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First, why I am asking this...
I was thinking today about a campaign idea where the characters are hired to escort a princess across the land to another kingdom to marry the prince of the other kingdom. Standard old school idea. Then it dawned on me, why doesn't the king just use his huge treasury to hire a wizard to teleport her there? Then that made me remember the other "Why not?" spell, maybe even the biggest, Resurrection spells.
I read this article and I actually like and might actually use the idea in games that if NPCS find out you were resurrected, they might react to you negatively, maybe even some going so far as to treat you as undead in their attitude toward you.
Which then made me think of the idea of a Inquisitor of Pharasma that not only hunts down undead, but anyone that has cheated death.
So, that brings me to the question... many assassin-themed prestige classes over the years have had the ability to know if someone you killed with the class abilities is resurrected, but what about non-assassins like this concept?
Would it be too much for a feat to allow this? Maybe design an inquisitor archetype that allows it?
Anyone have any ideas about these two options, or other ideas?
First, why I am asking this...
I was thinking today about a campaign idea where the characters are hired to escort a princess across the land to another kingdom to marry the prince of the other kingdom. Standard old school idea. Then it dawned on me, why doesn't the king just use his huge treasury to hire a wizard to teleport her there? Then that made me remember the other "Why not?" spell, maybe even the biggest, Resurrection spells.
I read this article and I actually like and might actually use the idea in games that if NPCS find out you were resurrected, they might react to you negatively, maybe even some going so far as to treat you as undead in their attitude toward you.
Which then made me think of the idea of a Inquisitor of Pharasma that not only hunts down undead, but anyone that has cheated death.
So, that brings me to the question... many assassin-themed prestige classes over the years have had the ability to know if someone you killed with the class abilities is resurrected, but what about non-assassins like this concept?
Would it be too much for a feat to allow this? Maybe design an inquisitor archetype that allows it?
Anyone have any ideas about these two options, or other ideas?
The only thing I can see it being Lore-wise coherent with would be an Inquisitor archetype. Yet giving up something completely story-wise for that at the level Resurrection becomes an issue is about as optimal as a rouge taking an archetype that gives a rogue X uses of augury in return for his sneak attack. Its nothing to build a character on.
I can easily see it though as a simple enchantment for a holy symbol, Anoint the symbol in a targets blood and it glows dimly depending on the status of life the creature possesses: White if alive, black if dead, Gray if dying, red if undead, and pink if Half-death(somehow)
Also the idea of Resurrection being disfavored in the towns folk is kind of iffy. Humans Don't like to die, nor do they like righteous ones to die. The only way I can see this being affected by would be Death-worshipers (Which are typically hated themselves as a product) in primal, barbaric, superstitious communities (typically trying to kill and eat the party anyhow)
The idea behind "Why not?" spells is that they are rare.
Teleportation spells are like roads. They take many skilled people to set the passage-way, creating teleportation circles and what not. You don't have a Guild of Level 20 Wizards running around crafting those ever so difficult to find Ley-lines.
As of Resurrection itself, You've only got a week. Unless you have a relatively powerful preist on hand that can bless the body to keep it preserved for up to like 3 months (that's IF they're expecting to get someone IMMENSELY powerful enough to actually ressurect them)
To be able to bring any man of any age back to life is utterly unknown to anyone that hasn't already slain half-a-dozen balrogs by now.
Plus there's even distances that TRUE RESSURECTION can't reach. Old Age. Negative Level Limit. Death Effects.
The key to countering Why not spells is to give a reason to "Why not?"
There's plenty if you look. Maybe a Witch made his heart burst. Maybe a disease ravaged his body. Maybe they didn't even know such means were possible. Maybe there is nobody who can provide such means. Maybe there's a corrupt, greedy, bureaucratic Wizard who has locked the ley-lines from travel, and would not accept something so base and simple as the shiny rocks you ape-descendants call currency.
Well, do you really think that common townsfolk wouldn't be somewhat off-put by the king that calls in a powerful cleric to resurrect his daughter? Why does SHE get resurrected and my daughter that was killed last year does not? Why does the princess deserve her life more than the commoner, just because her father is so rich and powerful?
Plus, with the prevalence of undead... Sure, you don't LOOK undead... but are you? I could see many townsfolk, upon finding out someone was DEAD and now they are not dead... kinda thinking whoa wait a second.. Are you a vampire or something? Even if you aren't a vampire...
Then there is the whole idea that just cause a priest CAN cast True Resurrection, would he and even more so would his god(dess) let him?
Really, if you didn't already you might read that article I posted in my OP.
Another thing someone mentioned on another thread (on another forum) was that maybe player characters are divine heroes of sorts, the gods allow their resurrection because "It's not their time" but the princess? She's not important to the gods, she's can't be resurrected. Not something I'd do in a campaign, but it might work for some people to explain why every rich and powerful person doesn't get true resurrected all the time.
As for teleportation... um... Teleport doesn't require gates or ley-lines or any such thing by the rules as written... not sure where you are getting that.
