Before heading off to the local bait store, it's nice to know whether or not the locals consider you to be good bait.

Who Loves You, Baby?

Briefly, the gnome necromancer should be fine in Ak'Anon, Freeport, Neriak, the Qeynos Aquaducts, Thurgadin, Shadow Haven, and Shar Vahl. Everywhere else will require some work.

Opinions in some cities may have changed since I began my world-wide killing spree, but this is what I remember.

[Translator's Note: Considering the amount of time which has passed since Mr. Undercrypt's travels, the likelihood of change seems great. In addition, many major cities of more recent discovery are unmentioned. – B]

Faydwer

• Ak'Anon: You're barely tolerated in most of the city, and the folks in the Mines of Malfunction are amiable. After I take over Ak'Anon and put the Eldritch Collective into my torture chambers, you'll be viewed warmly pretty much everywhere.
• Felwithe: I had to go there for a wedding once, and I discovered that I was considered dubiously. I don't recall doing anything that would raise the elves' opinion of me, so that's probably where it starts. I didn't go wandering around into the paladin/cleric guilds, though.
• Kelethin: From the first time I wandered into the Greater Faydark to the present, the wood elf guards have always wanted me dead. You can fix that with enough killing in Crushbone, but then you'll have problems in Neriak. Neriak is much, much nicer, believe me. Avoid the elves for a while, then kill them for food later. I've heard that the Kelethin guards are more tolerant of young necromancers these days, but I'd still be careful.
• Kaladim: There might be some dwarves that don't want us dead, but the guards are pretty hostile. Don't bother. There are some dwarf merchants south of the docks that will deal with you, if you're really desparate.

Antonica

• Freeport: I've never had a problem anywhere in Freeport. North Freeport folks don't like me too much, but they've never tried to kill me. (Well, back when the merchants attacked people they didn't like, I had an incident with that halfling merchant right inside the marketplace entrance, but things are different now.) I have personally broken wind in the heart of the paladin guild. You can train in East Freeport at the underground necromancer guild, which is also the closest place to pick up the Book of Dark Bindings since Ak'Anon doesn't seem to carry it.
• Grobb: The warriors (who are also the guards) want us dead, so I haven't bothered to check with the trolls in the village. There are some very tedious ways to get in good with Da Bashers, but I've never bothered.
• Halas: Pretty much every barbarian I've run into has wanted me dead, which makes hunting in Everfrost interesting sometimes. Nothing like relaxing after a nice fight and then getting interrupted when Tundra Jack decides to wander by. I'm going to eat his heart later. And his little dog, too.
• Highpass Hold/High Keep: Yet another place we're not welcome, but it's easy (and worthwhile) to fix it. Gnolls and orcs, orcs and gnolls, you'll be strolling through unmolested in no time.
• Neriak: We're grudgingly welcome in Neriak except, ironically, in the necromancer's guild. After bartering with the smith in the Southern Desert of Ro and getting the right people drunk, though, I get better prices from the merchants here than anywhere else. Unfortunately, I'm still dubious to The Dead, so I can't train and can't buy spells (except the ones that are available at the cleric's guild here, and quite a few of them are). If you offend the Indigo Brotherhood (by, for instance, hunting in Crushbone) navigating the city can have tense moments, but it's still possible.
• Oggok: Like Grobb, the guards hate us. The merchants are indifferent, so you can shop in the Feerrott (and probably inside if you avoid the bouncers). There's probably a way to get the Bouncers friendlier, but I haven't bothered. Maybe I will someday.
• Qeynos: It's been so long since I first visited Qeynos that I don't really remember if the "good" guards wanted me dead originally, but the corrupt ones were friendly enough. Killing in Blackburrow fixes things easily, but there are few druids planted in the city who will always want to kill you – and as soon as they attack, the guards join in. Avoid them and you'll be fine. You'll probably also want to avoid the Temple of Life and the Karana guilds to the south.
• Qeynos Aquaducts: The loyal followers of Bertoxxulous will welcome you here. Now that there's a bank down in the Shrine, you could ignore the main city if you wanted to. The guildmasters are competent and ready to train you, and spells are available from the necromancer, shadow knight, and cleric spell vendors.
• Rivervale: They want you dead, but what do you expect from an entire city of hors d'oeuvres? Going on a massive goblin killing spree in Misty Thicket and RunnyEye might get you accepted everywhere except the druid and cleric guilds, but it would probably be more fun to go on a killing spree in Misty Thicket and Rivervale to try and get accepted in RunnyEye.
• Surefall Glade: Show up armed for bear. There's good huntin' here if you can break your way in.

