Role Playing Quandry for my Cleric

[Utrecht]

Been a while since I last posted - so I apologize if this is in the wrong forum (none of the others seemed appropriate) and feel free to move it.

I have a cleric in weekly campaign who worships a God whose aspects include woods and animals. (The theology is based off of a pantheon where all the gods are worhsiped - you just favor one of the others - so I would pray to the warrior to get martial spells, the mother to get healing spells etc.). Domains are Halfling (custom) and Good.

The challenge comes in that three party members (of 7) - who this character has been adventuring with for about 9 months and who he considers friends - have been turned into undead. Each are free willed and by all appearances considering staying undead. (we are currently on a quest to get two changed back - but when push comes to shove - they are coming to terms with their undeath and are kind of liking it)

2 are zombie-like (basically have the "undead" template added to them and have no additional bonuses)

1 is a Shadow

Thus my character is having a challenge figuring out how to handle this. Up until the point, I have been playing the character as a pretty one dimensional charcted (healing battery, right wrongs, etc) I see several potential ways of handling it that have interesting role playing elements to it:

1) The undead are abberitions and should be purged/killed
2) They are my friends, are not acting evil (they do detect as evil - at least the shadow) and killing my friends after they made a voluntary choice seems bad.
3) ignore the whole situation (I have pretty much ruled this out)

To make this even more fun - another party member is a paladin - who is also having her knickers in a bunch over this.

So, I open it up to the collective wisdom of the board any ideas?

 

[Jdvn1]

There are positive-energy undead too. Good-aligned. Undead doesn't necessarily mean bad or evil. That rules out 2). It might mean unnatural, which is the potential problem, I think. Which leaves 1). But, then again, they are your friends and you probably care for your friends. And you are purging them -- two of them, at least -- since you're getting two of them changed back.

I'd be bothered by it, but I'd also put up with it.

 

[Crothian]

You can always take the stance of letting someone higher up make the choice. Go to your church and ask a priest of higher rank for guidence or better yet cast Augury or Divination for guidance.

Personally, unless I had a great reason I wouldn't want to adventure with undead, especially an evil undead. So, unless you have good and clear reasons to see them as not being abominations of your friends, I'd dust them.

 

[Darkness]

There are positive-energy undead too.

Not usually.

At best, there deathless (creature type) - but an undead can't just become one. Just like a humanoid can't just become a giant.

 

[John Morrow]

The challenge comes in that three party members (of 7) - who this character has been adventuring with for about 9 months and who he considers friends - have been turned into undead. Each are free willed and by all appearances considering staying undead. (we are currently on a quest to get two changed back - but when push comes to shove - they are coming to terms with their undeath and are kind of liking it)

Do they "turn" if you try to turn them? Do they take damage if you try to heal them? If so, that could be your deity trying to send you a message

2) They are my friends, are not acting evil (they do detect as evil - at least the shadow) and killing my friends after they made a voluntary choice seems bad.

I think you need to have a talk with your GM about the nature of undead in their game. Is being undead simply a template you can slap on a PC and then continue on pretty much with life as usual or is undeath the corrupting influence it is in many sources?

Personally, I think that not having things like undeath or lycanthropy be a corrupting and life-changing condition is a problem. Traditionally, undeath has been something that destroys the free will of the victim, be it the blood lust of a vampire, the brain lust of a zombie, or the flesh lust of a ghoul. It's not something they can ignore. It consumes them. It defines them. They become undead, body and mind.

The movie Return of the Living Dead has a great illustration of how this happens for zombies. (SPOILER ALERT) One of the characters gets splattered by a chemical that kills him and turns him into a zombie. It takes a while for him to realize that he's actually dead, since he's still animated, can think, and can talk. When the paramedics tell him that his body temperature is 70 degrees, he asks them, "What's that?" They reply, "Room temperature." In any event, his girlfriend is there but hides from him when he starts to get violent. To lure her out, he starts with, "I miss you. I love you. I want to hold you." Just as she's about to fall for it and come out of hiding, frustration gets the better of him and he switches to, "I want to eat your brains!" He can't choose not to. It's what he is and the human who loved that girl is lost.(END SPOILER)

So I'd have a discussion with your GM about what it means in his universe to be undead. Is it just a template that changes some attributes or does it alter the mindset of the being. If it just changes some attributes, then ask the GM why more people just don't walk around being good undead creatures. Personally, I think it's absurd but if that's what your GM wants, you might want to figure out if it would benefit your character to get on the bandwagon and become undead, too.

 

[Quickleaf]

The way I'd play it is this: Ultimately, undeath is a terrible curse that will twist the mind of your former party members to evil and darkness. However, there are cases of good vampires fighting their evil ways, though it is a constant struggle. When one becomes undead, they don't turn evil right away, but rather a residual self remains behind. The death urge within the accursed will eventually overpower them.

It's alot like working with a guide you know is going to betray you at some point. You need their help, yet always have your eye on them, and have several backup plans ready for the moment when they turn on you.

As for RPing, you can really play up the mental anguish the suffering of your allies has on your PC. Stay up late at night praying for swift deliverance of their souls from torment. And have a burning hatred for the undead who inflited them this way (if still alive). Also, your characters view towards the undead in general might dramatically change, perhaps becoming reluctant to use the turning ability after seeing the anguish it causes your former allies.

 

[Jdvn1]

Not usually.

At best, there deathless (creature type) - but an undead can't just become one. Just like a humanoid can't just become a giant.

Isn't it in MM3 or Libris Mortis or something? I remember some positive-energy undead. They were created that way, though.

 

[Stalker0]

I think your first choose has to be:

1) Are these still my friends, or abominations that look like my friends. It one of the classic hero problems....having to realize that even though the person trying to kill him looks and acts likes his wife, she's not his wife.

So you need to decide your stance on that issue, then you can tackle those other questions.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I think a large part of the issue depends on how the now-undead PCs are roleplaying their change, and how the DM defines undead.

The DM may have determined that in his game world, being undead is not in and of itself evil. If that's the case, you might dislike the unnaturalness of your companions, but I'd hope that loyalty and friendship would win out over your distaste.

If the DM is using the standard view of undead, then: being a zombie or a shadow is evil. These are evil types of undead.

If your fellow PCs are fighting against their tainted natures, then you may see it as your duty as a friend and priest to help them maintain control over their new realities. To provide them with moral support as they struggle with the evil that has overtaken them.

If, on the other hand, the PCs decide they like the new powers and are embracing the evil, then you find yourself in a different position entirely. Your former friends have been corrupted. Their souls have been destroyed, and now there are three undead creatures walking the earth with your beloved, deceased friends' faces.

 

[Ed Cha]

Sorry to say this, but I think creating this kind of situation is a bad decision as a DM. The PCs' goals are disparate and this doesn't create a teamwork environment. Being different races is one thing, but mixing the living and the undead is something I would not advise. There are too many complications likely in your game, too. It might be fun for you, but obviously at least one of your players is not happy with the situation.

You could try to find an in-game solution such as allowing the cleric PC to find a cure for the ailment that is afflicting the other PCs.