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Well, I overdid the improvisation last night and need the help of a Pathfinder RPG expert.
PCs meetup with a sorceress that is supposed to be L9ish. In conversation the party asks, "Why does the inquisition want you to work for them." The GM (me) responds, "I have many skils, but they want me because I can raise the dead."
OMG
Help!!!!
Can anyone provide a stat-block or character/class or magic item combo that I can use for next weeks game? I need expert help to avoid simply making her a Sorcerer9/Cleric9. Is there any way possible for her to have power to raise the dead?
High UMD. Scrolls of Raise Dead. Done?
I can be more serious if a better idea crosses my mind.
Edit: Of course, you can make casting from a scroll sound more suitably fantastic and showy.
She was speaking metaphorically.
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She meant "Animate Dead" and "Create Undead."
Edit: So the inquisition wants her as in 'she is wanted'
Have you specified if she is a particular race? Samsaran can pick it up from the witch spell list, with the Mystic Past Life alternate racial. Even if you have said she's something specific, you can just use it as if she was one, possibly modifying something else if you really want to.
She's a Samsaran.
Damn ninjas.
You may also be able to work it in if the NPC is a Samsaran. I think witch gets raise dead and you could select that spell as one of the arcane mystic past life. Breath of Life or a cursed kind of Animate Dead that give the appearance of life without adding the soul could work too.
But as the folks above said. Make a special spell like ability and give it to the character. There is nothing that says NPC's and Monsters cannot have odd powers that normal PC's rarely or never qualify for. Many monsters and NPC's in adventure paths published by Paizo have these effects.
Give her the Undead bloodline and simply explain that she can Animate the dead, not actually raise them. But it's a primitive society that can't tell the difference?
Or if you really want her to be able to raise the dead, make up a "Life" bloodline that has counterspells to the Undead bloodline. The issue is just that Raise Dead is a wee bit powerful for a 9th-level character; only clerics are supposed to get it.
I'd just enjoy messing with their minds with the whole Animate Dead thing. "Our friend is dead. Can you raise him?"
"Of course. Here you go!"
"HEY!!!!!"
EDIT: Man this thread is swarming with ninjas! Where's a pirate when you need one?
Well several good possibilities have been stated already but if you just feel the need to be able to defend it by RAW refer to this thread and keep in mind that everything stated would apply to a spell like raise dead as well.
Just decide if you should make it, and thus her, a little higher level, modify the spell in some way, or leave the sorcerer version the same as the cleric equivalent.
Are you adverse to a left turn?
Then how about a sorcerer using various illusions as a scam tool?
If you want to give the sorcerer some more credibility, you may be looking for is the Razmiran Priest Sorcerer Archetype from Inner Sea Magic. Coupled with False Casting and False Focus from that book, you could create a very convincing divine charade. Could even roll into the Razmiran Priest Prestige class, too, depending on how you want to roll with it.
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I'd make it a plot device within the plot device she already sems to be. As far as she's comcerned, she can do as she said. How? Why? She has no clue. She simpky can. The ability awakened with her sorcerous skills.
The truth: there's something about her background that gives her the ability. Perhaps its a curse (she can do it but it will ultimately be a bad thing and that's theInquisition's TRUE interest). Or its a blessing. Or maybe some artifact was woven into her bones and flesh even before her birth and such a thing will ultimately lure out the bad guys the Inquisistion is after and that's the inspiration for their true interest.
She's a sorceress with the Arcane bloodline.
As the 9th level ability you can choose one other spell from another arcane class (iirc). Choose Raise Dead from Witch list.
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Never played one myself but couldn't you do it with a 12th level (Sorceress3/Cleric3/MysticTheurge6) instead of the 18th (Sorcerer9/Cleric9). Also, like some of the others have alluded too: Animate Dead, Gentle Repose, Cover with illusion. I believe there was a quest about this done in the old classic "Egg Of The Phoenix" adventure with illusion covered undead called Slinks.
This.She's a sorceress with the Arcane bloodline.
