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View Full Version : Character interpretation advice in the Realms



katans
2009-11-12, 07:25 AM
Hi folks,

my cleric of Kelemvor just reached 9th level, so he could, in theory, start amassing a bunch of diamonds for those nifty Raise Dead and Revivify spells. In theory. The thing is, as far as I understood all sources I've ever read on the Forgotten Realms and Kelemvor, raising people from the dead is not really something clerics of Kelemvor do, unless they want to risk the wrath of their divinity. After all, the church of Kelemvor insists on the fact that death is a natural thing and trying to escape it is a crime.

Is my interpretation and understanding of the church of Kelemvor accurate enough and should I simply NOT resurrect my fallen comrades? Or should I find a way to conciliate flavor and utility (and how do I do that)?

Any hint, insight, idea.... is welcome. Thanks in advance!

Rhiannon87
2009-11-12, 08:17 AM
Not necessarily. In Faiths and Pantheons, it mentions that Kelemvor's priests will, in times of great need, raise long-dead heroes to face some new evil. (Which was the inspiration for a character of mine, but that is neither here nor there.) They believe death is natural, but if someone is needed alive to continue saving the world, well, they'll bring them back. They're not anti-life; they're just also not anti-death. I think you could raise your deceased friends so long as their continued existence serves a Greater Purpose. Bringing back every commoner or NPC who kicks the bucket would go against your religion, though, IMO, as would creating undead or coming up with ways to unnaturally lengthen someone's life... and you may eventually have to draw a line at the number of raises granted to one person. If a single character dies multiple times, it would not be unheard of for you to go "clearly Kelemvor really wants this guy, sorry, I can't bring them back".

Of course, nothing is then stopping the party from taking the diamonds and some extra coin and finding a priest of Tyr or something and getting them to do the raise.

katans
2009-11-12, 09:00 AM
Exactly what I had been looking for. Thank you sooo much!


Of course, nothing is then stopping the party from taking the diamonds and some extra coin and finding a priest of Tyr or something and getting them to do the raise.

Well... except under extrenme circumstances (under which I could have performed the resurrection myself), I'll certainly try and stop them :D

LibraryOgre
2009-11-12, 10:34 AM
Well... except under extrenme circumstances (under which I could have performed the resurrection myself), I'll certainly try and stop them :D

Why? As mentioned, your deity isn't anti-life and, in the case of most adventuring deaths, he's the one who releases a soul in the first place (since it has to travel to his realm before it travels to the deific realm of choice, and the traveling takes time).

Optimystik
2009-11-12, 10:39 AM
Why? As mentioned, your deity isn't anti-life and, in the case of most adventuring deaths, he's the one who releases a soul in the first place (since it has to travel to his realm before it travels to the deific realm of choice, and the traveling takes time).

Well, if a Doomguide determines someone's Time to have Come and the party runs off to rez, he might be irked. I don't think he'd actually be obligated to stop them (unless they're using his diamonds) but a stern lecture with much finger-wagging over the campfire may be in order.

katans
2009-11-12, 10:58 AM
Well, if a Doomguide determines someone's Time to have Come and the party runs off to rez, he might be irked. I don't think he'd actually be obligated to stop them (unless they're using his diamonds) but a stern lecture with much finger-wagging over the campfire may be in order.

Have you been Scrying upon my character sheet or something? :smallwink:

Thing is, as my char has the power to resurrect, he'll do it himself if he feels Kelemvor would approve. If he doesn't, then he has no reason to encourage his companions into finding another way, and would even have reasons to oppose them, as they would act directly against K's will (or my char's will, which he deems is the best substitute if nobody's around to outrank him). And for the few difficult and debatable cases, there's still Commune.