resurrection - OverTheMoon D&D

# Resurrection and Revivification ## Resurrection Rules Character death often becomes no more than a minor inconvenience in some campaigns. Once an adventuring party reaches a certain level, the spells available to return fallen comrades from the afterlife—including *revivify*, *raise dead*, and *resurrection*—make death no more than a temporary setback, potentially undermining one of the most significant elements of danger and threat in the campaign story. For players and GMs who wish to elevate the gravity of character death, the rules in this section offer different approaches. --- #### Fading Spirits > [!quote] >*Like all of the great rites of passage in life, death changes us. Simply returning to the world of the living does not undo that change, nor is it at all simple. Those who have passed beyond the veil are marked by it, even if they manage to find their way back.* > >— Claret Director Ged Narrel, *Unfinished Rites* This house rule is used to increase the emotional stakes of bringing a beloved friend back from the dead. It also adds the ever-increasing threat of losing a friend permanently to the game, even with the aid of miraculous magic. If magic is used to bring a character back from the dead (except for the _revivify_ spell; see below), everyone present becomes part of a resurrection ritual. Up to three characters present for the ritual—typically members of the deceased's adventuring party—can contribute to the ritual by attempting to call their ally's spirit back. This could involve delivering a stirring speech, playing a song from their shared childhood, goading a rival back with a display of sword skills, confessing undying love for them, or anything else that the players or the GM consider emotionally stirring. _**Participating in the Ritual.**_ Each of the participating characters makes an ability check. A player can tell the GM what kind of check they want to make, but ultimately the GM decides what check is appropriate based on the character's contribution to the ritual. The baseline DC of this check is 15, but the GM can raise or lower the DC (typically anywhere between 10 and 20) if the contribution seems particularly appropriate or particularly insincere. For example, praying to a fallen paladin's god for mercy might require a participant to make a DC 10 Intelligence (Religion) check, whereas shouting at a dead friend's corpse to get back up and stop lazing around might require a DC 20 Charisma (Intimidation) check. If the contribution is roleplayed in a particularly touching way, the GM can grant advantage on the check—even if the check's DC remains high. The degree of a contribution's success determines how much it aids the rite. Each result modifies one of the Resurrection Checks, as the contributor chooses to direct their effort toward the ally's Body, Mind, or Soul. They may choose which one to contribute towards after they’ve made the roll, but before they know the result. |Result|Effect| |---|---| |**Critical Success**|+3 and Advantage on the resurrection check| |**Success**|+2 to the resurrection check| |**Failure**|−1 to the resurrection check| |**Critical Failure**|−2 to the resurrection check| ^resurrection-contributions _**Resurrection Checks.**_ After all the characters' contributions are completed, the GM makes three Resurrection Checks—one for the returning character's Body, one for their Mind, and one for their Soul. For each, the GM rolls a d20 and adds a bonus determined by the character's proficiency with the matching saving throw: - Fortitude for the Body - Reflex for the Mind - Will for the Soul. |Proficiency Tier|Bonus to the Roll| |---|:-:| |**Untrained**|+0| |**Trained**|+1| |**Proficient**|+2| |**Expert**|+3| ^resurrection-proficiency The DC of each check is 12, increased by 1 for every time the character has returned to life before, as the soul's connection to this world is slowly eroded by repeatedly dying and returning. Each contribution from the other participants modifies the check it was directed toward. A Critical Failure on any check is graver than an ordinary one, and must be answered before the rest are counted (see _A Faltering Rite_, below). Once any Critical Failure has been resolved, tally the three checks. The character is returned to life if at least two of the three succeed, and the soul is willing, as usual. Should all three succeed, they return whole. Should exactly one fail, they return all the same—but that part of them comes back changed, and they suffer a consequence drawn from the matching part of the Harrowing Return table (Body, Mind, or Soul). Should two or more fail, the rite cannot hold: the soul does not return, and the character is permanently unable to be raised from the dead. > [!failure] > _**A Faltering Rite.