Named NPC Clerics in Varisia who can cast Resurrection

[Selk]

Hey there. Just a quick question for people who have a more complete Golarion library than me: what named NPC Clerics in Varisia are 13+ level (can cast Resurrection)?

Since it's a new setting for my group, I'm trying to play it as close to canon (keeping in mind NPC class spread by population in the 3.5 DMG). A PC has died in the effort to retake Fort Rannick and her compatriots are keen on finding the most accomplished (known) holy type in Varisia to bring her back.

Thanks!

[KaeYoss]

I can't think of anyone who could do it, at least not among the ranks of characters who'd help you.

In fact, I think James Jacobs said something along the lines of "there's no easy resurrecting in Runelords".

[Selk]

That's what I feared. Ah well, I guess they'll learn to live with good old fashioned Raise Dead. Or Reincarnate. Does anyone even use Reincarnate these days? I can't recall the last game where someone seriously considered it.

[KaeYoss]

If you play Pathfinder RPG, remember that Raise Dead works differently (i.e. less punishing) from 3.5e

[Selgard]

I've not seen many folk use reincarnate. Except in really pressing circumstances, they typically see it as worth the wait to res as what they were, than to roll the dice and end up as an orc. Or whtaever.

-S

[JoelF847]

I see reincarnate get used at about character level 4-5. The PCs typcally can afford the 1000 gp component costs, but not the 5000 gp cost for a raise dead. Plus, it's often easier to find a level 6 druid than a level 9 cleric.

[Susan Draconis]

I generally see reincarnate get used all the time, even when raise dead is affordable and available. It's just funnier when the big male dwarven fighter gets reincarnated as a hot elf chick.

I'm just annoyed that gnoll is on the humanoid list. I play a gnoll and next time I die there's a good chance I'll come back as a monkey human! Noooooooooo!

[Montalve]

even then
if not 100% cannon, you can surely get resurrection in Magnimar... they will just need to rpeserve the body with... i did forget that cleric spell (i am the cleric :P)

but by name? no idea

[Selk]

I dunno. By population guidelines, Magnimar's capped out at 11th level NPC Clerics. Not enough to do a true resurrection. Their money's on the Head Mother of the Church of Pharasma in Magnimar or a 'Shining Beard of Torag' in Janderhoff.

I overlooked the Beta info on Raise Dead, though. It's much kinder, but it still takes two restorations (and two weeks) to get her back up to speed. The timing's awesome: right after Fort Rannik is retaken but before the flood. Wooo!

[Montalve]

Selk wrote:

I dunno. By population guidelines, Magnimar's capped out at 11th level NPC Clerics. Not enough to do a true resurrection. Their money's on the Head Mother of the Church of Pharasma in Magnimar or a 'Shining Beard of Torag' in Janderhoff.

I overlooked the Beta info on Raise Dead, though. It's much kinder, but it still takes two restorations (and two weeks) to get her back up to speed. The timing's awesome: right after Fort Rannik is retaken but before the flood. Wooo!

jeje well i would say a little downtime is better than be dead :P

[Vic Wertz]

[Moved to Pathfinder General forum]

[Lord Gadigan]

The known temple-leading or high-level clerics / divine casters in Varisia are-

Bishop Keppira d'Bear, the high priestess of Pharasma in Korvosa.

Archbanker Darb Tuttle, the high priest of Abadar in Korvosa.

Ornher Reebs, the high priest of Asmodeus in Korvosa.

Chaplain Tira Ronnova, the leader of the church of Iomedae in Magnimar.

The Sun Shaman, is the spiritual leader of the Sklar-Quah, but he's a druid, so he's not exactly the most help here.

High Publican Arnando Rolf, the high priest of Cayden Cailean in Riddleport.

Ruben Carfay, the leader of the temple of Besmara in Riddleport.

Shorafa Pamodae, the high priestess of Calistria in Riddleport.

Levels are-

Spoiler:

Keppira- Cleric 13
Darb- Cleric 13
Ornher- Cleric 11
Tira- Cleric 7, Paladin 2
The Sun Shaman- Druid 16
Arnando- Fighter 3 / Cleric 5
Ruben- Rogue 1 / Cleric 7
Shorafa- Cleric 10

Which means

Spoiler:

Darb and Keppira in Korvosa should both be able to cast Resurrection.

Hope that helps some.

[Mark Moreland]

Selk wrote:

That's what I feared. Ah well, I guess they'll learn to live with good old fashioned Raise Dead. Or Reincarnate. Does anyone even use Reincarnate these days? I can't recall the last game where someone seriously considered it.

In my Savage Tide game, one fellow character wanted so badly to be human (instead of Rakasta) that he allowed himself (begged practically) to be coup de graced several times by fellow PCs so that he could be reincarnated and hoped that he would be a human when the dice stopped rolling. He eventually did become human, but the death was accidental (in combat, rather than planned). We also only have a druid in the party, and without a cleric, there aren't many other options for revivification.

[Quandary]

yoda8myhead wrote:

In my Savage Tide game, one fellow character wanted so badly to be human (instead of Rakasta) that he allowed himself (begged practically) to be coup de graced several times by fellow PCs so that he could be reincarnated and hoped that he would be a human when the dice stopped rolling. He eventually did become human, but the death was accidental (in combat, rather than planned). We also only have a druid in the party, and without a cleric, there aren't many other options for revivification.

