How Would Society Change...

[JNAProductions]

If everyone had one level of Martyr (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?494439-Martyr-Class&p=20992524#post20992524)?

[IShouldntBehere]

Since everyone is functionally immortal (up until the point they're dying twice a day), strict reproductive limits would have to be put in place to only replace people who properly "double die" in the space of a day. Among the masses there would probably be a forced maximum lifespan in place for those who don't "Double Die" naturally before their time is up.

[NecroDancer]

Everyone would be sad because they can't be minmaxed

[Longcat]

...everyone posting clickbait titles would be executed twice in one day :smalltongue:

Warfare and murder would change as well, with everyone double tapping downed enemies to confirm kills.

[IShouldntBehere]

Also need a point of clarification: How does the coming back to life.. work. Like say someone chops off your head killing you and you use the ability does your head grow back? Does it fly back on to your shoulders?

[JNAProductions]

...everyone posting clickbait titles would be executed twice in one day :smalltongue:

Warfare and murder would change as well, with everyone double tapping downed enemies to confirm kills.

Heh.

Obviously there'd be minor changes like that, but I'm looking for more wide-scale changes, like those suggested by IShoudntBeHere. (Though I'm not 100% sure how the Martyr's feature interacts with old age-and I'm the creator of it. I'd actually rule that it does NOT bring you back from old age, making mandatory age limits unnecessary.)

[JNAProductions]

Also need a point of clarification: How does the coming back to life.. work. Like say someone chops off your head killing you and you use the ability does your head grow back? Does it fly back on to your shoulders?

Hrm... I'd think the head would regrow. It's supposed to work in the same fashion as True Resurrection.

[IShouldntBehere]

Hrm... I'd think the head would regrow. It's supposed to work in the same fashion as True Resurrection.

Seems like human bones are now a cheap and readily available construction material.

[JNAProductions]

Seems like human bones are now a cheap and readily available construction material.

I... Not really. You'd get a small amount of bone per person, and that person is now at HUGE RISK of dying forever. Beyond that, how good is bone of a building material compared to, say, wood? Or stone?

[IShouldntBehere]

I... Not really. You'd get a small amount of bone per person, and that person is now at HUGE RISK of dying forever. Beyond that, how good is bone of a building material compared to, say, wood? Or stone?

You're at no greater risk than regular humans are of dying in their sleep at random every night. For healthy young folks: almost not at all. Just have your spouse chop you in half each night before going to bed and then do the same to them. You get a whole human's worth of bones, skin & fat to use every night, then you promptly go to bed for your long rest. Unless you were about to drop dead anyway it is no loss to you. Anyone who doesn't harvest half their body every night is leaving precious resources on the table. The risk is relatively low for most people and the reward is high

Bones might not be the best construction material or even a good one but it's free, and it's also useful for making tools like needles and knife handles. The skin is free leather, the fat is free candles, waterproofing & soap.

[JNAProductions]

You're at no greater risk than regular humans are of dying in their sleep at random every night. For healthy young folks: almost not at all. Just have your spouse chop you in half each night before going to bed and then do the same to them. You get a whole human's worth of bones, skin & fat to use every night, then you promptly go to bed for your long rest. Unless you were about to drop dead anyway it is no loss to you. Anyone who doesn't harvest half their body every night is leaving precious resources on the table. The risk is relatively low for most people and the reward is high

Bones might not be the best construction material or even a good one but it's free, and it's also useful for making tools like needles and knife handles. The skin is free leather, the fat is free candles, waterproofing & soap.

Fair enough. I do agree it'd be useful for tools and leather and all that, not so much building buildings.

[ZenBear]

You're at no greater risk than regular humans are of dying in their sleep at random every night. For healthy young folks: almost not at all. Just have your spouse chop you in half each night before going to bed and then do the same to them. You get a whole human's worth of bones, skin & fat to use every night, then you promptly go to bed for your long rest. Unless you were about to drop dead anyway it is no loss to you. Anyone who doesn't harvest half their body every night is leaving precious resources on the table. The risk is relatively low for most people and the reward is high

Bones might not be the best construction material or even a good one but it's free, and it's also useful for making tools like needles and knife handles. The skin is free leather, the fat is free candles, waterproofing & soap.

I think you're vastly underestimating the horror and pain involved in such practices. People would only do this in exceptionally amoral societies. Like Drow, for instance.

I don't foresee a ton of change in the world if everyone got one freebie revive per day. People would take much greater risks, sure, and death tolls from accidents would drop drastically, but violent death would only take a little more effort.

[IShouldntBehere]

I think you're vastly underestimating the horror and pain involved in such practices. People would only do this in exceptionally amoral societies. Like Drow, for instance.

I don't foresee a ton of change in the world if everyone got one freebie revive per day. People would take much greater risks, sure, and death tolls from accidents would drop drastically, but violent death would only take a little more effort.

There are tons of ways to kill without pain and the horror of death really only comes from its permanence. If they're clean quick about the death should be not so painful. This is a universe where you regularly come back from death, your life is literally one of the most trivial things for you to replace! Regardless, cultural influence has gotten people to endure some pretty painful things for far less gain. To be frank any group of peoples not cashing in on this is going to be at such a resource disadvantage the first culture that learns to cash in on it will crush all opposition in the early stages of civilization. Those kind of free material and fuel gains just can't be ignored.

