For those wondering what this might be, its part of an out of character/in character thing I'm doing to illustrate some different ways of playing/portraying Necromancers, the first few parts are linked below.
A rough translation of Libris Mortis means Books of Death, and members of this brand of Necromancy seek to catalogue death in all its forms. The carry a book, that ends up being almost as big as their spell book, that contains every type of death they have observed or experienced. They are often found wandering around sites of recent battles or places where disease is rife, studiously noting all types of injuries and noting down progression rates for decomposition and poison or disease progression. They are best thought of as clinically distant, referring to everything in terms of degrees of fatality or lethality, this some what stoic or distant demeanor leads many to see them as untrustworthy and creepy but very rarely evil unless they are found conducting "experiments" on healthy living creatures.
Most practitioners of Necromancy that find themselves within the ranks of the Libris Mortis usually have either Acolyte that are likely to have been excommunicated or discredited Sages. Other members may have backgrounds where they have suffered some major trauma, such as an Urchin that fell unconscious and woke up in a plague pit or a soldier that was the sole survivor of a massacre and this trauma has led them to study death.
Libris Mortis care little for sparing people sensibilities and are often blunt and to the point seeing any stroking of ones ego as frivolous and so seldom manifest and kind of charisma when dealing with other people. The Libris Mortis focus on Arcana, Medicine and Nature, using their skill to understand how the injuries resulted in death, whether a disease or poison was the result of a natural toxin or something made by magic and predicting survival rates form various illness and misadventure. They also usually become adept with Alchemist Supplies and Herbalist Kits.
Spell wise, members of the Libris Mortis tend towards spells that aid with investigation such as Speak with Dead (in order to understand what the a spirit felt at the moments leading upto their death), Comprehend Languages or Tongues to talk with those that may not be native to the area, and spells that reflect their various areas of "research" such as Blight, Contagion and Ray of Sickness. They may animate undead to act as stretcher bearers and general porters.
As they grow in experience the Libris Mortis tend to maintain a strictly "Wizard" approach in their pursuit of understanding and cataloguing the many forms of death, often not seeing the relevance in other forms of learning, a rare few may hold some small reverence for Gods who have death in their portfolio of powers but they seldom become clerics or paladins.
Their array of equipment is usually functional but also strangely unnerving, aside from their book of death, they wear long bird style masks stuffed with healing/purifying herbs and glass goggles to protect them from unclean air (ooc: picture medieval plague doctors). Their weapons of choice are usually a dagger or sickle that they use to enact a Coup de Grace or mercy strike to end a persons suffering but they rely more on spells for combat. Their packs have several healers kits and alchemical concoctions as well as various small scalpels and other "medicinal" tools.
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* Need a character idea? Search for "Rob76's Unused" in the Story and Lore section.
For those wondering what this might be, its part of an out of character/in character thing I'm doing to illustrate some different ways of playing/portraying Necromancers, the first few parts are linked below.
Pt 1: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/45953-a-primer-for-those-thinking-of-taking-up
pt 2: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/47660-necromancy-primer-pt2-introduction-to-the-curse
pt 3: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/48560-necromancy-primer-pt3-introduction-to-the-doctors
pt 4: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/48896-necromancy-primer-part-4-a-study-of-two-of-the
pt 5: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/49681-necromancy-primer-part-5-the-master-mistress-of
pt 6: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/49763-necromancy-primer-part-6-the-van-helsing-undead
pt 7: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/wizard/50482-necromancy-primer-part-7-the-dirge-singers
Right, on to part 8.....
A discussion of the Libris Mortis.
A rough translation of Libris Mortis means Books of Death, and members of this brand of Necromancy seek to catalogue death in all its forms. The carry a book, that ends up being almost as big as their spell book, that contains every type of death they have observed or experienced. They are often found wandering around sites of recent battles or places where disease is rife, studiously noting all types of injuries and noting down progression rates for decomposition and poison or disease progression. They are best thought of as clinically distant, referring to everything in terms of degrees of fatality or lethality, this some what stoic or distant demeanor leads many to see them as untrustworthy and creepy but very rarely evil unless they are found conducting "experiments" on healthy living creatures.
Most practitioners of Necromancy that find themselves within the ranks of the Libris Mortis usually have either Acolyte that are likely to have been excommunicated or discredited Sages. Other members may have backgrounds where they have suffered some major trauma, such as an Urchin that fell unconscious and woke up in a plague pit or a soldier that was the sole survivor of a massacre and this trauma has led them to study death.
Libris Mortis care little for sparing people sensibilities and are often blunt and to the point seeing any stroking of ones ego as frivolous and so seldom manifest and kind of charisma when dealing with other people. The Libris Mortis focus on Arcana, Medicine and Nature, using their skill to understand how the injuries resulted in death, whether a disease or poison was the result of a natural toxin or something made by magic and predicting survival rates form various illness and misadventure. They also usually become adept with Alchemist Supplies and Herbalist Kits.
Spell wise, members of the Libris Mortis tend towards spells that aid with investigation such as Speak with Dead (in order to understand what the a spirit felt at the moments leading upto their death), Comprehend Languages or Tongues to talk with those that may not be native to the area, and spells that reflect their various areas of "research" such as Blight, Contagion and Ray of Sickness. They may animate undead to act as stretcher bearers and general porters.
As they grow in experience the Libris Mortis tend to maintain a strictly "Wizard" approach in their pursuit of understanding and cataloguing the many forms of death, often not seeing the relevance in other forms of learning, a rare few may hold some small reverence for Gods who have death in their portfolio of powers but they seldom become clerics or paladins.
Their array of equipment is usually functional but also strangely unnerving, aside from their book of death, they wear long bird style masks stuffed with healing/purifying herbs and glass goggles to protect them from unclean air (ooc: picture medieval plague doctors). Their weapons of choice are usually a dagger or sickle that they use to enact a Coup de Grace or mercy strike to end a persons suffering but they rely more on spells for combat. Their packs have several healers kits and alchemical concoctions as well as various small scalpels and other "medicinal" tools.