What happens when Outsiders die?

[Longcat]

Hello all,
I've got a simple question for you folks: What happens to non-native Outsiders when they get killed on the material plane?

Do they:
a) leave corpses like all other creatures that die or
b) does their body vanish into thin air?

In case it matters: The setting in question is Forgotten Realms/Faerun

The reason I'm asking is because one of our DMs decides that outsiders leave no corpse behind, but they still miraculously drop loot. Nothing in the rulebooks says this happens, barring special circumstances like exploding Balors. This is an issue for me, since I occassionally play Necromancers, and Outsiders are one of the rare types that are still useful as undead in higher level play. Without access to those, I feel really gimped.

What's the official stance on this matter?

[HMS Invincible]

Depends on the summoned vs called rule. Summoned outsiders, as the summon monster spell can't summon more monsters, and go back to their plane when they die.

Called outsiders are forced upon the material plane and can die for real, leaving a corpse behind. Check out the srd for more detailed information.

[Longcat]

The outsiders in question are neither summoned nor called, but are on the material plane by virtue of plane shift/plot.

[Blisstake]

Depends on the summoned vs called rule. Summoned outsiders, as the summon monster spell can't summon more monsters, and go back to their plane when they die.

Called outsiders are forced upon the material plane and can die for real, leaving a corpse behind. Check out the srd for more detailed information.

Outsiders (at least in Forgotten Realms) return to their home planes if they die on the material plane. This is true regardless if they were summoned or traveled on their own.

I think there might be a delay in which the body reforms, however. I'm inclined to think a corpse does drop.

[Longcat]

Outsiders (at least in Forgotten Realms) return to their home planes if they die on the material plane. This is true regardless if they were summoned or traveled on their own.

Do you have a page reference for that? It would be immensely helpful.

[hamishspence]

It might be more a novel thing- outsiders slain "for real" on the Material plane merely being banished back to their home plane for 100 years- certainly comes up in the Drizzt books.

The fact that the Revive Outsider spell exists (Spell Compendium) may suggest a body hangs around long enough to be revived.

Complete Divine has some interesting things to say about their souls- that stresses that they have them, and that the soul isn't killed when the outsider is, as might be implied by MM saying that the soul and the body are one unit.

Complete Divine page 130

The souls of outsiders and elementals are so intrinsically tied to the essence of their home plane that they evaporate into the fabric of the plane rather quickly. That's why it takes a true resurrection spell to bring them back from the dead; the magic must sift through the plane and reconstitute their dispersed souls.

[Blisstake]

Do you have a page reference for that? It would be immensely helpful.

No, sorry. This is all coming from video games or novels set in FR. I haven't played/read them in a while, but I remember plenty of references to outsiders still being alive after getting slain on the material plane.

I know that the Fiendish Codex says devils reform 99 years after dying on the material, but that isn't specific to any campaign setting.

[ericgrau]

This might help:


Unlike most other living creatures, an outsider does not have a dual nature—its soul and body form one unit. When an outsider is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an outsider. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection to restore it to life. An outsider with the native subtype can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be.

[hamishspence]

The point being, that (according to Complete Divine) the soul is "dispersed" rather than destroyed when the body is killed.