Heck while the meat is unfit for consumption human, you could feet it to animals and greatly increase your livestock yields. The economic advantage of just that much free stuff makes it no brainer. You can process into fertilizer.

[Belac93]

There are tons of ways to kill without pain and the horror of death really only comes from its permanence. If they're clean quick about the death should be not so painless. This is a universe where you regularly come back from death, your life is literally one of the most trivial things for you to replace! Regardless, cultural influence has gotten people to endure some pretty painful things for far less gain. To be frank any group of peoples not cashing in on this is going to be at such a resource disadvantage the first culture that learns to cash in on it will crush all opposition in the early stages of civilization. Those kind of free material and fuel gains just can't be ignored.

Heck while the meat is unfit for consumption human, you could feet it to animals and greatly increase your livestock yields. The economic advantage of just that much free stuff makes it no brainer. You can process into fertilizer.

This has turned from a funny little idea, into a horror story.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I think you're underestimating the cost of biomaterials. Sure, they might be infinitely renewable, but so is, say, hydroelectric power, and that's not free. You'd still have to pay people for their corpses, for whatever painless method of death you use, to transport materials to a central processing place before they spoil... all for low-grade leather (bone isn't that useful, and food would be far less of a commodity if no one can starve). I just can't see it as practical in anything but an emergency situation.

[Reaper34]

extream sports become much more common and the coloseum becomes a form of entertainment again. products become deregulated. seatbelts become optional in cars for example. assault and battery becomes a mistaminer. health care becomes much cheaper if it doesn't disappear altogether. canabalism becomes a problem due to rampant mental issues. especially among low income populations. death penality becomes more common due to rising populations. age may still be a problem but if i'm not mistaken TR cures all deases. as populations grow famine and war become rampant.

just a few ideas.

[ZenBear]

There are tons of ways to kill without pain and the horror of death really only comes from its permanence.

You said every night before bed you spouse cuts you in half. That is not without pain and the horror of such an action is cutting a person, specifically your spouse in this case, in half.

[JackPhoenix]

You said every night before bed you spouse cuts you in half. That is not without pain and the horror of such an action is cutting a person, specifically your spouse in this case, in half.

It would still be painful, but... would it be so horrifying if it was common act every member of the society does? People can get accustomed to horrible things. Cannibalism is just as horryfing to us, yet people did it when they were in desperate enough circumstances and there were cultures where it was considered an act of honoring the dead.

Also, it's a little different because she HAS to die, but I'm reminded of this: http://www.goblinscomic.org/11092015-2/

[IShouldntBehere]

You said every night before bed you spouse cuts you in half. That is not without pain and the horror of such an action is cutting a person, specifically your spouse in this case, in half.

The reason we have a problem with that here in this universe is because when your spouse gets cut in half here they don't get back up from that six seconds later feeling as fine as they ever.

In this universe your "First Life" is a rather trivial part of you. These martyr-people lose less when than they're cut in half than you lose when you get a hair cut. The only reason I specified "Spouse" is for the average commoner they're likely the only full grown adult readily on hand every night.

Alternatively you could imagine there'd be like a "Town Chopper" a guy who makes the rounds every night and chops you in half with his special chopping axe, an experienced professional at people-chopping. Every month you give him a few coppers for his trouble, whatever say 10% your total bodies for the month are worth. He makes decent living once everyone in town has paid him.


It's important to remember that the reason we're so aghast at death is that is is a permanent obliteration of a person, when a person dies you lose them, when you do die you lose yourself. This is not the case for these people. There wouldn't even be any evolutionary pressure to have revulsion to "First Death" because dying once doesn't affect your chance to pass on your genes, depending on how back this daily rebirth goes in our genetic past.

First Death is just no big deal. You might imagine even imagine sports developing around this where say people jump off cliffs and see if they can tuck into a good dive to hit the ground first - with betting. You can imagine a modern day version where people chop off each other's heads on "Prank" youtube channels.

[smcmike]

Yeah, no.

Outside of subsistence cultures where magical self-cannibalism could keep you alive, there is no use for human remains that would make industrial suicide worth bothering with.

Like, seriously, what do you get out of a human body that's worth the work, even discounting the horror and the pain and suffering? Organs, I guess, though it's not clear how this scheme would interact with heart disease.

[Garfunion]

A mini series called Torch Wood: Miracle Day will give you a good example of an immortal society "changes"

[8wGremlin]

So what can we get from a human, elven, dwarven etc body?
blood, bones, organs, meat, sinew, guts, hair etc.

With that, we can make string, composite bone armour, laminar bone weapons

Death would become trivial, people may be paid for their daily corpses.

Soylent Green products would be common.

Vampires would be fine with freely available blood, and be employed to use their powers for the common good of the society. Why wouldn't they if they help they get free access to blood!

Many other creatures would get in on the act - domesticated Stirge carrier pigeons?

[gkathellar]

This sounds like a job for Emperor Tippy.