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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 4260119" data-attributes="member: 32740">The existence of resurrection magic in the game is ENTIRELY meta-game.  It exists so that players can continue to play characters they like rather than have to roll up new ones anytime their dice get cold.  Think of it only from that perspective.  Is it a good thing or a bad thing for players to be able to get their preferred characters raised so they can continue to play them?If you think it's bad then by all means quit monkeying around with it and just disallow it entirely.  If you want to let players raise dead PC's at all, then... what's your problem?No they shouldn't - because it's much more of an either/or choice.  Either you want to let players resurrect their dead characters or you DON'T.  Pick one.  If it's the former you have no reason to then make it a complicated process, difficult to obtain, rare to succeed, and too costly or irritating to make it worth while.  Certainly no more than it is as written.  Either allow it or don't.Any limitations that are necessary are only necessary on YOUR side, that is the DM's side in how it applies to NPC's.  By the simple roleplaying expedient of having the dead unwilling to leave paradise, or a preferred afterlife to return to mortality you have all the control you need there.  And if players are that cavalier and careless about their characters deaths that the existing penalty of LOSING A LEVEL isn't meaningful then details of Raise Dead are NOT your problem.It's far more likely a roleplaying problem.  The players don't have their characters react appropriately about death of their own or other characters because YOU don't have your NPC's react appropriately to the PC behavior or perhaps react just as inconsistently as the PC's.Have NPC's react with sadness and solemnity to PC deaths.  Sure the SPELL just has a gp cost but if YOU just let the reactions to PC's throwing a dead compatriot at the feet of the high priest begin and end with, "Pay me," then YOU are every bit as much of the problem as the players.  If PC's act uncaring and unconcerned about death then NPC's should react with shock and horror (especially if as I recommended you make it exceptionally rare that anyone OTHER than a PC elects to return willingly to life from the afterlife) - and that means their reactions mgiht extend to refusing to cast the spell for those who disrespect death in such a way.And just because the spell has a casting time of 1 minute doesn't mean that the clerics casting the spell won't insist on additional APPROPRIATE rituals and services.All that adding those restrictions will do is add irritation and frustration because it isn't the mechanics of Raise Dead itself that CAUSE the problem of players not having their characters fear death.After all, what happens if you go the full monty and just BAN resurrection magic altogether?  Players aren't going to come to you and say, "Thanks Mr. DM.  I really appreciate the importance of being ABJECTLY PARANOID about the possible death of my character.  If he dies from my own stupid mistakes or from a lucky crit I'll be forbidden to play him any further - and that's just what we all need and want."  If you just make it more difficult to obtain and make use of, your players likewise aren't going to come to you and say, "You're exactly right about this.  I ALLOW my characters to die too often.  I play like an idiot and I needed you to threaten me with not being able to play my character again AT ALL to get me to be sensible.  Now I'll only let him die three times a year instead of four since that's all the more often that resurrection will be available.  What was I thinking?  I should have had a more restrictive schedule for how often I LET my character die rather than having to force you to resort to writing it into the spell."I appreciate what it is you want to acheive.  I've been there, and plenty of other DM's are there too.  But I cannot see how the approach of adding restrictions, drawbacks, and complications well beyond what is already written into the spell would EVER produce the results you want.  If you want less frequent character deaths intimidating the players by fear of not obtaining or being able to use resurrections is NOT the way to get it.  If you want more appropriate roleplaying reaction towards death and resurrection then it is NOT a problem of insufficient rules crunch but a problem of roleplaying (and should be approached as a roleplaying problem, not a rules problem).Besides, I don't think there's any way that you can convince me that LOSS OF A LEVEL is just insufficient penalty to inspire the necessary fear of character death on the part of the PLAYER.</blockquote>

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