The imprisonment, consumption & obliteration of souls and the campaign’s tone

[Nifft]

IMC:

1/ Your soul begins to exist when you take your first breath. Literally, when you "inspire yourself".

2/ The plane you are on when you take your first breath determines where you are considered "native", and the disposition of your soul. (Mortal or "celestial" / "fiendish" templated.) Half-fiends or half-celestials are morally free if born on a Prime. A half-fiend born in Celestia would be stillborn -- the air and blood would reject each other.

3/ Air is morally important. Pazuzu is thus one of the most powerful arch-fiends, since he is the king of bad air. IMC, he's the NE peer of Asmodeus and Demogorgon.

4/ When you die, some say your soul sinks into the Ethereal, but it is near the Prime as long as someone remembers your name. Thus, it is important to keep old songs of your hero-ancenstors alive. When no-one can remember your name, your soul sinks into the deep Ethereal, and who knows what after that.

5/ Others say that your soul is re-incarnated here on the Prime.

6/ Still other say that your soul joins the great river whicn runs from Celestia, through Arboria, tumbles into Faerie, then runs across the Abyss, Carceri's first layer, Hades, Gehenna, and finally ends in the Pit of Hell. Those who say this are not cheerful people.

7/ It is known that the Mint of Dis stamps infernal green coins with glowing runes and a palpable evil aura. These coins are backed by souls, and each is worth 10 platinum.

8/ It is unknown if soul-larvae are pre-born or post-death.

-- N

 

[Canaan]

I like to have fun with souls IMC. Much later in the story hour, one of the PCs is killed and his soul is trapped in stasis in his Holy Symbol. The Holy Symbol is destroyed and the soul is wrenched into the nearest recently slain/death's door corpse. Another PC is told her parent's souls have been trapped, unable to ascend to Canaan's Heaven.

In general, I have a soul trade. People can sell or bargain away their souls. Devils seek to corrupt them, etc.

 

[Shemeska]

I just dont like THAT whole bit. It bothers me. Memories are not an impediment, but an enricher. IMC souls do not merge with their deity, they just hang out with them for an eternity. It is a feature I do not like in 3.X, so I dont use those monsters that have those kinds of attacks.

*nod* I suppose it's just a personal style thing.

Merging with a deity/plane is ultimately a personal choice on behalf of the petitioner, one that the majority of them see as the fulfilment of their existance. Mortal memories would hinder this with feelings of loss, regrets over things undone, things left behind, and the petitioner would have an incredible motivation to get back to the prime material in order to visit still living family members, friends in need, to finish unfinished things, and even just to have the material things they might have left behind.

By severing their ties to their mortal life, they can progress beyond that point. Though keep in mind that many petitioners will be drawn in some cases to spouses, etc if they migrate to the same plane, though they mutually won't remember their lives, but they might remember their link to one another. It's a hazy process that can be tinkered with, depending on what you're going for.

 

[Nomad4life]

I’m big on the idea of “natural soul diffusion.” You can capture, trap, or even alter a soul... But fate will continue bending until that soul ends up where it’s supposed to be in the natural order of things... Perhaps in the form of wandering adventurers to set it free. Much like how water molecules naturally move from high to low areas of concentration.

As for the nature of souls themselves (where they go and what becomes of them when they get there) I never try to define what that is, chalking it up to “beyond the scope of mortal comprehension and perception” and leaving it at that. Oddly, I still use the planes, demons, devils, gods, and celestials in my campaigns. But I never imply that such realms are indeed the “final” resting place of those who have moved on.

Overall, I try not to think about such things too much. I figure the less I know myself, the more “quasi-realistically mysterious” such conventions will appear for the players.

 

[Endur]

I have a mixed interpretation.

Good Deities let the souls hang around for eternity. Heaven, Valhalla, etc.

Evil Gods and Demons eat the souls or otherwise consume them.

That is why in my campaign, good characters can be raised from the dead or resurrected (they return from Valhalla). Evil Characters, however, normally can't be raised or resurrected because their souls have already been consumed-- they can be brought back as undead, though, even if their souls have been consumed.

 

[DragonLancer]

So I ask, how do you DMs out there run this subject?

Do those souls of the slain always make it to where they belong?
Do those prayers that wish a safe journey to the afterlife really matter?
Is the mortal soul a tasty snack to unnatural monsters as it was in editions past?
Do evil soul sucking monsters burst into a torrent of now freed souls once defeated?
Is it easier for magical attacks to kill the soul rather than the body?

1. If nothing else happens, yes.
2. Not really.
3. Some, yes.
4. Nope. Those souls have been eaten and digested.
5. Nope. The soul is "usually" inviolate.

 

[Nightfall]

What no one likes my interpretation?

 

[Desdichado]

I have to admit that soul destruction makes me somewhat uncomfortable, and I'm not entirely sure why.

Well, specifically, the idea that innocent souls can be harvested and/or destroyed. It's a great plot device and tone/feel device, but it makes me squirm slightly in ways that even hints of physical torture, rape, etc. do not. I can't really explain it rationally, it just is.

 

[Nightfall]

Gnash your teeth Orcus and feed on their souls!!

 

[Mishihari Lord]

*nod* I suppose it's just a personal style thing.

Merging with a deity/plane is ultimately a personal choice on behalf of the petitioner, one that the majority of them see as the fulfilment of their existance. Mortal memories would hinder this with feelings of loss, regrets over things undone, things left behind, and the petitioner would have an incredible motivation to get back to the prime material in order to visit still living family members, friends in need, to finish unfinished things, and even just to have the material things they might have left behind.

By severing their ties to their mortal life, they can progress beyond that point. Though keep in mind that many petitioners will be drawn in some cases to spouses, etc if they migrate to the same plane, though they mutually won't remember their lives, but they might remember their link to one another. It's a hazy process that can be tinkered with, depending on what you're going for.

It seems like a weird mix of Buddhist and Christian beliefs. (Although I'm not Buddhist, so I may have this wrong) I don't care for it either. I would prefer one or the other over the mix, or something entirely different.