Mystra and Necromancy

[Mitchell]

I know that Mystryl and the pre-Midnight Mystra were both lawful neutral deities, and therefore most likely didn't have any qualms about the good or evil use of magic (just as long as it didn't endanger the Weave.) But with Mystra's shift to neutral good after the Time of Troubles, has this changed? How does her faith view necromancy and other "evil" magic?

[Layna]

The deity info page says Mystra's followers can be of any alignment and Mystra confirmed this here - but as to whether or not she has any specific views on necromancy I'm not sure...

[Lerytha]

I don't think Mystrans dislike the use of undead. However, there are some affects of necromancy (the use of negative energy for example often corrupts the user), which the temples of Mystra would probably urge caution with. After all, they seek to preserve the sanctity of the Weave.

Other than that, Mystrans as a FAITH would not have a problem with raising undead/necromancy. It would depend entirely upon alignment/race/background of the Mystran.

An evil Mystran with undead buddies who still loves the Weave and protects it... interesting (if difficult) roleplay...

~Ol

[Jedan]

It should also be noted that Velsharoon, the God of Necromancy, is a subordinate deity to Mystra. (Even if he isn't very reliable).

[Scylere]

It would be interesting to add a hidden charisma decrease when anyone casts "evil" spells. Or maybe there already is?

[Solaghar]

In the literature this is actually dealt with. Both Kelemvor and Mystra are in essence 'sued' by Cyric for failing to live up to their deityhood by following purely human ideals of good and evil. Mystra at first only granted spells to 'good' spellcasters, while Kelemvor promised an afterlife in paradise to those who he felt died with honor. In the end, Mystra's denial of spellcasting to those she didn't agree with resulted in complete chaos, while all across the realms, warriors were throwing their lives away for Kelemvor, knowing that they would be rewarded eternally in the afterlife.

They were both judged and found guilty by a synod of other deities of abusing their power, I believe Ao also approved of this, and they both saw the error of their ways and changed their actions to be far more neutral than they once were. This is when Kelemvor changed from the 'Crystal Spire' of his kingdom of the dead to the Gray Wastes where he only 'rewards' those who are faithful to whichever deity they hold dear. So while Mystra and Kelemvor were both 'good' in life, they have both had to deal with being Gods and have had to adopt attitudes which deal with the fact that as Gods, they can't just pick and choose but have to live up to being deities who aren't limited in their sphere.

To answer the question, no matter what Mystra personally might have thought of Necromancers in life (and remember, even a cure wounds spell is technically 'necromantic' in nature, necromancy does not necessarily equal evil or undeath) as a deity, she can only discriminate between proper use of the weave and improper based on factors which have nothing to do with good or evil.

[Mitchell]

It would be interesting to add a hidden charisma decrease when anyone casts "evil" spells. Or maybe there already is?

Why? Charisma has no ties to the good/evil spectrum. Evil characters can be and are just as charismatic as good characters.

[Scylere]

Sorry, I meant ALIGNMENT, not charisma. It would be interesting to see a decrease in hidden alignment when an evil spell is cast.

[Mitchell]

Sorry, I meant ALIGNMENT, not charisma. It would be interesting to see a decrease in hidden alignment when an evil spell is cast.

Whether a spell is evil or not is completely subjective and circumstantial. A magic missile used to kill puppies and kittens and children could, I suppose, constitute an evil alignment, while a magic missile used to kill demons in defense of the innocent could constitute good alignment.

There are of course some spells with the evil descriptor (spells with the word "evil" in brackets next to the spell school) but this doesn't necessarily mean that using a spell with this descriptor means your character is more evil. Here is an explanation of descriptors:

[Descriptor]

Appearing on the same line as the school and subschool, when applicable, is a descriptor that further categorizes the spell in some way. Some spells have more than one descriptor.

The descriptors are acid, air, chaotic, cold, darkness, death, earth, electricity, evil, fear, fire, force, good, language-dependent, lawful, light, mind-affecting, sonic, and water.

Most of these descriptors have no game effect by themselves, but they govern how the spell interacts with other spells, with special abilities, with unusual creatures, with alignment, and so on.

A language-dependent spell uses intelligible language as a medium for communication. If the target cannot understand or cannot hear what the caster of a language-dependant spell says the spell fails.

A mind-affecting spell works only against creatures with an Intelligence score of 1 or higher.

[Scylere]

I guess this depends on how you rp magic.

Does magic use part of the casters soul, energy, heart, power, chi?

If so, does the kind of magic used affect that person?

[Paskry]

Magic is garnered from the Weave, which is in effect a great web that encompasses Toril, the mages of the realm take the strands of the weave and blend them together to make the various effects of their spells, certain objects like sulphur, naturally have Weave 'threads' that relate to specific effects like flame. These are your material components, the audio components invoke the 'strands' to aherre to each other while the motions adjust how and what shape they stick together as.

At least, this is my understanding from the refence manuals.

<edit>
For priests, they channel immortal energy directly, the energy being granted by the said immortal. If they immortal does not want you to practice necromancy, you simply won't get any results from that immortal, if another one does, then they can choose to step in and grant you the magic you desire. However, as often with such things, there is a cost- your soul for example. And some immortals such as Deneir with Cadderly have you use your own life energy to complete the prayers. Cadderly's prayers were songs that opened the dam to Deneir whom flooded Cadderly with his devine energy. I personally think that much power would age any mortal but the book seems to imply that the raising of the Spirit Soaring itself is what aged him so. So yes, at an immortals fancy your life force could be used in the prayers.