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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quick Leaf" data-source="post: 1602914" data-attributes="member: 20423">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-LivingHalf-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!</blockquote>

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