Re: Neogi and Umber Hulks - air breathing?

On Jul 8, 2006, at 11:14 AM, Michael Shell wrote:

> Undead neogi "no longer need to  ... breathe," therefore, it is logical
> to conclude that *living* neogi do  need to breathe.
>
> My apologies if I offend but that has to be the weakest arguement I 
> have
> heard so far. You are talking about UNDEAD neogi. The undead have no 
> need to
> breathe since they are already dead and are reanimated. Vampires don't 
>  need to
> breathe. Liches don't need to breathe. Did Strahd von Zarovich, the  
> Dracula
> clone of Ravenloft, need to breathe when he was still alive? He was  
> human so of
> course he did. You give up a lot of things when you become  undead,
> breathing, the need to eat, the ability to procreate (most of the  
> time, vampires in
> some stories have been able to do so but in other stories  this is 
> just not
> mentioned or assumed that the sex drive died along with  the body)

No, you don't offend... but I do take issue with your reasoning. I 
don't think it's a weak argument at all, because of the way the passage 
is worded. Undead Neogi "no longer need" to breathe. The implication of 
the words "no longer need" is that, prior to their being undead, they 
did need to breathe. It's a simple, logical conclusion based upon 
what's there in the text.

Yes, I am talking about undead neogi. But if living neogi didn't need 
to breathe to begin with, why would the MC entry for undead neogi state 
that they "no longer need" to breathe as undead old masters? I keep 
going back to that phrase "no longer need" because it's really the key 
to getting this, here. Neogi breathe. Undead neogi "no longer need" to 
breathe. It's logical, and beyond that, it's also official. (found the 
original printed source: TSR 9280 Lost Ships, pg 90)

To summarize: living Neogi breathe -- it's there in the text.