Resurrection implications
 

What are the implications of the availability of resurrection spells on a fantasy world? I recognize that DF doesn't take the world-building element very seriously, but I'm curious how others think about this. In default DFRPG, returning from death requires a reasonably intact body and $15,000 at the temple in Town. I don't think there is a stipulation about how long the body has been dead and I'm not clear if just the skeleton is enough.

Some musings:

• Wealthy people will usually live out their natural lifespans barring total mutilation (-10ⅹHP) or decapitation ("resurrection is impossible without head and body," Exploits, p. 54).
• Assassins would need to either destroy the body of their victim or make off with the head.
• Would this make it more likely that duels to the death would be acceptable, at least among the wealthy, in "civilized" areas? After all, Hamilton's family could set up a GoFundMe page to get him back.
• How might this affect funerary practices? Although cremation might prevent becoming a zombie slave of the nearest necromancer, it also means that if your family wins the lottery someday, they won't be able to bring you back.
• Would those that can afford resurrection be more likely to engage in extreme sports and other risky activities? Would the truly daring be the folks who tightrope walk across pits of lava, where the can be no return?
• Would it be fairly common for adventurers to be hired to recover bodies of various people so that they could be raised?

Other thoughts? How have you handled this in your games?

Re: Resurrection implications
 

If it's tied to religious practice, it may be seen as pretty undesirable. Rejecting paradise in the next life for suffering in this one. Worse still, the gods might feel a bit jilted or entitled just depending on their mood. Gods can be downright inconsistent and moody on Wednesdays.

Resurrection might also be seen as penance, additional time to repent.

There's also the question of whether bad people can buy resurrection. Does it put off damnation? Does it anger Death or The Devil?

How do the common folk view resurrection? Proof that the gods can be bought for filthy lucre? That'll go over well.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

In a world where Resurrection is common practice I feel like assassins that could perform soul jar to trap the spirit of someone they kill would be very common.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

In the Vlad Taltos books resurrections are common. Sometimes when an assassination is conducted it's in the knowledge that the target will get resurrected so therefore the assassination is a severe warning. In other cases where the target has severely screwed up and the assassination is desired to be permanent there is a special class of weapon to do the job, or if you don't have access to said weapons the assassin destroys the brain or heart (can't recall which or if it was either).

Re: Resurrection implications
 

I would imagine that "reasonably intact" implies "recently deceased." Skeletons would seem to be missing large amounts of vital material. This would also preclude resurrecting long-dead bodies retrieved from dungeons, or hunting up famous people's tombs.

Noting that the most common cause of death in an historic pre-modern society is disease, "natural lifespan" may not be all that long. It's also not clear whether resurrection leaves the body healthy and hale, or simply alive when it wasn't before.

Since resurrection is explicitly a divine ability, I think there would come a point where the god(s) called on would get tired of seeing repeat customers and send them on to their next existence.

There's an anime (Konosuba) that explicitly uses this form of resurrection. The protagonist suffers repeated fatal injuries, and each time has to convince the goddess in charge of his world to let him return. This becomes more difficult each time. The series is a comedy (and a parody of computer DFRPGs in general), so the process is played for laughs, but I think the underlying assumptions are sound.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

The idea of special poisons or weapons that spoil resurrection is going to occur to people about 5 seconds after they find out their assignation target is back and annoyed at them.

Resurrection being Holy in source, I would expect these tools to be Unholy; they may not make killing the target quicker/easier, but they could give a penalty to the caster trying to resurrect them, or increase the energy cost.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

There's the Final Rest spell, too, which can prevent resurrection. It's only PI 1 but costs 20 FP and takes 10 minutes to cast. That's a high bar for a would-be assassin.

Could enchant it into a casting item. According to DF Magic Items (p. 12) this would cost $24,000 and would require either Power Investiture or Holiness. Doesn't get us around the time or the FP cost. But we can reduce those at an increased $ cost:

• $24,000 — Final Rest, 20 FP, 10 minutes
• $48,000 — Final Rest, 10 FP, 10 minutes
• $96,000 — Final Rest, 5 FP, 10 minutes
• $48,000 — Final Rest, 20 FP, 5 minutes
• $96,000 — Final Rest, 20 FP, 2.5 minutes
• $96,000 — Final Rest, 10 FP, 5 minutes
• $384,000 — Final Rest, 5 FP, 2.5 minutes

I suppose I could see a Holy Warrior assassin armed with a top-shelf Ring of Final Rest... That's still 150 turns, though, to get caught at the scene of the crime.

I wonder how to price a one-shot version of this (Oil of Final Rest). An interesting version might still take time to take effect (like the spell). So, someone is assassinated, but if their allies get to them within ten minutes. they could wash off the oil before it fully takes effect.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

That's where it's handy to have another caster with Share Energy. Our group cast Final Rest with the Cleric and my Wizard 5 times last session to keep them from being reanimated (again) by some undead demons. I know it doesn't normally work this way but the GM went with it for this specific creature.

Re: Resurrection implications
 

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Re: Resurrection implications
 

Unholy to keep “good” people from resurrection or for everybody? If evil clerics can resurrect minions if gives a good explanation for replenishing hordes of baddies.