Bring out your Dead! (the graveyard / cemetery debate)

[Ashtyn]

Ok, so it's been suggested (read: vehemently demanded by a necromantic kitty! It was terrible! He threatened me with his fearsome kitty eyes and adorable whiskers!!  ) that we should implement a graveyard again.

In the old sim, a graveyard was 'demanded', with people pointing out all sorts of reasons for it, from "it's dark and gloomy so it's a cool place because I'm dark and gloomy!" to "my necromancer needs a supply of fresh bodies!" and all sorts of other reasonings. However, the place hardly ever saw any use at all. And building a whole fancy area for one person's character to use occasionally when they need a dark gloomy place to go is a waste of or precious and scarce resources.

That said, I'm not opposed to the idea of setting up a simple graveyard that could be basically a token of the location, a backdrop, pretty much just to say it's there, nothing too fancy, just a prop.

It's then been suggested that we should put it in the new forest. I don't think that's a good place at all for a graveyard. The forest would be 1) freshly discovered, so there wouldn't be graves already established there, and 2) forests are forestry; I think their purpose is quite different than that of a cemetery. The uses and the feel of the area have little to do with them.

So I picked a few locations where a cemetery could be implemented in our existing layout!

• Location #1 is underneath the city, underneath the central area where the palace and library are. I will have to modify the place, for now it's just a dead-end, but I could easily dig into the rock wall and expand that chamber, add some crypts, tombstones and sarcophagus, and while modifying the current structure there to give it an underground will be a lot of work, it can be done at very little or even equal amount of resources it already takes.
  Follow the SLURL to check the location out!  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/165/204/1700
• Location #2 is underneath the marketplace. I could take off the mushrooms, and again put grave markers and some graveyard-ish things. There would be no cost in the resources because the tombstones and all would replace the mushrooms so it would be a one-for-one exchange.
  Follow the SLURL to check the location out! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/209/246/1699
• Location #3 would be.... well, I haven't come up with one really, but it would be somewhere in the Caves. There's plenty of places where we could stick a graveyard in there. Xela's comments on this would be appreciated since the Caves are her domain.
  (SLURL to the Caves! http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/156/221/1674)

So yes, share your opinions on the matter and let's see where it goes. 

[Husky Dragon]

The locations are good. :3 Like I said in the other topic - As long as it'll be used, i'm for it.

[Aryn Gentlepaw]

Aww, that's really sweet of you to think about me like that, Fox

I had a bit of fun RP with my Anubian Jackal necro now and most of it was experimenting on bodies and doing analytical exams, so a place where he has a sort of working station, aka crypts and cemetery, would enhance the mood for this. Also, we wouldnt have had to ponder as much where to find a frsh body

Of course I d love option one having more than just a few gravestones, as in an actual crypt to talk around in. I d set up camp there with my necromancer because the veil would be very thin there and easy to breach for spooky rituals and ghost play, and of course the newest research he does conduct.

I don't want to have you spend so much time and effort though if I am the only one thinking this would be neat and using it, so also location 2 is just fine by me.

Of course being in the caves Xelas input is important, and I am really fine with a  lot of options, as long as it does contain graves and crypts Also, considering my necromancer is part of the Zenko (assistant to the head medic Rena) it might influence the decision maybe?

[Novaku]

I'm gonna say no for one simple reason, people requested it so much the last time, we gave them one and it was practically never used. Nothing against you Aryn, cause I fully believe you would use it, but I personally don't think one user is enough to warrant a whole cemetery.

[Aryn Gentlepaw]

Yes, as I said, if it would be only for me, no need to invest so much effort. And a whole fleshed out graveyard was not what I was asking for anyway. If you could just add a few minor props somewhere, or have a sort of small necro lab in a hut or something, that would be enough. Just some fitting backdrop or background that would emphasize a bit on the "darker" sciences.

I will live if nothing is added, it just would make me happy to have a place that would be usually associated with Necromancer gameplay.

[Xela]

Since the death rate at Lismore seems pretty low, and because the use of the old graveyard was non existent (as far as I know) I'm inclined to say no, too.
But, could put a few graves behind the houses next to the market or something as a kinda mid between option, not as formal while still being a source of dead.

[Ausar]

From what I heard the mushrooms may can be included in current questlines (there was some talk about mushroom farms to alleviate the food crisis). If that is still true, I would not touch that area for another project just yet.  And there is already plenty of reason to visit the caves, thanks to the Phoenix. So from the locations mentioned I think the area below the central town would be best suited to add something like that.

I agree that a fully developed graveyard/crypt would be a bit much if there is only one player actively interested. But a small token graveyard could do much good without costing too much time and resources. I understand that you had bad experiences with a location like that in the past. But it is highly unlikely that we will attract more people willing to use the place if we don't have it at all in the first place.
A little backdrop, as Ashtyn put it, can always serve as a way to test the waters. If again nobody will use it, it can easily vanish again. Just as easy as it could be expanded (maybe moved elsewhere for that) if the spot would see enough demand.   

Concerning the death rate: I am sure Xela is thinking mainly player characters here. But while the players are those we actively engage with, we should keep in mind that the population of Lismore as a whole would be a lot bigger, if we add in every little worker, servant or lonely guard. Enough to fill some graves over the years. Also, while people returned from the dead by divine intervention: What did ever happen to their graves? Maybe there are some empty graves now, or maybe their souls have been given a new body in the likeness of their old ones, while the original bones still rest where they once were buried?

[Lou]

Every city should have a graveyard. It's only a benefit for health safety and even just to fulfill ancient traditions of giving people one final place of rest for their souls to depart from.

That said, I don't think it's needed on-sim. A consumption of space and resources that could be put to better use on things that will be *actively* used and with decent frequency. I don't see a lot of folks hanging around a graveyard for your every-day RP. Though what's to stop us from agreeing that there *is* a graveyard somewhere, just not represented?

Like Athian pointed out, there's theoretically a much higher population in Lismore than just the player base. Keeping that in mind though, there's a distinct lack of houses that'd hold all these people, not enough inn rooms, and so on and so forth. But no one brings this up and I can only assume it's an unspoken rule that there *are* housings for the whole NPC population. Why not do the same with the graveyard? There *is* one, it's just not spoken about.

[Xela]

Or maybe a new faith can be developed at Lismore. Due to necromancy problems, its much more respectful to toss a body off the island, or something :3

[Ausar]

Sooner or later you would get an angry visit from the people living below Lismore.

[Husky Dragon]

What people below lismore? 

[Lou]

The growing army of Beholders.

I'm on to your secrets, event-staff.

[Ashtyn]

The growing army of Beholders.

I'm on to your secrets, event-staff.

<.<
>.>

....what beholders? Who said anything about beholders? There's no such thing as beholders!!

[Ashtyn]

So at long last, we have a proper (although humble) necropolis in Lismore again!

The location chosen ended up being under the market, at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clockwork/209/243/1699

[Aryn Gentlepaw]

Awesome, thank you Fox *hugs*

Now my necromancer will have a good source of ingredients and a proper place for dark and mysterious rituals... for science! ^^