you want to hang around the guy whose magic was all about death, disease, misery, etc.?) and so weren’t necessarily party people. I have always wished that profession choice had been more important to things like how NPCs reacted to you.

I’ve always felt that necro minions were just basically shaped ectoplasm. They used to come from corpses in gw1, but now they come from nowhere. So, where does all the flesh and blood and parts come from? My guess is the ether.

Ramethzero.3785:

I’ve always felt that necro minions were just basically shaped ectoplasm. They used to come from corpses in gw1, but now they come from nowhere. So, where does all the flesh and blood and parts come from? My guess is the ether.

(Insert wrong answer buzzer noise) they are simply created by using dead crap that’s all over the place. The corpse mechanic was removed because it was highly limiting and created bad gameplay, not because minions are not still created from corpses.

Bhawb.7408:

Ramethzero.3785:

I’ve always felt that necro minions were just basically shaped ectoplasm. They used to come from corpses in gw1, but now they come from nowhere. So, where does all the flesh and blood and parts come from? My guess is the ether.

(Insert wrong answer buzzer noise) they are simply created by using dead crap that’s all over the place. The corpse mechanic was removed because it was highly limiting and created bad gameplay, not because minions are not still created from corpses.

I mained a Necro back in GW1 and liked the corpse mechanic. Even in PvP corpses were fairly plentiful with all the NPC enemies. It offered the possibility of creating a much larger minion force than we can now. They served a function as meat shields and had a true Necromancer feel to it. Now its just cast and forget which makes playing a Minion Master feel lazy. I also miss the old AI models for the minions which imo were alot cooler.

The old corpse mechanic was, at best, limiting. There is no gameplay reason that the mechanic itself allows you to summon more or less minions, the number of minions is balanced by how strong each individual one is. They chose the current system because it fits the overall game much better, although unfortunately they haven’t raised the skillcap back up to match the GW1 builds.

I agree with Bhawb.. Necromancers used to compete for bodies in GW1 .. which tended to them being ‘solitary’ figures. I used to avoid taking the Necro Heroes with me since there’s nothing more annoying than finding all your bodies being snapped up by other Necros.. At least now, you can always have your minions available to you.

Kaleban.9834:

After all, can you imagine what a Charr Necromancer must smell like after years of summoning undead creatures? It would get into their fur and to be able to be around others within a hundred yards a Charr would have to shave itself pretty regularly.

Charrs are close to Cats, mind you, so Charr Necromancer will smell and look much better than a Human or Asura.

If we care that much, shouldn’t we keep Sylvari in the fridge too? They may be outdated after 2 years

I’m sure Necromancers hand-pick the freshest of bones and flesh to conjure their undead minions, so it shouldn’t smell too bad.

While I do think that necromancers would have a certain “smell” about them, I don’t think it would be one exceptionally rank or vile.

I’d like to think it’d be one between fresh blood from a slaughter and stale air from an ancient tomb with a deep mustiness akin to a funeral parlor— that impending sense of doom as opposed to a knee-jerk fear of dying.

Now that I think of it, wouldn’t every profession have it’s own “scent”?

Elementalist- bonfires and ozone (think lightning storm) with a seaspray salinity & arboreal mustiness.

Warrior- bloodshed, sweat, and freshly forged steel

Thief- smoky, musty, and mysterious. Think dragon’s blood mixed with patchouli

Ranger- arboreal woodsy-ness, mountain fresh air, and tanned leather

Mesmer- sharp ozone and strong perfumes

Guardian- freshly forged steel, amber, and sandalwood.

Engineer- sulphur, sweat, and gear oil (think an automotive showroom)

And with this, I’m patenting a new cologne line of “eau-du-Tyria” :P

[Edit]
I realize that all the races would probably have their own unique “scent” too, particularly Charr, Asura, and Sylvari. I could imagine Charr getting pretty rank from time to time. Asura would probably have a ‘lithium’ smell about them (like the inside of a RadioShack), and Sylvari would definitely have a floral/earthy scent.