Odus

• Erudin: Pretty much everyone I ran across in Erudin was dubious, although I think there might have been one enchanter who wanted to kill me. I didn't spend a lot of time in the area.
• Paineel: I was dubious to the Heretics, too, but that was a while ago and I haven't checked out Paineel proper. I've heard that the Paineel guards aren't too fond of us Bertoxxulous types – probably reminds them of the glorious past they foolishly tossed aside. If I get uppity, I might go on an Erudite killing spree just to have another necromancer guild to visit.

Kunark

• Cabilis: Not very friendly at all, those lizards. A massive killing spree will get you in good with the Legion and the necromancers, but the rest of city won't be impressed without a display of serious dedication to the iksar cause.
• Firiona Vie: They start out wanting us dead. One one hand, you can get into their good graces with enough goblin killing. On the other hand, the city is named after some wuss elf, so why would you want to?
• The Overthere: You start out apprehensive, like most outsiders who follow the black arts. Proving your ability to protect the docks will improve general opinion here, but killing in a few places will lower that opinion even faster. Having friends here is useful, making the choice somewhat difficult.

Velious

• Kael Drakkal: Just like everywhere else in the world, giants want us dead. I suppose by killing enough of their enemies they'd like us, but I just can't imagine that a city built by giants would be convenient for gnomes.
• Skyshrine: I've heard that the dragons don't start out very friendly, but I haven't checked for myself.
• Thurgadin: The "bearded ice rats" start out apprehensive, but after a short bit of giant killing they're all quite friendly. All in all it's a very nice town, with all of the merchants you'd need (except for a necromancer guild), and it's the right size. The residents even look kind of dead. I feel so comfortable here that I wonder what cruel god deprived the dwarves back in Faydwer of all sense and reason.
• Pirates of Iceclad: Yes, locked away on a remote icy island are the ones who start out liking you more than anyone else in the world. They consider you kindly. Makes you want to be a pirate, doesn't it? Yarrrr.

Luclin

• Katta Castellum: The loyalist remnant of the Combine Empire seems to have a problem with necromancy, so they'll take it personally and try to kill you if you show up on their doorstep. I say, take the fight to them, the Combine should've died out a long time ago, someone has to do clean up. The folks in the Twilight Sea just outside of the city seem to share their opinions, so feel free to kill them as well.
• Sanctus Seru: You'd think that the splinter of the Combine that was in favor of the Teir'Dal would be happy with necromancers, but no – they want to kill us too. Bugger the Combine. If you do enough killing in Katta Castellum, they'll likely begin to tolerate you in Sanctus Seru in some quarters.
• Shadow Haven: The trading city of Luclin, being neither stupid nor insane, welcomes the necromancer into their halls. Well, "welcomes" might be a bit strong, but they're willing to do business with us, and that's all that really counts. Opinions ranged from apprehensive to indifferent in the city proper, while the Bazaar folk were simply indifferent. The folks in the secret smuggler hideout in the Echo Caverns were downright amiable, which is convenient since that's where the master necromancers of Luclin are found.
• Shar Vahl: The Vah Shir seem to have no prejudice against gnomes, necromancy, or nearly anything else that I can tell. That's handy – when my undead armies eventually turn towards the moon after my conquest of Norrath, there's one less race I'll need to eliminate.
• Fungus Grove Outpost: I'm not sure who these folk are affiliated with, but they were merely apprehensive of my presence. I suspect they may be an outpost from Shadow Haven, but they may be independent.
• Coterie of the Eternal Night: Ahhh, vampires. While it's not my personal choice of eternal undeath, it's certainly respectable. The Coterie view necromancers with a dubious eye, but will improve their opinion of you if you kill their enemies – such as, say, those annoying Katta folk. Convenient, eh?