The Oeridians adopted this to a large degree, even creating what could only be called a death cult: a group of people responsible for collecting and burning the dead. In my campaign they are called the Nuarid by the learned, Bonemen by the common folk. They carry the dead to the place of immolation in magically-cooled carts. ("Cold as a boneman's cart" is a common saying.) They wear black robes, and carry small non-magical rods tipped with long, black horse hair as an insignia of their office. They are generally respected by the populace, even if generally avoided. They are not evil at all, and are implacable foes of Nerull, whom they name The Usurper. Cremation is not practiced everywhere in my campaign though.
Areas with a Suel influence generally bury their dead or preserve the bodies and entomb them in mausolea. Personal effects are kept with the dead for their use in the afterlife.
I imagine the Suel burning their dead in observance of the tenets of the Suel godess Wee Jas (Asiji in Sueloise). All descriptions of the Ruby Sorceress indicate that she requires the dead to be cremated, in the open if possible.
And I envisioned the Oeridians as the tomb and barrow builders. Often in honor of the deceased's accomplishments and virtue during life.
As far as death cults, those would no doubt involve Nerull in most cases, IMO. Protection from Nerull might also be a concern when the dead are layed to rest in FLan culture. But I'm not certain about burial or cremation regarding the Flan. Perhaps a simple burial in the open ground, in homage to Beory.
Thses are just a few comment soff of the top of my head
Burning the corpse would destroy the natural chain of birth/death/rebirth/etc.
This also makes the rural Flan folk very suspicious and scornful of meddling adventurers and villains who make their living plundering tombs. :D
Any area that has had to deal with an evil Priest in the last two generations will prefer cremation over burial. Battling their own reanimated kin will overide any cultural aversion to cremation.
From a logical point, though, rostoff makes a good argument. Why, in a world where zombies and ghouls are a fact of life, would anybody chose anything but cremation for their loved ones?
Originally posted by Greyhack
I do use cremation (primitive as it may be) in the Suel and Baklunish cultures, but IMO, the Flan wouldn't go for that. A culture as strongly druidic and nature worshipping as the Flan probably also believes in reincarnation, which would logically be achieved by putting the dead back into Beory's Womb (ie, the ground) to be reborn.
Yah, I strongly agree with this as the druids would be mostly against cremation. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust and all that, IIRC, came from druidic rites (yes, I admit I could be mistaken Sam...). I do know that the most important personages of celtic society were buried in 'mounds' which are believed to be representative of a womens womb, and the entry way, the ******, symbolizing the rebirth of the person and the triad of existance: life, death, rebirth.
Also, given that Beory is a direct rip-off of the druidic 'mother' goddess (the symbol of Beory is almost identical to that found in celtic tombs like the one above), I'd say this is a strong indication of how a flan burial would be.
Originally posted by rilem
From a logical point, though, rostoff makes a good argument. Why, in a world where zombies and ghouls are a fact of life, would anybody chose anything but cremation for their loved ones?
Eh, burning only makes it more likely that incorporeal undead are created. If a spirit is gonna rise, it's gonna rise, there's little one can do to stop it.
Having said that, the spell Burial Blessing, I believe, was created in late 2nd ed for just this reason.
Like Rostoff said, no one would want to fight their newly raised relatives, so the commoners would do what they could to prevent that, cremating loved ones in secret if need be.
The nobles on the other hand seem to favor some form of burial or entombment, since dead bodies provide plenty of fodder for undead armies.
With this idea, you could have two simultaneous customs within the same culture. Whether you want grandma burned or buried would depend largely on whether you plan to bring her back any time soon.
-wn
Originally posted by Delglath
Yah, I strongly agree with this as the druids would be mostly against cremation. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust and all that, IIRC, came from druidic rites (yes, I admit I could be mistaken Sam...). I do know that the most important personages of celtic society were buried in 'mounds' which are believed to be representative of a womens womb, and the entry way, the ******, symbolizing the rebirth of the person and the triad of existance: life, death, rebirth.
Also, given that Beory is a direct rip-off of the druidic 'mother' goddess (the symbol of Beory is almost identical to that found in celtic tombs like the one above), I'd say this is a strong indication of how a flan burial would be.
That specific phrase is of Biblical origin.
Of course, as it refers to the creation of life from the earth, as vegetation comes from the earth, and the return of that life to the earth upon its death, as with vegetation, the parallels to druidic concepts are easy to make, particularly if you still follow Frasier. (Which I know not everyone does these days.)
Both burning, as it relates to its use in the preparation of cleared fields for cultivation, and interment, particularly in pseudo-reproductive structures, have druidical connections. Of course the wicker men the druids used were typically filled with criminals, and were mainly sacrifice and fertility ritual rather than burial rite, they, like most such sacrificial rites, originally used higher status people from within the community, and were a direct expression of the rebirth concept.
So how would the Flan dispose of people?
Probably in burial mounds.
The Oeridians would either burn or sky-bury people (expose them for birds to eat) as they were nomads.
The Suel are likely to favor preserved interment.
Or not. It's been nearly 1,000 years since these cultures underwent a major shift during the migrations. Their current rituals are likely to bear no resemblance to what they did pre-migration. Perhaps the only "safe" generalization to make is that because of a serious lack of population and space pressure, they are unlikely to require restricted space mausoleums.
I would also caution about everyone and their brother knowing where their ancestors since the time of the migrations are buried or otherwise stored. Even fewer would know where they are since the founding of the nation, given changes in ruling lines, as well as the ebb and flow of the various empires.