D&D General Souls and Spirits - are they necessary in order to exist?

[Lanefan]

Was there any chance of the fighter ever getting his own soul back?

I don't think so. I forget exactly what became of the soul after he lost it, but I think it was destroyed.

And when he had no soul, what would have happened if he’d gotten possessed? Would you have played it the same as if he had a soul?

Fortunately, perhaps, as things turned out I never had to worry about that one.

Had it arisen, there's two ways I might have gone, depending on the specific situation:

--- If the saving throw vs possession was reflecting the original soul's attempt to resist an intruder (a la Magic Jar spell) then this guy wouldn't have even got a save; possession would have been automatic as there's no resistance.
--- But, if the save was reflective of the possessor trying to inhabit the soul already there (a la some demonic possession abilities) then that save would automatically succeed as there's nothing there to inhabit; probably resulting in one very confused demon.

 

[Lanefan]

I think there's a really cool encounter with a shadow demon in Lost Temple of Tharizdun that relies on magic jar, so I'd keep it around for that reason alone.

Huh. I've run that adventure more than any other and I don't recall this being in there.

 

[the Jester]

Huh. I've run that adventure more than any other and I don't recall this being in there.

It is possible I am misremembering which adventure it is in, but I am almost positive it is in the lower levels of WG4, beneath the mountain giant's area of control.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Would you allow a PC to lose its soul or spirit like this and yet still remain alive and playable?

If no, why?

If yes, what would you have as the ramifications of having no soul?

Yes, absolutely. This is a super interesting character story.

For them, Last Breath is going to be especially exciting, because they have no soul for Death to collect. Does that mean Death cannot see them? Does it mean Death has some special plan for them? Perhaps they cannot "die" in the usual sense, but if so, they'll be hounded by those who want the secret of immortality.

And beyond that: Where has their soul gone? Did it simply go to the city beyond the Black Gate to await its exit from existence? Or is this like the Nameless One's mortality, where it lived on separated from him, a powerful and dangerous force? What if their soul doesn't want to come back? Can you do such a "grab a soul-blank and replace it" maneuver? These are all fascinating questions I would love to jointly discover the answers to.

As for the cosmological and theological consequences, it's quite likely that such a person would be either fascinating to or repulsive to most people who care about this sort of thing: Waziri who study the soul, Safiqi priests, Kahina, the more esoteric Raven-Shadows, etc. Necromancy is usually forbidden specifically because it tampers with the immortal soul (which the Safiqi believe is a gift from the One), but if there's a person that already lacks a soul, that could enable the more liberal priests to study necromantic magic in ways normally forbidden to them. Most likely, if news got out about this character's condition, a significant effort would form to find a way to cure them, restoring their rightful soul to their body so they can properly go to Jannah, "true heaven." Whether the character would welcome such attention is of course a completely separate issue!

 

[Tonguez]

It is possible I am misremembering which adventure it is in, but I am almost positive it is in the lower levels of WG4, beneath the mountain giant's area of control.

Yup go down the hidden deep hole via ladder to the undertemple encounter shadow demon and Altar

 

[Lanefan]

Yes, absolutely. This is a super interesting character story.

For them, Last Breath is going to be especially exciting, because they have no soul for Death to collect. Does that mean Death cannot see them? Does it mean Death has some special plan for them? Perhaps they cannot "die" in the usual sense, but if so, they'll be hounded by those who want the secret of immortality.

And beyond that: Where has their soul gone? Did it simply go to the city beyond the Black Gate to await its exit from existence? Or is this like the Nameless One's mortality, where it lived on separated from him, a powerful and dangerous force? What if their soul doesn't want to come back? Can you do such a "grab a soul-blank and replace it" maneuver? These are all fascinating questions I would love to jointly discover the answers to.

As for the cosmological and theological consequences, it's quite likely that such a person would be either fascinating to or repulsive to most people who care about this sort of thing: Waziri who study the soul, Safiqi priests, Kahina, the more esoteric Raven-Shadows, etc. Necromancy is usually forbidden specifically because it tampers with the immortal soul (which the Safiqi believe is a gift from the One), but if there's a person that already lacks a soul, that could enable the more liberal priests to study necromantic magic in ways normally forbidden to them. Most likely, if news got out about this character's condition, a significant effort would form to find a way to cure them, restoring their rightful soul to their body so they can properly go to Jannah, "true heaven." Whether the character would welcome such attention is of course a completely separate issue!

Well, it didn't get that involved (many of the specific concepts and groups you speak of here don't exist in my game) but yes, this whole affair did lead to a lot of winging it on my part as DM.

And once his condition became known, it also gave me a perfect excuse to run Ghost Tower of Inverness, which I'd never previously touched as either DM or player.