Necrum*The burial grounds of long ago
 

The first game i got in the OWQ was AE. one place i loved to go to because of its atmosphere was Necrum. Necrum is one of the great grounds of Oddworld. when you enter Necrum the Atmosphere is Sub tropic. As you look around you,you see tropical trees. You can feel under your feet the soft moss growing on the floor. you notice that there are tower like structures in the distance. There are many twists and turns,many doors and chambers. you feel like you have just steped back in time. you walk around noticing little slurgs on the ground. you step on one *squeek* ohh @&%$ you notice some Fleeches rush for you and sling down from the trees, you run in a door and now you are safe. you wipe your head *woo* that was close. then you are silent as you pass the giant mummified gaurdians as they look out to the horizon with there gleaming eyes. you pass two statues of one of a scrab the other a paramite both leading to the sacride temples.

now that i gave you a feel of Necrum its time for the Theories. First off. Not much is know n about the gaurdians. How did they come to be? were they made by magic? or were they tamed by Mudokons? How about the tall and ancient towers in the distance what was its purpose? Do Mudokons still go to Necrum to honor and berrie there dead.
( just somethings to get you thinking and to get away from all of those other useless topics.)

I would like to hear your theories.:fuzsmile:

Keep in mind that the Necrum Necropolis is much more than a glorified crematorium/crypt/temple...yes, for the most part you can only see Scrab totems and burial urns, but those towers you see in the background are actually dwellings where Mudokons, such as Abe, live.

In fact, Necrum is host to thriving community of Mudokons. In AO we saw Abe freeing his Mudokon brethren to the Monsaic Sanctum, but Monsaic Lines is a place of holiness where only pure Mudokons come to meditate - it's not a hotel. That's where the exodus in Abe's Exoddus comes from - Abe and his buddies are moving from Monsaic Lines to Necrum Necropolis.

i see so it is also the dwelling of some Muds. I read that the land beyond the necropolis is uncharted. here is a pic of the towers or dwellings.

Uncharted, perhaps, but Alf and Buddy seemed to know more-or-less what it was like for the convenience of the Oddworld Map.

Anyway, I have to apologise, as you were asking for theories, and I posted only my usual encyclopedic knowledge. Still, for theories, I have some.

I think Necrum is much more than just a city for the living and dead, I think it is a place of great mystic powers. While Monsaic Lines harbours the Mudokons' deep spiritual powers, Necrum is a place where, long ago, the Mudokons experimented with their abilities in a way such that we might call it occultism or black magic. Remember the 'portal' production design from Oddworld.com? I think that, while Mudokons have always had a great symbiotic relationship with birds, the powers we see today, perhaps even the everyday ones, were once unheard of. This stone portal could be a very early bird portal.

As for Guardians, I think they are like Shrykulls, in that they are real biological creatures that display immense powers, except unlike Shrykulls they are extinct. Perhaps they were an intelligent race that had strong connections with the Mudokons, perhaps they were a powerful but 'wild' species that the Mudokons 'used'. Whatever, they are no doubt an important part of Oddworld history and of the Mudokons' legacy.

Still, I look forward to what other people come up with. You've provided an interesting topic, Kaimana. :lotsofclapping:

Well now that is interesting. I do agree with you 100% on everything. So seeing how the Mudokons practiced there skills there provides a even more mystic feel to it. yes i do recall the rock portal. Mudokons may have used it before they enhanced their skills. so with that said the natives who live at necrum also reporduce there? and if so there must be elders that train young muds to harness there abilities.

