First time as DM I had a player die. He rolled a 7 and a 1 on his death saves. I asked the player in private if he would want to play a new character or would he be interested in me crafting a way to bring his current PC back. He preferred to continue playing the same PC and was understanding that it would take me some down time for me to come up with something cool. The other players not knowing any of this chose to give there friend a Viking burial. SO he is going to need a new body.
Some of my immediate ideas I had was some sort of clone or come back as a construct (Dice Camera Action style). My question to you is, What are some cool ways to bring this character back with a twist? What kind of interesting enhancements or detraction I can give him?
Some campaign background, The player would really like to keep playing a Rogue Swashbuckler. We are playing Dragon heist and the Fireball hasn't hit yet. We have one Cleric of Lathander.
Easy option would be a god speaks with the dead pc and sends them back to the material realm with a mission, relevenat gods in the forgotten realms could be mask, tymora or Beshaba.
Relevant missions could be:
Steal an Item and take it to a temple for safe keeping
Find a stolen item and return it to a temple,
Discredit a wandering mystic claiming to be a disciple of the god.
Woo a noble and get them to make a donation or take up worship of the god
Other options:
the pc comes back as a revenant (pg 259 of monster manual) with a particular goal to achieve, this would also mena they have to be heeedful of the passing of time
aloow the Cleric in the party a one time vision from Lathander granting the ability to raise the Rogue from the dead but then tying them both to aiding the faithful of Lathander in some way.
The party stumble on a Rod of Ressurection with a single use remaining
Have a back street "wise woman" raise the rogue from the dead, she uses Animate Dead and the rogue comes back as a zombie but retains all previous memories and abilities, The wise woman turns out to be a Hag.
You might need to tell the players out of game that the player would like them to get their PC back, otherwise they could choose to leave them dead. Then have the player with the dead PC play a new character with motivation to get the PC back to life - maybe they died with some knowledge that's needed. Perhaps to some treasure horde or magic item. Once the party gets the PC revived, have the new character become an NPC and eventually leave the party. The actual revival will require you to create an adventure. Maybe others here can make suggestions on that.
I believe the Reincarnate spell allows a creature to be brought back to life within 10 days, the potential for switching race and or sex could be an interesting side plot for the campaign.
There has been a lot of talk about the reincarnation spell here lately. You could have someone reincarnate his character. Or another spell, but give him a geas or otherwise force him to do the resurrector's bidding. Maybe he will have to spy on his companions, or maybe a devil offered him a contract to do something for him, or otherwise, he forfeits his soul to the devil. Or maybe he signed a contract with the devil beforehand and the devil won't let him truly die yet.
Or maybe some extradimensional being, who cannot manifest in reality, used the moment to possess his body at the Viking funeral-- giving it immunity to fire for the time being (you can even just give him fire resistance moving forward) and it took a few days for him to reconstitute himself, but now with this alien personality inhabiting his body, he has to share his existence with it and --- yes, it has it's own mission for being here (and maybe some other extradimensional threats that are hunting it.)
Make a deal with the Grim Reaper. The character has to kill someone close to them, even another player within a time period. Thus offering a soul in return for theirs. Fun stuff.
I'd go with a quest to find a one-use True Resurrection artifact, maybe a tree, book, or spring of legend that will bring back a friend for those who find it. For that session, the player whose character has died could play as a field researcher, holy pilgrim, or ancestral guardian seeking the relic.
I’d say you can make him come back as a revenant. With his body destroyed, he would inhabit the corpse of some other humanoid. I would assume the party killed his killer already, but his mission of vengeance could be a larger scale. Maybe a higher up boss. During this quest to take out the object of his wrath, the party learns about the one-time use True Res artifact that Naivara suggested above and tries to get hold of it to put their friend back right.
Easiest way I can think of would be requesting a spellcasting service from a church for true resurrection. I don't expect the party to be able to afford it, so said archpriest can send them on a quest to retrieve a powerful magic item, such as a Rod of Rulership.
