D&D 5E The revival economy

[FormerlyHemlock]

What, you've never seen a televangelist before?

That's an interesting definition you've got there of "devout and respected." : )

 

[MarkB]

That's an interesting definition you've got there of "devout and respected." : )

Well, respected by some, at least.

I do take your point, though - I tend to forget that Bards also have access to these spells.

 

[cbwjm]

At level 4, two of our party members were killed. In order to be revived we had to have a couple of diamonds loaned to us from a local merchant (we paid him back after we'd finished the quest) and were then indebted to the local priesthood for the revival owing them a service to be called upon later on.

 

[Li Shenron]

Then there's the whole "soul must be free and willing to return" clause. How many souls who have moved on to a heavenly afterlife truly have any interest in getting stuck back inside a piece of meat again? And how many who are trapped in eternal hellish torment have the freedom to simply choose to leave?

That could be seriously used by a DM to quite literally put the final nail in the coffin

 

[MarkB]

That could be seriously used by a DM to quite literally put the final nail in the coffin

Yep. I generally would leave it up to the player when it's a PC, but that clause is what I generally use as the main reason why revival magic won't work on the majority of NPCs in my settings - it takes a truly exceptional individual to be both willing and at liberty to return from the afterlife.

 

[clearstream]

Yep. I generally would leave it up to the player when it's a PC, but that clause is what I generally use as the main reason why revival magic won't work on the majority of NPCs in my settings - it takes a truly exceptional individual to be both willing and at liberty to return from the afterlife.

I dislike worlds that revolve overmuch around the PCs. Or maybe I just get more enjoyment from living worlds that the PCs explore? Worlds that pre-exist the PCs in some sense (e.g. as Faerun does). For me if there is a rule that affects NPCs, it also affects PCs. So I'd be fine with a "truly exceptional" criterion - in fact I rather like it! - but I wouldn't apply it solely to NPCs. I would create some principles around it and apply it based on those principles.

As a side note, time and again I reach this point of divergence. I'm fascinated by imaginary realities that unfold before us - not with us at the center of them - but with a magic all their own. Where things are happening according to means and motives, not scripts.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Don't most revival spells still have the limitation that they cannot bring back someone who died of old age?

How many people who have the sort of money required to be resurrected tend to regularly die of causes other than old age? (Outside of adventurers.) If they have access to revival spells, then they have access to remove disease and curative effects, so barring occasional serious strife, chances are that there isn't that much demand.

(This may have an interesting side effect of making for very eco-friendly nations, since IIRC Reincarnate is able to bypass the old age issue. Thus all the rulers and people of power want to curry favour with the most powerful druid they can find.)

As pointed out earlier, this can be a factor in FR, with its plethora of PC-classed NPCs of reasonably high level. In Eberron, there might be 5 people on the entire continent capable of resurrecting you, several of whom are seriously bad news, and almost all simply aren't interested in mere money.

 

[clearstream]

Don't most revival spells still have the limitation that they cannot bring back someone who died of old age?

How many people who have the sort of money required to be resurrected tend to regularly die of causes other than old age? (Outside of adventurers.) If they have access to revival spells, then they have access to remove disease and curative effects, so barring occasional serious strife, chances are that there isn't that much demand.

(This may have an interesting side effect of making for very eco-friendly nations, since IIRC Reincarnate is able to bypass the old age issue. Thus all the rulers and people of power want to curry favour with the most powerful druid they can find.)

As pointed out earlier, this can be a factor in FR, with its plethora of PC-classed NPCs of reasonably high level. In Eberron, there might be 5 people on the entire continent capable of resurrecting you, several of whom are seriously bad news, and almost all simply aren't interested in mere money.

I wish they'd release a book for Eberron!

 

[MarkB]

I dislike worlds that revolve overmuch around the PCs. Or maybe I just get more enjoyment from living worlds that the PCs explore? Worlds that pre-exist the PCs in some sense (e.g. as Faerun does). For me if there is a rule that affects NPCs, it also affects PCs. So I'd be fine with a "truly exceptional" criterion - in fact I rather like it! - but I wouldn't apply it solely to NPCs. I would create some principles around it and apply it based on those principles.

As a side note, time and again I reach this point of divergence. I'm fascinated by imaginary realities that unfold before us - not with us at the center of them - but with a magic all their own. Where things are happening according to means and motives, not scripts.

It's not so much that there are different rules for NPCs - it's that, when it comes to a PC's motivation, especially in such dire circumstances, I feel that it's only right to let the player be the one to speak up for them. As DM, I speak up for the NPCs - but I'm generally not nearly as invested in their renewed corporeal existence as the player is in the character that is his or her only interface with our shared world.

 

[clearstream]

It's not so much that there are different rules for NPCs - it's that, when it comes to a PC's motivation, especially in such dire circumstances, I feel that it's only right to let the player be the one to speak up for them. As DM, I speak up for the NPCs - but I'm generally not nearly as invested in their renewed corporeal existence as the player is in the character that is his or her only interface with our shared world.

I see. I generally assume the NPCs are as interested in their own survival as the PCs are. Conditioned of course on their expected afterlife. In that respect, I've found that PCs are more determined to return. They value life at the side of their god(s) less highly than NPCs do.