As far as the Guardians are concern i to believe that they are a intellegent race that may have a strong history with the Mudokons. Maybe something in the past happened. Perhaps the Mudokons help the Gaurdians at one point, and in return the guardians vowed to gaurd them.?

here is a pic of a guardian

That pic looks like a mammoth with a bunghole where its head should be. I'm just pointing out.
Anyway, I think necrum is like a cemetery. All it is used for is chucking dead people in the ground. That's my opinion.

yes it does look like a mammoth with a hole on his for head . I wonder what that hole was for?:fuzconf:

My guess is that the hole is some type of starnge mouth. But here's my therory on the Gaurdians. I think that alittle past the prehistoric age on Oddworld there was what I call a supernatural age. This was when all of the various gaurdians such as the Shrykull and the one in Necrum where as abundant as... well... stuff. It was from these creatures that lead the Mudokons to their spiritual side. As the Mudokons witnessed the many great powers of these beings they to wanted to have some sort of power, so this lead them to meditation. As the years passed the better they got at it and eventually got to where they are today. But over time the gaurdians saddly disapeared. Well, what do ya guys think?:fuzsmile:

Nice theory oddsville. They obviously wanted shrykulls powers more than the others.

That makes alot of sense Oddsville. I do think that the Mudokons and the Gaurdians have a history with each other. If the gaurdians were intellegent wich i do come to believe it so, then that would probably suggest some sort of friendship together. like i said perhaps at one point the Mudokons help the gaurdians making them friends thus the guardians protecting Necrum.:fuzconf:

And the gaurdians wouldn't dislike the muds, coz I haven't seen a mud misbehave before.

ah the famous pic of the guardian.
well I think there was an eye in the hole. I have that feeling.
anyway thanx Max. and thanx Kaimana for the sweet topic

I cant quite imagion these hulking creatures as being inteligent the way abe is, I believe their power was more spritual and inspirationall. Inspiering the mudokens to do great things rather then truely teaching them.
Like the scrabs inspierd the mundachee tribes to become great warriors.

I'm probably missing something here, but I have two things to ask:

1) How do you know that Shrykulls are real biological creatures?

2) If we assume they are, how do you know they're not extinct?

That's a good question. Alf makes it pretty reasonable conclusion to come up with in one of his more recent Dear Alfs, but I guess he could always be wrong/toying with us.

As ever, my job includes a certain amount of figuring things out logically, and I'm not always 100% correct.

Don't suppose you could quote the relevant passage for me, could you?

Now that i think about it i dont see Shrykulls as a biological race. I say this because we now that a Shrykull is Half scrab/paramite and mudokon and above all that makes it more true god. this points to the fact that a Shrykull is not or was not a wild race of biological beings. ?:fuzconf:

Found it

Seems a typical Alf answer with what is either complete on-the-spot fabrication or some elements of truth. Make of it what you will - you know what of it I have made.

And, Kaimana, since when does being a god mean you can't be a living creature as well? Shrykulls may possess an electo-emitting thingy like electric eels, only much more advanced... And a mule is a cross between a herse and a dunky (methinks). Still, nothing is concrete on Oddworld...

Not even what has already been confirmed by Lorne is safe...

*raises one eyebrow and hums in thought*

Please Max dont get me wrong i was only speculating not making a conclusion i know that info on Shrykulls are rare and i was only making a guess. reading from Alfs response he referse to it as a wild race. wich is understandable i have no further comments on the Shrykull because i dont wish to make a guess.

It seems that Alf is reffering to Shrykull's as being intellegent creatures. But of course Alf leaves me confused and dazed whenever he answers a really interesting question.:fuzsmile:

Its interesting because he rarely goes into detail, perhaps there is no detail to go into about Shrykulls.:fuzconf:

Much like an Ass...

Mabey Gaurdians were like moles and they were blind, but they can still scence whats around them. Mabey the hole shot acid, like the origional plan for fleechs?

or perhaps the hole is the creatures mouth. I can be very wrong about this one. but i dont see any mouth on the beast.:fuzconf:

Hmmm. It never fails. Whenever there is an interesting new topic I miss it until everything I was going to say has already been said (at least the prehistoric oddworld topic was an exception).

I do have some things to say about Guardians. I agree with the idea that they were at least semi-intelligent creatures who for some reason owed something to the mudokons. They wouldn't just protect Necrum for the heck of it so I think they got something from the mudokons. Perhaps they fed off of the spiritual energy, or spooce, that the temple was undoubtably full of.

