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The king was secretly a lich and came back later on his own. He has killed everyone else who was present at his death, and still rules the kingdom as if nothing happened. Except that now the PC is the only one left who knows he 'died', and thus may figure out his secret. This solves the return, the superpowers, and him becoming a villain. Also, if your PC ever tries to return home nothing will have changed and everyone will think s/he is a raving lunatic- prompting the local guard to swoop in and force an encounter with the king.
Ways to bring back an NPC as a sentient, free-willed villain:
- he wasn't dead: the PC got him to negative HP, ran away, and the NPC stabilized and healed
- NPC is now an undead: vampire, lich, intelligent zombie, ghoul, mummy, morgh, skeletal champion...literally ANY sentient undead. If you're into one Slick Willy Shakespeare and are feeling Scottish, make the king a ghost. Whatever the case, this might be achieved by any number of influences: the NPC was a necromancer and affected his own change; there is a cult of necromancy using the NPC; there is a powerful undead or evil outsider patron using him; there is a disease animating the dead; random arcane/divine occurance
- his own retinue had him resurrected
- the NPC's patron deity needs him for a higher purpose and returned him to the land
I guess it depends on your game. You want the king back as a villain, but what kind of villain; what're his plans once he returns? Is he just a private antagonist for this one PC? If so you might have his soul and memory bound into a weapon that possesses people and forces them to seek out and attack that PC. However you might want the king to reclaim his throne and threaten the whole world; in this case you might bring him back as a powerful undead that can appear in his old, human form so that none suspect his hateful nature.
Where are you going with this?
I second Mark's ideas as interesting. There are also a number of other non-necromantic ways:
1) Wizard/alchemist with a clone prepared (my favorite option)
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/c/clone
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/archetypes/paizo---a lchemist-archetypes/clone-master
2) A simulacrum of the king had been prepared (just in case), and that was the one killed.
What about some non-game-mechanics related ones that you'd have to create mechanics for (stolen from comic books)
- a force from space selected the king's dna to inhabit and cloned him, stole his personality/mind/soul and gave him extreme telekinesis (or other magic)
- the king had drunk some kind of formula prior to his death that gave him insane regeneration powers, super strength and stamina, but it also drove him mad. His son has been on the throne, drunk a similar formula and is a weaker (but nonetheless insane) version of his father; the old king returns from the grave, orchestrates his son's downfall, then reclaims his old throne
- one word: aliens
And how about a few that I'm just completely making up:
- a faerie revel over his grave accidentally or on purpose brought him back and now the power of the First World fuels his immortality
- the people loved their king; they loved him so much that he lived on in their songs and thoughts. The sheer collective will of the people returns the king, from time to time, when a special holiday is held, a certain song is sung or a blessing is invoked
- the king has been reanimated and grafted into a mongrelman who now roams the countryside; he slew his arcane maker and is using the old master's powers and tools to train himself in the black arts
- the land called the king back for his torment was not yet complete; go get some old Ravenloft books and you'll know what I mean
- various timelines in the multiverse have collided at the moment of the king's death. The newly returned king has similar memories but they're not exactly the same
- one word: doppleganger
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For a plot twist the king had a twin brother that assumed his identity. No one except the PC knows the king is dead and the pretender is hunting down the PC to keep the secret safe. Tie the player to the real king’s heirs who are now in danger of being killed off. Now the PC has to go back and save his childhood friend from the danger that he caused.
If you really want to complicate thing have the pretender be some sort of necromancer who kept his abilities hidden. Now that he is king he is a little more open about his abilities which causes the PC to think the pretender is really the old king come back as an undead.
2) A simulacrum of the king had been prepared (just in case), and that was the one killed.
A Simulacrum when killed is obvious. One made later will think it is the king, but its creator is now a puppet master BBEG.
/cevah
So I'm DMing, and one of the characters has in their backstory that they killed a king by accident (and are thus on the run). I want to bring that king back as a big villain, but I need advice on how I'd actually do that.
My main concern his keeping his memory. I could have him come back as a classic zombie, but I'd think that would make him a mindless pawn like all other zombies. I'd need some way to cheat death, bring him back, and possibly give him superpowers (like sorcery or whatnot).
My best idea right now is for him to have become an infernal sorceror, making a deal with a big-shot devil to come back from the dead to serve him. But is there a better way?
This is a technique I have banned at my table (because a player tried it). Spells/Scrolls/Wands needed: binding, magic jar, and simulacrum
Being paranoid, the King has buried a crystal (aka the magic jar) in a lead box about 25 feet beneath in the floor in his throne room. The king has previously cast simulacrum on guards, townsfolk, slain enemies, whoever (lots of puppets for the king - both the living and the simulacrum). The king magic jars himself into his favorite puppet. The puppet king traps his original body in the magic jar by casting binding on himself. He has also cast binding on some of his favorite puppets to keep him company in the magic jar.
How this relates to your back story. The adventurers killed the king's favorite puppet. The king gets sent back to the magic jar. The king releases his second favorite puppet from the magic jar and possesses it through another casting of the spell magic jar.
*edit*
Also, a L5 Reincarnated Druid would do the trick.
That being said, infernal sorcerer works pretty well too imho
The Beast Bonded Witch's 10th level ability Twin Soul also works.
/cevah
"You are the 6 fingered King." My name is....Bob. "Why aren't you dead?" "Prepare to die."
"You are the 6 fingered King." My name is....Bob. "Why aren't you dead?" "Prepare to die."
"You are the 6 fingered King." My name is....Bob. "Why aren't you dead?" "Prepare to die."
"STOP SAYING THAT!"
GO UNDEAD OR GO HOME! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAaaaa....
For a plot twist the king had a twin brother that assumed his identity. No one except the PC knows the king is dead and the pretender is hunting down the PC to keep the secret safe. Tie the player to the real king’s heirs who are now in danger of being killed off. Now the PC has to go back and save his childhood friend from the danger that he caused.
If you really want to complicate thing have the pretender be some sort of necromancer who kept his abilities hidden. Now that he is king he is a little more open about his abilities which causes the PC to think the pretender is really the old king come back as an undead.
This one. The first thing your players will think upon hearing the supposedly dead king is still on the throne is "undead", and MS's idea will lead them off on a merry chase to figure out what's really going on. In this sort of situation some sort of necromancy is often suspected, so give them the unexpected instead.
The King had a body double who was standing in for him when the PC attacked.
or The King had a body double and after the King was killed the body double continued to secretly act in the Kings stead... All right that's the storyline from Dave. Still fun though.