+ target: Aroden
What happens? I've got a player wanting to do this.
My assumption is, similar methods have been attempted already and nothing happened then and nothing will happen now. Do we have any concrete evidence of this?
Presuming that the nat 9+ is rolled, Aroden has to be able to return. Given the nature of his demise (I think it is implied that his death is what empowered all humans with their racial traits), this wouldn't work *or* it strips all humans of their bonus feat at first level. Aroden has to also be willing to return.
I'd go with what is best for your campaign. Maybe the attempt gives the Oracle a divine blessing...
Edit: only goes back 170 years. Aroden has been dead much longer than that.
Edit: only goes back 170 years. Aroden has been dead much longer than that.
Except Aroden kicked the bucket (presumably) in 4606; 100 years ago at the time of the adventure path we're running (RotRL). Unless you count his ascension to godhood 10,000 years ago as the time of his death?
One could make the case that becoming a god removes you even from the grasp of the mightiest of mortal magic. ;)
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It think it fairly obvious that it won't work, because as you stated if it would, it would have already been done.
We can speculate as to the reasons. One could be that a God isn't a valid target of the spell, which has to be a creature. Gods being beyond those boundaries, evidenced by the fact that they don't have stats, may well be an invalid target.
We also know, from raise dead, that the soul has to exist and be willing. Usually the existence of the soul isn't much of a question, since destroying a soul completely is quite difficult for mortals, but for Gods that may not be so true. Indeed it is quite plausible that if the soul isn't destroyed, the God wouldn't be dead anyway.
This also leads us to the possibility that it would work fine, except Aroden isn't willing. Why that would be would be a mystery, like everything about Aroden's death, but if he chose it for some reason, it would seem that for the same reason he wouldn't want to come back.
In any event, it almost certainly wouldn't work, as to why, only Pharasma knows.
His soul might be captured somewhere, and thus unable to return even if he is willing.
Actually, it wouldn't work no matter if he's a god or not: he's been judged by Pharasma, and thus nothing can bring him back. Point in fact, he was judged immediately upon death.
Generally, the spells have a duration-description, but that is a game mechanic that the setting notes is variable based on whether or not the soul is judged (it generally holds true because the soul in question waits a loooooooooong time to be judged).
Otherwise, Dave Justus has all the reasons covered.