As the 9th level ability you can choose one other spell from another arcane class (iirc). Choose Raise Dead from Witch list.
That's a no go.
New Arcana (Ex): At 9th level, you can add any one spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list to your list of spells known. This spell must be of a level that you are capable of casting. You can also add one additional spell at 13th level and 17th level.
"Raise the Dead" is not the same thing as raise dead.
The sorceress uses an incantation, not a run of the mill spell. Problem solved.
An 11th level Razmiran Priest Sorcerer can activate a scroll of Raise Dead without consuming it as many times as they have 6th level spell slots.
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Well, I overdid the improvisation last night and need the help of a Pathfinder RPG expert.
PCs meetup with a sorceress that is supposed to be L9ish. In conversation the party asks, "Why does the inquisition want you to work for them." The GM (me) responds, "I have many skils, but they want me because I can raise the dead."
OMG
Help!!!!
Can anyone provide a stat-block or character/class or magic item combo that I can use for next weeks game? I need expert help to avoid simply making her a Sorcerer9/Cleric9. Is there any way possible for her to have power to raise the dead?
Does she know Levitate?
A simple misunderstanding...
Well, it's not strictly speaking Pathfinder, but you could give her the 3.5 feat Arcane Disciple attuned to the Resurrection subdomain.
Alternatively, it completely breaks WBL, but she could have a Staff of Life and a maxed out UMD score. Make the staff usable only by followers of Pharasma or something (barring use of UMD).
Well, I overdid the improvisation last night and need the help of a Pathfinder RPG expert.
PCs meetup with a sorceress that is supposed to be L9ish. In conversation the party asks, "Why does the inquisition want you to work for them." The GM (me) responds, "I have many skils, but they want me because I can raise the dead."
OMG
Help!!!!
Can anyone provide a stat-block or character/class or magic item combo that I can use for next weeks game? I need expert help to avoid simply making her a Sorcerer9/Cleric9. Is there any way possible for her to have power to raise the dead?
"Raise dead" could be interpreted as "create undead". They're still coming back from the the dead, just as mindless meat shields. It's only a level 4 spell for arcane users, which level 9 sorcerers can take that spell no problem. Lawyered.
Or you could have fun and give her a homebrew but perfectly legal "Staff of Lesser Life", an arcane item that has the 7th level sorcerer spell Temporary Resurrection in it.
I can raise the dead. For a while, anyway...
Bump her to 12th level and have a pact with outsider that is capable of casting raise dead or reincarnation.
Or she might be just using limited wish (from scrolls unless you would want her to be of 14th+ level) to raise or reincarnate.
Bump her to 14th and use Limited Wish.
Maybe she was lying?
She meant "Animate Dead" and "Create Undead."
Edit: So the inquisition wants her as in 'she is wanted'
That was my first assumption as to the nature of spell she referred to. And the inquisition is grim enough to be down with it.
I'd just make her an oracle who calls herself a sorcerer, plenty of mysterys grant spells from the wizard list. It's not like she's seen her character sheet after all.
People thought she was a sorceror but actually she was a super genius magister (you can find them on pfsrd or get the pdf in the store). Class can have a sorc bloodline, casts spontaneously and can pick spells from multiple spell lists. Make her level 10 instead of 9, take cleric as your primary list and sorc/wiz as your secondary list and problem solved.
"Honey, it's not about what I can do, it's about what I'll let YOU do to ME. ;)"
i don't know how much of this plot you have planned out, or how you want her to relate to the PCs and/or the inquisition.... but, you could just give her a cauldron of resurrection, from the APG. you could make it part of a larger structure (so nobody can move it away for later use/abuse) that only she knows the location of. if she's supposed to be sort of a villain you could make it a cursed version that kills someone or causes some kind of widespread curse/disease when used... maybe it'll be up to the PCs to figure out whether she's using it unknowingly (making death by inquisition a bit harsh and possibly pitting them against the inquisition to save her) or on purpose (making her truly evil and allying the PCs with the inquisition in a quest to stop her).
sincerely, a rules genius (lol)
make her an elven (or human with the heritage feat) ancient lorekeeper oracle, so she will have a few sorcerer spells but primarily cleric.
