Dark Sun: The Dwarf died! How do I resurrect him?

[Cherno]

So the players successfully brought back a wagon full of stolen good to a caravan master... Well, the Dwarven Warpriest died in the last encounter, and when the players got back to Altaruk to get their reward they also asked the caravan master if there's anything he could do for them to revive their fallen comrade. He told them said he will check back with a powerful friend of his and to leave the corpse here and come back tomorrow. This is where we left off.

Now I know that Athas is a deadly place but I don't want to kill a character off for good after the first adventure. Thus I have to find a way to let the Dwarf be resurrected without divine powers; I imagine that the caravan master tells the party to go meet his friend who is some kind of weird arcane mystic that has a forbidden library of forbidden lore. He agrees to perform an ancient ritual that has the power to bring the dead back to life, but it has to be performed at an ancient burial mount outside the city, and even though it succeeds it not only resurrects the Dwarf but also the skeletons of the forgotten warriors who were buried there long ago. Hilarity ensues! When they defeat the warriors and come back to the Mystic's place they run into a templar who has heard rumors of a source of forbidden lore and is here to find out more about it. The party may either try to ensure him that there is no such place or fight him, though that will probably mean trouble in the future, at least for the mystic.
So, all in all a quick 1 1/2 encounter adventure that just serves to bring back a dead character. I think I might even have the templar be the bad guy from Marauders of the Dune Sea so they already know him when they get ambushed by him then

Two things I am yet unsure about:
Why should a Mystic with powerful spells at his disposal just help a random party of adventurers?
Just having a Resurrection ritual available outside of the vaults of a sorcerer king doesn't seem right.

Any thoughts?

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

So the players successfully brought back a wagon full of stolen good to a caravan master... Well, the Dwarven Warpriest died in the last encounter,

I bet a bunch of people will immediately jump on the cleric in Dark Sun. My own campaign has a cleric, paladin and avenger, all primal-flavored

and when the players got back to Altaruk to get their reward they also asked the caravan master if there's anything he could do for them to revive their fallen comrade. He told them said he will check back with a powerful friend of his and to leave the corpse here and come back tomorrow. This is where we left off.

Now I know that Athas is a deadly place but I don't want to kill a character off for good after the first adventure. Thus I have to find a way to let the Dwarf be resurrected without divine powers; I imagine that the caravan master tells the party to go meet his friend who is some kind of weird arcane mystic that has a forbidden library of forbidden lore. He agrees to perform an ancient ritual that has the power to bring the dead back to life, but it has to be performed at an ancient burial mount outside the city, and even though it succeeds it not only resurrects the Dwarf but also the skeletons of the forgotten warriors who were buried there long ago. Hilarity ensues! When they defeat the warriors and come back to the Mystic's place they run into a templar who has heard rumors of a source of forbidden lore and is here to find out more about it. The party may either try to ensure him that there is no such place or fight him, though that will probably mean trouble in the future, at least for the mystic.
So, all in all a quick 1 1/2 encounter adventure that just serves to bring back a dead character. I think I might even have the templar be the bad guy from Marauders of the Dune Sea so they already know him when they get ambushed by him then

Two things I am yet unsure about:
Why should a Mystic with powerful spells at his disposal just help a random party of adventurers?
Just having a Resurrection ritual available outside of the vaults of a sorcerer king doesn't seem right.

Any thoughts?

What level are your PCs?

There were old civilizations on Athas, and even "today" there are elemental shrines (going back to 2e, though) where the typical priest leaders were 12th-level! Almost any of the non-sorcerer-king power groups on Athas could, at least in theory, help you there. But it'll cost you, since everything wants to rob you, enslave you, or eat you.

 

[Cherno]

All are at level 1, with still about 650 XP to earn before they reach 2ns level
Good idea about the elemental priest, maybe I will disregard the mystic and just have a priest that lives in the desert as a hermit, kind of like Mako in Conan: The Barbarian! Now that I think about it, I might even just copy that scene where Conan is scribbled full of runes and then Valeria has to defend him against the evil spirits!

 

[D'karr]

All are at level 1, with still about 650 XP to earn before they reach 2ns level
Good idea about the elemental priest, maybe I will disregard the mystic and just have a priest that lives in the desert as a hermit, kind of like Mako in Conan: The Barbarian! Now that I think about it, I might even just copy that scene where Conan is scribbled full of runes and then Valeria has to defend him against the evil spirits!

Level 1 might not be the most "logical" time to spring this on them, but if you feel strongly about it remember that the Raise Dead ritual does not require a cleric to cast it.

The scene you speak about would be very cool. The spirits of the dead come back at the same time, and the party must stop them from taking their buddy. Another thing that you might want think about and maybe talk to the player about is the possibility of returning as a revenant. His soul has been lost to the gray, and what returns is not exactly the same. Just ideas.

 

[pemerton]

Ressurected skeletons, or evils spirits awakened by primal magic, all sound good to me. My only advice: when you run the complications, try and find a way to get the player of the dwarf involved.

 

[Cherno]

Oh, that won't be a problem as the player who controls the dwarf also controls a wizard

 

[the Jester]

Now I know that Athas is a deadly place but I don't want to kill a character off for good after the first adventure.

IMHO you are doing it wrong.

Mod Note: See my post below. ~Umbran

Edited to add emphasis to explicit clarification below.

Dark Sun is a deadly setting. There's no better time to demonstrate that the gloves are off and that pcs will die, often permanently, than first level.

Of course, it's all a matter of taste, and I'm pretty well-known as a high-lethality dm (and prefer a highly lethal game as a player). So when I say "you're doing it wrong", you should add a "for my taste and playstyle" to the end of the sentence.

If you must softball for the pcs, then the obvious choice is to employ a ritualist; you don't need a cleric to raise dead in 4e, you just need a ritualist who is high enough level and who has the right ritual in his books.

 

[Obryn]

IMHO you are doing it wrong.

Dark Sun is a deadly setting. There's no better time to demonstrate that the gloves are off and that pcs will die, often permanently, than first level.

Of course, it's all a matter of taste, and I'm pretty well-known as a high-lethality dm (and prefer a highly lethal game as a player). So when I say "you're doing it wrong", you should add a "for my taste and playstyle" to the end of the sentence.

If you must softball for the pcs, then the obvious choice is to employ a ritualist; you don't need a cleric to raise dead in 4e, you just need a ritualist who is high enough level and who has the right ritual in his books.

I don't think there's a wrong way to run a Dark Sun game.

In particular, if he's trying to run a character-centric game, saving a PC from death isn't a horrible idea and I think calling it "softballing" is kind of judgmental.

Anyway, the Raise Dead ritual works just fine, and 500 ceramic isn't huge. You could even use repaying their benefactor as a plot hook.

-O

 

[Derren]

In particular, if he's trying to run a character-centric game, saving a PC from death isn't a horrible idea and I think calling it "softballing" is kind of judgmental.

Whats the point of playing when you can't fail?
Btw. OP, when you do not want the dwarf to dies why did you kill him in the first place?

Mod Note: Please see my post below. ~Umbran

 

[Obryn]

Whats the point of playing when you can't fail?
Btw. OP, when you do not want the dwarf to dies why did you kill him in the first place?

Since when did death become the most interesting way to fail?