Resurrection Virus

[EricNoah]

I had a smidge of an idea and thought I'd share and get more suggestions...

What if there were a virus or disease spreading across the land, and it turned out that only people who had been resurrected sometime in their lives were getting it?

I was thinking the virus might be akin to a template. Maybe it turns you fiendish, or elemental.

Would this be a natural phenomenon, or something created by one of the gods? Who would do this, and why?

 

[reveal]

Off the top of my head, I would say that this could be a virus created by a necromancer. The reason?

Perhaps he, himself, was resurrected at one point and something went horribly wrong. Maybe he didn't wake up with "all his marbles." Maybe he's been permanently disfigured. Maybe he did not wish to be resurrected and felt that he was "forced" into it by whomever performed the ceremony.

Regardless, he feels that those that are now being resurrected should be "punished" for his misfortune.

The virus could drive the individuals slowly mad until they are just a shell of their former selves. They will die, but come back (not resurrected, just come back to life) as some sort of undead creature.

 

[Crothian]

Do you have a copy of Touched by the Gods? There is an orginization in there called the Order of the Ending. They feel that Resurected people are the most insidious form of Undead, as resurected people are immune to turning and not shunned by society. Very interesting concept.

So, the virus changes people? It doesn't kill them? That's an odd virus. Maybe there's something wrong in the outer planes causing this. So, all souls who pass back through to the Material Plane are carrying it.

 

[Neowolf]

Sounds like an interesting idea. As to who might start it, there are any number of possible culprits. Gods of death (or churches thereof), embittered adventurers who lost friends because they didn't have resurrection spells available, even the (somewhat cliche) "mad wizard" type person.

The template idea also sounds pretty interesting, but it would have to be chosen carefully to go along with the cause. I know if I were a player and the DM busted this out on my group, that's where I would look for clues first.

Just my two coppers.

 

[EricNoah]

Maybe there's something wrong in the outer planes causing this. So, all souls who pass back through to the Material Plane are carrying it.

Woo, there's an idea. I'm a Planescape man, I shoulda thought of that. I wonder if I could tie it to the Dead Gods over-story...

 

[Warchild]

Hmmm....aside from grave diggers and funeral homes who are pissed off about not getting paid??!!

Maybe this is the GOD of DEATH's (insert specifics here) way of punishing those who have escaped his domain. If i keep getting screwed out of powerful additions to my forces/power control, i might either invent the virus or have invented for me to punish the trangressors. Although in this situation, i might have the virus either kill, or better yet, cause massive depression so the carrier wants to kill himself and return to the afterlife!

Another possibility could be the Necromancer theory, with a twist. Its is a spell effect that is created by an Arc Necro to pervert anyone who had been ressurected to transform into obediant servants. All he has to do is identify those characters would had been ressurected.

If its a natural virus, there would had have to of been some natural event that happened that triggered the virus. Otherwise the virus would have happened the first time anyone was reesurected.
I think you have to create some specifics before it can really take off. Does this always happen to ressurectees (sp?!). If not then its either targeted or is something that is happening now because of an event that has just triggered it.
It would probably also make a difference how the the character was ressurected. Ressurection, True Ressurection, or Reincarnation. It could also have been from an artifact or direct divine influence (DDI).

DDI - I doubt it could happen as a result of a DDI because its using the power of a god. Unless of the GOD himslef wanted it to happen, or he got trumped by a stronger god.
Artifact - It could easily be byproduct of the artifact. Especially if the virus transform the character into a template. thats classic. It all depends on the origin of the artifact.
Ressurection - This could be a natural phenomenon because you need a body part to perform the spell. Perhaps its possible that the the virus is the result of a body part the constitutes the new body, but had just enough decay to create a virus. That seems kinda cool.
True Ressurection - This is not likely the result of natural virus and would require an outside source. Spell interfernce or the old divine gag!!
Reincarnation - This is pretty much as above, although since its source is druidic/nature based, i can't see the virus then being a natural occurence. I don't think nature would disagree with itself!


All right, that turned out WAY more long-winded than i had planned!!!

 

[ninjajester]

have you thought about what specific effects the virus would have? maybe a slow painful rotting, but the body doesn't actually die as a result, just slows down and various parts maybe start dropping off. or perhaps those infected with the virus stay totally healthy but become carriers of a horrible plague that clerics can't seem to cure and no one knows where it's coming from. maybe it isn't a virus but an ethereal/astral parasite that feeds off the character's essence, or subtly directs his actions. maybe those infected with the virus seem totally normal, but those who know about the virus (necromancers, death cults, etc) have found ancient texts allowing them to control the actions of those infected; they temporarily transform into mindless undead like drones...

just a few thoughts...

 

[RangerWickett]

Y'know, reading the thread title, my initial thought was that there was a virus spreading, and if anyone died while they had the virus, they were immediately ressurrected. This would lead to things like injured men trying to infect themselves with the virus before they die of their wounds.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Think I would look at it as a 'taint' or a 'marking' from the other side. This could be a plot element for a new god or a very old one coming into the world.

In one of my games I had a soul hunter that was eating the souls of the dead in the waste lands (transtive plane - land between the living and afterlife that the dead travelled). The players had to enter the waste lands and kill the creature.

Your virus could be the signs of this type of feeding, resulting as lessening of the soul, which could be seen and played as a type of madness.

 

[BMF]

Y'know, reading the thread title, my initial thought was that there was a virus spreading, and if anyone died while they had the virus, they were immediately ressurrected. This would lead to things like injured men trying to infect themselves with the virus before they die of their wounds.

That's what I thought too. I thought about situations where the dead kept getting up, returning to life and contributing to over population, famine, and endless wars where the slain soldiers keep coming back.