GrannyMaggie's Guide to Ancestoring

[Written by Maggie]

Before you decide to ancestor your character, think carefully, my child!  Listen to your Granny!!  There are advantages and disadvantages and each situation is different.  It is a decision not to be taken lightly.  I have written here complete details on the Ancestoring process, including step-by-step instructions for the two Ceremonies involved.

First, the advantages: 

Experience:   Ancestoring immediately returns to the Descendant HALF of the Ancestor's experience.  In Legends of Kesmai, remember, each new experience level is exactly twice as many points as the last level.  So, if your Ancestor was Level 12, your Descendent will be Level 11.  In addition, if you have lost a lot of Health Points ("HPs") through numerous deaths or had very bad luck on your rolls ("rolls" are the number of HPs you gain each time you level up... sometimes you're lucky and get the full number for your class; most times, however, you will not), ancestoring will eliminate the "death loss" of your HPs and will give you another chance at getting better rolls.  The same is true of Mana Points if you're a magic user, although with Mana, it's pure luck since you don't lose Mana Points when you die.  The only statistical factors which affect your HP and MP rolls are Constitution (for HPs); Intell and Wisdom for MPs (Wiz and Thaum) and Intell only for Thieves.  While it is still a matter of luck, your luck is likely to be better if the appropriate stats are maxed for your character.

Lastly, since you are now a more experienced player, your Descendant will probably not die so often... so chances are you won't suffer nearly so much death-loss of HPs.

Skills:  Ancestoring will bestow upon your Descendant the potential to swiftly achieve skill to within about two or three levels of your Ancestor's skill level.  Please note that, unlike experience gain, skill gain is NOT immediate... it is POTENTIAL only.  The skills must be practiced in order to be regained.  (A trip to the UW can hasten this process... each trip will restore two skill levels, so depending on your ancestor's skill level, it may take a few trips to the UW to regain the total available to you via the ancestoring process.)  And the skill regeneration rate is not constant... it depends on what rank your ancestor achieved.  If your ancestor was Level 12 (Expert) in Mace, for instance, you may only regain skill to Level 9 (Proficient) if your Expert rank was low.  However, a few trips to the UW is certainly a fast way to get back a significant amount of your Ancestor's skill.

Ancestoring is also the only way to "get around" the restriction on Martial Arts training for classes other than MAs.  Since only MAs can train hand skill beyond Black Belt, ancestoring a high-level MA is one way to give a non-MA descendant an immediate advantage in his/her hand skill.

Tied Weapons and Other Items:   Your Ancestor will "bless" or bestow ONE tied weapon of your choice which will then re-tie to the Descendant.  So... you won't have to go out and do another dangerous quest to receive a pair of Crystal Gaunts , a Doom Bow or Raxe .  In addition, the contents of your locker and your bank account will automatically be transferred to your Descendant.

The disadvantages:

Experience:   Why give up your current level when a simple dose of
Drake Potion will restore your Health Points?  If you are Level 12...
you worked HARD to get there... twice as hard as you did to get to Level 11.  Don't give up your level!  Get creative!  DPs may seem hard to come by... but they can be had!  Make yourself a Thief character... thieves are particularly good at sniping away at the Drake and one thief can often keep a player's other characters stocked with DPs .  Or start a Wiz or MA... both of which can earn you tons of money!  Drake Potions can be found in Leng and Oak with fairly high frequency.  Rescue the Leng Princess ; kill the Oak Serpent!   Fun and profitable!  High level players also often sell DPs at pretty reasonable prices.

Once you've got that first character to Level 12, it's time to start a new character anyway, and experience the thrills to be had by trying a different class.  You're better at the game now... you won't die as often because you forgot to balm or recall.  You know where you're going; you won't be lost and you'll know where it's safe to hunt.

Skill:   Even if ancestoring restores half of your Ancestor's experience, it does NOT restore half of the skill.  You only come to within two or three levels of your Ancestor's old skill level.  In addition, the amount of skill regenerated is measured by the skill level of your Ancestor at the time of the Ceremony of Death.  If your Ancestor previously lost skill levels through death and did not regain his/her peak skill levels through practice or a trip to the UnderWorld , your Descendant's max skill regeneration will be measured from the lower skill level, NOT the peak.  So, if you ancestored a Level 12 character, you've now got a Level 11 body with skills up to three or more levels below what they should be.  This is dangerous since you can go places you think may be safe because of your HPs... but your skills are not commensurate with your experience and you may get into trouble!

