Life as a Raising Cleric

The Raise Quest
I've mentioned a bit about the Raise quest in the magic section. Please read it as it includes advice.

Below is an excerpt of GameMaster Heiu's post about the Resurrection spell dated 10/13/2004.

This is something I WANT to be common knowledge. Very common. One of the factors that plays into how much mana is required to raise a body is the number of favors said body has. A favorless takes significantly more mana infused than someone with 10 favors. This is accomplished via a bonus... a reduction in mana required as people have more favors. As you infuse mana you begin to see spirits in the Void in the order of how much they attended to their spiritual duties in the earthly realm. The reasoning, OOC, is that if players know they are more likely to get a faster, easier raise with more favors... they are likely to have more. And it is an easy way for clerics to identify those who may be more or less inclined to keep favors with greater ease. It isn't the whole formula, but it is a significant part. Unclean or unpious spirits are just plain harder to find.

My hope is the net effect is fewer favorless and more of a stake in responsibility for their raise by the players at large. Want to get raised faster? Get favors.

Now, the formula for how "good" of a raise you get is completely dependant upon the caster. Deader has nothing to do with it. That is based solely on you guys and how powerful you are.

Oh, and the little hint. The "bonus" you get from raising doesn't happen every time. It is fairly easy to miss, but I think you'll be pleased when the observant among you finally sees it.


The Resurrection Procedure - suggestion.
Exact process of resurrection was left vague deliberately so you can have the fun I had trying to figure it out. :)

Step One (Corpse check):
[Perceive corpse]
to sense how many memories they have lost, the number of favors they have, and the time they have left before they decay. Vigil helps lengthen decay time. Soul Bond temporarily stops auto-depart if time runs out.

Step Two (Rejuvenation):
Usually any corpse that gets dragged into the guild is considered free game, rejuvenation-wise. For the young cleric who has the tendency to run out of harness too quickly and owns a cambrinth item, what I recommend doing is charge a cambrinth item (about 2 mana each time until you reach your maximum mana limit to cast without backfiring), focus on it, then prep rejuvenation at 5 mana, and cast on the corpse. If you do not have a cambrinth item, then prep rejuve at min prep, be sure to wait for the full prep time so you do not backfire. Cast until silver.

Step Three (Body Check):
Make sure the body can hold life! If there is any bleeder left untended, the person can die again when raised. While very high-level clerics can raise deaders with bleeders which does not result in an immediate death, this does not change the fact that there are STILL bleeders.

Remember that not all bleeders bleed. Check the body over thoroughly, not just looking for noticeable bleeding. Have an experienced empath check over the body if you want to be on the safe side.
- Sometimes grievous scars can be fatal.

Step Four (Double Check):
Just to be on the safe side, ensure decay time is fine, body is healed enough to sustain life and memories are still fully restored.

Step Five (Resurrection):
Cast Soul Bond on the deader. Preferably work in a team if you are still a new raising cleric. Have someone cast soul bond and standing by to recast if soul bond slips during the resurrection process. Soul Bond is a short duration spell and if you can't work fast, it's best to have a team member.

As you begin infusing to raise the deader, please keep an eye on soul bond fading just in case your team mate misses it. You will see a shroud of vapor that signals the soul bond has slipped. If everything is done correctly, you will be able to raise the person.


Make Use of Your Cambrinth
Cambrinth items are a type of rechargeable magical batteries. You [charge] the cambrinth with a certain amount of mana a few times, then [focus] on it to create a link, prep the spell you intend to cast, and finally, cast the spell. You will roughly get the sense of how much of your mana was used.

I highly recommend for young clerics to use cambrinths when rejuving corpses. Yes, this takes time, but you will be training your magical devices and harness skills as well. In the long run, this will be to your benefit. With low skill, charge the cambrinth with a small amount (e.g. 3), so that you won't run out of mana too fast. As your skill increases, you should start increasing the charge as well.

You are the best judge of how much mana to charge at a time. Keep track of your harness level to estimate how much mana to use.

The cambrinths will cost money, so hunt and earn that money! :)

Work that power perception skill too! This will be to your benefit if you don't neglect this skill. Trust me on this.

Personal Thoughts on Raising
By far the most sought-after clerical ability among non-clerics, the ability to raise the dead comes with it's own brand of conflicts and issues.

There is a misconception which lingers that all clerics who can raise should raise because it is their 'duty' to do so. I hate to disappoint those of you who believe "clerics who don't raise are a shame to the guild", but I don't happen to share this misconception.

Clerics have many roles and duties in the guilds. There are clerics who believe it is their duty to raise all and any corpse that comes their way. This is fine because that is their assigned role in the Guild. I respect their choices to obey the command of their Gods as I hope they respect mine.

I understand that sometimes you meet clerics who aren't very nice people and even though you do your best to be polite and well-mannered, they misinterpret your intentions and treat you badly. But consider that text is a very tricky medium and can easily be misunderstood because non-verbal communication does not translate well in a text-based game.

If the cleric does turn out be a jerk, well...no guild is without some bad apples. Before you harangue the entire guild for a few people's actions, consider your own guild members.

Also, before you are quick to condemn a cleric, consider whether you are truly in a position to tell clerics how they should act in correspondence to their chosen alignment. Would you like someone telling you what to do, what to say and what to think? Is the cleric really being a jerk or are you forcing your own values on to the cleric?

As for my principles on raising, I have some requirements before I decide to raise anyone. But just because I rarely raise people doesn't mean I hate everyone.

I will freely and willingly restore people's memories and I will gweth asking for a paladin for a ward if the people aren't rude or inappropriately irreverent. But for me to raise someone requires a little something extra to impress me.

No, not money. Charging for raise is fine for others, but it's not my thing. If the situation is hostile, the deader or friends are rude, THAT is when I'll ask for a 50-500 plat payment up front. *wink*

In any case, there are plenty of clerics out there who have different styles. Mine's just a tiny drop in a big sea.