:-) That's like when I played 2nd Ed., the only way to play non-Core races (usually) was to be re-incarnated,

so it was always fun when that spell came into play :-)

[Slime]

There's also Windsong abbey. Between Sandpoint and Riddleport if I'm not mistaken, It's mentionned as a high point of divine knowledge/power but non stats on the staff so you can use it as you want.

If you don't want to chance it and stay close to cannon, I'm fairly certain it would stock at least one Scroll of Resurection. The Abbey is closer to the action of RotRL.

[Selk]

I just want to say thank you Lord Gadigan. This is the second question of mine where you've laid out the information so neatly. Mad props and all that. Amen.

[LazarX]

Selk wrote:

That's what I feared. Ah well, I guess they'll learn to live with good old fashioned Raise Dead. Or Reincarnate. Does anyone even use Reincarnate these days? I can't recall the last game where someone seriously considered it.

It was used to bring back my wife's character Henry the butler (actual class) in Living Death which was set on Gothic Earth, a variant of Earth in the 1890s where the overall Big Bad of the campaign is an entity known as the Red Death.

To better appreciate this, Reincarnate is subject to the following differences in the Living Death campaign.

1. It's subject to the standard restrictions of Gothic Earth spellcasting, it's difficult, every spell is subject to a Spellcast roll, it takes longer, and any attempt at spellcasting you cast risks granting you taint.

2. Any result that generates a humanoid form makes you human. Any result that generates a non human result returns the character as a thing of incarnate evil which must be put down immediately.

3. The GM also ruled that a successful reincarnation brings you back in the form of a dominant ethnic native/culture of the area.

The character was killed 3 times before we got it right. The spell was cast by a grateful NPC who had been known as the goddess Aphrodite in times past. When the dust from the many ripped hero chits settled , Henry the proper distinguished English gentleman butler was now a young musclebound Greek. (the spell after all was cast outside of Athens) I who was playing a Cowboy at the time tormented my wife unmercifully by referring to her character as Henry the Greek.

[James Jacobs]

Another thing to keep in mind: Magnimar might not have any clerics capable of casting resurrection, but it certainly has a market large enough to support scrolls of it.

As for resurrection itself... My personal theory is that the level loss stuff for the resurrection-type spells is too hard core. It basically makes it so that a lot of players would rather make new characters, in my experience, rather than throw away a level just to come back from the dead because of an unlucky saving throw or because they happened to roll low on initiative in a fight against girallions or a bunch of high-level thieves.

I've thrown out all the level loss stuff in my campaigns, and things work just as well, if not better. I also introduced a 5th level spell; cure deadly wounds. It's like cure critical, but grants one more d8. And if you cast it on someone whose lower than -10 hit points within a minute of him going TO negative hit points, and his hit point total goes back up to at least -9, it draws him back from death and saves him (also without level loss). This TOO seems to work really well, since the threat of dying is still out there. And best of all, as a cure wounds spell, cure deadly wounds can be swapped out by the cleric so he doesn't have to carry around a raise dead all the time. It doesn't work on death effects, of course; you still need higher level res magic to fix that.

[KaeYoss]

The question, of course, is: Why isn't CDW in the Beta? :)

[James Jacobs]

KaeYoss wrote:

The question, of course, is: Why isn't CDW in the Beta? :)

Dunno. I sent it to Jason for him to check out and it didn't get much further than that. <shrug>

I suspect it got lost in the shuffle of the madness of producing over 3 times the regular monthly stuff back in June. I'll see if I can remember to resend CDW to him tomorrow...

[Shane Leahy]

Re: Raise Dead and penalties.

I always liked Andy Collins idea on how to handle it and started using it in my campaigns.

Basically if you are brought back from the dead you gain a negative level which does the following:
-1 to all skill checks, attack rolls, saving throws and ability checks
-5 Hit Points from Maximum
Lose the highest level spell they can cast.

This negative level can only be removed by gaining a level or by questing for the church/diety that allowed the player to be raised.

This gives a penalty for dying but no more trying to remember what you took when you last leveled and you know it will be going away. It is also easy to keep track of.

[KaeYoss]

Shane Leahy wrote:

This negative level can only be removed by gaining a level or by questing for the church/diety that allowed the player to be raised.

That last part I have a problem with. What if I'm too busy trying to save the world to do any questing right now?

Now, if it's no direct, mechanical requirement and the actual requirement is clearer (i.e. you need to have restauration cast on you by a cleric of the same deity as the cleric who raised you, and those usually require you to go on a quest for their church), I can live with that.

[KnightErrantJR]

James Jacobs wrote:

KaeYoss wrote:

The question, of course, is: Why isn't CDW in the Beta? :)

Dunno. I sent it to Jason for him to check out and it didn't get much further than that. <shrug>

I suspect it got lost in the shuffle of the madness of producing over 3 times the regular monthly stuff back in June. I'll see if I can remember to resend CDW to him tomorrow...

Breath of Life sounds a lot like it, except that you can't spontaneously cast it.