Eliminating "Raise Dead" and "Resurrection"

[dave_o]

Maybe you could have those returned from the dead only live a certain amount of time - a week, perhaps. During that time they're very cold, their breath is visible, they're pale and bluish, etc. While not undead, per se, they're still damn creepy.

You'd probably wanna reserve that for a Resurrection. In this case, it'd only be used in the most dire of circumstances, because once the person dies "again" (after the week), it's for good.

Maybe a True Resurrection could bring people back as normal? Just make it way hard to get ahold of.

 

[Darkness]

First up, tell your players straight up there is no resurrection.
...

We have had no other major reprecussions. Go for it. It works.

At low- to medium-levels, probably.

At higher levels, though, the DM needs to be very careful; regular PC deaths aren't too unlikely if you're constantly fighting beholders, spellcasters with high-level spells, the more powerful fiends, and similar opponents.

 

[JoeBlank]

For a different twist, check out the Twin Crowns setting from Living Imagination. There, everyone is given 5 "gifts" by the the Maker. Raise Dead is even easier than in the core rules, but one can only be raised 5 times. After that, there is no way to be brought back from the dead.

So players won't be quite as casual about the risk of death when they know they only get 5 "lives". Perhaps even bump it down to 3.

You can read more about the concept on pages 4 and 5 of the Twin Crowns Primer http://www.livingimagination.com/pdf/TCPrimer.pdf , a free .pdf.

 

[Desdichado]

I prefer to eliminate them too, but I prefer lower level play. Sorry, that's not really helpful!

 

[diaglo]

what level are you playing?


and just how hard is it to find a 9th or higher lvl priest of your church or similar interest to cast the spell for the party?

 

[sircaren]

I run resurrection like this:

1. The spell raise dead can only be performed in a temple. If it is cast by an NPC, it's cost are those as outlined in the first edition DMG. Party cleric can cast raise dead, but it still must be in a temple of thier god.
2. Resurrection is only cast upon members of the faith, never the non-believers.
3. True Resurrection also requires the use of a temple, and only works on the faithful.
4. Miracle does not require a temple, and can be used to resurrect anyone.

 

[Gothmog]

I haven't allowed Raise Dead or Resurrection in my current campaign since I started it 11 years ago. The main thing is to make sure you tell your players this right from the start- if you die, you stay dead. In that time, there have been 4 PC deaths, and numerous near deaths. That said, I have made a few tweaks and changes to the game.

1. Remove save or die spells and effects from the game. If the PCs can't come back, they also can't be killed by one missed save. The exception are some poisons.

2. All PCs receive a bonus # of hp at first level equal to their Con score, modified by size. Fine, Dim= x.1, Tiny=x.25, Small=x.5, Med=x1, Large=x2, Huge=x4, Gargantuan=x8, Colossal=x16. This cuts down on low-level PC mortality, while also making the big critters much more fearsome at high levels.

3. Allow PCs to go to negative HP of -10 + Con before dying. However, once they hit -10, there WILL be some sort of lasting physical or mental injury that can only be removed by powerful curative magic.

If you do want to allow Raise and Resurrection, make there be some price involved in it. First, I would say the deity itself would have to want the character alive, not just a cleric. Second, a permanent loss of 2 Con points and 1 level on the part of the Raised character seems fair- the body and soul would take some wear and tear from the resurrection process. Finally, the cleric involved should incur some cost as well, probably one level. Bringing the dead back to life is an act of extreme faith, and the deity would require a sacrifice of faith on the part of the cleric to insure his faith is strong.

 

[Anubis the Doomseer]

Just play up the deity involvement in the spell. Most published game worlds have established who rules the afterlife. Allowing willy-nilly resurrection mucks up the system.

Maybe only the clerics of the Death God/Judge of the Dead/Keeper of the Ebony Gates (I heart Shadow World's portfolio) to cast the spells. Or maybe a cleric must negotiate with a servant (major outsider) of that power.

Allow the power the right of refusal. Possibly allow the potential resurrected a refusal as well (lots of historical myth reasons to use this). Even if they are PCs the option of "going back" isn't automatic.

Chronic resurrection could also bring a swarm of Inevitables to pay you a visit.

If you are worried about high-level instant death effects just alter them to be instant -8 hp, or reduce their power (you only die if you fail the save by 10 or more, otherwise you lose half your hit points and are exhausted, or you lose half your Constitution/Charisma in ability damage).

To offer something to the rules lawyer going into fits about your interference with the mechanics of the spell, give them a method of obtaining entirly guaranteed, risk-free, penalty-free resurrection: an epic quest for a sacred artifact, or a lost shrine or a forgotten ritual that can only be performed when the stars are right (i.e. have a story idea written down and ready to go, triggered whenever the PCs need it - also useful if you have reoccuring villains in your game who would also, for obvious reasons, be looking for resurrection of some big nasty).

 

[mmadsen]

Redefine "Dead" as "Mostly Dead"

I never liked spells that restored life to a dead character, mainly because they seemed too "meta-game", grounded more in game rules, than in the fantasy and mythology genre. [...] (I really am reminded of Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, "He's only mostly dead.")

I think there's a simple solution to your problem, one hinted at by your quote: redefine "dead" to mean "mostly dead" (or "greviously wounded"). Raise dead then becomes cure grevious wound (and resurrection can become cure mortal wound).

A character at -10 hit points is no longer dead; he's "just" greviously wounded. A few weak healing potions can't bring him back, but he's not in Valhalla either.

 

[Norfleet]

(I really am reminded of Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, "He's only mostly dead.")

Heh, that's the system I use for deadness and resurrection. Various forms of being killed leave the player only "mostly dead", whereas being thoroughly killed makes him "all dead".

Should I let "dead" characters come back under the cliched soap opera excuse "I wasn't really dead"? Or something else? What are your suggestions?

"I got better!" is always a classic. There is, however, another alternative to raise dead/resurrection: Necromancy.