D&D 5E D&D 5e death and consequences?

[daddystabz]

If you look at the rules for death and the Resurrection spell in the book all it takes when you die in the game is 1,000 gold pieces to buy the diamond that is consumed by the spell and appropriate cash to pay NPC for the 7th. lvl spell for casting. You can do this as needed with no consequences. So whenever a character in my game dies and they can get together the funds to raise their fallen comrade how should I persuade them that death has real consequences? You have up to 100 years to do this too!

 

[the Jester]

If you look at the rules for death and the Resurrection spell in the book all it takes when you die in the game is 1,000 gold pieces to buy the diamond that is consumed by the spell and appropriate cash to pay NPC for the 7th. lvl spell for casting. You can do this as needed with no consequences. So whenever a character in my game dies and they can get together the funds to raise their fallen comrade how should I persuade them that death has real consequences? You have up to 100 years to do this too!

How common are npc spellcasters capable of flinging around 7th level spells in your game?

Also, though this doesn't apply to bards, a cleric of that level is likely to want to make sure they are bringing back someone who is not a threat to their faith or interests, so many/most clerics will probably decline to help (good clerics aren't likely to bring back an evil pc and vice-versa).

Now, there may be plenty of 13th level or higher npcs floating around, waiting to be hired, in the setting you play in, but in mine, almost everyone of that level is a pc or a well-known and notable (and likely very busy) npc. Pcs can't simply count on consequence-free death. If they want to be raised or rezzed or reincarnated, they usually- not always, but absolutely usually- have to do the work themselves.

 

[daddystabz]

How about making the remaining living characters undergo a difficult quest to be able to get the dead characters back. Maybe an object for a temple or a special spell scroll, etc. What do you all think?

 

[Chocolategravy]

Revivify is 300 gp and clerics can get it at level 5. Death isn't meant to have a consequence. If you want it to, you might want to consider changing the critical hit rules, otherwise those bulettes your level 5 party is fighting that can crit for 100 damage are a little too much like random death machines for a game with death consequences.

 

[Grazzt]

Death isn't meant to have a consequence.

Wait. What?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Wait. What?

I'm wondering, judging by most of his posts, if he's here just to troll the forum. Guy doesn't even play the game.

 

[Paraxis]

Revivify is 300 gp and clerics can get it at level 5. Death isn't meant to have a consequence. If you want it to, you might want to consider changing the critical hit rules, otherwise those bulettes your level 5 party is fighting that can crit for 100 damage are a little too much like random death machines for a game with death consequences.

+1 to all of this.

D&D by the book, adventurer death is supposed to be a speed bump or yield, not a stop sign. Now can and do many DM's change that assumption in their games sure. But yeah pretty easy to bring people back to life.

It changes the dynamic for the rich and powerful too, nobles get raised pretty easy so common assassinations and things just don't happen like they did in the real world. Also think about how it is more likely that clerics would keep raising dead members of their clergy, so said organizations would have powerful members, the highest level people on the world are likely paladins and clerics.

 

[Crothian]

One of the best little things to come out of 3pp 3e books was a little cult that felt anyone that was raised or resurrected was the most nefarious of undead. They had magic that could detect someone that was raised and their turning ability could work on them. I thought it was a great idea and I had my own god of death adopt the cult. I think it was in Touched by the Gods by Atlas.

 

[Crothian]

D&D by the book, adventurer death is supposed to be a speed bump or yield, not a stop sign. Now can and do many DM's change that assumption in their games sure. But yeah pretty easy to bring people back to life.

Players love it when it works for them but when they have to kill the bad guy for the 100th time it gets kind of old.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Players love it when it works for them but when they have to kill the bad guy for the 100th time it gets kind of old.

This gives me an idea for a certain blue NPC in HotDQ. My players already hate him. After they defeat him, I'm going to look for a place to put a raised version of him.

Thaumaturge.