Hello! I’m developing a new Pathfinder-compatible campaign setting for third party publishing, and I’m eager to gather feedback and suggestions about some of the world’s foundational elements. The first of my query threads can be found here: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q1pn?New-3PP-Campaign-Setting-Questions-Five-E lements
This question concerns reincarnation. In the campaign world I'm designing, all souls transmigrate upon death. Different faiths have varying interpretations of the process -- some believe in karmic forces that affect what you come back as, while others preach that only appeasing the right deities will help you elevate your status.
Most souls are reborn in infant bodies, with only fleeting memories of their former selves. But some souls -- heroes' souls -- can sometimes displace the souls in fully-grown individuals, and retain their skills and memories.
Behind the screen: this significant change exists to give players a means to cheat death, which should hopefully encourage them to take greater risks, and to make heroic sacrifices a part of the narrative.
Questions, then:
1) How, if at all, would this cosmology affect the basic Pathfinder rules for dying and death?
2) Is it appealing to have a character "jump bodies" upon death?
3) How should spells like raise dead and resurrection be handled? What about reincarnation?
I hope these questions make sense; if not, I’m happy to elaborate upon them. Thanks in advance for your input!
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But some souls -- heroes' souls -- can sometimes displace the souls in fully-grown individuals, and retain their skills and memories.
Sorry if this is too harsh, but this sounds horrific to me. What happens to the displaced soul? At best, I'd guess it's the same thing as if they died. If so, the heroes are essentially killing someone else and taking their place. Even if it's not on purpose, and out of the heroes' control entirely ... I wouldn't like it.
Sorry if this is too harsh, but this sounds horrific to me. What happens to the displaced soul? At best, I'd guess it's the same thing as if they died. If so, the heroes are essentially killing someone else and taking their place. Even if it's not on purpose, and out of the heroes' control entirely ... I wouldn't like it.
Not harsh at all; I'm glad to get your honest feedback!
What if, instead of displacing another person, the heroes' souls merged somehow with them? The process could then be voluntary, although there might be some secondary effects resulting from the combined psyche.
Alternatively, the heroes' souls might transmigrate into a body just as its own soul is departing. That might be a different sort of creepy, though (inhabiting corpses), plus it doesn't address the problem of whatever caused the new body to die in the first place...
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There's also the option of having the heroes being born fully formed from the ground or shaped from trees, flowers, or animals, like some legendary figures are (Blodeuwedd, the Spartoi, Sita in India).
This means no inherent death in the rebirth, and the option to make each person's reincarnation unique.
However, there are a lot of game plot possibilities if the characters replace or merge with an existing person. I think having an ethical and spiritual consequence to reincarnate is pretty Druidical: no life without death.