There are very few hard rules when it comes to the afterlife. That's an important worldbuilding decision that the game leaves up to the DM. There are no rules that cause a humanoid's death in the Abyss to any different from a death in another plane.
The main way to trap a soul is the Soul Cage spell. Devils also strike deals with mortals in exchange for their souls. The Raven Queen is known to collect souls as well. The DM may decide there are other circumstances that would cause a soul to be trapped.
No, there aren't any hard rules for the afterlife, but the Abyss is literally a malevolent sentient plane that consumes and corrupts souls. What the Abyss does to souls is beyond the scope of any spell. I do agree that as a Dm you need to ask yourself how you want this to play out in relation to your story/ world. But the most realistic result is that these souls are turned into demons by the Abyss itself or consumed by demons looking to gain in power (which is all of them).
Generally, the souls of creatures that go to the Abyss are reformed as Manes. These souls then work their way up the latter evolving into stronger demons as they kill and consume souls like some sort of evil poke'mon. However, there are instances where certain demons skip that cycle. You could have the Pcs start off as higher level demons and start a whole new campaign.....of evil and depravity.
there are no rules that cause a humanoids death in the abyss to be any different to a death in any other plane. that's a very important statement, it also means that unless you can come up with a convincing reason for it to be any different then it shouldn't be. You happen to want to give your party the task of getting it back is a convincing reason, however it comes with added complications, once you set the precedent you have to stand by it, so anyone else who happens to die in the abyss while trying to save your original persons soul also gets stuck there too, This comes down to how much fun will you get personally in seeing an entire party of beloved characters getting irretrievably damned for all eternity when things inevitably go pear shaped.
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All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
Generally, the souls of creatures that go to the Abyss are reformed as Manes.
The souls of evil creatures that end up in the Abyss turn into Manes. And even then, the Monster Manual is probably talking about souls for whom the Abyss is their afterlife destination.
There are rules in the DMG for creatures having their alignments changed simply for being in the Abyss. Abyssal corruption is optional, but I'm not pulling this out of thin air.
Personally I would say that a demon wouldn't be interested in one single soul. Demons are lords of destruction and really have o interest in collecting souls (the way I have always played them) - it would be devils that would want your soul not demons in my opinion. However, the abyss itself would love to have your soul, it would love to twist your life energy into something "other."
So I would say that the actual demon wouldn't be interested in your soul but that the abyss would absorb it and use it as raw material to spawn some twisted version of what you used to be.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
There are rules in the DMG for creatures having their alignments changed simply for being in the Abyss. Abyssal corruption is optional, but I'm not pulling this out of thin air.
As DMG chapter 1 points out under "Bringing Back the Dead", the default assumption is that when a creature dies, its soul passes through the Astral Plane and goes to the plane of the deity they worshipped or the plane that matches their alignment. There's no text that suggests dying on another plane changes that process, and it makes much more sense for Manes to be formed from souls that were damned to the Abyss as their afterlife. Very few creatures can make the trip to the Abyss in the first place and there's no shortage of demon cannon fodder. Deciding that a good character ends up in an evil plane just because external factors forcefully changed their alignment despite a lifetime of good deeds is also a pretty unsatisfying way to run the multiverse.
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If the players are physically in the Abyss and they decide to confront a demon in it's home lair and they die, does the demon claim their souls?
Resurrection seems to imply that a person's soul can be trapped... but I can't find any reference how that would happen or how to free them.
There are very few hard rules when it comes to the afterlife. That's an important worldbuilding decision that the game leaves up to the DM. There are no rules that cause a humanoid's death in the Abyss to any different from a death in another plane.
The main way to trap a soul is the Soul Cage spell. Devils also strike deals with mortals in exchange for their souls. The Raven Queen is known to collect souls as well. The DM may decide there are other circumstances that would cause a soul to be trapped.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
No, there aren't any hard rules for the afterlife, but the Abyss is literally a malevolent sentient plane that consumes and corrupts souls. What the Abyss does to souls is beyond the scope of any spell. I do agree that as a Dm you need to ask yourself how you want this to play out in relation to your story/ world. But the most realistic result is that these souls are turned into demons by the Abyss itself or consumed by demons looking to gain in power (which is all of them).
Generally, the souls of creatures that go to the Abyss are reformed as Manes. These souls then work their way up the latter evolving into stronger demons as they kill and consume souls like some sort of evil poke'mon. However, there are instances where certain demons skip that cycle. You could have the Pcs start off as higher level demons and start a whole new campaign.....of evil and depravity.
there are no rules that cause a humanoids death in the abyss to be any different to a death in any other plane. that's a very important statement,
it also means that unless you can come up with a convincing reason for it to be any different then it shouldn't be.
You happen to want to give your party the task of getting it back is a convincing reason, however it comes with added complications, once you set the precedent you have to stand by it, so anyone else who happens to die in the abyss while trying to save your original persons soul also gets stuck there too,
This comes down to how much fun will you get personally in seeing an entire party of beloved characters getting irretrievably damned for all eternity when things inevitably go pear shaped.
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
The souls of evil creatures that end up in the Abyss turn into Manes. And even then, the Monster Manual is probably talking about souls for whom the Abyss is their afterlife destination.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
There are rules in the DMG for creatures having their alignments changed simply for being in the Abyss. Abyssal corruption is optional, but I'm not pulling this out of thin air.
Personally I would say that a demon wouldn't be interested in one single soul. Demons are lords of destruction and really have o interest in collecting souls (the way I have always played them) - it would be devils that would want your soul not demons in my opinion. However, the abyss itself would love to have your soul, it would love to twist your life energy into something "other."
So I would say that the actual demon wouldn't be interested in your soul but that the abyss would absorb it and use it as raw material to spawn some twisted version of what you used to be.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
As DMG chapter 1 points out under "Bringing Back the Dead", the default assumption is that when a creature dies, its soul passes through the Astral Plane and goes to the plane of the deity they worshipped or the plane that matches their alignment. There's no text that suggests dying on another plane changes that process, and it makes much more sense for Manes to be formed from souls that were damned to the Abyss as their afterlife. Very few creatures can make the trip to the Abyss in the first place and there's no shortage of demon cannon fodder. Deciding that a good character ends up in an evil plane just because external factors forcefully changed their alignment despite a lifetime of good deeds is also a pretty unsatisfying way to run the multiverse.
The Forum Infestation (TM)