Raising the dead
Here is how I am going to start handling raising the dead in my Kalamar Campaign.
First let me begin by telling you when you cannot raise the dead.
1. If the dead being committed suicide.
2. If the dead being does not want to return to life.
3. If the dead being was killed by a death effect.
4. If the dead being is missing a head, heart, or other vital organ for life.
5. The being to be raised cannot have sold their soul, or otherwise made a contract concerning their life-force with an outsider of any kind.
Method I, Divine Resurrection
Here are the guidelines for raising the dead from Kalamar, using divine methods. In order to raise the dead their must be someone willing to do the actual raising. Typically this is someone of the same religion as the dead being, but it doesn’t have to be. You also need someone who is willing to take the place of the dead person if things go wrong. The second being is quite difficult to find (the first and second being may be the same person). The process works like this. The Ritual Raiser must have Channel Divine Energy, 8 or more ranks in Religion. The Raiser must then find a sacred place to the deity that he/she worships. The ritual requires the majority of the deceased body, items belonging to the deceased, something resembling what killed the deceased and 3 assistants for the Raiser. The Process takes 1 hour for every day the deceased has been dead, and each hour the Raiser must make a Religion Check DC of 12+ the number of days the deceased has been dead. Other modifiers may apply at the DM’s discretion. If any one of these checks is failed it adds 1 additional hour to the overall process. If three or more of the checks are failed something different happens (see below). The process cannot be stopped once it has begun, however the assistants may continue the process in place of the Raiser after 8 hours, using ½ of his Religion bonus, or their total whichever is greater. If successful the Raiser and the Deceased both loose 100xp per level of the Deceased. They also gain 1 point of enmity with the Harvester of Souls (see below), possibly more at the DM’s discretion. If more than 5 of these checks fail the deceased cannot be raised and the Raiser must pay ½ of the experience cost. If the deceased is successfully returned to life it will take 1 hour for every day dead to recover his memory and physical capabilities. During this recovery time the formerly deceased can take no action.
• If the Deceased was a member of the same church as the Raiser the Deceased rank within the church is the number of re-rolls that are allowed for failed religion checks.
• If three checks are failed the Volunteer (someone who chose to offer themselves instead of the Deceased) must face a shade of either themselves or the deceased whichever is more powerful. Failure means both the Volunteer and the Deceased are killed. The Volunteer may not be returned to life, but the Deceased may be. If the Volunteer wins he gains 1 point of enmity with the Harvester of souls.
• Enmity with the Harvester of Souls is a number that represents a bonus all servants of the Harvester of Souls gain in dealings with the individual. In cases where this enmity is high the servants may actually seek out the individual. Servants of the Harvester of Souls include all free willed undead, fiends of all sorts, and other such beings. Enmity points last from 1-4 years. The Enmity is a Profane Bonus.
(Rank within the church is given in Kalamar Player's guide, usually from 1-10 and each increment provides a few note worthy things while costing a bit of experience and giving the cleric more responsibility within the church. Channel Divine Energy is in the same book.)
Method II, Arcane Resurrection
Here are the guidelines for raising the dead using arcane methods. The requirements are; 8 or more ranks in spellcraft, the ability to cast arcane necromantic spells, 8 or more ranks in Outer Planes, 1 Volunteer as above, and 3 assistants. The process works almost identical to the divine one. Requiring just as long to complete, and costing the same amount of experience. The difference is that the enmity is increased by 1 point even if the attempt failed there is at least 1 point of enmity.
Druids cast reincarnation, although I am working on a different method using the Mongoose Q. Druid otherworld idea, though I haven't gotten very far with it yet. Anyway there is my idea.
