Resurrection

**I'm dead... so now what?**

I've never been a fan of the simplicity of the revolving-door afterlife present in the Dungeons and Dragons game. With the raise dead and resurrection spell so readily available in most game worlds, it seems like death carries no real danger of finality. So when I set out to create my own world, I was determined to make death a very real danger... there are ways out, but always with a price.

Annwn, the Dark Lady, goddess of death, does not so easily allow mortal souls to escape their judgment. She is a jealous goddess, who can be quite bitter when a soul is taken from her grasp before she has a chance to strip it bare and determine its final resting place. However, it is not impossible to put her judgment off for another day.

On Tanicus, there are four general ways to overcome death: resurrection with a promise to Annwn, forced resurrection against her divine will, reincarnation, and celestial resurrection. Each of these comes with its own price tag, and its own dangers.

## Resurrection by Promise

The first of these means is accomplished through either the raise dead spell. In order for either of this spells to work, the subject must a) be willing to come back from the dead and b) be willing to negotiate with Annwn for release. A subject who is raised in such a manner is granted a “chip” that can be called in at any time in their remaining lifespan. At any time, Annwn can call in this marker to have the subject perform a task for her. When the time comes, the goddess or one of her agents will appear to the reborn subject and give her instructions.

If the recipient of resurrection refuses or fails in the task, they die... permanently. If they refuse, Annwn may take a few dozen of their closest friends as well, just to remind the survivors that it’s not wise to renege on a deal with her. If the recipient succeeds in the task to Annwn's satisfaction, they are allowed to continue living for as long as they’re able. If a being dies for a second time after performing a resurrection by promise, they cannot be raised again in this manner.

A subject raised in this manner comes back with Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity scores of 1. And one hit point. With light to moderate activity, the character can recover one point in one of these abilities per day. With bed rest, the character can recover one point in each ability per day. With full bed rest under the direct care of a cleric making successful Heal checks, the character can recover two points in each ability per day. Restoration spells cannot accelerate this process. Characters do not lose a level or permanent Constitution score if raised in this manner. Cure spells can restore lost hit points faster, but at only one-quarter their effectiveness, and only once per day.

## Forced Resurrection

Use of the resurrection spell can bypass Annwn's judgment without her permission. If a willing being is subject to such a spell, the recipient has a choice. They can, if they’re smart, enter into a resurrection pact with Annwn. They can also choose, if they’re feeling bold, to accept the resurrection without her consent. This practice is called “forced resurrection,” not because the recipient was forced to come back, but because Annwn was forced to let go of a soul awaiting judgment. This is widely regarded as a bad idea.

The subject of forced resurrection suffers level loss or Constitution loss, per the spell description, due to the trauma associated with forcefully escaping from the goddess’ realm. Additionally, at least once in each adventure, Annwn will send a representative to try to "negotiate" for the soul's return. Her representative will, at first, be one challenge level higher than the party’s average effective level. Every two representatives (the third, fifth, seventh, etc.) increase this challenge rating advantage by one. The representative of Annwn will attempt to kill the subject of the forced resurrection and anyone "aiding and abetting" them. No experience or treasure is ever gained from defeating one of Annwn's representatives in this manner.

The subject of a resurrection spell that chooses to make a promise to Annwn comes back to life at full strength. The subject of a forced resurrection comes back at one half of their Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity scores (rounded down) and with one hit point. Recovery of this ability damage and hit point loss is identical to that described under "Resurrection by Promise." Subjects of forced resurrection lose one level or two points of Constitution permanently as described in the resurrection spell listing in the *Players Handbook.*

## Reincarnation

By comparison to the previous means of rising from the grave, the reincarnation spell is mild. Due to an ancient agreement between Dyanae and Annwn, reincarnation of the soul into a new body is permitted without payment to Annwn. The condition, however, is that the goddess of death be allowed to judge the soul for its deeds in its "first life" and represent punishment of reward in its new form. In other words, how true a character was to itself and how good its deeds in life help determine the form in which the character will return.

This decision is made via DM caveat, with player input. The DM will ask the player how "good" he thinks he’s been and what deeds he's performed that make him deserve a "good rebirth." At this time, the DM can also offer up counter-arguments on why the character deserves to be punished. Ultimately, the DM will make a decision and roll on the reincarnation chart. Based on the "trial," the DM can slide the result one row in either direction to find a form which the character most "deserves." This is entirely at the DM's discretion, and doesn't always guarantee a pleasant result.

