Life-Keeping & Revivify -- Changing the Face Returning From the Dead

[ARandomGod]

Personally, I like the idea of tethered souls not having a will save. And keeping the spell in the arcane list. It gives access a whole new arena of undead. And potentially much more evil undead. I mean, what's so evil about animating a corpse? How about if you keep use the power of the old soul in the animation, causing it to feel the slow rot and decay of the body, to know endless boredom and or horror at what it's body is being forced to do?

It makes campaigns to kill undead truely, truely GOOD. As opposed to simply anti-evil.

I'd even lower the spell level.

Now, keep the time where you want, of course, but there are a decent number of mythological references stating that the soul remains for 3 days.

And, personally, I think that a character "killed" by damage below 10 should be revivifyable with normal healing spells for up to 10 minutes. Which is how long the brain lasts without taking damage with no oxygen. May be a bit scientific, but it's also pretty mercifully accurate. And, at higher levels, you really need to have SOMEthing, because you can be taken below ten easily by high level opponents.

Of course, there are other rules for staying alive beyond -10. ^_^

On the whole though, I do really like this idea.

 

[ARandomGod]

For any longer than that, you've got to do hard work and retrieve the soul.

Retrieve the soul. Now, there's a lot of good fantasy literature about that as well. And I can really see that leading to some interesting roleplay, and a great excuse for planar travel in a campaign.

 

[LostSoul]

5,000 GP in DIAMOND DUST

Let me just point out that "Diamond Dust" is almost entirely meaningless in the context of the material component. It's the 5k gp that matters, because of supply and demand.

If lots of people are being raised, or have been raised throughout history, thus making diamonds (and diamond dust) rare, the value of diamonds (and diamond dust) in gp by weight will increase until you only need a speck of dust to qualify for the "5,000 gp" portion of the material components.

The same thing goes for other material components with gp values attached to them.

Interesting question: who determines what exactly is 5,000 gp of diamond dust? The market, a god, or the customer at the time of sale?

 

[Sigurd]

I Like Lifekeeping

For my uses I fleshed out the mechanics of what was going on.

Lifekeeping casts a confusion or glamour over a departing soul of the recently slain. If the caster is very familiar with the deceased -- the caster will delay the souls departure with memories and images from the souls life. As the soul differs from the caster esp by alignment and outlook the glamour becomes more difficult and less enticing to the deceased. This spell is similar to a magic jar except that the Caster himself becomes the vessel for the confounded soul.

The soul may experience a maze or an endless stretch of beach, always aware that at the center or exit stands the caster. This is a dangerous spell to maintain too long. Souls can lose their way to the after life and become haunts or ghosts, painfully aware of the role of the caster. Some spellcasters have found themselves possessed by souls that managed to find them too quickly.

A caster may lifekeep only as many souls as his wisdom bonus or level - whichever is less. While lifekeeping a character is encumberred by his task and receives penalties to concentration. He may not renew the spell slot until the soul is released though he must prepare the spell each day to retain it.

In exceptional cases the caster may retain the soul longer than 3 days. However in the second 3 days the caster has severly reduced movement and maintaining the spell consumes a second spell slot at the next level of ability. On the 7th day the spell consumes an additional third spell slot of even higher level and the caster may take no other game action except maintain the spell.. If the spellcaster has not attained the required spell slot he cannot maintain the spell.


Sigurd.

 

[Ferret]

Cool sigurd! I can't wait to see the changes!

 

[Sigurd]

As I reread Mercucio's spell, it seems that it confines the soul with, or within the body of the dead. This is an easier to manage option and I think my spell is very different for that reason. It's fairer to make a second spell.

asking Mercucio's pardon.

Confound Departing Soul
Necromancy
Level: Brd 3, Clr 2, Drd 3, Pal 4, Rgr 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, F, Deceased True Name*
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Corpse touched
Duration: Up to 3 days (see note)
Saving Throw: not for same alignment
Spell Resistance: No

This spell casts a confusion or glamour over a departing soul of the recently slain. If the caster is very familiar with the deceased -- the caster will delay the souls departure with memories and images from the souls life. As the soul differs from the caster esp by alignment and outlook the glamour becomes more difficult and less enticing to the deceased. This spell is similar to a magic jar except that the Caster himself becomes the vessel for the confounded soul.

