I've decided this thread is going to be a clearinghouse of ideas that pop into my head, that I can't think of a use of yet, but hope to some day.
I had an idea that a character might be experiencing a divine trial, something like stigmata, where he suffers inexplicable injuries. While he has these wounds, though they weaken him, they protect him from more harm. Over the course of many sessions, the character would have chances to use the stigmata as an advantage in surviving danger, and as a liability because they sometimes leave him too exhausted to fight. Usually, though, he learns to use the stigmata as an advantage, letting him stand in the way of big monsters and take hits that the rest of the party couldn't.
There'd have to be some sort of villain who is doing something with antimagic. The party learns what the villain can do, but never actually has to deal with antimagic until the final encounter, when numerous nonmagical threats assail them, and the villain renders their magic useless. The character with stigmata discovers that in the antimagic field his connection to the divine is cut, so he no longer gains any benefit from the stigmata. He is simply weakened.
This is the true test. He must have the strength of will to stand against the dangers, risking his life to stave off their assault while his allies confront the villain. He has suffered, and for that suffering he will be rewarded with the chance to die saving those he cares for.
