Raising the Dead

[dedude]

Some people like the freedom to RP death as they see fit. Others, like me, prefer rules and a natural order of things. I like that 2+2 is 4. When I see someone die and they RP it as 7, even though the mechanics of the game (both nwn and PnP) clearly add it up as 4, I find it extremely awkward, and makes me doubt my own RP reactions to events.

This is a general issue with many events that happen in the game. I prefer that, when at all possible, the game should dictate results of events. Maybe it's just the engineer in me that fears chaos


And please stop seeing "nerfs" everywhere. If an incredibly powerful spell like resurrection is changed to require a material component, see it as an opportunity to RP around that.

[Steve]

Don't over think this idea.

Exactly.

Here is my humble suggestion: get rid of common Death.

Death would only apply via DM Events. Therefore, Death would become a meaningful result of actions that usually have some context, above and beyond the simple game aspect of the Server, i.e.: lootz-grindz repetition play that sometimes results in a "death" that has a) no meaning, b) is only an inconvenience to the Player (whom often had made a stupid OOC choice to subject their toon to a situation beyond the CR of the PC, thus making the "death" more an embarrassment than something related to in-character role-play).

Thus, reaching 0 Hit Points results in a knockout/coma like situation, for the PC. Essentially, incapacitated and unable to self-revive. All Cleric-based healing/raise/resurrection spells are essentially demoted to Healing Spells, Reviving Spells.

The next step to know is whether this can even be scripted? Mobs usually stop attacking a PC once it reaches negative HP. Not always, however. Yet, if it is possible to turn off going to the Fugue at -10 HP, then maybe it is possible to rid us of Common Death.

Now, in DM Events, if your Character "dies" or reaches 0 HP, they have the chance of an IC "raising" by a Cleric or Divine-based scroll, but it will cost the full Gold + Diamond or whatever it should in PnP. Or, the DM will say that the 0-to-Negative HP is a result of bad IC decisions, and the PC is dead in terms of a Permastrike ( mygodIhopethiswouldhappen!!!).

On the balance reward vs. risk side of things, if PCs in DM Events manage to avoid reaching 0 HP or manage to RP the healing/raising aspect of the REASON for Divine Characters, then, the DM is able to better reward the PCs/Players for "doing a good job."

Thus, Players are actually given initiative to play with Death-As-Meaningful in situation where it is most pertinent—DM Events—but left to ignore "death" during the common Lootz-Grinds affair, which many do and is actually ENJOYABLE for many (and those "many" also have limited time to waste on RPing death anyway...so let's throw them a bone, eh?).

Can I get a witness?!?

[Vogar Eol]

This is all about availability heuristics. The more readily people can think of an example of something the more common they believe that something is. That's a logical fallacy based on how our human brains guess at probabilities. We simply don't know anything about what we haven't seen, so take our personal experiences as reality.

This is a large server. When it's stable, its a very full server. The death system has been around for a significantly long time (largely unchanged), and people keep coming back to play even six years later. We can count 33 people posting in this topic, including myself.

Do we really need large changes based on the perceptions of some? Wouldn't smaller tweaks to the items (scrolls, wands) causing the perception of a problem be a better idea to maintain server health in years to come? This is a great place, and we all love it here.

[metaquad4]

Steve's idea of treating none DM (and none CvC/PvP) deaths as true deaths is a good idea.

For PvP/CvC, we could just pretend a passerby raised them (or another player). The player is then free to throw away a diamond at their leisure.

For DM Events, DMs can decide what happens.

For regular PvE death, the player is knocked out and will require medical assistance. We could even change the name of "dead" body to "unconscious" body. We could go a step further, and say that the stabilize spell will work to raise "unconscious bodies".

Then, you could give DMs the ability to turn an unconscious body into a dead body. Dead bodies can only be raised by the spells "Raise Dead" and "Resurrection", which both require a diamond and/or x gold to cast. Also, get rid of the channeling >:-D

So, to re-cap (with a few added ideas):

For PvP/CvC, it'd all be RP.

For PvE (Regular), when you die, you get turned into an unconscious body. Stabilize can be used on unconscious bodies (As can Raise Dead and Resurrection) to revive them. Recall Spirit can also be used on them. Additionally, unconscious bodies can be revived if a character who is attempting can roll a "70" in heal and has a healing kit present in their inventory.

In Events, when you die, you become an unconscious body. DMs can then turn unconscious bodies into dead bodies with a special function of their own (would have to be added) if the player is truly dead. Dead Bodies would act exactly like our own, and require an NPC cleric, a Raise Dead, or a Resurrection spell to revive.

Raise Dead causes the player who is raised to suffer 5 negative levels for 24 hours, and lose all their spells and per day abilities that are memorized.

Raise Dead scrolls require UMD to use and are no longer sold in Roaringshore.

Stabilize scrolls do not require UMD to use and are sold in Roaringshore.

Resurrection costs 1 diamond and 5000 gold to use.

Recall Spirit is free to use.

Players who are either replaced by unconscious or dead body objects will still be in the fugue. The fugue remains the same.

[DM Hera]

Seven pages?.?.?


well. huh................

[kkrazlite]

But what if an undead were to cast raise dead on itself?

Plot twist!!!

[Lockonnow]

hehe

[Moltrazahn]

But what if an undead were to cast raise dead on itself?

Plot twist!!!

Made me think of this :p