Easy: just have the NPCs be unwilling to be resurrected. Resurrection requires a willing soul. If they don't want to come back, there's nothing the PCs can do about it (except maybe specifically wishing for it, which lets you curl the monkey's paw, as it were).
All of the resurrection-type spells have the same two constraints for the soul: both free and willing.
Willing is relatively easy to hand waive as a DM (heaven is nice, or they have new important business on that plane working closely with their deity, etc.), but might get dicey if your campaign has truly earth-shattering stakes that make it hard to see why these important and powerful NPCs are being so unhelpful.
Free requires a little bit of forethought to set up something plausible, but doesn't require the NPCs to sacrifice their motivation to help. Any number of plot devices might be preventing a dead creature's soul from being "free", whether that's being linked to a magical item that is holding their soul like the Ring of Mind Shielding, or having been consumed and entirely destroyed by some sort of horrible creature or burned as fuel in a powerful spell, or just being subject to some sort of planar entanglements that are interrupting where that soul "should be" within the cosmic order or scrambling communications to reach it. Or, maybe the soul has already been reincarnated into a new creature or the like? Lots of room for interesting cosmological effects.
Depending on whether your plot can more easily accommodate messing with the soul's motivations, or messing with the soul's safety, either free or willing gives the DM all the tools they need to shut down unwelcome resurrections.
You might also be ready for them to cast Speak with Dead to chat with those NPCs. If your reason behind not wanting the NPCs to be alive again is to avoid them spilling vital information, this could be another avenue to be ready for. The easy way to prevent that is to remove the jaws off the bodies, if that's in line with what you want.
As for the question about consuming the spell slot/diamond if the soul is unwilling to return...while it's not explicit in the rules, the answer is probably yet. For the same reason that holding a spell as a readied action makes you use the slot and components even if you end up not casting the spell. There's also this bit from Xanathar's Guide to Everything about Invalid Spell Targets:
If you cast a spell on someone or something that can’t be affected by the spell, nothing happens to that target, but if you used a spell slot to cast the spell, the slot is still expended.
So a creature that is unwilling would be an invalid target, and you would use the slot and consume the diamond.
That being said, there's not a SPECIFIC rule about this. And depending on how many diamonds your cleric has on hand, this could be a rough ruling. Personally I'd say you expend the spell slot to start to cast, but when the soul is unwilling to return you don't get to the point where you consume the diamond before it fails.
In this particular case, a high level party (presumably with deep pockets) won't miss the 500gp from a diamond. However, assuming they are RIGHT ABOUT to engage the big bad, that slot might be crucial.
You might also be ready for them to cast Speak with Dead to chat with those NPCs. If your reason behind not wanting the NPCs to be alive again is to avoid them spilling vital information, this could be another avenue to be ready for. The easy way to prevent that is to remove the jaws off the bodies, if that's in line with what you want.
Thanks. Honestly, the primary goal is to ratchet up the angst before the final battle. But this helps.
If you want to be extra evil with your big bad, have them use a hellfire-weapon. This will prevent resurrection, and still permits speak with dead, as this does not require access to the soul.
Nerfing spells without warning is cruel and unusual, but another thing you can do is forshadow the DANGER of such spells in your setting. Perhaps the spell always succeeds, but if the intended soul isn’t free and willing, and if adequate preparations aren’t made to ward the ritual area against evil.... then what comes back in the body is often a powerful demon instead. And not in a fiery “obviously something went wrong” way, but possibly in a way where they appear to have the correct personality and memories, but are in fact a corrupted evil version of themselves that will turn on the parry or commit horrible crimes down the road...
It might be enough to make them second guess casting such spells in the first place without having taken RP measures where you’ve had the chance to encourage or discourage them first.
All of the resurrection-type spells have the same two constraints for the soul: both free and willing.
By RAW Revivify has no such constraint. But it would really hard to use it to keep someone alive. Personally I think it is an oversight, and would still handle it as you describe.
However, other spells could be used to thwart players raising the dead. Soul Cage works (assuming it is a humanoid. Contingency can also have some interesting options here. The main villain, could turn the corpses into undead via any number of spells.
If you want to be extra evil with your big bad, have them use a hellfire-weapon. This will prevent resurrection, and still permits speak with dead, as this does not require access to the soul.
Nerfing spells without warning is cruel and unusual, but another thing you can do is forshadow the DANGER of such spells in your setting. Perhaps the spell always succeeds, but if the intended soul isn’t free and willing, and if adequate preparations aren’t made to ward the ritual area against evil.... then what comes back in the body is often a powerful demon instead. And not in a fiery “obviously something went wrong” way, but possibly in a way where they appear to have the correct personality and memories, but are in fact a corrupted evil version of themselves that will turn on the parry or commit horrible crimes down the road...
It might be enough to make them second guess casting such spells in the first place without having taken RP measures where you’ve had the chance to encourage or discourage them first.
I mean, its a sound idea for preventing the res. But it would run things a little long, in my mind. I want the PCs final thought before the final battle to be that their beloved NPC friend is gone and is not coming back.