**_ If the GM rolls a Critical Failure on any of the three resurrection checks, the rite begins to come apart, and the participants must make a last-ditch effort to hold it together—or lose their friend outright, however the other checks may have fallen. A single participant may take on two levels of Fatigue and two levels of Strife, and make a sacrifice of worth, to turn that Critical Failure into an ordinary failure—then counted among the three as any other. Such a sacrifice might be: > - surrendering a treasured item, trinket, or weapon; > - confessing something never before disclosed; > - expending every use of a class feature that recharges on a long rest, regaining none until after their next long rest; or > - beseeching a deity they had once forsworn. > > If no participant is willing or able to pay the price, the rite fails, the soul does not return—and the character is permanently unable to be raised from the dead. _**True Miracles.**_ If a character is brought back from the dead by the _true resurrection_ spell, the GM has Advantage on all 3 Resurrection Checks. If the character was resurrected with the _wish_ spell, or by a god, they instantly return to life without the need for a resurrection ritual. Additionally, if a character has been permanently lost due to a failed resurrection ritual, the GM can allow a casting of _true resurrection_ or _wish_ to begin a last-chance resurrection ritual—one that can't be repeated if failed. _**Revivify.**_ If a spell with a casting time of 1 action is used to restore life to a creature (including the _revivify_ spell), no one but the caster can participate in the resurrection ritual. The caster makes a single quick resurrection check by rolling a d20 and adding their spellcasting ability modifier, against a DC equal to 12 + 1 for every time the character has returned to life before. On a failure, the character's soul is not lost, but the resurrection fails and increases the DC of any future resurrection checks by 1. Further attempts to bring the character back to life must involve a spell with a casting time longer than 1 action (including _raise dead_ or _resurrection_). ## Harrowing Return > [!quote] >*O lady of cold winters and the long night of all souls. O harbinger of all ends and eternal sentinel of the final threshold. I entreat you—nay, I beseech you! You bear within your grasp the soul of one whose fate has not yet reached its end. Bear witness, O queen of night-black feathers; turn your divine gaze to the golden bonds that tie the living to the departed.* > >*The tears of a brother, who weeps without shame. The blade of a lover, who grieves she did not die while holding it in battle alongside you. A portrait painted by a mother, of an infant, untouched by the sorrows of the world. O Matron of Death, I plead to you—hear their cries! Let not this warrior's fate end here.* > > — Valiq, *Cleric of the Matron of Ravens* When a character is brought back to life by any spell or effect other than *true resurrection*, *wish*, or by a god, that character’s quality of resurrection is determined by their Resurrection Checks. On any failure, the character's experience of death and the afterlife exacts a heavy toll, and—once the ritual is successfully completed—they must determine the effects by rolling on the matching Consequences tables. The consequence lasts until the GM rules that the character has resolved it. Consequences with no clear resolution last for 3d4 × 10 days, after which the player decides how their character overcame it. Or, to make a campaign even darker, the players and the GM can agree that these consequences last indefinitely. Alternatively, rather than rolling on the table, a player and a GM can work together to choose a consequence that creates an interesting story for the character. Such a consequence might tie to the character's backstory, the themes of the campaign, or the circumstances under which the character died. A *remove curse* spell temporarily suppresses a consequence of being brought back from the dead, but the consequence returns each time the character drops to 0 hit points or finishes a long rest, until the consequence is resolved. ## Consequences ### Body A failed Body check means the flesh did not fully take. You live, but death left its mark on you, and it will not be so easily healed. If you return from a resurrection ritual but it was this check that failed, roll on the table below to determine its effects on you as you grapple with your brush with death. | # | Consequence | What it does | | :---: | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **1** | **Persistent Wounds** | ***Death has left its mark on you.*** Whenever you fail a death saving throw, your hit point maximum is reduced by 2d10 until you finish a long rest. If your hit point maximum is reduced to 0 in this way, you die. | | **2** | **Never Again** | ***The trauma of your experience is too great to experience again, and you will avoid it at all costs.*** You don't fall unconscious when reduced to 0 hit points. Instead, you remain conscious until you end your turn without having attacked a creature or cast a spell of 1st level or higher. While you have 0 hit points, you have advantage on attack rolls, your attacks deal an extra 1d10 damage on a hit, and attack rolls made against you have disadvantage. You make death saving throws as normal, including suffering a failure when you take damage. Additionally, whenever you take damage while at 0 hit points, your hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage until you finish a long rest. | | **3** | **Lingering Injuries** | ***Wounds heal, but the scars remain.