Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="mythusmage" data-source="post: 2716477" data-attributes="member: 571">What about the legalities?Fellow gets killed, his estate gets distributed, he's brought back from the dead. How do you handle getting all his stuff back?Any society that has any way of bringing the dead back will have regulations and ordinances for this. A waiting period for example. Depending on the highest level cleric available to perform the raising it could be as long as a year. If the deceased is of a stature (level) as to make raise dead or resurrection optimal then his estate would be held in trust until he was either raised, or the decision was made to not raise him. As an alternative the deceased may have a legal document laid out specifying what was to happen should he expire in an untimely fashion.Reincarnation would be another matter. In essence one is starting a whole new life when reincarnated. At least when dealing with traditional reincarnation. Expect spell actuated reincarnation to be treated much the same. As a result what ever the returnee had at the time of his death would no longer be his. Unless his friends and (former) family decided to gift him with it. (Though that holy sword would not be all that useful to the new pixie paladin.)And what about criminal law? Is a man raised from the dead the victim of murder, or of assault with the intent to commit murder? How permanent does the death have to be? Would the type of raising make a difference? Since Ressurection requires but part of a body would the (formerly) demised be treated as a murder victim while someone brought back by a Raise Dead would not.Or would there be a time limit? Would the deceased have to stay dead for a minimum amount of time before his death could be considered a homicide?And what about deliberately delaying a raising? Would delaying a raise until it was no longer possible be accounted homicide, even if the deceased died of another cause? For example, a party of inheritors presenting legal challenges to the qualifications of the one chosen to perform the raising. While physically delaying the raise would be a rather clear cut case, legal maneuvering may not.Then you have the legal standing of those who perform raises, ressurections, and reincarnations. How do they legally qualify? What are the criteria? What legal protections do they have should things go wrong? Should things go right? Must they belong to an official organization that policies its members to insure quality?Can criminals be raised? The executed? What is the law regarding sects and cults that forbid raising for any member?Getting back to reincarnation, what is the returnee's legal status? Beyond possessions how is the returnee to be treated. is he accorded his apparent age, or does his new life begin with his new embodiment? If the area has special laws for those of a race other than the ruling does he have to follow those laws? If there are different laws for different races does he have to follow the laws of his old race, or his new race? Can a gnome turned goblin be a druid if goblins are forbidden by law to become druids?Then you have those worlds where a returnee may come back as an animal. What is the legal status of animals in that world? Is a distinction made between animals and awakened animals? Is the existence of awakened animals even acknowledged by the law? If it is, do awakened animals have restrictions placed upon them not placed on others?There's a lot more to be said here, but this should suffice for a start. As always I'm hoping for The Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth</blockquote>

Verification