A character who rolls "elf" could come back as an elf, dwarf, or gnoll, depending on the preference of the DM and, if it is a reward, what the character would be most happy with. A character that rolls "lizard folk" is stuck with lizard folk, kobold, or orc, depending on what best fits the punishment or reward… none of which are the best option for a former Lwnasidh cabalist. The DM can (and has, in my case) build an extended reincarnation list to fit his game style and preference.

A character who is reincarnated does not lose a level or Constitution per the base spell description. While there is no permanent effect, the character does return to life with a 2 point penalty to all ability scores (after recalculation for the new form), which are recovered as per "Resurrection with Promise," above. Because the new form is considered a reward or punishment, a wish or miracle cannot restore the character to their original form without direct intervention of a deity.

## Celestial Resurrection

Quite possibly the best way to return to live is via the DM-caveat mechanic of celestial resurrection. Before the deceased soul ever makes it to Annwn's realm, it is waylaid by its patron deity (or another deity, if it would make an interesting story) and offered a "celestial destiny." In exchange for being returned to life, the character will be granted a great deed that the deity requires, usually something with a world-impacting importance. If the character agrees, it is returned to life and granted the "celestial creature" template from the *Monster Manual.*

If such a character is thereafter considered to be a summoned creature for the purposes of magic circle spells, dismissal, and death. If killed or dismissed on the prime or any inner plane, the character will reform after 24 hours to continue along the course of his destiny, often after receiving a stern talking-to from his patron deity.

Of course, there's a catch or two. First, if the character refuses to pursue its destiny, the deity in question can nudge the character with any number of nasty "hints" or, eventually, revoke the deal outright and kill the character at will, all with no saving throws. Why would anyone renege on such a deal? First of all, the raised character is subject to the deity's will and possible "revised" destinies (since the character rarely knows why he’s been returned). In effect, the character loses some of his free will. And also, well, sometimes destiny can be hard… other times, it's because of what happens after a celestial destiny is fulfilled.

If a character dies, is dismissed, or otherwise returned to his deity's plane of existence after he has completed the task set before him, or while successfully completing the task, the subject of the celestial resurrection ascends and can no longer return to his mortal life. Instead, he advances on the "path of divinity" and becomes a true celestial creature. Once the character is no longer a mere bearer of the celestial template, its mortal tasks are done. Period.

For an example, see the story of Myrddin, god of redemption. Myrddin was a human warrior and knight who was killed while pursuing the blackguard Kernan in 200 KF. He was returned to life by Arwin, who set him on the task of saving Kaeryn from Kernan and ensuring that the Vistani family took their rightful place as advisors to the crown (though he didn’t know the whole story at the time of his return). Myrddin came back to life as a celestial human, now a paladin of Arwin. He fell in love with the warrior-maiden Jhezra who, as history tells it, betrayed her friends and lover and threw herself into the River of Lament before Kernan was finally defeated.

Shortly after the fall of Kernan, Lady Jhezra rose as the first death knight, the Knight of the Rusted Sword. Confronting his former lover, Myrddin died in the very act of destroying her and ascended along the path of divinity to sainthood. This is where most recipients of a celestial destiny stop, but Myrddin wasn't done quite yet. The god Qord gave Lady Jhezra her own celestial destiny: the eternal torment of Myrddin. So long as her once-lover exists, Jhezra cannot be permanently destroyed.

When the death knight reappeared, Myrddin bent the rules of his sainthood and indirectly intervened (technically not a "mortal" task), sending a party of adventurers to stop her latest nefarious plot. They succeeded through their faith in Myrddin the saint and hero. As a result, Arwin decided to “punish” him by making him the demigod of redemption. Thus, he took the third step down the path of divinity. Ultimately, Arwin called upon Myrddin in the Godswar and he took the final step down the path and was granted the power and domain a full god. This is, of course, a rare and extreme case.

In any case, celestial resurrection is extremely rare and there are a few rules. No deity may have more than one celestial destiny in play at a given time. No two mortals can share the same celestial destiny. And most importantly, once a character ascends to sainthood, it permanently becomes an NPC under DM control. A character returned to life via celestial resurrection comes back at full health, full ability scores, and without level loss, though there is usually some sort of physical change that cannot be disguised.

## Conclusion

There you have it... while it’s not as easy to come back as it is in the basic rules for D&D, returning from the dead is possible in Tanicus. The question, however, becomes whether or not the character is willing to pay the price. In any case, it is impossible to return a character to life without the character’s consent… choosing to remain dead is always an option.