*** Choose or roll a lasting injury that your death—or the events surrounding it—caused. It could be a clouded or missing eye, a crippled leg, a ruined hand, or a deafened ear. Work with the GM to set its effect; for example, a lost eye might impose disadvantage on ranged attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, while a crippled leg might reduce your speed by 10 feet and bar you from taking the Dash action. These injuries may be permanent, or require high level magic like *regenerate*, or quests to mend. | | **4** | **Grave Chill** | ***Your body went cold, and it never warmed again.*** Your body no longer needs to eat or drink to sustain yourself, and you no longer need to sleep to stave off Exhaustion—instead you must spend the time you would spend sleeping simply meditating. Your skin is cold to the touch—just like the dead—and effects that detect, ward against, or harm the undead treat you as one at the GM's discretion. You have Susceptibility to Radiant damage. | | **5** | **Reluctant Flesh** | ***Some wounds never heal.*** Your flesh resists mending. Whenever you regain hit points from a spell or ability, or from a short or long rest, you regain half as many Hit Points, rounded down. You have Disadvantage on Saving Throws to resist the Bleeding, Maimed, and Withered conditions. | | **6** | **Mark of Death** | ***It takes some getting used to, being alive again.*** You are considered to have 1 level of Exhaustion at all times unless you make efforts to take care of yourself. This could be extended downtime, extra healing spells or potions when at full health, etc. When you complete activities or are affected by features that would normally remove the Exhaustion—they instead stave off the effects for 8 hours, or however long the effect lasts—whichever is longer. You have Disadvantage on Saving Throws to resist the Fatigue condition | ^body-consequences --- ### Mind A failed Mind check means your psyche is fractured. You live, but the trauma of your experience looms over you. If you return from a resurrection ritual but it was this check that failed, roll on the table below to determine its effects on you as you toil with your brush with death. | # | Consequence | What it does | | :---: | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **1** | **Memories from the Beyond** | ***The memory of death lingers.*** At the end of each long rest, describe how your character has tried to forget what dying felt like, then make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC set by the GM based on your answer. On a failed save, you gain one level of exhaustion that lasts until you are subject to *greater restoration* or similar magic, or until you spend 30 days in focused downtime to make peace with your memories. | | **2** | **Hunger for Death** | ***Your brush with death made you relish experiencing a creature’s final moments.*** Once per day, you or the GM must decide that you use the following reaction: When you see a creature you perceive as hostile or potentially hostile and your distance to that creature is equal to or less than your speed, you immediately and aggressively move your speed toward that creature, then make one melee attack against it. You have advantage on the attack roll if your attack is unexpected. | | **3** | **Opaque Thoughts** | ***You obsessively recall the sensation of life tearing you from the jaws of death.*** These ever-present memories fill your mind, making you immune to any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts. Likewise, other creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to ascertain your intentions. | | **4** | **Piercing Eyesight** | ***You’ve seen things during your time apart from the living. Now you can’t stop seeing them.*** You glimpse what death leaves behind—the ghosts of the recently departed, restless souls who haven’t passed on, or vengeful spirits with a one-track mind. You have advantage on checks to notice ghosts, wraiths, or other incorporeal undead. However, seeing is not always a benefit. Occasionally, you may be visited by spirits (or manifestations of spirits) personally related to you. The GM can decide what happens based upon the nature of the haunt and the outcome of the encounter. | | **5** | **Bleak Outlook** | ***You struggle to find meaning or purpose, seeing what awaits us all.*** Death dulled the senses, the little joys you experience throughout life. Little can move you now, and you have advantage on Saving Throws against being Charmed or Frightened. However, the same numbness has a price: you have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks that depend on warmth or sincerity, and forming a true bond comes slowly and with effort, if at all. | | **6** | **Whispers from Beyond** | ***The place of death beckons you to return.