Is it normal to come back from the dead?

[Ghendar]

My DM is angry that I'm making a new character rather than being raised and seems shocked by the idea that someone would even consider such a thing.

I'd like to get a feel for which is the norm. So...

I personally think that raising is far too easy and far too prevalent in D&D. As a DM, I always make it a bit more difficult to have PC's raised. And no, I'm not a killer DM who likes to off PC's whenever possible. I just think it's a bit too easy to do.

Anyway, on to the question, If I had a 10th lvl PC die I might, or might not have him raised. It all depends on how I felt about the character at that point.

Was I happy with the way I developed him?
Do I want to try something different?
Would the group benefit by me choosing to play a different character class?

Any of these things might come into play when I'm faced with that situation.

 

[Pinotage]

Depends on the character, although I prefer to leave characters dead. If they die they die. About a month ago my 11th level Paladin/Favored Soul/Shining Blade of Kord bit the dust and got mangled by a hill giant cleric. His adopted sister, one of the other adventurers in the group, had died to a greater shadow about a week before, so I figured he wouldn't want to come back. On the whole, though, dead is dead. Besides, it's fun making new characters and playing different concepts.

Pinotage

 

[Numion]

I said "Never."

In my campaigns, Raise Dead and the like doesn't exist. Economically, it makes little sense. Assassination is useless. There is little compelling reason to raise some vagabond--even a rich one--when there's more to be made by plundering the body, AND leave the king dead.

It does create some interesting consequences. Like, if the PCs confront a really badass BBEG, it would be wiser to Trap the Soul his ass instead of killing him. That way, the BBEGs minions can't true resurrect him.

There's one other reason I can think of: in a game where the world and RP are of little or no consequence. When the challenge is just dungeoneering, then dying in some messy way and having a mechanism to come back makes sense and keeps the game fun. However, I think that videogames can fill this need much more efficiently than a tabletop RPG.

Whoah. I think it's shortsighted to dismiss the roleplaying opportunities resurrections present. I'd go as far as to say that it's the roleplayers lack of imagination if all the RP goes out the window with a simple resurrection.

So, raise dead bothers you, but not the fact that each time someone dies there's someone else of roughly similar competence ready to join the group (namely, the players new PC)?

For reference, read George RR Martins books on how raise dead actually enhances the setting and makes it deeper.

I guess it's funnier and easier to shout "videogamey" at game concepts you don't like .. I mean, that one never gets old

 

[Cor Azer]

Hmm... yeah, the poll options don't really cover the full spectrum of options.

Specifically, I would base my decision on the character's personality, the presence or lack thereof of game-world commitments and dependencies, and the like.

But to be honest... I've never had to make that decision myself. I've had characters die before, but they were first/second level Living Greyhawk characters, that while fun, really didn't have the financial means to get a raise dead. None of my long term characters has ever died (but that's more so due to me not getting to play many long term characters). Usually the campaign peters out before such things occur.

 

[Blue]

My DM is angry that I'm making a new character rather than being raised and seems shocked by the idea that someone would even consider such a thing.

As a DM, I'd be shocked and upset. 10th level is well over a year of playing around here, and to suddenly have all of the plots and subplots that I've been weaving into the story around the character go *poof* would be sad. I try to work in plots that star each character, though it takes a while to get them all going.

As a DM, a new character coming in means:
* Lots of good angst RP.
* Shaking up the group dynamic & effectiveness - not a bad thing.
* Losing a good amount of plot and design work I've sunk in over the years. What about plots that the old PC was a key figure in, but will still apply to the group? Need to rework them.
* Work to intergrate new character-specific plots.
* Having to work hard with the player to create the new character as a reality as deep as the original character who's grown for more then a year. Just in "who you know", working out NPCs that they may know/be owed favors/may owe favors/etc so that new characters aren't swinging in the breeze with no "supporting cast" that the other PCs have built up.

It's a big job.

Cheers,
=Blue

 

[Seeker95]

I assume that I would want to be raised unless there is a good rason not to. If I was a follower of Wee Jas, I might refuse to return, respecting the nature of death in the order of things. If I died gloriously, I might refuse to return, choosing to enjoy the fruits of my labors in the afterlife. But, in general, I-as-Player put a lot of work into this character, and the relationships and friendships the character has developed.

I look at each campaign as a novel. I want to play the same hero from the start of the novel to the end.

 

[Umbran]

The answer is entirely dependant on the particulars of the character and the story. I've had some die such that it is time to move on to another character, and some who would want to claw their way back from the grave.

 

[0-hr]

is it possible that you are being a little difficult? Could it be that you are using your character as a mouthpiece to express your own prejudices about having raise dead in games?

It's possible. I've always been against being raised (it's not generally available in the games I run) so I'm biased. I dislike death being nothing more than a 5000gp/10000xp hit. It just lessens my enjoyment of the game if there is no fear of death other than a numbers set back.

As for fair to the rest of the group, the only potential problem is that I was playing the damage sponge while most of the other characters stayed well out of harm's way. If I got raised I'd be lower level than everyone else and so even more likely to die. Its a vicious cycle that I want to opt out of with just the one level loss. If we can't get by without pure tank then the next person to die can make one up and the problem is solved.

The notes about how it could cost the DM a lot of character-specific work is certainly valid. We're playing through Age of Worms though, so there has been very little character-specific stuff (and none that will go to waste).

 

[drothgery]

I'd say the default is probably that 10th level characters should expect to be raised (at least, if they were killed in a combat that their fellow party members won, or at least escaped with their body). That doesn't mean everyone wants to be (in Eberron, the Church of the Silver Flame generally frowns on the practice, so when my Silver Pyromancer died, he stayed dead) or can be (if the bad guys use PC tactics like destroying the body, killed you with death magic, etc.; so when an illithid sucked out the brains of my halfling rogue, he stayed dead).

 

[Bardsandsages]

It would depend on the character. In a world where people KNOW that the gods exist (i.e. clerics with divine magic), and you have a patron diety, I would think that unless you have some unfinished business you would just want to go be with your god. I mean, if my 10th level character bit the big one and I got into Heaven, I'd be pretty ticked off if the party tried to bring me back just because they needed me to help them finish a dungeon!

As a DM, I always make a big elaborate thing out of being raised. If a PC is about to be raised, I actually take them aside and roleplay them going into the realm of the dead, and then hearing the call that they are being brought back to life. They then make a decision. Depending on the character, they might be confronted with a family member or mentor who tells them they must return to the living world to avenge something, or a divine messanger of their god who tells him "Your time has not yet come" and sends them back.

I think the key is that being raised from the dead should be a truely emotional, spiritual, and slightly heartbreaking experience. If it is just a "Oh crap, I died, someone rez me" thing, you've lost something in your game.