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How Often Should a PC Die in D&D 5e?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9537228" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>My solution to this problem is to make of death a quest.</p><p></p><p>You want to resurrect your ally? It's gonna take more than <em>just</em> a spell. Maybe it would be "just a spell" for someone deeply immersed in their faith or philosophy, but anyone like that is going to ask for some form of payment or exchange for their services. For the PCs to do it themselves, even if they have the <em>knowledge</em>, they need something more.</p><p></p><p>Maybe, instead of diamonds, each resurrection ritual requires something special, commensurate to the strength or age of the separated soul. (Hence why those who have died "of old age" can't be brought back; at that age, <em>nothing</em> is valuable enough.)</p><p></p><p>Or maybe a resurrection spell, of any kind, is simply something that lets you make a deal with Death, or with some divine figure, to get your friend's soul back. The diamonds are merely your "opening bid", your "downpayment" to show that your negotiation is <em>serious</em>. Now you have to haggle for the soul--and you <em>know</em> both Death and the gods won't expect anything less than equal value for the soul being restored. (Even unquestionably good gods cannot afford to be <em>profligate</em> with their power--but perhaps they are already in your debt.)</p><p></p><p>Or maybe the spell projects the party into the Underworld, so they can aid their friend's escape from there. The stronger the spell, the stronger the helping PCs are while they're on the "other side" or the longer they can stay--but the stronger the target's soul, the deeper they "land" in the Underworld when they die.</p><p></p><p>Do stuff like this, and every death still <em>matters</em>. It genuinely <em>tells a story</em>, rather than simply being "Altogether, Jhen'ee adventured twenty-three hours, and then she died." And the above, all of it, has tons of precedent in myth and legend! Orpheus and Eurydice. Ishtar and Tammuz. Gilgamesh and Enkidu. All sorts of folklore involving a "sleep of death" or "apple of life" or the equivalent. A quest to go into the Underworld and return with power or a loved one's soul or something similar is literally almost as old as storytelling itself. Deals with the devil to restore a loved one to life--at a price. Etc.</p><p></p><p>If the player is genuinely done with the character and wants to move on, great. But if they aren't? We can do <em>so much more</em> with it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9537228, member: 6790260"] My solution to this problem is to make of death a quest. You want to resurrect your ally? It's gonna take more than [I]just[/I] a spell. Maybe it would be "just a spell" for someone deeply immersed in their faith or philosophy, but anyone like that is going to ask for some form of payment or exchange for their services. For the PCs to do it themselves, even if they have the [I]knowledge[/I], they need something more. Maybe, instead of diamonds, each resurrection ritual requires something special, commensurate to the strength or age of the separated soul. (Hence why those who have died "of old age" can't be brought back; at that age, [I]nothing[/I] is valuable enough.) Or maybe a resurrection spell, of any kind, is simply something that lets you make a deal with Death, or with some divine figure, to get your friend's soul back. The diamonds are merely your "opening bid", your "downpayment" to show that your negotiation is [I]serious[/I]. Now you have to haggle for the soul--and you [I]know[/I] both Death and the gods won't expect anything less than equal value for the soul being restored. (Even unquestionably good gods cannot afford to be [I]profligate[/I] with their power--but perhaps they are already in your debt.) Or maybe the spell projects the party into the Underworld, so they can aid their friend's escape from there. The stronger the spell, the stronger the helping PCs are while they're on the "other side" or the longer they can stay--but the stronger the target's soul, the deeper they "land" in the Underworld when they die. Do stuff like this, and every death still [I]matters[/I]. It genuinely [I]tells a story[/I], rather than simply being "Altogether, Jhen'ee adventured twenty-three hours, and then she died." And the above, all of it, has tons of precedent in myth and legend! Orpheus and Eurydice. Ishtar and Tammuz. Gilgamesh and Enkidu. All sorts of folklore involving a "sleep of death" or "apple of life" or the equivalent. A quest to go into the Underworld and return with power or a loved one's soul or something similar is literally almost as old as storytelling itself. Deals with the devil to restore a loved one to life--at a price. Etc. If the player is genuinely done with the character and wants to move on, great. But if they aren't? We can do [I]so much more[/I] with it. [/QUOTE]
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