As for their "holes". My theory is that they are liquivores. That means they use a retractable proboscis to dissolve and suck up their food. The straw-like tongue would pull back into the hole. Sort of like flies.

Hmmm... very odd indeed i like that last idea about the mouth being like a fly.

Maybe the Guardians protected Necrum because they lived there...perhaps they were indiginous to the region like Paramites are the Paramonia and Scrabs to Scrabania.

And this is a topic for speculation, Kaimana, I understood you perfectly - I was just pointing out a couple more factors for everyone.

sorry but: Shrykull's are just normal mudokons tranformed just a few seconds (remember AO). I doubt you can find one in the nature.

for the guardians, yeah the hole can be a mount.
I like the theories of theKhanzumer very much

Doesn't necessarily mean Shrykulls aren't a species on their own as well. Numerous sci-fi and fantasy fictional works would have us believe people/creatures can morph into other people/creatures...

Although I wouldn't like this feature to be a strong part of the Oddworld Quintology, it makes sense that Mudokons can morph into creatures that they worship. I can just imagine a very holy Mudokon like The Shaman or the Big Face turning into a Paramite for some reason.

could be cool they can turn into sacred creatures only (Scrab, Paramites, Meeches and Shrykulls).

abe has the power to turn into shrykull, maybe he will met other mudokons who will have those capacities.

Meeches were sacred?

Oh course they where as where Paramites and Scrabs. The Mudokons considered these creatures as symbols of power and nature. Thats why they have temples dedicated to them. But Scrabs, Paramites, and Meeches wheren't the only wild life creatures that they belived where sacred they also belived that everything in nature such as trees and other animals where also sacred, just not as much as the Scrabs, Paramites, and Meeches of course.

So what particular tribe worshipped Meeches? The Mudomo worshipped Paramites, and the Mudanchee worshipped Scrabs, unless I've got them the wrong way round...

EDIT: For that matter, how come Scrabs and Paramites are treated with so much more significance? IE Shrykull power, their own temples, etc...

The Mudoncho Temple (& Tribe?) is the name of it.

Max is the only one here that knows the slightest thing about it, and it won't be released until the Oddworld Encyclopedia is complete.

Alcar...

The Mudokon tribal system is a lot more complicated than you seem to be thinking. It's not just a case of the Mundanchee worship the Scrabs while the Mudomo worship the Paramites, or that Mudokons worship Scrabs, Meeches, Paramites and Shrykulls.

Nowadays, most native Mudokons only recognise Paramites and Scrabs as being sacred creatures. They also have at least one god, Shrkyull, who is a Shrykull. But back in Oddworld's past things weren't all so straightforward. Yes, the Mudomo worshipped Paramites, the Mundanchee worshipped Scrabs, the Mudoncho worshipped Meeches. But these are only three tribes that live in Necrum. Countless other tribes were scattered throughout Mudos. Perhaps some didn't worship any creatures at all, perhaps some worshipped both Scrabs and Paramites, perhaps some outlandish tribes considered Mudflubs or Fuzzles sacred. We don't know, we know of only three tribes.

I wonder if there is a temple for the hippy-dippy spirit of Great Mother Odd?
can be realy intresting

So we can probably safely put the scrab + paramite = shrykull thing as a purely gameplay phenomenon, yes?

hummm, well I dunno
it's only we only visited the Paramite temple and the Scrab temple.
I believe Scrabs and Paramites are stronger than the other sacred creatures and that both they form the powerful Shrikull.

Well whatever the Shrykull is we do no that it is powerful,that we have never seen a wild one, that there are very rarely any indication tosaying that a Shrykull herd or a group has ever been seen. We dont see special temples for it. If i had to say anything i think the Shrykull was made by the big Faces magic to help Abe.:fuzconf:

Heres my theory on Shrykulls, they are very solitary creatures. They like to travel around the contenate of Mudos alone and possibly fight when ever they come in conatact with another of there kind.