[Opinion] Undead in Elemental?

from Elemental Forums

First, I have not finished the book, so maybe I'm off base here.  With that being said:

Having the undead-related abilities in FH is SO derivative!

I would understand if FH made use of stock fantasy material, but so much effort has been put into creating the lore, it seems a shame and missed opportunity to include necromancy and undead hordes.

The exception are the Cinderbones; what a terrific backstory!

Certainly, there is a better fit to be found.

Just my two cents.

16,338 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top


I agree, while skeletons are pretty cool, they do kinda feel out of place compared to all the other critters. but eh, they are pretty cool.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I enjoy the cinderbones... I would like to see them get some fire resistance though.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

I dunno, I encountered the Lich quest that spawns from the Plague event for the first time yesterday and it seemed, thematically, like a pretty good fit. The event itself presents three difficult choices, each with a cost, and the one I took lead to an unexpected and unfortunate consequence. The fact that I was playing as Ceresa added to the irony too.

True, the undead are a stock fantasy race, but I think they're a good fit with what I see as two central themes of Elemental lore: the 'broken world' and, in the case of this event at least, unintended consequences. Not to mention that, with the Wraiths and the Butchermen, there have been various kinds of undead knocking around for a while even before we had skeleton hordes.

Also, clearly I'm going to need to read up on the Cinderbones, I haven't read anything about them yet and only encountered them once. I also like Banshees simply for the tactical challenge they present - playing as Resoln I have been able to handle them because Wraith Touch affects them even if I have no mana or spellcasters, but in my last game as Yithril they were formidable.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Without giving away too much, resurrection from death appears to be incorporated into the lore now (see FE campaign).

I think my tolerance for undead in the lore is pretty high, even though it is a stock race. Simply because you've already got the two main ingredients - lots of dark magic and lots of humans running around.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 4
Simply because you've already got the two main ingredients - lots of dark magic and lots of humans running around.

Not to mention the third ingredient... dead people.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

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Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

I dunno. I haven't run into banshees yet.  I've had the Night of the Dead event trigger though, and do enjoy the nerve-racking thrill of having to stomp the undead armies (thank God the AI doesn't attack cities with these hordes :) )

Undead shrills maybe?

It's funny, I play as Resoln regularly but have no love for the undead :)

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

At this point, truly original fantasy is pretty hard to come by. Knocking the lore for having undead seems myopic. Why not knock them for having earth, fire, water, air as elements? Or Mage/warrior/assassin/defender archetypes? Why not point out that the Men Vs. Fallen thing is a more complicated version of Orcs. Vs Men? 

It's not that Elemental is a totally original fantasy world, but it at least deserves credit for having unique flavor. The whole titan backstory is not a stock fantasy trope, and it casts an interesting shadow over much of the game lore which is otherwise derivative.

Some people on this board have asked for undead, and they got it. I think the fantasy market is so recycled is because people want more of the same...   

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm okay with undead, although their inclusion did surprise me at first, given what Elemental is (the historical events of the Altarian race/homeworld in Galactic Civilizations). It fits the genre, though.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Ya this bugs me as well. I think they should attempt to integrate them better into the lore. Instead of generic skeletons they could change them to be.

The Scorched: The victims of Cinderbones come back as these blackened skeletons.

Shamblers: These skeletons are controlled by the parasitic vines that killed them from within.

Shades: These skeletons are created by Death Mages who summon minor demons into corpses.

I just don't like the idea of generic skeletons, at least twist them a bit to make them somewhat unique.