Dealing with raising the dead

[Willtell]

Besides the XP loss, I'm having raise dead & resurrection spells automatically drain 1 point of Constitution from the raised character. And 1st lvl characters can't be raised. I'm actually considering upping that to something like 1d6 Con for Raise Dead, 1d4 Con for Resurrection, and 1 Con for True Resurrection. That would ensure that someone might survive a couple of raise spells, but that's it. Plus there's all the usual stuff about the spells not alwys working, the trouble of finding someone both powerful enough and willing to cast one, etc.

If a character is sucessfully raised but losses 1 level, 6 con points and now has a con of 7 - would'nt that character be retired before the next game session and replaced by a new character of the same level (or 1 level lower), with a worthwhile con score and more hit points?.

 

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

I go for XP cost for the cleric casting the spell, but the cost should be like this:

Raise Dead: 50 xp per target level
Resurrection: 100 xp per target level
True Resurrection: 250 xp per target level


It makes a high level caracter harder to raise, because no 9th level cleric would have the xp to ressurect a 20th level caracter.

 

[Zappo]

Hey, resurrection spells have a lot of nice uses! For example, if I have to visit a high-ranking cleric friend of mine who lives on the other side of the planet, I can just send him a magical message to cast True Resurrection ASAP, wait for confirmation, and then jump down a cliff. Isn't it a great way to travel?

 

[hong]

Hey, resurrection spells have a lot of nice uses! For example, if I have to visit a high-ranking cleric friend of mine who lives on the other side of the planet, I can just send him a magical message to cast True Resurrection ASAP, wait for confirmation, and then jump down a cliff. Isn't it a great way to travel?

Unfortunately, there's a good chance you might survive the fall.

 

[green slime]

It isn't a problem until the power to raise the dead appears in the hands of the PCs...

Then you get people meta-gaming "knowing" that they can raise the dead, should the hostages get killed in the hostilities.

However, it could be pointed out that such disregard for the well-being of the hostages, and willingness to let them experience the pain of death is, in effect, at best a neutral act, if not slightly evil (or worse).

And again, a cleric has no guarantees that he will be granted a raise dead/ressurection/true ressurection spell just to cover up for his mistakes. The spells are granted by his divinity, and subject to his divinity's whims, not ordered via a mail order catalogue...

Pointing this out to the cleric of the party may make them think of alternative solutions to the problem at hand...

Otherwise, I have no problems with the power of these spells, and do not feel that I have to "fix" them by causing the players any further grief in the form of further penalizing them.

I will admit I thought that the idea of having them appear aged was cool, though...

 

[S'mon]

I go for XP cost for the cleric casting the spell, but the cost should be like this:

Raise Dead: 50 xp per target level
Resurrection: 100 xp per target level
True Resurrection: 250 xp per target level


It makes a high level caracter harder to raise, because no 9th level cleric would have the xp to ressurect a 20th level caracter.

That's the opposite of what I want though - I want resurrection rarely if ever used to raise commoners because of the cost to the cleric (and by extension his deity) of doing so, but let it be potentially available to high-level PCs. So a flat cost seems best for my game.

 

[Hand of Evil]

As stated in another thread...

Just build a world myth. Explain with reason and within your game the why and how of raise dead. Ask questions, answer them and give the myth to your players.

Some questions...
How long before the dead move into the light?
Does anything special have to be done to guide them, last rights or such?
What does laws say? Wills?
How are the raised dead looked upon by others? In a world where undead are common, do you ever trust the raised dead?
Can you buy yourself back from the dead? Organized church, gods looking for riches, even deals with demons?
What about the happy hunting grounds, would you really want to leave once you are there? What would it take, WILL save?

Just work out a world myth on it and give that to your players.

 

[njorgard]

On resurrection and raising the dead...

I take a more philosophical apporach to bringing back the dead IMC. Considering that divine magic is granted by the gods and that these beings are the actual executors of the miracle through a vessel (the cleric casting the spell in question), I always put the players in a stuation where they have to give enough convincing reasons for this deity to pluck the soul of the individual from its eternal resting place and put it back in the land of the living. What mission has the character left unfulfilled in his life? How does it involve the deity bringing him back to life? You'll find that players will be hard pressed to give you a convincing argument...

 

[maddman75]

Personally, this is already taken care of by the rules. The raised people don't have to come back. To me, someone only leaves the afterlife if they have some great unfinished task - like an adventurer killed in the middle of a quest.

A peasant hostage, random murder victim, and assassinated ruler are all perfectly content in most cases to stay in the home of their gods. Adding xp penalties, etc. to the spells only makes things harder on PCs, and doesn't solve the problem (bringing back important NPCs)

One idea I had (but haven't tested) was to make raised characters an offense to the local death god. Once or twice, all undead in 60' became aware of your presence. Three or four times, they gain a +2 morale bonus to hit you. Five or Six, powerful undead come for you at least once a week, usually in the middle of the night. Might work for a campaign with the right flavour.

 

[Memory]

One idea I had (but haven't tested) was to make raised characters an offense to the local death god. Once or twice, all undead in 60' became aware of your presence. Three or four times, they gain a +2 morale bonus to hit you. Five or Six, powerful undead come for you at least once a week, usually in the middle of the night. Might work for a campaign with the right flavour.

That's really cool! Reminds me of Planescape: Torment.