Needs to be 13 level but you have her be an arcane savant.
Give her an artifact that lets her use a 5th level spell slot to cast the proper spell. The artifact can only be used by one person. After that person dies, it needs to wait thousands of years till if can find a new possessor, and even then at its discretion.
I agree with the UMD/Scroll combo.
Isn't there an item that allows a Sorcerer/Sorceress to use a scroll as a spell known and cast the spell using their spell slots?
An Intelligent Artifact or such would work as well.
Does she know Levitate?A simple misunderstanding...
This made me laugh harder than it should have. Well done sir.
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sincerely, a rules genius (lol)
Well done, sir.
I think we have a winner:
Cauldron of Resurrection
Aura strong conjuration (healing); CL 13th
Slot none; Price 33,000 gp; Weight 35 lbs.
Description
The mouth of this heavy, dark iron cauldron is shaped like a monstrous maw and is large enough to accommodate a single Medium creature. When the cauldron is filled with pure water and certain rare and sacred herbs, and a deceased creature is placed inside it, the cauldron can restore the creature to life as if from a raise dead or resurrection spell. The spell effect depends on the components used: raise dead costs 5,000 gp worth of materials, while resurrection costs 10,000 gp worth of materials. The cauldron can function once per day.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, resurrection; Cost 16,500 gp
FOR THOSE WHO ASKED ABOUT THE STORY CONTEXT:
The scene took place as the PCs were traveling with a female pirate priest of the sea god who was returning a stolen Cornamuse to a "buyer" in the port city. The "buyer" turned out to be a female sorcerer and dear romantic interest (not reciprocated ) of the party wizard, from a time when he was younger). The party was disappointed when Grey Maiden equivalents had already arrived and took the Cornamuse immediately away in service of the queen. The Cornamuse is one of several instruments said to open the vault of the evil king's grandfather who stowed plundered treasures there from his war against the Elves to the west. Anyhow, the player PC is currently cursed/hexed by something called the Eye of Relka, a jem he found in the corpse of a dead priest a few levels ago, and cannot rid himself of it. The jem has currently sapped away all his casting ability after a slow digression.
The scene takes place in her "candleworks" above what appeared to be a secretive "prison facility" wherein slaves were chainganged and taken inside by brutish slavers (slavery is legal in my homebrew nation).
With all of this as a backdrop, you might understand why this was a role-play rich situation. Whereupon meeting the sorceress, she revealed she is currently working for the Inquisition (a job the PCs didn't expect, since the adoring PC thought she was just a nice sorceress and part of his organization). Alas, she answered, "They value me because I can raise the dead."
In the back of my mind, I figured the Inquisition is using her to somehow raise the dead. Now with the introduction of the CAULDRON, I can imagine that cauldron downstairs in the stonework first floor. Perhaps the slaves work there, and as slaves are overworked, they can be raised, or perhaps some of the "breaking in of slaves" goes wrong, and they raise them. Another option would be interrogations by the Inquisition are so seveare that sometimes they kill their captive by accident, thus require someone to raise the dead. I have set the local church slightly opposed to the Inquiris, my version of the Inquisitors, because they tend to take over the business of the LN church who is otherwise dedicated to its deity and it's believe as stewards of civilization, thus they butt heads. With this in mind, perhaps the Inquisition DOES NOT wish to make use of clerics, for fear they will reveal the workings of the Inquisitors, thus use a hired mage to run the cauldron and do the dirty work of cleaning up their messes, by raising the dead.
Plus, all the messy class options left me wondering what her UMD score would need to be... so this cauldron thingy seems far more compelling. I had seen it once in one of the books - maybe the Ultimate Equipment I think.
In any case.... there it is... a sloppy backdrop from which spontaneous adventure springs each week. Welcome to the Brain of Pax. Heh, you asked.
Regards, and thank you,
Pax