All of the resurrection-type spells have the same two constraints for the soul: both free and willing.
By RAW Revivify has no such constraint. But it would really hard to use it to keep someone alive. Personally I think it is an oversight, and would still handle it as you describe.
However, other spells could be used to thwart players raising the dead. Soul Cage works (assuming it is a humanoid. Contingency can also have some interesting options here. The main villain, could turn the corpses into undead via any number of spells.
Or, just say no. :)
Turning them undead would be a powerful move, but... wouldn't fit the villain in this instance. I'm just in love with the image of the heroes, just before walking through the final door to face the big bad, see two dead friends on the floor, with recognizable bodies, but knowing that no matter what happens they will never see their friends again.
By RAW Revivify has no such constraint. But it would really hard to use it to keep someone alive. Personally I think it is an oversight, and would still handle it as you describe.
It's not an oversight, it's just that some context was lost when the spell was streamlined for 5e. The 3.5 edition version of revivify resurrected you before your soul had a chance to leave your body: "Before the soul of the deceased has completely left the body, this spell halts its journey while repairing somewhat the damage to the body."
I'm opening a can of worms here but another potential option, depending on how the DM interprets the rules, is to cast Animate Dead on the victims to turn their corpses into zombies. One possible way to interpret that situation is that you need True Resurrection to bring the original creature back to life even if you slay its zombie. This has some serious worldbuilding implications for the ethics of necromancy in your game world though.
I'm opening a can of worms here but another potential option, depending on how the DM interprets the rules, is to cast Animate Dead on the victims to turn their corpses into zombies. One possible way to interpret that situation is that you need True Resurrection to bring the original creature back to life even if you slay its zombie. This has some serious worldbuilding implications for the ethics of necromancy in your game world though.
Is it evil when your parents put your room up on Airbnb after you move out? I don't see the moral conundrum myself, if you've moved out of your body for the greener pastures of the great beyond, why not let someone else rent it out while you aren't using it? :p
If you want to be extra evil with your big bad, have them use a hellfire-weapon. This will prevent resurrection, and still permits speak with dead, as this does not require access to the soul.
True, but i want the PCs to see the bodies.
That still is possible. The hellfire weapon only prevents the soul from being able to return to the body, the body itself is unchanged.
There is another restriction that you could potentially exploit, if you don't mind getting a little creative:
Resurrection spells don't work on those who have died of old age.
If your BBEG had an attack that stole years of life, that would technically put a hard stop on even True Resurrection. It would also provide an extra level of stress on the final conflict if even the survivors were at risk of permanent aging.
As for Speak With Dead, you can also render it ineffective by having it cast on the body within the last 10 days. Say, the BBEG used it to get information on the party after killing their friends.
There is another restriction that you could potentially exploit, if you don't mind getting a little creative:
Resurrection spells don't work on those who have died of old age.
If your BBEG had an attack that stole years of life, that would technically put a hard stop on even True Resurrection. It would also provide an extra level of stress on the final conflict if even the survivors were at risk of permanent aging.
As for Speak With Dead, you can also render it ineffective by having it cast on the body within the last 10 days. Say, the BBEG used it to get information on the party after killing their friends.
reincarnate doesn’t have the old age restriction but does have a limit on 10 days from the date of death...it does have other side effects though
There is another restriction that you could potentially exploit, if you don't mind getting a little creative:
Resurrection spells don't work on those who have died of old age.
If your BBEG had an attack that stole years of life, that would technically put a hard stop on even True Resurrection. It would also provide an extra level of stress on the final conflict if even the survivors were at risk of permanent aging.
As for Speak With Dead, you can also render it ineffective by having it cast on the body within the last 10 days. Say, the BBEG used it to get information on the party after killing their friends.
Cool idea... but i'd like the bodies to be immediately recognizable.
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So - A pair of NPCs - allies of the PCs - are killed by the "big bad".
Their bodies are left for the PCs to discover. (Because, you know, bad guys.)
The PCs may wish to resurrect the NPCs. Frankly, i don't want them to be able to do that.
What's the best way of doing this, that wouldn't destroy the bodies?
(Please assume that the PCs are high level, with access to diamonds, etc.)
Thanks.
Easy: just have the NPCs be unwilling to be resurrected. Resurrection requires a willing soul. If they don't want to come back, there's nothing the PCs can do about it (except maybe specifically wishing for it, which lets you curl the monkey's paw, as it were).
All of the resurrection-type spells have the same two constraints for the soul: both free and willing.
Willing is relatively easy to hand waive as a DM (heaven is nice, or they have new important business on that plane working closely with their deity, etc.), but might get dicey if your campaign has truly earth-shattering stakes that make it hard to see why these important and powerful NPCs are being so unhelpful.
Free requires a little bit of forethought to set up something plausible, but doesn't require the NPCs to sacrifice their motivation to help. Any number of plot devices might be preventing a dead creature's soul from being "free", whether that's being linked to a magical item that is holding their soul like the Ring of Mind Shielding, or having been consumed and entirely destroyed by some sort of horrible creature or burned as fuel in a powerful spell, or just being subject to some sort of planar entanglements that are interrupting where that soul "should be" within the cosmic order or scrambling communications to reach it. Or, maybe the soul has already been reincarnated into a new creature or the like? Lots of room for interesting cosmological effects.