As far as humans and norn, it’d be more situational than uniform in my opinion

When are the smellovision Oculus Rifts going to hit markets?

I’ve always had the impression Necromancers were actually quite clean. Being servants of Grenth and death, they have a an utmost respect for the dead, and are responsible for funeral services in Tyrian society.

This is not too different to real life. For example, it is common in the Jewish culture for funeral services to cleanse a dead body before burying it.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Death

As for Necromancers in Tyria? Besides the social services they provide, it is true they can control the essence of death. This is how they create their minions, not the corpses themselves, but the energy of death itself! (Similar to how Soul Reaping works.)

But do keep in mind, they DO control the powers of death and decay! So for a Necromancer to be clean, it’s probably due to the fact they specialize in controlling it in the first place.

Think of it this way… the power to control death and decay is also the power to prevent it in the first place. Necromancers are there for very clean.

Kaleban.9834:

After all, can you imagine what a Charr Necromancer must smell like after years of summoning undead creatures? It would get into their fur and to be able to be around others within a hundred yards a Charr would have to shave itself pretty regularly.

Shaving? Why shave when you can just sear your face off. No more nasal receptors; bye-bye smell. And why would I worry about what others smell? That’s their problem.

Bhawb.7408:

Ramethzero.3785:

I’ve always felt that necro minions were just basically shaped ectoplasm. They used to come from corpses in gw1, but now they come from nowhere. So, where does all the flesh and blood and parts come from? My guess is the ether.

(Insert wrong answer buzzer noise) they are simply created by using dead crap that’s all over the place. The corpse mechanic was removed because it was highly limiting and created bad gameplay, not because minions are not still created from corpses.

Except that doesn’t actually explain where minions actually come from when there are NO corpses or dead things around you. If you’re going to use the example of bad gameplay, then I’d starting thinking a bit more universal about the applications of bad gameplay.

Kain Francois.4328:

This is not too different to real life. For example, it is common in the Jewish culture for funeral services to cleanse a dead body before burying it.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_washing_in_Judaism#Death

Thank you for taking the time to come up with a non-fictional angle. Honestly, I get pretty tired of running into people that just keep citing ’INSERT EVIL SCARY BLACK MAGIC STUFF" as their only means of justification for necromancers.

Ramethzero.3785:

Except that doesn’t actually explain where minions actually come from when there are NO corpses or dead things around you. If you’re going to use the example of bad gameplay, then I’d starting thinking a bit more universal about the applications of bad gameplay.

None that you can see, because if they had every single mob that’s died since the game launched sitting on the ground your computer’s performance would be murdered. Things die all over the game, constantly, its not hard to believe there is nearby dead material to use.

I was hoping for some reference to the Matrix in this thread, based on the title.

I really love the idea of profession-specific zones and would strongly support that idea if it were implemented.

As for your question, I think it would depend on how personal individual Necromancers got with their corpses. Not all of them would smell horribly although I can imagine some of them might. As per the lore I’ve created for one of my own Necromancers, she regularly bathes in blood and feasts on human flesh to maintain her youth (similar to the historical figure Elizabeth Bathory). I can’t imagine she would smell too great after a day of lathering herself in blood.

Sors Immani.8429:

While I do think that necromancers would have a certain “smell” about them, I don’t think it would be one exceptionally rank or vile.

I’d like to think it’d be one between fresh blood from a slaughter and stale air from an ancient tomb with a deep mustiness akin to a funeral parlor— that impending sense of doom as opposed to a knee-jerk fear of dying.

Now that I think of it, wouldn’t every profession have it’s own “scent”?

Elementalist- bonfires and ozone (think lightning storm) with a seaspray salinity & arboreal mustiness.

Warrior- bloodshed, sweat, and freshly forged steel

Thief- smoky, musty, and mysterious. Think dragon’s blood mixed with patchouli

Ranger- arboreal woodsy-ness, mountain fresh air, and tanned leather

Mesmer- sharp ozone and strong perfumes

Guardian- freshly forged steel, amber, and sandalwood.

