A wizard could do quite well in this situation. Don't want to deal with the horrors of clerical resurrection? Get it done by a wizard!Not if the wish spells are on the banned list for his campaign. Remove those spells and you're singing a different tune.
I'd imagine fighters would do well if they could wish in this campaign, then your singing a different tune.
A wizard could do quite well in this situation. Don't want to deal with the horrors of clerical resurrection? Get it done by a wizard!Not if the wish spells are on the banned list for his campaign. Remove those spells and you're singing a different tune.
What of witches and reincarnation?
... I think you may be thinking of the wrong version of Reincarnate, I'm afraid.
(It doesn't really invalidate your point, as Awaken can do something similar and there's something to be said for a roll of 100% on a d%, but just that choosing badgers are extremely rare, making for a strange point to stop on.)
To whit: I agree that there could be some social pressure; also there could be issues in adjusting to your new body and form beyond what the game actually goes into (simply checking these forums can confirm that many have problems if their mental image of themselves conflicts enough with their actual form).
That said, I'm pointing out that there are other ways to come back from the dead than the Wish spell (or the Limited Wish spell) via arcane magic.
I mean, depending on your reading, it's hypothetically possible for an arcanist to research and develop divine spells.
That said, I don't suspect the last method is something that is present in this campaign setting or gaming style.
The Wish, Limited Wish, and Reincarnate are more methods of coming back from the dead beyond the clerical magic.
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Speaking of Reincarnate spells... Way back when Wizards had it on their spell list and Druid and Wizards reincarnate tables were different.
Druid:
badger
bear, black
bear, brown
boar, wild
centaur
dryad
eagle
elf
faun
fox
gnome
hawk
human
lynx
owl
pixie
raccoon
stag
wolf
wolverine
use magic-user reincarnation
table
Wizard:
bugbear
dwarf
elf
gnoll
gnome
goblin
half-elf
halfling
half-orc
hobgoblin
human
kobold
orc
ogre
ogre mage
troll
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Even a commoner can UMD a scroll of raise dead if their ability scores and skill bonus is high enough.That brings up it's own issues. Society might not accept the identity of a talking badger... or gnoll. And without wish magic, there's no way to get back your original form.What of witches and reincarnation?A wizard could do quite well in this situation. Don't want to deal with the horrors of clerical resurrection? Get it done by a wizard!Not if the wish spells are on the banned list for his campaign. Remove those spells and you're singing a different tune.
True it just requires a DC 29 and ability score of 15.
I have wrestled with raise dead several times in my games and I have come to the conclusion that in most cases, raising the dead is rarely a good thing. First, in my world it makes little sense to raise someone. Death is a natural process and raising the dead is therefore an unnatural act that is counter to the way the gods have intended. Because of this, raising the dead is not a simple matter of paying a cleric some gold and then voila, you're back. In my game, it's a life for a life, and even then it may not always work. So, if someone wants a person dead, the cleric will do everything to discourage it. If the cleric is agreeable t cast the spell, a life will have to be sacrificed. And here's where it gets costly. Once the person is raised, somewhere, someone dies in their place. It may be a complete stranger halfway around the world, or perhaps it's someone the requesting PC knows. It may be a vile enemy, a king, or a lowly serf. It may even be the cleric raising the dead person, or the person requesting the dead friends return. The point is, death should be more or less permanent, and attempting to skirt around it should exact a heavy toll.
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You can change how the game works in any way you want, in your own game. The PF raise dead spell does not have an extra material component: someone else's life!
Since it does not cost another's life in PF, this can't be used to justify raise dead being more difficult than it already is in the general game.
As for raising the dead somehow being 'against nature', no more than any other kind of magical healing. It really is just an extreme form of healing. Since it can't force a soul to return, there's no moral imperitive preventing us from using it.
It costs resources to use. This is punishment enough for dying. If you are bothered by the unreality of getting better from being dead, what's more realistic? That a replacement, fully WBL equipped level-appropriate similar class replacement suddenly appears in the middle of nowhere that the party immediately trust, just so the same player can continue playing?
Let's change how video games work too! As soon as your first character dies, the entire game doesn't work any more. Much more realistic and satisfying.
Since it does not cost another's life in PF, this can't be used to justify raise dead being more difficult than it already is in the general game.
Sure it can. As long as my players are okay with it, and I'm okay with it, I can make whatever changes I want to PF's rules. That's the beauty of this game.
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Sure it can. As long as my players are okay with it, and I'm okay with it, I can make whatever changes I want to PF's rules. That's the beauty of this game.Since it does not cost another's life in PF, this can't be used to justify raise dead being more difficult than it already is in the general game.
Your reply doesn't make sense in context.
The context: I already said you can do what you want in your game, but rules you make up aren't relevant to the general game.
Your reply: yes they are relevant to the general game, because I can do what I want in my game.
???
I have wrestled with raise dead several times in my games and I have come to the conclusion that in most cases, raising the dead is rarely a good thing. First, in my world it makes little sense to raise someone. Death is a natural process and raising the dead is therefore an unnatural act that is counter to the way the gods have intended. Because of this, raising the dead is not a simple matter of paying a cleric some gold and then voila, you're back. In my game, it's a life for a life, and even then it may not always work. So, if someone wants a person dead, the cleric will do everything to discourage it. If the cleric is agreeable t cast the spell, a life will have to be sacrificed. And here's where it gets costly. Once the person is raised, somewhere, someone dies in their place. It may be a complete stranger halfway around the world, or perhaps it's someone the requesting PC knows. It may be a vile enemy, a king, or a lowly serf. It may even be the cleric raising the dead person, or the person requesting the dead friends return. The point is, death should be more or less permanent, and attempting to skirt around it should exact a heavy toll.
Is Raise Dead considered an evil act? I'd have a hard time seeing how it couldn't be with that requirement.