Things to do in D&D After You're Dead Part III - RESURRECT DEAD ON PLANET JUPiTER

     Death happens in OD&D, a lot. In my previous articles I laid out some new ways in which players and referees can deal with PC death within their games. In this article, I am going to tackle the most prominent solution that D&D historically has had towards the problem: Resurrection. While it has understandable roots, the whole process always seemed trite to me. If you have a big, dramatic death, or even a darkly comedic one, it is completely undermined by how I've seen many groups handle raising a dead PC. A priest of the necessary level of potency is found, they are paid off, and perhaps a short scene in which a character comes back to their body is played out. That of course is assuming that a Priest of sufficient puissance isn't already one of the PCs. It makes everything feel cheap if you can simply haul the two halves of your party's unfortunate Specialist back to town and get them put back together after a pendulum blade has sliced them in twain. Sturm's sacrifice for the Companions of the Lance would be meaningless, as would the deaths of Achilles or Hector, if they could simply be brought back without any meaningful consequence.

     We'll start with the text of the original Raise Dead spell from OD&D:

     Raise Dead: The Cleric simply points his finger, utters the incantation, and the dead person is raised. This spell works with men, elves, and dwarves only. For each level the Cleric has progressed beyond the 8th, the time limit for resurrection extends another four days. Thus, an 8th-level Cleric can raise a body dead up to four days, a 9th-level Cleric can raise a body dead up to eight days, and so on. Naturally, if the character’s Constitution was weak, the spell will not bring him back to life. In any event raised characters must spend two game weeks’ time recuperating from the ordeal.

     While there are several implied costs and requirements in the spell's description, there are only three which are clearly delineated the text itself; the body must not have been dead for more than four days unless the cleric is of high level, the raised character must rest for two weeks, and it only works on a few races, notably leaving out several races which would become PHB standards. While there is a mention of characters with low Constitution not being able to be raised with the spell, no hard and fast numbers are given. These suggestions would grow into the later tables that would show up for Raise Dead and other similar spells in AD&D, but they never really varied from the base assumption, with the exception of the Reincarnate spell.

     How do we make this more interesting?Again, there's a lot of implication in the text but not a lot of detail. Having some direct and unsubtle consequences for the raising kf the dead would make for more roleplaying opportunities. In that spirit, here's a Resurrection Complication Table:

d10	Resurrection Complications
1	Came Back Wrong. Increase the subject's Int by 2, reduce their Cha by 4. Animals will never trust the character.
2	Chill of the Grave. The character's body provides gives off minimal heat, and their lips are always blue or purple. The PC receives a -1 to all reaction rolls. Spells or abilities that have the ability to detect living creatures have a 50% chance of failing on them.
3	For Vengeance. The character gains +2 to all rolls in pursuit of taking revenge on the being, or organization that was responsible for their demise. All other tasks gain a -1 penalty. This effect ends if the PC kills all of those involved.
4	Glimpse the Dead. The subject's trip into the afterlife has given them the dubiously useful ability to see (but not speak or interact with) the intangible dead. The dead know when they're being observed.
5	A New Perspective. Having seen beyond the veil, the PC sees the world in a different light. If your game uses alignment, they shift one step (e.g. Lawful to Neutral, Evil to Neutral, Neutral to Chaotic)
6	Like a Bat out of Hell. The character found themselves in some place of torment in the afterlife, whether they deserved it or not. They can sense the presence of fiends and other creatures of the lower planes with a successful Save vs Magic (use a DC 15 Wisdom Save if using 5e). The fiend is aware that it is being watched.
7	Fire Walk With Me. A presence has attached itself to the character during their trip to the Beyond. While the PC largely maintains command of their body, 1/week the inhabiting spirit can try to wrest control away for a few moments, based on its personality. Roll 1d4, 1: Furious, 2: Romantic, 3: Gluttonous, 4: Covetous. When the GM deems appropriate, they can ask the PC to make a save vs Magic (or a Charisma save if using 5e) or have the spirit take control for 1d3 rounds.
8	Already Saw the Ending. It was not their time, and the character knows it. They saw their true demise while they were in the waiting room. This knowledge imparts a character with a bravery bordering on madness. 3/day, the PC can re-roll any saves or check based around fear or morale, but mast take the second result even if it is worse.
9	Splintered Soul. Though the spell was able to bring the character back, their soul had to be bound to an object, which must be protected as their link to the land of the living. The object must be small enough to be held within a character's hand, and non-perishable.
10	Success. Nothing strange or otherwise eerie happened to the character while they were dead.

     This is all assuming that the PCs are able to revive one another in the first place. Simply spending some cash, or even just having access to the spell without some sort of challenging circumstances again makes the process feel tawdry. If the players have to leg it out like this every time they want to bring some beloved PC back, they're going to be a lot more careful. Here's a few conditions upon using the Raise Dead spell:

d10	Resurrection Conditions
1	The Stars Must be Right. The necessary spheres must be in alignment, or the raising cannot occur. The party may need to consult with an astrologer or other expert on the stars.
2	Descent into Hades. Finding an entrance to the underworld, the party sneaks past whatever guardians dwell at the gate and convince the dead PC's spirit to come back with them.
3	A Life for a Life. The Raise Dead spell can only be cast if another life is taken first. The killing need not be performed by the Priest, but rather someone with a personal connection to the dead.
4	Games with Death. Tracking down a psychpomp, the party convinces the spirit to retrieve their friend. The spirit agrees, but only if the party manages to best them in a game of skill or chance.
5	Beseech the Gods. Bringing their dead friend to a temple or another site holy to a deity, the party asks for their direct intercession. The deity almost certainly extracts a favor for their aid.
6	(Un)Holy Burial. Taking to the body to a site of weighty significance, the party buries the corpse in the eldritchly charged ground. While they do come back to life, they have to roll twice on the 'Resurrection Complications' table.
7	Faustian Bargain. Striking some sort of contract with a fiend or celestial, the party secures their release from the afterlife. The price demanded will be high.
8	The Artifact. An item of great power must be a located as part of the spell's components, such as the Flower of Youth, Peaches of Immortality or a Finger of the Monkey's Paw.
9	An Arduous Ritual. The spell must be performed under exacting and taxing circumstances; It could take the form of continual chanting and wailing for a day and a night, or the construction of a sacred pyre around the body.
10	A Necessary Cost. The character was dead for too long, or perhaps the damage to their body was simply too extensive. While the Priest can bring them back, they first need to put their body back together as best they can. This may require digging up some fresh graves.