Is it normal to come back from the dead?

[StreamOfTheSky]

Who wants to live forever until they die of old age?

Fixed that sentence for you.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I'm still trying to figure out how option 2 differs from option 3.

2. Not unless there is a reason to come back.
3. Not unless there is a reason to stay dead.

#2 means you would normally prefer a character to not be raised, but are willing to do so for a compelling (often plot-related or unresolved issue) reason. #3 means you would normally prefer a character to be raised, but if you felt satisfied with how he/she "went out" or that from the character's perscpective, death was desirable, you wouldn't do so.

An example of #3 would be a knight who dies protecting his king; a gambler in heavy debt who knows getting raised will just add to his fees to pay off, so it's best to just take his chances in the afterlife; a cleric of a death god who finds any form of tampering with the cycle of death -- raising OR the creation of undead -- to be an abomination and thus embraces his end.

An example of #2 would be a detective who was on the verge of solving a critical case (and hadn't a chance to share evidence/information) before being murdered by the culprit, with the knowledge that the wrong man is about to be hanged for the crime.

The main difference between them is that in both cases, it's character nature versus player nature. In number 2 and 3, the two are at odds (in exactly opposite ways, respectively) but the player allows for some give-and-take in which nature determines what will happen. In options 1 and 4, the player always goes by his nature, regardless of the character.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I said "Never."

In my campaigns, Raise Dead and the like doesn't exist. Economically, it makes little sense. Assassination is useless.

Nope, not useless, harder. Soul Bind and other stunts are required to take out heads of state. And sometimes you just need to make them vanish, which is what a bag of holding, a handy haversack and a dominated minion are for.

Plus, for anyone who's particularly pious, they should actually enjoy the after life and at least hesitate about coming back. IMC the party cleric has stated that the only reason he wouldn't stay in the after life is if his god sends him back. Needless to say, the others consider "protect the cleric" to be a priority.