Twist could be that this archpriest is LE, serving Asmodeus and an aspiring BBEG.
I recently had my first PC death as a DM. I think I was more devastated than the player. The rest of the group decided that they would rush the PC’s ( the cleric of the group )body back to town in hopes of finding someone to bring her back from death. Between sessions I decided that the town priest ( who was out of town on a private matter ) had returned and had the ability to revive the PC. Since the spell requires a diamond worth 500 gold pieces ( which the priest did not have ) she sent them on a journey to retrieve said diamond from a location which she knew of close by. So the fallen PC did not feel left out I allowed her spirit to wake up in cave meet up with group and help recover the diamond needed. I allowed her spirit to cast spells but not grasp weapons. She could pass through doors but not float. The group had fun the PC returned to fight another day and all was well!
There are several ways the character could come back as is or different. It could be burried in a sanctified ground that revivify him in the hour or resurrect him the next day. Or a vampire could dig its fresh corpse out to feed on it, and bring him back as a Dhampir. A dark power could bring him back as a revenant with the undead type but otherwise the same statistics. A diety favored by the party could return him to life demanding a favor in return. A fiend could revive him and strike a deal for its soul. An eldritch effect could cause a time travel back. One of their magic item could have a powerful entity revealing itself and offering the party a quest in exchange for a service. It could be reincarnated by a strange phenomenon the next moon and find the party ....
You've already agreed to do it, but however you do it, make it clear to the party that this is a one time thing and... don't do it again. There's no threat other than a TPK if characters can keep bouncing back up when the party don't have the resources to do it themselves. It also really lessens the meaningfulness of the character death.
Since you're already on this path, I'd make this a quest chain, and have the player play a different character for a few sessions while they try to bring them back.
Let's say they need a 500gp diamond - those things aren't just lying about. In my campaign there are only about 4 in the entire level 1-12 game world, so if the PCs haven't found them (I know who has them) or used them already, they're gone. So choose an NPC who has one, and they need something doing. Make it complex, something that will take 3-4 game sessions to resolve. The player can roll a temporary new character for those games, someone who goes alongside the PCs to get them to do the things. At the end of a few sessions and a dungeon, have them return, be rewarded with the gem... or better yet, they have to escort the gem-holder through the dungeon to a sacred shrine that is the only place that he can bring the character back.
Make it a major feat to bring the character back to life.
Since you're already on this path, I'd make this a quest chain, and have the player play a different character for a few sessions while they try to bring them back.
And who knows, they might get to like their "temporary" character after they've played it for a little while.
When I ran "Lost Mines of Phandelver" I had the whole party falling in combat (against a certain enemy of the draconic kind), but only one of them failed his death saves. I had the druid, that had sent them to face the enemy, collect their bodies and tend to them. As the options the druid has are limited I had him cast reincarnation and the player returned as a tiefling (he used to be an elf). For the rest of the campaign, but also in the next one, he made trying to turn back into his original form a sidequest. That offered me the oportunity to steer the group towards a desired direction, just by dropping a hint that he might find someone to do that for him (by casting a wish spell). Of course, I was not misleading them, as I chose a powerful npc wizard to be the one to help him.
If you have the time, run them their own side-plot. I don't know how Dragon Heist goes, but if there is a main baddie which you can swap out for the PC that has been resurrected then you could do this (in broad sweeping arcs):
The player gets a solo adventure where they have been offered a chance of life by a powerful being. They are given tasks to perform to be resurrected. do this first, over one session.
The adventure is actually putting obstacles in the path of the rest of the party - who don't realise the player is getting their character back. Give the player a temporary character for this bit. Do this second - the player will realise that they recognise these obstacles from their solo adventure.
Finish the session with a cliffhanger - the players character is stood against them, under obvious control of the bad guy. Kill the bad guy to save them from their servitude.
