So picking up on past quotes and posts that the Synthetic Creation spellbook is in some ways the main magical contribution of the Philosophers, as it represents a sort of side-bonus of research projects and studies that didn't produce anything directly relevant to the Great Work, I'm curious how the Philosophers on the whole view further study into this area.

If the focus is the Great Work, there are two overlapping themes of areas of research that "matter" to a Philosopher:

- The various Transcendental self-buffs that are stepping stones along the way to true Transcendence.

- The various work on Risen, Zombies, and Constructs that could also inform Transcendence.

So Synthetic Creation is an accumulation of beneficial spells, but ultimately they don't move on the direction of the Great Work. Alchemy, in the strict sense, not in a metaphorical Alchemy of the Flesh feel, isn't a focal point of the guild. A Necromancer's Stone to turn blood into gold would be out of the main flavor of the Philosophers.

But experimenting with the summoning/creation of energy and matter is still pretty cool. With that being said then, just how would the Philosopher's feel about some bookish Necromancer focused on pushing the boundaries of Synthetic Creation. Sure, maybe she'll stumble on something beneficial to the Great Work, but she's going about it in an indirect way outside of how the group seems to have already decided is the right direction. But they aren't "heretics" in the sense a Perverse would be, right?

>>My sense was that Synthetic Creation and Corruption were more akin to 'tools', with Blood Magic being more akin to 'a product of the shenanigans we get up to'. Obfuscation and Researchers Insight and Acid Splash are like our scalpel, magnifying lens, and and fingerprint dust as we pick and probe around the world to pursue the Great Work. Sure, there might be room for a Necromancer to generate better tools, but it's not really the name of the game, since the name of the game is Transcendence and Animation.

Oh I love the imagery of a surgeon's kit with spells!

I was drawing on these older posts:

https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Post:Books_of_Necromancy_-_2/3/2009_-_21:33:14

https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Necromancer_official_lore_posts#Vivisection

The latter being the Vivisection post if it didn't post properly. From the latter, sayeth Armifer:

>>Synthetic Creation is an odd-ball spellbook that is sort of corrupt-Elemental in the more worldly sense. Screwing around with base materials in the alchemical / mad scientist scheme.

>>It's less pure Necromancy and more Necromancy-compatible spells that the Philosophers specifically picked up because of their fetish. In a bizarre way, it's probably the most genuinely unique thing they bring to the table -- every necromantic cult practices Transcendental buffs, even if they don't call it such.

So the name of the game for Philosophers is Transcendence and Animation, which are special for a variety of reasons (closed to the Redeemed, categories that reflect themes not mixing of Life + Elemental/Lunar, etc.). And Corruption and Blood Magic are the generic Necromancy, the literal Life + Elemental/Lunar and the types of effects caused by them. But in general all four are spells you'd find in Necromancers across ideology and history, with the Philosophers simply being unique in their categorization of Transcendence and Animation (from the first post).

Making Synthetic Creation the standout of unique to Philosophers, less "pure Necromancy" something that may in another time/place/universe/existence be seen as more "Sorcery" than "OMG Necromancy!" So I'm just curious that if I were planning on RPing a bookish, alchemic research Necromancer does the fascination with Synthetic Creation come across as simply odd to other Philosophers, or heretical.