Xaeyruudh's Index

Resurrection Options

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This information is intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.


At a Glance

There’s a great article in Dragon Magazine #263, called New Life for Resurrections. It suggests ten options for handling resurrection in ways that help makes sure players won’t completely take it for granted.

Vampiric Resurrection

The PC is restored to life, but there’s a catch: he/she must kill a creature (DM’s discretion as to type) before the next full moon… and every full moon after that… or die again. The article points out that this type of resurrection is most likely to be performed by evil churches, artifacts, and so forth. I would add that the creature to be killed is most likely an enemy of the church/artifact/whatever, so there’s a lot of potential for drama here.

Temporary Resurrection

Here, the resurrection has a duration. Perhaps the PC isn’t a believer, and/or is perceived to have acted against the church. In any case it’s likely that the church will require a favor of some sort in exchange for a real resurrection.

“Eye for an Eye” Resurrection

Someone must willingly give up their own life in order for the PC to live.

Resurrection By Night

The resurrection is permanent, but only effective at night. During the day, the PC is a corpse… or a zombie.

False Resurrection

The PC’s body lives, but his/her mind has been switched for a fiend. Depending on the fiend’s agenda, it might attack the party immediately or later. When they are forced to confront the fiend, the party will need to avoid damaging the PC’s body if they want to put his/her mind back in it. And where is the PC’s mind?

Resurrection by Proximity

The PC lives again, but must remain within 100 yards of the person who performed the resurrection. Obviously this option works best if the spellcaster is a PC, or if the PC is retiring from play.

Reluctant Resurrection

Sometimes, the PC might decide that the afterlife is more attractive than returning to life. Perhaps the rest of the party has to enter the realm of the dead to convince their starstruck companion that his/her time is not yet come.

Graverobber’s Resurrection

In this scenario, the PC’s body is too mangled for resurrection and the party has to find another suitable host. Lots of fun roleplaying opportunities here.

Reborn Resurrection

This is a less-severe version of the False Resurrection above. In this case, the PC is resurrected, but his body is inhabited by someone else who has been recently resurrected. The PC’s mind is in somebody else’s body. The party must figure out what happened and how to switch them back to their proper bodies. Meanwhile, hilarity ensues.

Undead Resurrection

Another “begrudging resurrection” option. Here the PC is transformed into an undead creature. The article suggests using Ravenloft’s Requiem: The Grim Harvest rules.


Sources

Primary Sources

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