D&D 5E Different ways to handle death (and resurrection)

[pukunui]

Sounds like an interesting idea. I agree with other posters that having it be a permanent mechanical penalty might be too much.

Since I'm running an episodic campaign, the default mechanical penalty for raise dead and resurrection didn't really work for me, so I went with a more Game of Thrones-style penalty. Namely, each time someone gets resurrected, they lose a bit of themselves. I represent this through flaws - the PC either gains a new flaw or has an existing flaw get modified. One PC in my campaign who died had as his ideal "glory in battle". When he was resurrected, I gave him a new flaw to the effect that he was now obsessed with obtaining glory in battle no matter what the cost. Now, as a flaw, it'll only come into play when we want it to. It's not an "always on" thing like vulnerability to cold would be.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I plan to have a unique death system in my homebrew world I am building. When a PC dies they are sent to a plane that behaves so differently that they wander through it, immortal, for a millennia, before their body in the Material Plane even hits the ground. In this plane there is nothing but cold. They walk on a ground of ice, through an endless blizzard, for what feels like forever. They are eventually met by a man who takes them to their afterlife, where they are safe from the cold of this place. However, if they are ever resurrected, they begin to feel the cold of that place again, no longer protected by their peaceful afterlife.

Mechanically, I plan to have this translate into a Vulnerability to cold damage, and freezing temperatures. They will even take 1d4 of cold damage if they sleep too far from a fire at night. Do you think this is too much punishment for a resurrection? I do not intend on having too many resurrected PC's, but want to be prepared with something interesting if it does come up. It will also give some flavor to previously resurrected NPCs.

I think this is totally awesome, fluff wise!

As for mechanics, I would suggest perhaps increasing the damage die for cold effects, rather than vulnerability which might be too harsh. I love the campfire thing! On the other hand, frankly, their guy died, and now he's back. A bit of extra cold damage is nothing to complain about - you were DEAD after all !

PS - I don't permit raise dead at all in my game, but if I did, I'd be using something like this

 

[xuriel]

Mechanically, I plan to have this translate into a Vulnerability to cold damage, and freezing temperatures. They will even take 1d4 of cold damage if they sleep too far from a fire at night. Do you think this is too much punishment for a resurrection? I do not intend on having too many resurrected PC's, but want to be prepared with something interesting if it does come up. It will also give some flavor to previously resurrected NPCs.

I like the story elements you are introducing to your campaign regarding death and the consequences of resurrection. Perhaps to lessen the severity of the mechanical penalties, you could also introduce a temporary or permanent remedy to the condition of the resurrected—a religious penance to perform or sacrament of some kind to undergo?

As far as alternative ways of handling death and resurrection, and on the other end of the spectrum of options, I ran a short high-level extraplanar campaign recently where PC death was only a temporary setback: their souls were bound to Ysgard. So when they died, they would reappear alive on an island of that plane after a short time.

 

[77IM]

Maybe after resurrection, your frozen heart can only be thawed by an act of True Love!

 

[Dit464]

Yeah, I'd be okay with having a d4 damage on me for sleeping too far from the fire (its mainly a flavor thing anyway) or a upgraded damage die against me when attacked with cold damage (but that is pushing it for me, the 8d8 cone of cold turning into 8d10 is a bit rough) so I'd take a different alternative than permanent vulnerability to cold. Other than that it seems like an interesting way to look at resurrection and the afterlife.