 |
| A Failed Raise Dead Casting? |
B/X's (OSE) spell Raise Dead is so strange to me. It's a spell that completely circumvents the biggest fear a character has in-game and makes death just an inconvenience, a speed bump. And yet I kind of like the idea of it existing but there has to be some consequences to it. Otherwise some rich merchant could theoretically buy some Raise Dead scrolls and be done with death. So here are some further rules and prerequisites I'm thinking off adding should someone gain access to the Raise Dead spell in my future hypothetical OSE campaign.
RAISE DEAD
CHANGES
- Raise Dead is no longer instant and instead takes minimum 1 hour to cast depending on the caster's customs and rituals.
- Range is changed from 120' to 5'. The caster must be in very close proximity to the body.
LIMITS
- Cannot bring back someone who died of advanced age.
- The spell will mend wounds but does not regrow lost limbs or such. Think Beric from GoT.
- The target cannot be an enemy of the caster's religion, god or alignment.
CONSEQUENCES
- The caster must make a save vs spells when Raise Dead is cast, this represents the caster's faith. A failure means the caster ages 1d10+2 years and this casting is unsuccessful. I might allow some bonuses if the caster prepared some fancy expensive incense burning and lamb offerings and such.
I'm also thinking about adding a monetary cost to each casting but might save that for NPC castings of the spell. 3-13 possible years of aging seems like a significant penalty to prevent spamming the spell.
Do you allow RAW Raise Dead in your b/x--OSE games or do you change it up? I'm curious so let me know in the comments! Would love to hear some Raise Dead stories too.
Do you allow RAW Raise Dead in your b/x--OSE games or do you change it up? I'm curious so let me know in the comments! Would love to hear some Raise Dead stories too.
I've removed Raise Dead in all but one of my campaigns. In that one, it requires that an experience level be expended. This cost can be paid by the recipient, caster, or a third party (willing or unwilling).
ReplyDeleteThis gives evil priests a reason to sacrifice folks, makes death sting for PCs, and explains why every peasant who dies in a plague or war isn't promptly raised.
Ooo, that's a great cost and one I might use too. I really like that evil clerics can sacrifice folks for their casting. Good stuff and thanks for reading/posting!
DeleteYou’re rolling for save versus spells rule seems incomplete. Does the clerics wisdom or his general faithfulness to his professed deity/religion influence that roll? IMO it certainly should. The cleric is imploring his god to do somethingsignificant, it would seem that his god’s willingness to do it may depend upon his fitness as a cleric (fellow Catholics don’t quote Aquinas to me here - it’s a game, not real theology) and or whether it aligns with some other purpose of the deity.
ReplyDeleteI was actually surprised to learn that you add your WIS MOD to saving throws versus spells in OSE--B/X. So the more "wise" the Cleric the better a chance you have at bringing someone back. I do like your idea of a cleric with more brownie pts with their god having a better chance of brining someone back. Maybe that's something I will test out down the road. Thank you for reading/posting!
Delete* https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Ability_Scores
You have to keep in mind, too - that isn't as harsh as it sounds. Raise Dead being a 5th level spell in OSE, the Cleric casting it will need to be at least 7th level: meaning their Spells save is going to be, at worst, a 12. Knowing Wisdom modifies the Spell save and Wisdom is a Cleric's prime requisite, I see the test of fate usually being a 50-55% success range - which, to me, sounds totally fair.
DeleteGreat idea for a houserule, KingBrackish!
Thanks @CWR!
DeleteNow that you mention the range and casting time, I agree they need changing. Your changes seem appropriate. Prefer aging over experience loss.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I never really liked the idea of XP loss either. Seems to finicky to track.
Delete