What it says on that tin. Have you ever had a PC death so heroic that resurrection would have been an anticlimax? What were the circumstance? Why did you decided not to accept the rez, and was retiring the character the right call in retrospect?
I did it quite some times. Either because his death was important and I didn't wanted a resurrection to kill it, either because I was bored of this character (in general because it was not up to my expectations) or just because resurrection removes the danger factor, so I sometimes just accept it and move on with another character.
But I'm the kind of player to play in hardcore mode in video games. No risk no pleasure.
A creature being resurrected knows the deity and alignment of the cleric attempting the resurrection.
When I was being resurrected by a CG cleric of Eilistraee, a little after attempting (and failing) to rescue an Eilistreean warband from drow slavers... Let's say I felt a tiny bit suspicious and gave it a pass.
Never have had a Resurrection.
Had a player who was aiming to deny his next one, since he figured his Barbarian had grown weary of dying so often. Then his best friend cast Reincarnate, and the Barbarian felt obliged to return since his buddy had called out to him. The player had mixed feeling since I think he was just as tired of dying. It was back when there was a "00" chance of getting a random anything w/ Reincarnation, and that's what he got, followed by a d1000 roll which landed him on a Brass Dragon w/ the same HD as the Barbarian had levels. It seemed like destiny.
Player didn't mind so much then. :)
I have, and it was mainly inspired by the fact that I just finished reading "death heretic" and decided on the spur of the moment to refuse the resurrection.
My monk who was essentially the parties conscience who died to a power word kill spell from the big bad while preventing them from escaping with the world threatening artifact.
I told the GM that the spirit would be unwilling because the death was such a good story beat that had a huge effect on the party that I didn't want it to be undermined.
Also, I had been planning on retiring the character because I was tired of playing the naive innocent kind shy person, so when the death happened so organically it was a perfect opportunity for that.
Did this not too long ago:
Playing Iron Gods we were just starting Book 6, when fate befell my Investigator (Psychic Detective)/Techslinger. I was quite fond of that character, played her for a long time.
But at the same time, when that time came, she discovered how much more there is to discover, if you aren't bound to a mortal shell.
The Paladin-player was pretty fussed that I refused to come back though.
I had a paladin refuse to come back, but that's mostly because the player wanted to switch to ninja.
In terms of my own experiences, I think I've only had one character that accepted a resurrection (and the way in which it happened made things more awesome, though we figured that it probably really wouldn't have worked like that, rules-wise).
Never turned any down that I can think of. Though there was a game* where I told the GM that I wanted to leave the party because my character and one of the other PCs were sorta stepping on each other's toes in terms of niche. We were different classes, but both brought the same toolkit to the table. When the GM narrated it, one of the other players (who had been sitting far enough down the table to not catch the discussion I'd been having about changing characters) fought really really hard to keep my character around, it was pretty awesome. I eventually had to say, "Jim, its fine, I want to switch characters."
I had a friend who turned resurrection down once, though. Less dramatic than Weregeek's sequence, just table-talk. But he'd gone out in a pretty epic way and he was all, "Yeah, I'm going to make a new character." It was an X-Crawl game, so resurrection was already pretty rare, but it felt so...inappropriate to try and seek it after that fight.
*I always find conversation returning to that game, its weird. I think its just because Keith (as a person) was so unique and that the game he ran was so interesting on so many levels that any conversation of "what was the most X in a game you ever experienced?" just demands to be mentioned.Its a shame that he--
though a comedic series of events involving his own medical issues around "being able to talk," medical leave re-such, and a stint as Silent Pete the Repo-Man, among other things--meant that the game never had another session after about that point.
(I swear that character concept is cursed; as much fun as I know it would be to play, every time I've statted it out, the game has died)
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One of the actual play podcasts I listen to gave the person being resurrected one of three choices.
1. To let that character go on to the afterlife.
2. To be resurrected.
3. "Something else" (which was not explained to the player at the time)
The "Something else" enticed them so they declined the resurrection. A major part of the campaign later revealed what that was, but it had a great payoff and pulled everyone further into the campaign.
Not coming back can lead to some cool storytelling if you think outside the coffin.
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I've made the call a couple of times. I am rarely attached to a character, so outside of PFS (where death represents needing to level from 1 again in a limited content environment) I've let pretty much most of my PC deaths stick even when a raise is available and offered. I won't pretend its not a metagame call, to be honest. I GM mostly, so the chance to make a new character combined with the ability of the party to sell or use my dead character's gear is pretty much a win-win for everyone.
