3.5 buffs and dying

[JeenLeen]

In my game, the DM has decided that buffs stay on the body even after you die. They might not apply (for example, Indomitability on a corpse does nothing), but they are there. Things like Energy Immunity still apply. When True Res'ed, all buffs of which the duration has not expired are still active.

If the body is destroyed (Disintegrate) or lost, a True Res-created body does not have any buffs that were on the PC.

This was decided in part to help the characters who have Persisted spells (clerics with Extend Persist DMM, and a wizard Abjurant Champion who has 48 hour abjurations), but also because we don't know the actual RAW. We might have based our logic off how True Res allows you to keep remembered spells, while lower revival magic has a chance of losing remembered spells.

Two general questions.
1. How do buffs and dying interact according to RAW?
2. What are your opinions about buffs and dying?

A specific question, on how True Res interacts with the above.
1. Applying these houserules, what should happen in the following situation. My wizard was turned to ice by a Stone to Flesh-like ability. He was then shattered. Relevant buffs include: 1. Indomitability and 2. a Contingency to Dimension Door him when he is at 10 HP.

The DM has already ruled that Indomitability wouldn't work, as the 'statue''s HP was lowered to 0, but I don't take damage until the effect wears off or is cured (at which point I die instantly). He hasn't ruled on the Contingency yet.

Are the shattered remains of a corpse (a lot of gooey bits, I reckon) sufficient to say one has the corpse to cast True Res on?

[T.G. Oskar]

Unless the buff works on an object, the buffs go off after you die. A corpse devoid of life is treated as an object for purposes of adjudicating effects (think about a Stone-to-Flesh'ed statue of a body)

If the buff, for some odd reason, affected an object, you could put it on a corpse and it would work (whatever it may be), but the general rule is that you can't buff a corpse.

As for the Contingency, it would activate the Dimension Door, but the end result would still be the Wizard dying.

And finally, you don't need to have the remains of a fallen ally's corpse to use True Ressurection.

It may not work on Raise Dead, though.

[JeenLeen]

And finally, you don't need to have the remains of a fallen ally's corpse to use True Ressurection.



True, but if my remains can count as body, by the houserules I keep my buffs, hence the relevance.

[Douglas]

Unless the buff works on an object, the buffs go off after you die. A corpse devoid of life is treated as an object for purposes of adjudicating effects (think about a Stone-to-Flesh'ed statue of a body)
This is not stated anywhere in RAW. The opposite is not really explicitly stated in RAW either to my knowledge, but I am quite certain that your opinion is not clear RAW.

While not quite exactly this issue, the FAQ does have this to say:


If, while under the effect of a spell that depends on type
(such as hold person), my character is transformed into a
different creature type by polymorph*, does the spell’s
effect remain?
Yes. A spell only checks to see if you are a legal target
when it is cast. If you become an illegal target later (such as via
the polymorph spell), the spell remains in effect.
*The question and answer uses “polymorph” to refer
specifically to spells that rely on the polymorph or alter self
spell to adjudicate their effect (including alter self, polymorph,
polymorph any object, and shapechange), psionic powers based
on the metamorphosis power (including metamorphosis and
greater metamorphosis), and any other effect based on either of
these lists.

The exact same principle specified in this answer, that spells only check for target validity at the moment of casting, means that buffs stay active when the target dies.

In the absence of clear explicit RAW, the FAQ is the next best official thing.

[Yora]

I follow Oskars view. A corpse is an object and not a creature, so spells that only work on creatures automatically end, but those which can be cast on objects continue until the end of their duration.

But you might want to revise what spells work only on creatures. There are actually pretty few by raw.

[Tiki Snakes]

Douglas's answer sounds both most likely and most harmonious with what you are already running.

Doubt it'd be overpowering to keep the houserule, reguardless. If it even crops up with any regularity, you've already proved that you don't need to worry about being too powerfull. ^_^

Not sure about your particular case, though. I could see a case for the contingency going off, or not going off. Both would make sense, really. It depends on how you view the turned-to-ice thing, really. By the sounds of it, you ceased being a person and became an object (Wizardcicle). The object was smashed, not 'knocked out'. HP loss isn't really the issue.

That could get complex though, depending on how it all inter-relates. I'd personally say, the gooey bits of broken wizard do count as having some or all of the body, but depending on the ice-ability, you may or may not have to un-ice it before it would actually count enough to be used as part of your ressurection.