One of the ideas I had for the city was how to bring a character back so he did not have to wait around until players drag his corpse back to the city so he could be brought back from the dead. How could you bring back the character quickly without fundamentally altering a setting. This way players could avoid the boredom of having to sit around and watch their friends play the game.
Creating an undead template was the first option, but their are a huge numbe of advantages that make the undead creature type a less than ideal choice as rather than a penalty, being undead could often be more optimal than returning to life.
The next option was to think of them as dead spirits given a physical form, and to look at them using the outsider creature type with them retaining the appropriate augmented subtype (most commonly humanoid), while allowing any effect that can affect either their outsider type or the augmented type, affect them normally.
So you could be dismissed or you could be charmed by a charm person spell.
I think it would be appropriate when you came back in this form you suffered 3 negative levels (or the appropriate amount of Con damage if you were 3rd level or less).
When you come back would be based upon DM approval, I have some good ideas for Questhaven based on the god of judgement (Our Judge of the Dead), deciding that a PCs work on the prime is not yet done, and giving you the choice to go back, I can also see a bit of Roleplay opportunity here if the deity judged you unworthy of your spiritual reward and was going to send you to hell.
What about a single use magic item that grants a sort of quasi-undead status for a short duration? Maybe 3-4 days until the person can be raised from the dead fully. Perhaps an amulet that captures the departing soul and animates the corpse under the direction of the captured soul.
Send me an email. I might have what you are looking for with this.
Dennis Da Ogre, I know what your talking about, but I am looking for a template rather than a magic item, it will be part of the setting itself. Again the problem with being undead even quasi-undead is all the benefits undead get?
LMPjr007, you have my email so I assume your talking to da Ogre?
What you're referring to kinda reminds me a little of the Ghostwalk setting that SKR did for WotC w/ Manifest.
LMPjr007, you have my email so I assume your talking to da Ogre?
I mean you, because I was at work. Sending you something I think you can use.
What Louis Porter Jr. sent me was Bad@$$ by the way, though its not the direction I plan to go, it is a great idea.
Yes, there is some of the same reason for the design similar to Ghostwalk but I don't want something much more modular that can easily be fit into any setting, also I want it to be very streamlined when it comes to rules.