Have you ever refused to come back from the dead?

[DreadArchon]

I refuse resurrections for metagame reasons: the chance to make a new character, especially one with hand-picked magic items according to the Wealth by Character Level table in the DMG.

Heh, I solved that with my characters by giving them the option for a "wealth rebuild." Essentially, during down times inserted into the story, the characters are assumed to have bought things, sold things, broke things, used things, lost things, found things, earned things, etc., and it just so happens--insert false surprise here--that they've ended up with wealth similar to that suggested by the Wealth by Level tables! How convenient!

(That is to say, players can--during story lulls--strip their inventories clean and buy up from scratch based on the tables. Story-specific items that they keep are deducted from the amount available to them at a discount. I see no reason to punish players for showing up more often by allowing for the possibility of them ending up poor compared to those who come in late and get to buy stuff.)

 

[Riley]

To the original question: yes, I've refused resurrection. I haven't resurrected a character of mine on the last 15 years. Before that, I can remember twice with characters I really loved.

Most of the time, raise dead hasn't really been an option, as I've rarely played much past 6th or so. But when it has been an option, I've usually wanted to try a new character idea out.

Heh, I solved that with my characters by giving them the option for a "wealth rebuild." Essentially, during down times inserted into the story, the characters are assumed to have bought things, sold things, broke things, used things, lost things, found things, earned things, etc., and it just so happens--insert false surprise here--that they've ended up with wealth similar to that suggested by the Wealth by Level tables! How convenient!

I really like that idea. I'm going to have to try that out.

 

[crystorix]

I haven't had the issue come up in any home games I've ever played, but I have had characters die in the Living Greyhawk campaign. I usually have them raised (it's within the nature of the campaign), but my most recent one I didn't. I was upset with the way things went down at the table, and since he was my Regional character, and I'm soon moving out of the region, I thought it was a good opportunity to retire the character.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Think about it.. your character has died and passed on to whatever they consider to be paradise according to the patron deity and their alignment. Would they really want to get yanked back from paradise into the world of flesh? Personally I say in most cases no. There would have to be some great task of extreme personal importance that they left unfinished to warrant them willingly coming back. Getting paid to do a job just doesn't suffice IMHO. Saving the world or the life of someone of great personal importance to the PC are only a couple of the situations where I could see the PC willingly coming back to life.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Quasqueton]

I'm surprised at how many people have refused or would refuse to have their character brought back from the dead. Many people have said here that they wanted to try out a new character. I wonder if people's ideas/considerations would change if their next character had to come into the game at 1st level, or 2+ levels below the previous character?

As a DM, I would prefer dead characters come back instead of bringing in a new character. Story consistency and all that.

Quasqueton

 

[TheYeti1775]

Voted Yes.
But, last time refused though was back in 2E, had a character that was homesick. And after Spelljamming for several years without ever seeing his home sphere, paradise to him was going home.

 

[RFisher]

As a DM, I would prefer dead characters come back instead of bringing in a new character. Story consistency and all that.

There are plenty of stories in which characters die & new ones are introduced. Some of them are even good stories.

 

[Thomas Percy]

Yes.
I was playing conetable (commander in chief) of some army, and I felt in victorious battle with campaing setting most notorious bad guy army (BIRTHRIGHT - The Gorgon), so I choose to stay dead, because I considered there is no more glorious death for knight and commander than that.

 

[Nine Hands]

In a setting with a concrete, 100% real afterlife--and assuming the character in question winds up in one of the better planes, as opposed to Hell or the Abyss--I don't think it's impausible at all.

Exactly...my elf group suffers from the Arvandor (sp?) Effect. Its such a beautiful place that is filled with anything and anyone you could ever want. Makes it hard for elves to resist the afterlife, even though its all a lie

They won't even use plane shift to go there since they are afraid they will never want to or be able to leave.

My next game (which is going to be all dwarves) will not have resurrection as an option at all, but the characters will be rather hard to kill and I'm going to use some of the options from Iron Heroes to give them a bit of power to manipulate real world even after they die.

 

[Alzrius]

I once turned down a resurrection because I wanted to play a new character. Of course, the new character I designed wasn't as fun as my previous one, so the DM was kind and let im be brought back anyway.