*** The voices of the dead murmur at the edge of your hearing. You occasionally hear things to encourage you to return to the plane of Death or otherwise dampen your mood. They attempt to sow doubt about your allies, push you into danger, encourage rash or reckless decisions. When you attempt to sleep, you must make a Will Saving Throw (DC 12 + how much your Mind Resurrection Check failed by) or suffer 1 level of Strife. Once per day, you can calm yourself and ask them a single question; if the spirits may know the answer, the GM answers truthfully but briefly, as though by the *augury* or *speak with dead* spell, shaped by the dead's broken understanding. | ^mind-consequences --- ### Soul A failed Soul check means your essence is torn. You live, but the fiber of your very being is altered or corrupted. If you return from a resurrection ritual but it was this check that failed, roll on the table below to determine its effects on you as you come to terms with your brush with death. | # | Consequence | What it does | | :---: | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **1** | **Call of the Grave** | ***An angel or being of death is obsessed with your fleeting spirit, and wants you back.*** When you roll initiative at the start of combat, make a death saving throw. On a failed save, the GM chooses an undead creature with a CR equal to your level or lower. It appears at a point 120 feet away from you and joins the combat against you. The creature knows where you are at all times and pursues you unerringly. It vanishes when reduced to 0 hit points, when you die, or after 10 minutes. | | **2** | **Obscure Purpose** | ***A greater power allowed you to come back for a reason.*** This might be a god such as the **Matron of Ravens** that you can now commune with, or an obscure supernatural being. This consequence might be an opportunity to become a cleric or paladin of this god, or to take levels in the warlock class. Alternatively, if you choose not to swear a covenant with this entity, or if you disobey their requests, roll again on this table. You suffer the new consequences until you adhere to the purpose of this entity or find a way to rid yourself of their attention. | | **3** | **Hollow Victory** | ***Part of you stayed behind.*** Your soul returned incomplete. A piece of it was left behind, whether in the afterlife meant for you or in the grasp of whatever tried to prevent your return. While you are still incomplete, you are always considered to have 1 level of Fatigue, and effects that bolster or restore the soul find no purchase in you. You have Disadvantage on Death Saving Throws while incomplete, as well as Saving Throws made to resist the Withered condition. You are not wholly severed, though. As an action, you can attempt to sense the direction and rough distance to where the rest of you is held or was left. These negative effects last until you reclaim your remnant and become whole. This may be a journey to the place it waits, a bargain with an entity to release it, or a daring jailbreak. Leave it too long, and there may not be enough of you left to make whole. | | **4** | **Unearthly Awareness** | ***Your ordeal left a mark upon your soul, which now shudders in the presence of the undead.*** You know whenever an undead creature is within 30 feet of you, and you don't have Disadvantage on attacks against invisible undead within this range. This constant awareness is distracting, however, and you have Disadvantage on Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception) checks while any undead creature is within 30 feet of you. | | **5** | **Backseat Driver** | ***Your soul caught a hitchiker on the ride back to the Material.*** A foreign presence shares your flesh, and it vies for control whenever you falter. While you are Bloodied, Charmed, Confused, Disrupted, Frenzied, Frightened, or Goaded, make a Will Saving Throw at the start of your turn with a DC equal to 12 + the amount your Soul Resurrection Check failed by. On a failure, it surfaces until the start of your next turn. Your body fights itself, and attack rolls against you gain a +2 bonus. On a Critical Failure, attacks against you have Advantage as well. You can take a level of Strife to succeed on the save automatically. Work with the GM to determine how you can rid yourself of this denizen from the plane of the dead. | | **6** | **Thin Veil** | ***Your soul has become untethered.*** The barrier between you and the spirit world has worn thin. You can see and hear into the Ethereal Plane out to 30 feet, perceiving ghosts, the freshly departed, and creatures potentially lurking in the ether. However, you are also affected. Ethereal and incorporeal creatures perceive you plainly, and can interact with you when normally the living or the material would be beyond their grasp. When you are Unconscious (by sleeping or through afflictions), you no longer dream as the living do. Your soul detaches from your physical body and roams the material and ethereal planes until you would wake. You must succeed on a Will Saving Throw (DC 12 + the amount your Soul Resurrection Check failed by) or suffer 1 level of Strife. | ^soul-consequences