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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Al" data-source="post: 979918" data-attributes="member: 2486">Church Tithes = 10%.  Nuff said.  We could discuss the nature of the tension between the church and secular authorities at this juncture, but I'd rather talk about the cost of raise dead.  Incidentally, one of the reasons secular taxation tended to be was because of serfdom- the time was 'taxed', in effect, by the lord demanding a certain number of days worked, which equates to a tax on income (since you lose a number of days which could otherwise have been spent in your fields).  Anyway, back on topic... Big deal.  Long journeys past 9th level...should we ban teleport?  Long 'quests' can be made easier through the use of Otiluke's Resilient Sphere and other protective magic.  If he dies and you raise him- so what? Now you must be joking.  A high-level fighter can take out a wizard in one full round's worth of attacks.  High-level invisible rogues can annihilate characters in double-quick times.  A single crit from the barbarian's greataxe could mean curtains.  By the time instakill spells are taken into account (let alone mega-damage blast spells) mortality rates are huge.  Mechanically, characters *seem* more durable than in other types of setting, but D&D is far more combat-orientated.  I'm going on a limb here, but I'd argue that in my experience of GURPS, there is actually a lower mortality rate.  Part of this is due to mindset and setting, but I think that an *average* D&D campaign probably has a higher mortality rate than an *average* GURPS campaign, for example. One problem.  The storyteller, myth-writer and legend-maker have total control over what happens in their stories.  DMs cannot account for bad rolling or PC imcompetence unless they heavily rig the rolls.  Death is only cinematic if it happens at cinematic occasions.  Dying because Orc 85 got a lucky crit and rolled max damage is not heroic, legendary or mythical. Nonsense.  Watch Buffy <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> .  Seriously, it all depends on campaign parameters.  There is nothing 'unheroic' about being raised.  On versimilitude, why should it disrupt the game?  High magic can incorporate it perfectly well.  Versimilitude can only be disrupted if you allow it to be disrupted.  Obviously, parameter conflict should be avoided, but if 'easy raising' is a campaign parameter, how does this damage credibility?  As for expectations, this, again, is a campaign parameter- just mull over attitudes to easy raising.  As for plot devices, work around it.  If the prince is assassinated, have the assassin take the body, or use a barghest, or Trap the Soul, or something.  Work with the system, not against it. Again, no.  This is because you're applying a real-world paradigm to a fantasy setting, so there will obviously be conflicts.  Adapt the situation for a magical setting.  Elder_Basilisk expertly outlines the shifting assumptions in an increasingly magical scenario.  Just work with it- use counter-divinations such as Undetectable Alignment and Nondetection.  Use Dimensional Locks to thwart Teleport.  Use Trap the Soul, barghests or whatever to thwart resurrection magic.  Hide the body to prevent Speak with Dead.  To really confuse the players, have a dead servant polymorphed into a prince, then kidnap the real one.  Then all the fancy Communes asking 'Did X kill the prince?' will go up the creek.  Remember, work with the system, not against it. Fine.  That's your prerogative.  My problem was the core rules changing.  Sure, I can just reject the change, but that's not really the point.Ultimately, raise dead only affects versimilitude if you allow it to.  Adapt the campaign setting to fit high magic.  A nation IMC uses prolific necromancy to bolster its workforce with zombies- and sells them on the open market.  One nation bans raising since it feels like necromancy, but permits reincarnation, since this creates a 'new person'- but with none of the old person's property or legal rights.  Work with the system, not against it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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