EDIT: Also... where does it say that someone killed with death effects can't be resurrected? As for negative levels, I'd think True Resurrection would allow you to resurrect someone with negative levels, it would be the ONLY way.
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Why you get only basic medical care in the US if you don't have a medical insurance or plenty of money?
People don't get pissed off by that?
In North Korea practically only the ember of the establishment get modern medical care. Why people don't revolt?
Someone will revolt, protest or try to change the system. Someone will try to become one of the privileged persons, someone will accept it as they lot in life.
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Teleportation:
"Yes my King, I know the main hall of the wizard guild of the capitol of the nearby kingdom like the back of my hand. so there is only a 2% chance that we will end in some random location.
You daughter know how to swim if needed, right?
And another 1% of us ending in a similar area. That is no trouble, unless it is the main hall of the wizard guild of the enemy kingdom. Of the main hall of count Nefaurious keep. But it is only a 1% chance.
No, my King, I am only 12th level, I can bring the Princess and 3 members of his retinue, not the whole platoon of guards, her maiden, her maidservants, advisor, assorted adjutants and the dowry. But if you can give me a few portable holes we can stuff them into th portable holes and get them out at destination. We have enough time, so there almost is no risk of suffocation."
Later at the wizard guild.
"The King don't respect magic! He has sent the Princess to the nearby kingdom by land, he think there is less risk. Barbarian."
If you think about it, ere's a whole mess of legal issues.
If you were pronounced dead, there's a good chance your possessions have been inherited, and people have been hired to do your old job, etc.
What's your position in society when you come back to life? Could easily be second-class.
EDIT: Also... where does it say that someone killed with death effects can't be resurrected? As for negative levels, I'd think True Resurrection would allow you to resurrect someone with negative levels, it would be the ONLY way.
Sorry, that was for "Raise Dead" 5th level cleric spell, that can't bring someone back from death effects.
Also, A creature whose permanent negative levels equal its Hit Dice cannot be brought back to life through spells like raise dead and resurrection without also receiving a restoration spell, cast the round after it is restored to life.So what I said was only half true, I've never rolled a cleric so I didn't memorize the syntax.
As for the Leylines and gates, that was complete bullcrap, just something to sound flavorful as an explaination as to why. Not every fragment of the lore in your story has to be or will be dictated by some rule or system in the rule books. And if you don't like something, you have to be creative as to justify things the way they are.
Also, I don't think it would be that the person is unimportant to the god, that implies that the good gods are fickle and petty.
Rather, the reasoning would probably be that the gods become angered at the cleric should he use the powers he was bestowed with for monetary gain or for utterly no reason.
But this is where the "Forcing Morality" argument come in with players playing divine classes, but chances are they're playing their cleric wrong if in between adventures they're collecting a king's ransom from ressurecting potentially corrupt beurocrats.
Hmmm, how about the "deathwatch" spell revealing if someone has been resurrected?
It reveals if something is undead, so if you are making undeath and ressurection similar in theological terms, then you could allow the spell to treat them similarly.
If you want to restrict it, have any divine caster of Pharasma able to cast this version of the spell.
EDIT: You would probably want to put the spell on the Inquisitor list, as it currently is only on the Cleric list (also an archetype of alechmist, I think).
While we're on the topic of giving Inquisitors Spells related to death:
Rest Eternal is relatively relevant, Its a curse a witch can place to prevent ressurection, unless the curse is removed.
Which then made me think of the idea of a Inquisitor of Pharasma that not only hunts down undead, but anyone that has cheated death.
While I do not currently use a "religious order" to handle this, I may add it into my own campaign setting. Good idea I hadn't really thought about. I would make an archetype reflecting this ability and goal for your inquisitors. I may toy with this idea a bit and see what I can come up with.
What I do currently use is a system of "Fate Points" which are rolled (by me as GM) as 1d4 + 1 at character creation and noted secretly by me. The resulting roll is the number of times a player character can be ressurected without repercussions. Once this number is exhausted, the deity presiding over Death takes notice and begins sending her agents to retrieve the soul of the individual cheating her. These "attacks" get progressively more difficult based on party level and each additional ressurection past the first which triggers her notice. These "reapers" take the form of several versions of a highly modified Dullahan (bestiary 2). If the PC is killed in the attack, the soul is taken to the "City of Judgement" and the character may not be returned to life without the direct intervention of a deity on the character's behalf, which requires bartering with the deity of death.
Alternatively, the deity of death may return an enemy or former friend/family member of the PC to life on the condition that the PC is slain within a specified time limit. If successful, the NPC gets a "free pass" until the next time it is killed.
One way an order of "hunters of the dead" could work would be for somebody in the order to cast a Divination spell to ask for the identity of the nearest creature who died but is now living or undead. The order then hunts down that person and repeats the process indefinitely.
For a normal game, I think I would delay having a person declared dead until it is no longer possible to revive them with the Raise Dead spell cast by the highest level NPC cleric available in the campaign. After that point, a person is legally dead, with no claim on his former possessions -- perhaps he might be treated as a legal offspring of himself, born at the moment he is resurrected or reincarnated.