Depending on whether your plot can more easily accommodate messing with the soul's motivations, or messing with the soul's safety, either free or willing gives the DM all the tools they need to shut down unwelcome resurrections.
dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
These are good.
If a resurrection attempt fails due to the subject being unwilling, is the diamond / spell slot still consumed?
I would say no on the diamond, on principle just to be fair to the players, but probably yes on the slot (Since that’s less of a loss)
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InsiderYou might also be ready for them to cast Speak with Dead to chat with those NPCs. If your reason behind not wanting the NPCs to be alive again is to avoid them spilling vital information, this could be another avenue to be ready for. The easy way to prevent that is to remove the jaws off the bodies, if that's in line with what you want.
As for the question about consuming the spell slot/diamond if the soul is unwilling to return...while it's not explicit in the rules, the answer is probably yet. For the same reason that holding a spell as a readied action makes you use the slot and components even if you end up not casting the spell. There's also this bit from Xanathar's Guide to Everything about Invalid Spell Targets:
So a creature that is unwilling would be an invalid target, and you would use the slot and consume the diamond.
That being said, there's not a SPECIFIC rule about this. And depending on how many diamonds your cleric has on hand, this could be a rough ruling. Personally I'd say you expend the spell slot to start to cast, but when the soul is unwilling to return you don't get to the point where you consume the diamond before it fails.
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In this particular case, a high level party (presumably with deep pockets) won't miss the 500gp from a diamond. However, assuming they are RIGHT ABOUT to engage the big bad, that slot might be crucial.
Thanks. Honestly, the primary goal is to ratchet up the angst before the final battle. But this helps.
If you want to be extra evil with your big bad, have them use a hellfire-weapon. This will prevent resurrection, and still permits speak with dead, as this does not require access to the soul.
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
Nerfing spells without warning is cruel and unusual, but another thing you can do is forshadow the DANGER of such spells in your setting. Perhaps the spell always succeeds, but if the intended soul isn’t free and willing, and if adequate preparations aren’t made to ward the ritual area against evil.... then what comes back in the body is often a powerful demon instead. And not in a fiery “obviously something went wrong” way, but possibly in a way where they appear to have the correct personality and memories, but are in fact a corrupted evil version of themselves that will turn on the parry or commit horrible crimes down the road...
It might be enough to make them second guess casting such spells in the first place without having taken RP measures where you’ve had the chance to encourage or discourage them first.
dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
By RAW Revivify has no such constraint. But it would really hard to use it to keep someone alive. Personally I think it is an oversight, and would still handle it as you describe.
However, other spells could be used to thwart players raising the dead. Soul Cage works (assuming it is a humanoid. Contingency can also have some interesting options here. The main villain, could turn the corpses into undead via any number of spells.
Or, just say no. :)
True, but i want the PCs to see the bodies.
I mean, its a sound idea for preventing the res. But it would run things a little long, in my mind. I want the PCs final thought before the final battle to be that their beloved NPC friend is gone and is not coming back.
Turning them undead would be a powerful move, but... wouldn't fit the villain in this instance. I'm just in love with the image of the heroes, just before walking through the final door to face the big bad, see two dead friends on the floor, with recognizable bodies, but knowing that no matter what happens they will never see their friends again.
It's not an oversight, it's just that some context was lost when the spell was streamlined for 5e. The 3.5 edition version of revivify resurrected you before your soul had a chance to leave your body: "Before the soul of the deceased has completely left the body, this spell halts its journey while repairing somewhat the damage to the body."
I'm opening a can of worms here but another potential option, depending on how the DM interprets the rules, is to cast Animate Dead on the victims to turn their corpses into zombies. One possible way to interpret that situation is that you need True Resurrection to bring the original creature back to life even if you slay its zombie. This has some serious worldbuilding implications for the ethics of necromancy in your game world though.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
Is it evil when your parents put your room up on Airbnb after you move out? I don't see the moral conundrum myself, if you've moved out of your body for the greener pastures of the great beyond, why not let someone else rent it out while you aren't using it? :p
dndbeyond.com forum tags
I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
That still is possible. The hellfire weapon only prevents the soul from being able to return to the body, the body itself is unchanged.
More Interesting Lock Picking Rules
There is another restriction that you could potentially exploit, if you don't mind getting a little creative:
Resurrection spells don't work on those who have died of old age.
If your BBEG had an attack that stole years of life, that would technically put a hard stop on even True Resurrection. It would also provide an extra level of stress on the final conflict if even the survivors were at risk of permanent aging.
As for Speak With Dead, you can also render it ineffective by having it cast on the body within the last 10 days. Say, the BBEG used it to get information on the party after killing their friends.
reincarnate doesn’t have the old age restriction but does have a limit on 10 days from the date of death...it does have other side effects though
Cool idea... but i'd like the bodies to be immediately recognizable.