Next session starts with the fight, and the player gets their character back at the end!
if you have access to Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (VRGtR) maybe the Reborn would be an interesting twist to the character? more of a twist on the character then the how I know but thought it worth mentioning.
Oh boy just realised this is a necro undead thread...
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
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First time as DM I had a player die. He rolled a 7 and a 1 on his death saves. I asked the player in private if he would want to play a new character or would he be interested in me crafting a way to bring his current PC back. He preferred to continue playing the same PC and was understanding that it would take me some down time for me to come up with something cool. The other players not knowing any of this chose to give there friend a Viking burial. SO he is going to need a new body.
Some of my immediate ideas I had was some sort of clone or come back as a construct (Dice Camera Action style). My question to you is, What are some cool ways to bring this character back with a twist? What kind of interesting enhancements or detraction I can give him?
Some campaign background, The player would really like to keep playing a Rogue Swashbuckler. We are playing Dragon heist and the Fireball hasn't hit yet. We have one Cleric of Lathander.
Easy option would be a god speaks with the dead pc and sends them back to the material realm with a mission, relevenat gods in the forgotten realms could be mask, tymora or Beshaba.
Relevant missions could be:
Steal an Item and take it to a temple for safe keeping
Find a stolen item and return it to a temple,
Discredit a wandering mystic claiming to be a disciple of the god.
Woo a noble and get them to make a donation or take up worship of the god
Other options:
the pc comes back as a revenant (pg 259 of monster manual) with a particular goal to achieve, this would also mena they have to be heeedful of the passing of time
aloow the Cleric in the party a one time vision from Lathander granting the ability to raise the Rogue from the dead but then tying them both to aiding the faithful of Lathander in some way.
The party stumble on a Rod of Ressurection with a single use remaining
Have a back street "wise woman" raise the rogue from the dead, she uses Animate Dead and the rogue comes back as a zombie but retains all previous memories and abilities, The wise woman turns out to be a Hag.
You might need to tell the players out of game that the player would like them to get their PC back, otherwise they could choose to leave them dead. Then have the player with the dead PC play a new character with motivation to get the PC back to life - maybe they died with some knowledge that's needed. Perhaps to some treasure horde or magic item. Once the party gets the PC revived, have the new character become an NPC and eventually leave the party. The actual revival will require you to create an adventure. Maybe others here can make suggestions on that.
Have his twin brother turn op in the next tavern
playing since 1986
I believe the Reincarnate spell allows a creature to be brought back to life within 10 days, the potential for switching race and or sex could be an interesting side plot for the campaign.
There has been a lot of talk about the reincarnation spell here lately. You could have someone reincarnate his character. Or another spell, but give him a geas or otherwise force him to do the resurrector's bidding. Maybe he will have to spy on his companions, or maybe a devil offered him a contract to do something for him, or otherwise, he forfeits his soul to the devil. Or maybe he signed a contract with the devil beforehand and the devil won't let him truly die yet.
Or maybe some extradimensional being, who cannot manifest in reality, used the moment to possess his body at the Viking funeral-- giving it immunity to fire for the time being (you can even just give him fire resistance moving forward) and it took a few days for him to reconstitute himself, but now with this alien personality inhabiting his body, he has to share his existence with it and --- yes, it has it's own mission for being here (and maybe some other extradimensional threats that are hunting it.)
Make a deal with the Grim Reaper. The character has to kill someone close to them, even another player within a time period. Thus offering a soul in return for theirs. Fun stuff.
I'd go with a quest to find a one-use True Resurrection artifact, maybe a tree, book, or spring of legend that will bring back a friend for those who find it. For that session, the player whose character has died could play as a field researcher, holy pilgrim, or ancestral guardian seeking the relic.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
I’d say you can make him come back as a revenant. With his body destroyed, he would inhabit the corpse of some other humanoid. I would assume the party killed his killer already, but his mission of vengeance could be a larger scale. Maybe a higher up boss. During this quest to take out the object of his wrath, the party learns about the one-time use True Res artifact that Naivara suggested above and tries to get hold of it to put their friend back right.
