Resurrection

[username1]

Quick question: What Resurrection spells do you allow in your games. My players cleric is soon going to hit level 5 and be able to take the resurrect spell. I know the costs it takes a such, but I wonder if its too early. He is planning on saving up to buy the supplies so he can cast the spell when needed. I have always felt a resurrection should cost a character way more a be available at higher levels. What do you do in your game? If you remove low level res spells how do you justify it to the players?

[Mellack]

Quick question: What Resurrection spells do you allow in your games. My players cleric is soon going to hit level 5 and be able to take the resurrect spell. I know the costs it takes a such, but I wonder if its too early. He is planning on saving up to buy the supplies so he can cast the spell when needed. I have always felt a resurrection should cost a character way more a be available at higher levels. What do you do in your game? If you remove low level res spells how do you justify it to the players?

A 5th level character cannot cast resurrection, the best they can do is Revivify, which considering you only have one minute to get to them, seem fair. To actually raise dead people requires much higher level.

[mephnick]

If you remove low level res spells how do you justify it to the players?

"I don't like what these spells do to the game." That's all the justification you need, if that.

I, for one, double the cost of Raise Dead and Resurrect (I alos give way less gold than the ridiculous amounts RAW hands out.) Removed Revivify. I go back and forth on Healing Word, but have left it in. I have an injury table for dropping to 0, however, so there is still a concern.

[lperkins2]

After the game started? Leave it alone. That sort of thing is setting-specific information that should be handed out in session 0, changing spell availability or cost mid-game should be avoided without good cause.

[sophontteks]

After the game started? Leave it alone. That sort of thing is setting-specific information that should be handed out in session 0, changing spell availability or cost mid-game should be avoided without good cause.
^^^^^^^^
Its way too late to be nerfing spells. That player has good reason to be upset if you do that to them.

[Davrix]

"I don't like what these spells do to the game." That's all the justification you need, if that.

I, for one, double the cost of Raise Dead and Resurrect (I alos give way less gold than the ridiculous amounts RAW hands out.) Removed Revivify. I go back and forth on Healing Word, but have left it in. I have an injury table for dropping to 0, however, so there is still a concern.

My table takes the opposite approach you do. We removed all the other forms of resurrection and just kept Revivify as the only spell allowed in the game as we consider it like the magical version of the shock paddles after combat. Otherwise death is permanent at our tables.

[MrStabby]

After the game started? Leave it alone. That sort of thing is setting-specific information that should be handed out in session 0, changing spell availability or cost mid-game should be avoided without good cause.

I strongly agree with this.

I think it is especially true when you are removing pretty much half of the limited number of things that the cleric can do that the wizard can't. Removing spells here and there is fine for balance or preservation of the integrity of the game but taking away that special miraculous thing that the cleric can do should not be done after someone has opted to play the class.

Best case you can go into it as a negotiation - they give up these spells from their spell list but what do they get in return? That player has had taken away from them something they could be the best at - they should be able to be best at something, the DM should try and find something agreeable to both parties to fill the space.

[Anonymouswizard]

It's not that uncommon to remove the resurrection spells from games. I've never seen a record of the reason they were added in, but I suspect it's because back before my time characters took a long time to level up, by level 9 they'd be assumed to be out of active play but might still adventure or lead armies occasionally. It kind of sucks to lose that 9th level character you spent potentially years levelling up permanently.

Of course these days it's assumed that players don't bring a folder of characters to every session, and as such new PCs don't have to be first level.

Of course, doing so after enough sessions have gone by to hit 9th level is troublesome, it's the sort of thing that'll affect the classes players choose.

[WalterO’dim]

Don’t house rule the fun out of the game...

[mephnick]

My table takes the opposite approach you do. We removed all the other forms of resurrection and just kept Revivify as the only spell allowed in the game as we consider it like the magical version of the shock paddles after combat. Otherwise death is permanent at our tables.

Actually as I was typing it I had the same thought. Maybe I have it backwards..hmm

[MoiMagnus]

Quick question: What Resurrection spells do you allow in your games. My players cleric is soon going to hit level 5 and be able to take the resurrect spell. I know the costs it takes a such, but I wonder if its too early. He is planning on saving up to buy the supplies so he can cast the spell when needed. I have always felt a resurrection should cost a character way more a be available at higher levels. What do you do in your game? If you remove low level res spells how do you justify it to the players?

Don't forget that the revivify:
1) Have to be cast less than one minute after the death. One minute is 10 rounds. Which mean that waiting the end of the fight to revivify is frequently not an option.
2) It does not regenerate lost part of the body. Decapitated? Does not work. Lost an arm or a feet? You will still have to pay a lot more to heal it after that. You can still rule that a creature adjacent to a dead body can make an attack to the corpse in order to decapitate it or any other way to ruin the body.
3) It does not cure poison, illness, nor curses. Which mean that trained assassins can make sure their target do not resurrect without too many problems.
4) It can be countered by enemies' counter-spells. Don't forget COUNTER-SPELL. If you forget to give counter-spell to your monsters, half of the spells will be completely OP, and revivify is FAR from being the worst (contagion, I'm looking at you).

However, make sure that you and the player are ok on how the spell work. They have to know if they can count on revivify, or if the enemies will make their possible to prevent resurrection. "Surprise permanent death" can really break the truth player-DM, so make sure it is not a surprise, or accept to have your hero die and come back frequently. Chose what will give the most fun to your table.