Level up while dead.

[Dr. Azkur]

Dead characters go to the corresponding plane, right? Once there could they keep advancing as normal? Or is it not the same?

I ask this because a PC in the campaign I'm running literally lost her head (I keep rolling natural 20's, it's driving my players crazy). They're set on bringing her back to life but, making matters worse, to do that they're going to have to recover her corpse which was stolen by an insane necromancer. Yet while the dead character's player is rolling up another character, it's just to the old one.

I'd like to make it hard for them to simply resurrect them. They have the means to do it, but I want to stretch the journey there (The player is fine with this). The problem is that I'll be awarding them XP for that journey... while the dead character stays dead... and she may or may not lose the level for returning to life.

So is there a way to get her to advance even through death without using my DM powers? I mean I'm obviously going to be using them but I'd like to know if there are mechanics or rules for this or something.


Alternatively any other solution you might come up is also appreciated.

[Red Bear]

you can go Dragon ball Z on the character: the soul trains in the afterlife.
or you can say that the back-up character is possessed by the soul of the original character.

[lytokk]

her ghost could haunt the party? Help with scouting missions, or if she was a spellcaster, keep casting. The danger being if her ghost is destroyed, she's gone.

[OldTrees1]

Coming back from the dead is an ordeal. The subject of the spell loses one level (or 1 Hit Die) when it is raised, just as if it had lost a level or a Hit Die to an energy-draining creature.

So xp gained while dead is rounded down to 50% of the previous level when raised as part of the energy-drain rules.


Say a character with 6423xp[4th level] died. They would still have 6423xp. Let's say they gained 8000xp while dead. They now have 14423xp[5th level]. They get raised. Doing so causes them to lose a level as if to energy drain. They now have precisely 8000xp[midpoint of 4th level].


How would they gain xp during this time? Roy was training while dead. That might be worth xp. What a dead character goes through really depends on the plane they went to and where they went on that plane.

[Sith_Happens]

A dead creature's soul generally becomes a petitioner (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/divine/divineMinions.htm#petitioners), whose statistics are only tangentially related to those of the creature in life.

[Kioras]

Ghostwalk campaign setting had some interesting uses for ghosts.

It was a 3.0 setting, and had some specific ghost classes also.

[The Cat Goddess]

Unless it's going to be a long time and the characters are going to gain a lot of xp, when the other character is brought back to life they will gain more xp from each encounter. In general, a one or two level difference isn't that major and goes away after awhile.

Also, a True Resurrection brings the character back with no XP loss at all.

[Xintas]

The characters have finally finished their long journey to recover the corpse of their friend, but wait! The crazy old wizard tells them that in order for their friend to be brought back, given the traumatic way they died, the soul must take over a new host...

Newbie looks around like a red shirt on a desert planet. "Hey guys....can't we..."

Dead friend returns to life, looks down at themselves and FREAKS OUT. Now you have some character development, gained experience or a brand new gestalt (most likely of limited power to keep balance), and a cool plot twist.

Also a way to get rid of the "new character".

[Spore]

You think being killed an ressurected is in itself an experience and worth experience points, wouldn't you?

[Phelix-Mu]

While most mortals eventually end up as petitioners on whatever plane exemplifies their outlook and beliefs, there are multiple references to exceptionally aligned/strong/accomplished individuals meeting different fates in the afterlife. The gods probably cherrypick the best of their followers and so forth and give them something better than the standard petitioner package.

Einheriar from Deities and Demigods are an interesting option, as is anyone that might end up on Ysgard. Part of that plane is host to a daily battle that never ends, as each day the people that died are brought back to life to fight anew.

Likewise, Acheron is a plane of endless warfare between deserters, mutineers, and rebels from across the planes. These armies fight unending, hopeless wars over blasted territories that cover the giant, metallic cubes that make up the geography of Acheron. Nice place.

[Lord Vukodlak]

The necromancer was attempting to create a stronger servant by casting various experimental spells on the body before beginning the animation process a side effect of this is when the PC is resurrected they'll gain xp.

Question what class is the character?