And:  WARNING WARNING WARNING:  Magic skill CANNOT be transferred across classes!  So...if you regret starting that Wizard and really want to be a Thaum... and decide, "Well, I'll just ancestor to a thaum" ... think again.  You cannot transfer your magic skill to ANY Descendant of a different class.  Magic can ONLY be transferred to the SAME class.  All other skills (except theft) will transfer to any other class as long as the Descendant is the same Alignment as the Ancestor.  Theft can only be transferred between thieves.

Remember, too, that any karma points accumulated by the Ancestor
will pass to the Descendant.  So, if wish your Descendant to be free of this Karmic burden, I suggest you get rid of those Karma points before embarking on the Ceremony of Ancestors.  Find as many tiger figurines as you have Karma points and get each point forgiven by the Confessor Ghost.

Okay... if you have decided to go ahead and Ancestor your character, here are the instructions:

1. Ceremony of Death.    This rite is performed at the Shrine of Tranquility.   The Shrine is located in the very northwest corner of Kesmai's surface.  Either go naked or take along some throw-away armor and weapons, a recall ring and some balms (exactly as if you were going to the UW).  It can sometimes be dangerous, so get an escort if you need one.  Stand in front of the altar and contemplate your death!  Be very certain you wish to continue... this Ceremony guarantees you a one-way ticket to the UnderWorld.  If you are determined to go through with this, in command mode, type the chant:  ashak ashtug nushi ilani .  Presto!  You have given up your mortal existence forever.... you are now in the UnderWorld, irrevocably and forever.  Until your spirit is called forth by your Descendant, that is.

2. Create Your Descendant.  Now you must exit to the Conference
Room and create your Descendant character.  Remember... you MUST use the OVERWRITE function for this part.  If you do not use OVERWRITE, my dear, you are sunk.  Also remember that if you are ancestoring a magic user, if you wish your magic skill to be transferred, then your Descendant must be of the same class as your Ancestor.  And, lastly, remember that your Descendant MUST be of the same alignment as your Ancestor.  So... ancestoring a lawful MA to a descendant-thief can't be done since there is no way for a thief to turn lawful... you would have to turn your MA neutral before the Ceremony of Death (and this may involve incurring karma).  Once created, you can outfit your Descendant with your Ancestor's lockered possessions.  If your Ancestor had a tied weapon you wish to pass on, equip your Descendant with this weapon...if you want it to be re-tied, it must be present at the Ceremony of Ancestors.

3. Ceremony of Ancestors.   This part of the rite is performed at the Shrine of Bones in the SAME LAND AND FACET where your Ancestor performed the Ceremony of Death.  The Shrine of Bones is located on the -2 level of the Kesmai Dungeon, not far from the rope to Trog .  Since right now your Descendant is a Level 3 docker-baby, I highly recommend that you GET AN ESCORT for this part of the process!  Running around -2 with a docker can be dangerous to your health, so please remember to wear your galoshes or a WB ring and don't forget some fire protection.

Once you arrive at the Shrine of Bones, stand before the altar and
summon your Ancestor's spirit with this chant:  ina khitim nushi ilani .  Your Ancestor will appear in ghost form before you.  If for some reason you are interrupted (like you die or get disconnected) at this point, all is not lost.  You may summon your Ancestor a second time and proceed with the ceremony.   However, after a spirit has been summoned twice from the UnderWorld, its ancestral duties are fulfilled, and it may not be summoned again.  If you fail to complete the ceremony after two summonses, your ancestral spirit will be lost to you forever.

After your Ancestor's spirit has appeared, you must meditate ( type
meditate on the command line ).  If your Ancestor considers your
alignment harmonious and finds you worthy, the spirit will immediately convey its experience to you.  The knowledge of his/her skills will not be immediate, but will come upon you swiftly thereafter (especially if you visit Praetoseba).

Now is the time to ask your Ancestor to bestow his or her special weapon upon you.  Hold this weapon in your right hand and type: 
<ancestor's name>, bless this weapon .  If your Ancestor finds you
worthy, the use of the weapon will be instantly transferred to you.

Congratulations and well done!  Your new character is pumped and
ready to go!  You may leave the Shrine of Bones immediately if you wish.  Your Ancestor's spirit will remain behind... perhaps contemplating its future seeking the higher planes of existence.  At this writing, no Ancestor's spirit has ever made it back from the Higher Plains, so I have no report on what it's like, although it is rumored to contain at least one Drifter.