Advancing (nhelp)
Advancing
Lesser classes can advance just by hiting rats repeatedly and then
congratulating themselves on their abilities, but for adherents of the
darker arts, things are not so easy.
The first 11 levels are easy enough, but one cannot advance to level 12 without casting off part of ones soul and taking on the essence of Undeath. Thus to advance to level 12 a Necromancer must partially die, and discard part of their soul in favour of something much darker. The Necromancer does not actually become Undead, but starts to acquire the characteristics of more and more powerful creatures as she advances.
When a new Undead form is taken on, the Necromancer will continue to benefit from the bonuses from the previous forms!
Level 12: Ghoul (Gain Paralyze Special)
Level 15: Wight (5% attack speed boost)
Level 18: Wraith (Gain permanent stealth)
Level 21: Mummy (Gain +2 Con)
Level 24: Spectre (Resistance of 5% to all damage)
Level 27: Vampire (Natural Regeneration, Detect Living)
Level 30: Lich (Enhanced Mp Regeneration, +5% Necro Spell Damage, +2 Int)
Advancing to these levels is not simple though, as a mortal player must be sacrificed to do so. One cannot simply 'advance' but the next level may only be gained via the 'sacrifice' command.
First a suitable mewling victim must be located. The Necromancer must have first constructed a Bone Temple (or have the preserved corpses ready to do so!) and cast Mortal Horror on the target. Then, the Necromancer must kill the target - but instead of dying they will be trapped by the Mortal Horror curse in a nightmare of mortality. The Necromancer must then drag them to their Bone Temple and begin the 'sacrifice' ritual. Any disturbance during this ritual will lead to its instant failure, so Necromancers often hide the entrance to their Sepulchers in hard to find places!
At the completion of the ritual, the Necromancer drives his kris knife through the heart of the victim and both he and the victim instantly die. For the victim, the losses are far higher than a normal Pk death, but it should be noted that the Necromancer ALSO will suffer death penalties, although only normal ones. It should also be noted that he must be sure that he has met all the criteria to advance - otherwise the sacrifice will succeed, he will die, but fail to advance and must start again from scratch.
Thus does one advance in the Dark Arts, our every triumph built on the lifeless corpses of the innocent.
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