Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

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TheOracle
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Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by TheOracle » Wed Aug 08, 2018 11:30 am

At the moment I am playing a 4th circle Nethermancer.

The other characters in the group are a Weaponsmith, a ranged combat Thief, a Warrior and a Beastmaster.

Which spells would you recommend me to have in my character's matrices?

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etherial
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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by etherial » Wed Aug 08, 2018 1:22 pm

What Spells do you have already and what successes and disappointments have you had with them in your Matrices?

TheOracle
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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by TheOracle » Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:09 am

At the moment I'm using:

- Spirit Dart
- Death's Head
- Either Life Circle of One or Soul Armor

This seems to work pretty well. But I'm really curious if I am missing something.

Calamrin
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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by Calamrin » Sat Aug 11, 2018 9:13 am

Ive not played one but, ive known friends who have. Id strongly suggest using your bone circles, they an integral part of what u do and have lots of spells coming off them...summon bone spirit (third circle spell) summons a powerful undead minion provided you have a bone circle within 40 miles. (id suggest dispel magic as an alt talent so you can dispel the circles as they fall out of use as they last months)

Shadow meld is good for sneaking, the darkness spell good for defence.....overall they have a pretty powerful set of spells.

Ive never played one just due to how evil they are and tend to play in good based groups, but they can do loads.

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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by Mataxes » Sat Aug 11, 2018 1:24 pm

Calamrin wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 9:13 am
Ive never played one just due to how evil they are and tend to play in good based groups, but they can do loads.
Why do you think Nethermancers are evil?

===

As for spells, if you have a ranged character in the group, Arrow of Night is a good one to give them extra damage (C3). Night's Edge is the Nethermancer Flameweapon for melee characters. Buff your allies with those and then wind up an Astral Spear against their reduced Mystic Defense and Armor.
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Calamrin
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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by Calamrin » Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:39 pm

Why do you think Nethermancers are evil?
Mainly from spell descriptions. ive only looked a little.

Aspect of the fog ghost: summons a maleficent spirit and binds it to a willing target... meaning of maleficent in dictionary:

(Word origin of 'maleficent' C17: from Latin maleficent-, from maleficus wicked, prone to evil, from malum evil.)

Into a willing target urges them whispering in their ear to attack the nearest living thing, even party members

Summon fog ghost... again summon evil spirit, force it into an unwilling target, where it then attacks the nearest target be it the caster or friend or foe.

Bone circle- "invites" (note brackets in spell description...meaning its totally not an invite) a wandering spirit to live within a circle made of bones and transforms it into a bone spirit. Where its then trapped for months against its will...its that angry it will attack anyone entering it...and that includes the caster who transformed and forced it there.
It says on page 377 gmg that wandering spirits transformed into bone spirits are "territorial and almost animalistic"...its certainly no longer that wandering spirit.


Ive not read all the spells by any means, just a few first and second circle...and i dont want to get into alignments and that hardship....but you cant paint Nethermancers as your typical do good team member.

Edit: i just dont see any reference to them summoning good spirits, only specifically evil ones, or trapping non consentual ones...and no matter how you dress that up its not "good"

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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by TheOracle » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:40 pm

I don't think Nethermancers are evil. Their attitude is often that the end justifies the means. They deal with dark forces, but they are generally as not more evil than a warrior who kills people with a weapon. Hardly any other discipline is as effective when it comes to fighting Horrors, which seems to be a good thing. Nethermancer also have spells for healing and resurrection. As for conjured spirits: This may apply to the spirits called with spells. But ghosts called with the talent "Summon" are not generally malicious.

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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by RazanMG » Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:32 am

Bone Circle: ".....The bone spirit will not harm its summoner, but cannot otherwise be controlled."

All spells that summon spirits, summon Tasked Spirits, kind of what result the spell was created for. For "combat" evil spirits are best, and thats why they are summoned.

Most of the text in nethermancer spells is just fluff created to make an impression that Nethermancer deals with "dark magic". But what he does is important not the "tools" he uses.

Just my 3 coppers.

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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by Calamrin » Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:44 am

TheOracle wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:40 pm
I don't think Nethermancers are evil. Nethermancer also have spells for healing and resurrection.
an example of their healing...Aspect of the cruel physician. Summons and binds a spirit of pain to a willing target. The targets eyes start to emit a faint red glow and a menacing grin spreads across his face. The heal even causes a wound.

All i have done is read the spell descriptions as they are written....the vast majority have evil conurtations.
RazanMG wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:32 am

All spells that summon spirits, summon Tasked Spirits, kind of what result the spell was created for. For "combat" evil spirits are best, and thats why they are summoned.

Evil spirits the best in combat. Ok fair enough. So Nethermancers summon and encourage evil spirits to effect allies and enemies in the world.

Its never a benevolent spirit... just evil ones.

Bone circle is the clearest example of intent....It takes a wandering spirit and forces it to be transformed into a bone spirit (which if you read the description of bone spirits on 377gmg are not nice happy things) , and trap them for months in a 10 foot circle.
That is a case of a nethermancer taking something thats free and making it into something horrible and trapped.

Im not making anything up, just reading the spells. If i squint, look sideways, and put my hands over my ears, i suppose i could argue to myself saying they arent evil, even though they primarily use evil, in evil ways to justify doing good, but its a stretch.

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Re: Spell recommendations Nethermancer 4th circle

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:58 pm

TheOracle wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:40 pm
I don't think Nethermancers are evil. Their attitude is often that the end justifies the means.
Saying that "the end justifies the means", is simply admitting that you are willing to do what you recognize as being evil if you think your goal is good. That does not make your actions not evil.

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