The soul may experience a maze or an endless stretch of beach, always aware that at the center or exit stands the caster. This is a dangerous spell to maintain too long. Souls can lose their way to the after life and become haunts or ghosts, painfully aware of the role of the caster. Some spellcasters have found themselves possessed by souls that managed to find them too quickly.

A caster may confound only as many souls as his wisdom bonus or level - whichever is less. While lifekeeping a character is encumberred by his task and receives penalties to concentration. He may not renew the spell slot until the soul is released though he must prepare the spell each day to retain it. Further every soul confounded temporarily consumes 1 point of constitution from the caster.

Greater Soul Confound
As above except 2 levels higher

Level: Brd 5, Clr 4, Drd 5, Pal na, Rgr na, Sor/Wiz 6

This may be cast on the third day of a soul's imprisonment to strengthen the spell for a longer duration.


In exceptional cases the caster may retain the soul longer than 3 days but each 3 day period becomes progressively more difficult as the soul seeks to be free. On the 4th day, starting one hour before dawn, the caster moves as if extreamly encumbered and maintaining the spell consumes a second spell slot at the next level of ability. On the 7th day the spell consumes an additional third spell slot of even higher level and the caster may take no other game action except maintain the spell. If the spellcaster has not attained the required spell slot he cannot maintain the spell.

To maintain this spell from the 10th day onward the caster must be in constant contact with the corpse of the deceased.

 

[Quick Leaf]

Sigurd, I really dig the confound the soul spell and lifekeeping mythos!
I'm working on the same thing in my campaign. Here are my thoughts...

*Consider the afterlife mythology in your campaign...The best inspiration I've found is egyptian myth, wherein the soul takes a while to learn its way around, then is guided through a dangerous hell by divine helpers until reaching the halls of judgement where its heart is weighed against a feather.
Perhaps there is the chance of some demon coming back as or with the character...The idead of dying the "second death" (The one leading to oblivion) in egyptian myth suggests that maybe you can be revived only once.

*Who has the power to raise the dead? Do they abuse this power? Never? All the time? If the temples are the ones doing the raising, do they conduct the ritual in different way? For example, does the temple of phoenix-worshippers light the body on fire (thus requiring a mostly intact body to work with) and the character step out of the flames as his corpse is burned? Also consider who tries to manipulate the people who can raise the dead? Are there demons who seek to taint the process? Other clerics who thinks it's blasphemous, maybe assisted by their deity's proxy to stop the rituals?

*Assuming it's priests doing the raising, what is their relationship to the gods? Do they worship and venerate them? Or do they seek to learn their True Names to manipulate and even control them to their own ends? Or both? Is it the cleric's faith doing the raising (thereby requiring a personal connection to the deceased) or the god doing the raising (requiring the person died before finishing a mission important to the god)?

*How does society look upon the raised dead?...Are there signs brought back from the grave like a ghostly pallor to their skin or a strange sun tattooed on their arm that glows when around a certain temple? Do people know the difference between the undead and raised dead? Do powerful undead like mummy lords get some power over the raised character now?

*Does the character still retain his entire soul? What is half of his soul has been taken from him in the underworld journey? Here's a template idea...

Curse of the Half-Living
Half-Living creatures have -2 Constitution and Charisma. Healing magic is ineffective on them, and they cannot be resurrected in the traditional manner; only by killing the ghost/demon holding the other half of their spirit can they be raised, but even then they return as Half-Living. They are only half effected by energy drain and death magic, and completely immune to effects that trap the soul. Using his Hide skill, the character can pass himself off as dead/undead, and such beings will ignore him as if he was one of their own, provided he does not attack. Using his Bluff skill, the character can attempt to fool undead into believing he is dead; only a successful Sense Motive check reveals the truth. Undead thus fooled don’t waste their time attacking Half-Living characters, and shamble past.

Always remember, when a character does die, stealing from the corpse may offend the very god who may resurrect them some day!