D&D 5E An additional component for Resurrection

[WayOfTheFourElements]

The positions of "if we all agree ti it then its fine" or "if you complain,about it later its whining" are of course fine for any gaming table and work as they do.

The problem is they provide no filter or relevance to any comparative discusdion because they cover *any and every* thing equally.

You could apply those same covers to "if your character dies, you are out of the game. Dead is dead." Just as well as "if your character dies, they wake up,in 1 round leveled up one level" and "if your character dies you must bring snacks and chips for a month while we all play and you serve."

All of those propositions seem fair as long as every at the table is having a good time. Great! What you do at my table does have to be the same as what we do at my table. Our games need not be identical. No one's game (excluding LA) need be identical.

It does not seem to add much to a case to point out that like every other idea its under this universal cover-all blanket.

But hey, even if you pick the cards, the cards you have are the ones you have to play.

I don't follow you, here.

 

[MechaPilot]

In my Ravenloft campaign Resurrection (and similar spells) require a living sacrifice equitable to the soul requested back, ie: a fair trade.

That's the case in my homebrew setting of Tenesia as well. The gods get their power from the souls they hold, and if you want one back you have to give them one in exchange (except for elves who just can't be raised because their souls become one with nature itself when they die).

 

[Syntallah]

I've decided to abandon the idea of a con point cost from the caster. It's just too much.

Talking it over with the players, they're more comfortable with a loss of a con point from the resurrected creature, ala D&D rules from olden days. But honestly, I'm not crazy about that either.

Here's part of the rub: My group is to a point now (12th level) where death is going to lose it's bite, not only for them, but for the NPC's they encounter.

For example, they've created some enemies in their travels, and those enemies are just the kinds of jerks that might target the PC's families or friends instead of the actual PC's, given how difficult it is to take them on directly. So I was toying with the idea of one of those baddies putting a hit out on a PC family member, and then I realized that our cleric would simply go, "Hey Presto!" and bring that family/friend back, good as new.

Now currently, the cleric is still only rocking Raise Dead, so the narrow time window is a factor, but he'll be getting Resurrection soon enough, and then all bets are off.

Now, I realize that there are plenty of other ways for a baddie to screw with the PC's in similar fashion. They could kidnap the family/friend. They could murder them and take or destroy the body. I suppose I could invent a spell that cuts off the soul from returning. There are options.

What I want to avoid is the cleric simply dropping resurrections on every dead NPC that takes his fancy. Resurrection should not be taken lightly.

I could go the route of making diamonds super rare, but I haven't done that so far, and to suddenly make them crazy scarce seems a little cheap. Maybe next campaign.

I've got no issue fundamentally with a resurrection kicking off a side quest, but as I mentioned before, I don't want to do that for every death. I've got an overall plot line mapped out, and while it's not absolutely linear, having them suddenly go off on a side quest raises the potential for getting them ahead of the level curve I'm preparing for. Plus, if the death is a PC, that means that character is sitting out until they find his soul and yada yada. I'd rather not have that happen.

So I guess I'm looking for that mechanic that keeps resurrection doable, but makes it something that the cleric really has to consider the ramifications and cost of.

I use the following modules (gleaned from the interwebs somewhere, apologies, I do not remember the author's name):

Afterlife Escalation
Each time a creature is brought back to life via magic, a piece of their soul remains in the afterlife. They may only return from death once per Constitution modifier [minimum of one], before their soul is permanently anchored in the afterlife. An additional death is the absolute end for that creature, after which they may not be brought back to life by any means short of direct divine intervention.

Fragile Soul
Outside of the body, the soul is somewhat fragile. The process of bringing a person back to life is hard on it, and there's a chance a returning soul could be lost or destroyed in the attempt. A caster attempting to revive the dead must make a spellcasting check with a DC from the appropriate table below*.
~On a success, the victim must make a Constitution save, [DC equivalent to the spellcaster check], or lose experience points equal to one level.
~On a failure, the victim makes the Constitution save mentioned above at Disadvantage, and the caster must roll percentile on the same table to ascertain the fate of the soul.

*I have four tables: one each for Revivify, Raise Dead/Reincarnate, Resurrection, and True Resurrection. The table for Revivify is:

Revivify [Spellcasting check DC 14+1/rnd]

d% Result
01-64 Spell works as normal
65-88 Soul not returned to the body; spell slot and materials expended
89-96 Soul not returned to the body; it is lost in the void instead
97-00 Soul returned to body, but the spirit of an outsider (such as a demon, devil, angel, etc) crosses over as well. Will contest [d20+Int,Wis.Cha mods] to see who controls body [roll upon waking each day]

The higher level spells increase the time increment for the DC adjustment, and change the numbers of the table (e.g. only a 2% chance of an outsider with Resurrection)

 

[5ekyu]

Hmmm... How about a drama risk.

When you are brought back from the dead by raise or higher, not revive, you gain a permanent failed death save. So for future death save countdowns you are dead at 2 fails, not 3.

So yes it technically makes it more likely you can die but really just raises the urgency of your allues helping you.

Maybe its limited to 2 losses or other.

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[Satyrn]

So I was toying with the idea of one of those baddies putting a hit out on a PC family member, and then I realized that our cleric would simply go, "Hey Presto!" and bring that family/friend back, good as new.

You could go with in-world restrictions, like @Maxperson described.

Or you could say that the gods simply don't let weak souls return to life, or they only allow those whose acts have created - or will create - a significant impact on the world, and tack on a "the character must be this tall at least 7th level to enjoy the ride."

 

[Luz]

Hmmm... How about a drama risk.

When you are brought back from the dead by raise or higher, not revive, you gain a permanent failed death save. So for future death save countdowns you are dead at 2 fails, not 3.

So yes it technically makes it more likely you can die but really just raises the urgency of your allues helping you.

Maybe its limited to 2 losses or other.

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

This is what we've been doing in my group, it works very well. Each time a PC is raised, it's one strike against his future death saves so a PC who dies more than three times is done.

 

[Maxperson]

You could go with in-world restrictions, like @Maxperson described.

Or you could say that the gods simply don't let weak souls return to life, or they only allow those whose acts have created - or will create - a significant impact on the world, and tack on a "the character must be this tall at least 7th level to enjoy the ride."

When it comes to in-world restrictions, the sky is the limit on what you can do. You could limit diamonds like the earlier poster did. You could say the gods demand balance and to get a life back, another must perish. Tons of things to do.

 

[5ekyu]

As an aside... Consider requiring the component to be a "pre-component".

Replace the diamond requirement with...

"In order for raise or ressurection to work, the target must have had a soulcatcher in their possession at the time of death. A soulcatcher is..."

Then add a bit of expense and flavor to fit your campaign.

1. Very costly gem blessed by the target's church but only done for those who showed full devotion.

2. Like 1 but maybe takes up an attuned slot.

3. CyberGuffin (tm) Cybernetic memory mapper (expensive to buy and get surgically implanted) to enable re-sleeving of the persona in the new cloned body.

Also could add drawbacks...

If your soulcatcher is taken, you are disadvantaged on saves vs charm or fear or divination from a caster using it as a focus.

If your cyberguffin gets hacked, your memories can be downloaded.

By passing the cost to the recipient (both gold and deed) and ahead of time, it provides a lot more of a society level leash and drama potential.

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[Satyrn]

Here, I thought her husband was gonna be resurrected by Dr Zuku.

Also: "bagging me for forgiveness."

 

[cthulhu42]

This is what we've been doing in my group, it works very well. Each time a PC is raised, it's one strike against his future death saves so a PC who dies more than three times is done.

I quite like this idea.