Engineer- sulphur, sweat, and gear oil (think an automotive showroom)

And with this, I’m patenting a new cologne line of “eau-du-Tyria” :P

[Edit]
I realize that all the races would probably have their own unique “scent” too, particularly Charr, Asura, and Sylvari. I could imagine Charr getting pretty rank from time to time. Asura would probably have a ‘lithium’ smell about them (like the inside of a RadioShack), and Sylvari would definitely have a floral/earthy scent.

As far as humans and norn, it’d be more situational than uniform in my opinion

Good god those scent descriptions are vivid. I can almost smell it when I read it, good job :P.
I think my Ranger would smell lovely if that’s the case. Like the outdoors with a faint aroma of cool sweat.

A-net could add little black sprites that fly around the minions, a maggot minion, and randomly loud, soft, left and right channel buzzing.

Then there is smellovision.

Yeah I have very fond memories of some of the profession-specific quests from GW1, especially the pre-Searing ones. Necros and elementalists had the best ones too, as they had whole huge areas they took place in which looked incredible and the other classes only briefly got to go into. The Wizard’s Tower now floating off the coast of Kryta for eles, and the Ashford Abbey catacombs for necros, which are still around but they’re in ruins now. Oddly enough they looked a lot more atmospheric back then than they do now, and I’m not sure why. You’d think catacombs would look even creepier when they’re in ruins, but I preferred their look back in GW1. I think it’s nothing to do with their condition but simply due to the fact that a lot of the architecture in GW1 was way too big for human-scale. As in there were stairways where each step came up to the waist of your character, that kind of thing. It gave it a more epic feel, like the place had been designed by some titanic beings and you’re just an interloper. Plus you could zoom out further and appreciate how puny your character looked in all that supersized gothic architecture.

Bhawb.7408:

None that you can see, because if they had every single mob that’s died since the game launched sitting on the ground your computer’s performance would be murdered. Things die all over the game, constantly, its not hard to believe there is nearby dead material to use.

Maybe throwing around assumptions is okay for you. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, in a video game sense. But I can’t be persuaded by just mere assumptions. I’d need some sort of tangible proof, and they do code in corpses here and there in some zones. I’ve seen them. So, its well within their coding power to add that in, and in a way that doesn’t cause hardware issues.

Ramethzero.3785:

Bhawb.7408:

None that you can see, because if they had every single mob that’s died since the game launched sitting on the ground your computer’s performance would be murdered. Things die all over the game, constantly, its not hard to believe there is nearby dead material to use.

Maybe throwing around assumptions is okay for you. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, in a video game sense. But I can’t be persuaded by just mere assumptions. I’d need some sort of tangible proof, and they do code in corpses here and there in some zones. I’ve seen them. So, its well within their coding power to add that in, and in a way that doesn’t cause hardware issues.

Early in development it was mentioned that necros’ minions are “assembled” from all of the dead creatures buried beneath the ground. Things like rats, squirrels, racoons, bears, devourers, etc., etc. With the rise of Zhaitan, most full corpses of sentient beings were pressed into service as the dragon’s minions. So necros are limited to constructing their minions out of the remains of smaller dead animals that Zhaitan has no use for in his army.

And, no, I don’t have proof for you; it was either contained in a profession reveal snippet on the official website that is likely long since archived or from a discussion during a Q&A session broadcast on YouTube a year or two prior to release. Maybe you’ll find it doing some Googling; good luck

I believe, though I might be wrong, that it has been used to explain why minions went from being degenerating creations to the “permanent” things they are now. I remember Andele going over it in a post, but with our amazing search function I have no hope of finding it.

So, considering they’re around dead bodies for studying, rituals and all that jazz I think these “rituals” might involve incense or good-smelling herbs, a lot of washing…
Maybe a little smell of death might be there in those dungeons and cellars and crypts where our profession lingers, but after all the smell of decay is something that comes with the slow decomposing of our studying objects, so that would be something we seek to avoid ^^
I guess a Necromancer would smell more of substances, maybe poisons, used for embalming, like formaldehyde or herbs.

my muma taught me to shear

I’ll just leave this right here… and I’ll never think of my necro in the same way…