I denied a resurrect in Rise of the Runelords. The character was based off the idea of a gnome with a rather particular animal companion. Early book 1, said animal companion died to poison, the gnome was crushed by this but carried on. Sometime around book 3 or 4 they learned to teleport and on one of our shopping trips (because we took teleport-shopping trips to gear up in PF1) the gnome returned home, explained what had happened, and returned with another of that particular animal companion. Late book 5, the gnome and animal companion both died, with the animal companion dying to poison from a prismatic spray. The gnome's spirit was crushed, having let down their two best friends and witnessed both die to the same effect; they were unwilling to return to life just to let someone else down like that.
Just if the possibility was not available. Even if I was going to change character a resurrection would have been appreciated ( then the character could have simply go on his own ).
I can't understand stuff like "I will remain dead because my death was tpo important to the party".
It is not supposed to be a movie.
You died and friends who care about you try to bring you back. And for whoom you would have done exactly the same.Sorry guys but you have to go without me. I nailed it with the coolest sacrifice ever!
You're mixing the meta with the story, so of course it doesn't make much sense. The out-of-game reasoning may be something as simple as "I don't want to play this character anymore," or "I want to try something new," but the in-game rational can be anything from "I let so many of my friends down; I don't want to let others down too" to "my deity has called me for more important work in the realms beyond."
Fun thing about roleplaying games: you aren't generally forced into anything you don't want to do. It's easy enough to change the narrative to ensure that everyone is having a good time.
There's no sense in worrying about upset friends left behind since they are all characters in a fictional narrative, and it can easily be said they aren't upset about it at all because [whatever reason(s) you want].
You died and friends who care about you try to bring you back. And for whoom you would have done exactly the same.
You remember the thing about the ghosts in Casper, where they only stick around because they had unfinished business, and once they accomplish it, they move on? The same is true for our characters. They are content with having lived their lives, ended up dead, and they see no reason to come back.
"Thanks guys, I appreciate it, I would've done the same. My job here is done and it's time for me to rest. Its been an honor."
Sorry guys but you have to go without me. I nailed it with the coolest sacrifice ever!
Was it really a sacrifice if you can come back, though?
It is not supposed to be a movie.
No, but its still a story, and every story has to end. Some ride off into the sunset, some enter Valhalla, and some end up in the gutter, bitter and alone.
Poignant, bitter-sweet, romantic, heroic, defeated or victorious, chapters need to end, the book needs to close. Why not go out in a blaze of glory, a shining star of epic tale that will be told and retold for decades?
Take this Shadowrun story, take the time to read at least a little of it, Jim was a fantastic person to play with (both GM and player, see prior post), and put our sessions down on paper in exquisite fashion. This was also the SR game where the group accepted a job to assassinate themselves (and got paid, too). So many amazing things happened (including the GM--Nate--setting Jim's character on fire, which I think was the third time in a long running sequence of Jim and Nate setting each other's characters on fire, mostly through sheer coincidence).
But I'll just quote this section. The narrator is Jim's character Stray, I played Jack.
I never quite figured out why Jack did that. The least I can figure, Jack knew his time was coming soon, so he wanted to shout out with his dying breath, so the whole world could hear, that he truly existed in this world. And everyone did. The Matrix was abuzz despite MCT’s immediate damage control. Most people believe MCT, but a few, like me, know the truth, and that’s the way it always was, is, and will be.
Shadowrun might not have Resurrection, so there was no coming back from what happened to me, but I wouldn't have done anything differently. Jack probably would have died regardless of what I did, but the choices I made were my own, the consequences...are also my own. They may have been narrated by the GM, but the ending is mine. Even if resurrection was on the table somehow I would still have turned it down. In fact, even if resurrection was on the table, I don't think anyone would have been able to bring themselves to cast it.
I’ve refused it on a couple of occasions where the characters were high level and ones that I cared about, once because the character felt betrayed by the person who was doing the Res, another because it was the only way I could get out of being in a campaign with a toxic player.
More often though it was a case of ‘this character wasn’t working, try something different”.
In a scenario where a glorious afterlife is proven to exist, staying dead makes plenty of sense. Going back to earth instead of staying in heaven certainly doesn't seem like something all folks will do. Plus if they died heroically they are probably at the most likely point for them to get into the Good Place. Coming back also means there's a chance you could fall.
It is also something your characters have DEFINITELY talked about with each other around the camp fire, even if you didn't enact it "on camera." Going into life or death situations in a world where coming back is a possibility? You'd know who in your party wants to be Raised and who will have a "do not resuscitate" order in place. But you as players can decide what those answers are after the fact, using how you feel now to retroactively have your character's wishes be respected.
Nice thing about D&D style after life. Their is no need for that is their a after life nonsense. You can scientifically proove it!
