Did I do this right? Taking things out of the Mournlands... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Did I do this right? Taking things out of the Mournlands... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
reveal
11-03-04, 10:31 AM Last session, my PCs went into the Mournlands. During their time there, they found a body that had a book. The book mentioned one of the PCs specifically. Being a smart PC, he decided to take the body back to the nearest town to try to Speak to Dead.

The way I played it was once the body got out of the fog of the Mournlands, it turned to dust. The body was at least 4 years old and the only thing that kept it "fresh" was the magic of the Mournlands. Once it left, it quickly reverted to its true form.

They also removed some wine they found and it just aged better. :)

What about the rest of you? Have you had players try to remove things from the Mournlands? If so, how have you handled it?
Sceadeau
11-03-04, 10:56 AM I'm not really sure if a body would turn to dust after just 4 years. But, that aside, I've had the lingering magic affects in the Mournland be the cause of bodies preservation. I treated it as a perhaps just a thick coat of phermayldehyde keeping the bodies in a state that resisted (and actively fought) entropy. So removing the bodies from the Mournland just had the bodies return to a normal state of decomposition. That's for my game, at least.
helzapoppn
11-03-04, 11:21 AM My take would be no.

What created the Mournland was not a time-related magical phenomenon (IMHO). If a party walks through the dead-gray mist and three days later walk (or more likely limp and crawl) back out, three days have also passed in the rest of Khorvaire. Things still happen there. Creatures and plants, while mutated or made into aberrations, still spawn, grow and die.

The wine certainly didn't magically become vintage just by virtue of being moved. The wine actually IS four years older...and the true rarity would be that they are most likely Cyran wines, which of course can no longer be made.

The question of what happens to the body is more complicated. While I don't think it would simply decompose four years instantly, I also get the feeling that those killed in the Mourning aren't...reachable by normal means. Otherwise there might be whole expeditions of clerics pulling corpses out of the Mournland and casting Raise Dead spells dozens or hundreds of times over.

In that situation, I'd say that Speak With Dead doesn't work on anyone killed in the Mourning...both because of the time since death and for reasons related to the event itself. Think of it this way: If Speak With Dead worked, the Mournland wouldn't be a mystery. Frustrate your players a little, keep it terribly mysterious...make them work for the knowledge.

Just my thoughts.
Gurv
11-03-04, 12:55 PM Opinions vary. No one really knows why the bodies in the Mournlands don't decompose. It might be somethings as simple as a gentle repose spell, or it might be something else.

Official sources have not mentioned what happens to a corpse when it leaves the Mournlands. So, it does whatever you want it to do. If you are worried about official sources disagreeing with you, then consider the following possibility:

Maybe the non-decomposing aspect of the Mournlands doesn't work in any way we understand. Maybe it affected some of the dead, and not others. Maybe some corpses leaving the Mournlands crumble to dust. Others just become inert bodies and begin to rot at a normal pace. Another animates as undead.

How do you know what a particular corpse will do? Easy! It does whatever fits your plot best. If you don't want speak with dead cast on a corpse, ruining the mystery, then don't let them.
debatedeus
11-03-04, 01:06 PM Keith has said the that Mournlands have a powerful effect on the sanity of the beings that remain there. Trying to Speak With Dead, for example, should yield very confused answers, crazy answers, or extremely contrary answers. The people who died because of the Day of Mourning shouldn't be able to remember anything about the event, but Speak With Dead should give the players the idea of the craziness of the day.

I like the person turning to dust. The wine aging is a fun effect, but I don't think that that is a usual effect of the mournland.
Just another user
11-03-04, 06:04 PM The question of what happens to the body is more complicated. While I don't think it would simply decompose four years instantly, I also get the feeling that those killed in the Mourning aren't...reachable by normal means. Otherwise there might be whole expeditions of clerics pulling corpses out of the Mournland and casting Raise Dead spells dozens or hundreds of times over.

Uh? What about the memory erasing effect of the plane of death? IIRC you have only few months, if not weeks before the souls are gone forever. (someone remember where in the book is write this? I'm sure I've read it somewhere, but I can't find it)

P:S: Technically speaking vine aging is not so different from decomposition. It is always bacter's works FWIK.
DBlizzard
11-03-04, 07:32 PM Remember that when you "Speak with Dead" you aren't really speaking with the spirit. Whatever information you get from the body is whatever the body knew at the time of its death. So, any "insanity" from the Mournlands or memory erasing effect of the plane of death are irrelevant.

That being said, I'd be comfortable with having the Mournlands alter the body in such a way that Speak with Dead doesn't work at all. After all, it's still a mystery what happened on the Day of Mourning from the "insiders" POV.
debatedeus
11-03-04, 07:58 PM Remember that when you "Speak with Dead" you aren't really speaking with the spirit. Whatever information you get from the body is whatever the body knew at the time of its death. So, any "insanity" from the Mournlands or memory erasing effect of the plane of death are irrelevant.

That being said, I'd be comfortable with having the Mournlands alter the body in such a way that Speak with Dead doesn't work at all. After all, it's still a mystery what happened on the Day of Mourning from the "insiders" POV.