Easiest way I can think of would be requesting a spellcasting service from a church for true resurrection. I don't expect the party to be able to afford it, so said archpriest can send them on a quest to retrieve a powerful magic item, such as a Rod of Rulership.
Twist could be that this archpriest is LE, serving Asmodeus and an aspiring BBEG.
I recently had my first PC death as a DM. I think I was more devastated than the player. The rest of the group decided that they would rush the PC’s ( the cleric of the group )body back to town in hopes of finding someone to bring her back from death. Between sessions I decided that the town priest ( who was out of town on a private matter ) had returned and had the ability to revive the PC. Since the spell requires a diamond worth 500 gold pieces ( which the priest did not have ) she sent them on a journey to retrieve said diamond from a location which she knew of close by. So the fallen PC did not feel left out I allowed her spirit to wake up in cave meet up with group and help recover the diamond needed. I allowed her spirit to cast spells but not grasp weapons. She could pass through doors but not float. The group had fun the PC returned to fight another day and all was well!
There are several ways the character could come back as is or different. It could be burried in a sanctified ground that revivify him in the hour or resurrect him the next day. Or a vampire could dig its fresh corpse out to feed on it, and bring him back as a Dhampir. A dark power could bring him back as a revenant with the undead type but otherwise the same statistics. A diety favored by the party could return him to life demanding a favor in return. A fiend could revive him and strike a deal for its soul. An eldritch effect could cause a time travel back. One of their magic item could have a powerful entity revealing itself and offering the party a quest in exchange for a service. It could be reincarnated by a strange phenomenon the next moon and find the party ....
You've already agreed to do it, but however you do it, make it clear to the party that this is a one time thing and... don't do it again. There's no threat other than a TPK if characters can keep bouncing back up when the party don't have the resources to do it themselves. It also really lessens the meaningfulness of the character death.
Since you're already on this path, I'd make this a quest chain, and have the player play a different character for a few sessions while they try to bring them back.
Let's say they need a 500gp diamond - those things aren't just lying about. In my campaign there are only about 4 in the entire level 1-12 game world, so if the PCs haven't found them (I know who has them) or used them already, they're gone. So choose an NPC who has one, and they need something doing. Make it complex, something that will take 3-4 game sessions to resolve. The player can roll a temporary new character for those games, someone who goes alongside the PCs to get them to do the things. At the end of a few sessions and a dungeon, have them return, be rewarded with the gem... or better yet, they have to escort the gem-holder through the dungeon to a sacred shrine that is the only place that he can bring the character back.
Make it a major feat to bring the character back to life.
And who knows, they might get to like their "temporary" character after they've played it for a little while.
When I ran "Lost Mines of Phandelver" I had the whole party falling in combat (against a certain enemy of the draconic kind), but only one of them failed his death saves. I had the druid, that had sent them to face the enemy, collect their bodies and tend to them. As the options the druid has are limited I had him cast reincarnation and the player returned as a tiefling (he used to be an elf). For the rest of the campaign, but also in the next one, he made trying to turn back into his original form a sidequest.
That offered me the oportunity to steer the group towards a desired direction, just by dropping a hint that he might find someone to do that for him (by casting a wish spell). Of course, I was not misleading them, as I chose a powerful npc wizard to be the one to help him.
If you have the time, run them their own side-plot. I don't know how Dragon Heist goes, but if there is a main baddie which you can swap out for the PC that has been resurrected then you could do this (in broad sweeping arcs):
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if you have access to Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (VRGtR) maybe the Reborn would be an interesting twist to the character? more of a twist on the character then the how I know but thought it worth mentioning.
Oh boy just realised this is a necro undead thread...
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again