In a scenario where a glorious afterlife is proven to exist, staying dead makes plenty of sense. Going back to earth instead of staying in heaven certainly doesn't seem like something all folks will do. Plus if they died heroically they are probably at the most likely point for them to get into the Good Place. Coming back also means there's a chance you could fall.
It is also something your characters have DEFINITELY talked about with each other around the camp fire, even if you didn't enact it "on camera." Going into life or death situations in a world where coming back is a possibility? You'd know who in your party wants to be Raised and who will have a "do not resuscitate" order in place. But you as players can decide what those answers are after the fact, using how you feel now to retroactively have your character's wishes be respected.
We actually had that campfire scene on camera for my Return of the Runelords game. My character said he'd willingly come back twice, third strike and they are out. The paladin said to bring him back if the group still had work to do. The summoner wanted to come back if at all possible, the brawler if and only if his parents were still alive, and the cleric dodged the question entirely.
I haven't had the opportunity to do this yet, but while normally I wouldn't refuse a Resurrection/Raise Dead/Reincarnation, I have had this concept for a Summoner Switch, to be arranged clandestinely with the GM, in which a Summoner (preferably a Devil Imposter) gets killed (and the Eidolon goes poof) doing something heroic (maybe even heroically stupid), and the party coincidentally gets a shot at obtaining a Raise Dead, but something goes wrong with the spell, and it pulls back the Eidolon instead of the Summoner. (On second thought, this could also be done with a Spiritualist and Phantom.) Pathfinder 1st Edition doesn't have very good mechanical support for this; nevertheless, in a certain Wrath of the Righteous PbP,
Not sure yet about Pathfinder 2nd Edition, since Summoner (and Spiritualist) hasn't even appeared yet.
it was the only way I could get out of being in a campaign with a toxic player.
Ouch. That's rough, man. Why couldn't you just quit straight up?
I don't know about Neriathale, but I have often found that I would continue participating in a toxic campaign by inertia and then quit when I had a major decision to make and realized that quitting the campaign entirely was a better option than any in-game option that I was considering.
I don't know about Neriathale, but I have often found that I would continue participating in a toxic campaign by inertia and then quit when I had a major decision to make and realized that quitting the campaign entirely was a better option than any in-game option that I was considering.
Oof. Yeah that rings true for me.
it was the only way I could get out of being in a campaign with a toxic player.Ouch. That's rough, man. Why couldn't you just quit straight up?
Long story involving convoluted personal relationships and RW political views, but the short version is that the game was being run at my house, so ‘can’t make it to this session’ wasn’t an option. Having the character die was a way to duck out.
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(and the way in which it happened made things more awesome, though we figured that it probably really wouldn't have worked like that, rules-wise).
Oh I forgot to elaborate here.
So, we were playing in the world's largest dungeon. I don't recall all the details around what happened at ~3rd level any more, but I'd basically pledged myself (I was playing a half-dragon fighter) to a dead goddess (and got a sweet spear out of the deal), but it was a bit after that that I got petrified? I think, and the party took me back to the statue where I'd gotten the spear and essentially asked for help solving the problem (whatever it was) and the GM was like, "alright, sure, you do and nothing much happens, but you search the room again and find a concealed compartment, containing half of a scroll of <whatever>. <The artificer> has enough knowledge of magic to puzzle out what's missing and in the end, you're <fixed>." I was attached to the character and he hadn't had much time in the spotlight (realistically, this was about 3 months into a campaign that lasted about 2 years).
Long, long time later (including after two fights with the same black dragon, a 2 hour real-time discussion over whether or not to spend 5000 gold to summon a hoard of barghests to eat its soul) we...found or otherwise acquired a spell that was basically contingency. Limited uses, don't recall exactly what it was or why. Might have been a ring of wish, but I'm not certain on that (pretty sure Jim put those wishes to much, much better use).
I don't remember what it was, but I remember that the rules said that when paired with another spell, when the trigger was met, that spell was "cast immediately." Me and another player (Jim again) all-in'd on this with (I think) Raise Dead (but might've been Resurrection) with a trigger of "I die."
Some time later, in a particularly difficult fight (with, if I recall, some frost giants) I took a lethal blow and triggered the contingency. We double checked the rules, but weren't really sure if "casts the spell immediately" overrode the "10 minute casting time" or not, and rule-of-cool'd things where I came back instantly and slew my foe.
Was pretty awesome.
Both Jim and I were the only two players to have the same character leave the dungeon as entered it. And we totally went after the 1000 gold reward we were promised (despite being level 17). And yes, I still had that same spear.