I was only restating the idea that Keith gave on the AKB thread. Consider that the Day of Mourning happened and THEN everyone died. This is enough time for the effect of the Day to change the people enough that they are crazy when spoken through speak with dead.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
reveal 11-03-04, 10:31 AM	Last session, my PCs went into the Mournlands. During their time there, they found a body that had a book. The book mentioned one of the PCs specifically. Being a smart PC, he decided to take the body back to the nearest town to try to Speak to Dead. The way I played it was once the body got out of the fog of the Mournlands, it turned to dust. The body was at least 4 years old and the only thing that kept it "fresh" was the magic of the Mournlands. Once it left, it quickly reverted to its true form. They also removed some wine they found and it just aged better. :) What about the rest of you? Have you had players try to remove things from the Mournlands? If so, how have you handled it?
Sceadeau 11-03-04, 10:56 AM	I'm not really sure if a body would turn to dust after just 4 years. But, that aside, I've had the lingering magic affects in the Mournland be the cause of bodies preservation. I treated it as a perhaps just a thick coat of phermayldehyde keeping the bodies in a state that resisted (and actively fought) entropy. So removing the bodies from the Mournland just had the bodies return to a normal state of decomposition. That's for my game, at least.
helzapoppn 11-03-04, 11:21 AM	My take would be no. What created the Mournland was not a time-related magical phenomenon (IMHO). If a party walks through the dead-gray mist and three days later walk (or more likely limp and crawl) back out, three days have also passed in the rest of Khorvaire. Things still happen there. Creatures and plants, while mutated or made into aberrations, still spawn, grow and die. The wine certainly didn't magically become vintage just by virtue of being moved. The wine actually IS four years older...and the true rarity would be that they are most likely Cyran wines, which of course can no longer be made. The question of what happens to the body is more complicated. While I don't think it would simply decompose four years instantly, I also get the feeling that those killed in the Mourning aren't...reachable by normal means. Otherwise there might be whole expeditions of clerics pulling corpses out of the Mournland and casting Raise Dead spells dozens or hundreds of times over. In that situation, I'd say that Speak With Dead doesn't work on anyone killed in the Mourning...both because of the time since death and for reasons related to the event itself. Think of it this way: If Speak With Dead worked, the Mournland wouldn't be a mystery. Frustrate your players a little, keep it terribly mysterious...make them work for the knowledge. Just my thoughts.
Gurv 11-03-04, 12:55 PM	Opinions vary. No one really knows why the bodies in the Mournlands don't decompose. It might be somethings as simple as a gentle repose spell, or it might be something else. Official sources have not mentioned what happens to a corpse when it leaves the Mournlands. So, it does whatever you want it to do. If you are worried about official sources disagreeing with you, then consider the following possibility: Maybe the non-decomposing aspect of the Mournlands doesn't work in any way we understand. Maybe it affected some of the dead, and not others. Maybe some corpses leaving the Mournlands crumble to dust. Others just become inert bodies and begin to rot at a normal pace. Another animates as undead. How do you know what a particular corpse will do? Easy! It does whatever fits your plot best. If you don't want speak with dead cast on a corpse, ruining the mystery, then don't let them.
debatedeus 11-03-04, 01:06 PM	Keith has said the that Mournlands have a powerful effect on the sanity of the beings that remain there. Trying to Speak With Dead, for example, should yield very confused answers, crazy answers, or extremely contrary answers. The people who died because of the Day of Mourning shouldn't be able to remember anything about the event, but Speak With Dead should give the players the idea of the craziness of the day. I like the person turning to dust. The wine aging is a fun effect, but I don't think that that is a usual effect of the mournland.
Just another user 11-03-04, 06:04 PM	The question of what happens to the body is more complicated. While I don't think it would simply decompose four years instantly, I also get the feeling that those killed in the Mourning aren't...reachable by normal means. Otherwise there might be whole expeditions of clerics pulling corpses out of the Mournland and casting Raise Dead spells dozens or hundreds of times over. Uh? What about the memory erasing effect of the plane of death? IIRC you have only few months, if not weeks before the souls are gone forever. (someone remember where in the book is write this? I'm sure I've read it somewhere, but I can't find it) P:S: Technically speaking vine aging is not so different from decomposition. It is always bacter's works FWIK.
DBlizzard 11-03-04, 07:32 PM	Remember that when you "Speak with Dead" you aren't really speaking with the spirit. Whatever information you get from the body is whatever the body knew at the time of its death. So, any "insanity" from the Mournlands or memory erasing effect of the plane of death are irrelevant. That being said, I'd be comfortable with having the Mournlands alter the body in such a way that Speak with Dead doesn't work at all. After all, it's still a mystery what happened on the Day of Mourning from the "insiders" POV.
debatedeus 11-03-04, 07:58 PM	Remember that when you "Speak with Dead" you aren't really speaking with the spirit. Whatever information you get from the body is whatever the body knew at the time of its death. So, any "insanity" from the Mournlands or memory erasing effect of the plane of death are irrelevant. That being said, I'd be comfortable with having the Mournlands alter the body in such a way that Speak with Dead doesn't work at all. After all, it's still a mystery what happened on the Day of Mourning from the "insiders" POV. I was only restating the idea that Keith gave on the AKB thread. Consider that the Day of Mourning happened and THEN everyone died. This is enough time for the effect of the Day to change the people enough that they are crazy when spoken through speak with dead.