Keeping the bodies on the floor. How to stump resurrection?

[Lupine]

In D&D, is there a spell that can be cast that prevents resurrection? I have a mystery campaign coming up, and I'd kind of like to keep one of the clues dead, but this NPC would want to return (so the "the soul refuses to return" trick won't work). Are there any spells or rituals that prevent resurrection for a long/indefinite time?
I know that the spell Ceremony has a way of preventing the creature being made undead for seven days (up to a wish spell) as a first level spell, so it isn't too far of a stretch to prevent resurrection magic for an indefinite time.

Alternatively, could a necromancer learn a ritual that traps a soul in an object, preventing resurrection?

[solidork]

It could be as simple as animating them as an undead, depending on how you read/rule the spells.

(The argument goes that when you kill Joe-as-Zombie you end up with a dead zombie and not a dead Joe, and while I'm not a fan of that ruling, I don't think it's much of a stretch to houserule that that kind of necromantic magic could taint a body in such a way that it is no longer suitable to house a soul. It would help explain why there is such a taboo about it. If your players have access to the higher level stuff that can restore a completely destroyed body then you've still got a problem)

[loki_ragnarock]

Pathfinder had something called "quieting needles" that were basically long knitting needles you hammered through the bodies of people you killed so that if they were brought back by one of the lower level raise dead sort of spells they'd immediately die again.

It didn't so much keep the spell from working as... well, make sure it didn't work for long.

[Zhorn]

Assuming the necromancer is an NPC and antagonist (*NPC#1), it can be as simple as just giving them the ability to trap souls without needing to tie it into PC mechanics. Don't let the details get in the way of a good story.
Also assuming that once the mystery is solved, the players are allowed to resurrect the dead NPC (*NPC#2), having a simple "push button receive bacon" method of freeing the soul is also fine.

example:
The necromancer has imprisoned the victim's soul is a crystal glass sphere. This sphere is hidden, and as long as it remains intact, the soul is unable to return to a body, ascend to the afterlife, or interact with any form of communication unless the sphere is in direct possession of the person attempting to communicate with them.
If the sphere is broken, the soul is freed from such restrictions.

*edit: npc's numbered for clarity since a response sounded like this was interpreted as all being about a single character
NPC#1 - The antagonist; the one preventing a resurrection from happening.
NPC#2 - The victim; the one who would like to return to their body if given the opportunity but cannot for story reasons.

[JNAProductions]

Depending on what magics they have access to, lopping the head off can work.

[Sigreid]

Mirror of soul trapping.

[JackPhoenix]

Cutting the head is enough to stop Raise Dead (and Speak With Dead).
You'll have to be more thorough to stop Resurrection, you'll pretty much have to dispose of the corpse entirely.
Animating the corpse as undead stops anything short of True Resurrection. You don't even need a body for it. There's a reason it's 9th level spell.
Trapping the soul stops everything, including TR.

[HappyDaze]

If the dead person had a Clone of themselves made (even against their will) it makes the previous body ineligible to be raised. Now the person with possession of the Clone can just kill it and anyone wanting to raise the person would have to find out where the Clone is to have a body to cast it on.

[Spectrulus]

Assuming the necromancer is an NPC and antagonist, it can be as simple as just giving them the ability to trap souls without needing to tie it into PC mechanics. Don't let the details get in the way of a good story.
Also assuming that once the mystery is solved, the players are allowed to resurrect the dead NPC, having a simple "push button receive bacon" method of freeing the soul is also fine.

One easy way to do that, if you insist on using in-game mechanics would be mind shielding rings or rings that share the property

"If you die while wearing the ring, your soul enters it, unless it already houses a soul. You can remain in the ring or depart for the afterlife.Take this part off As long as your soul is in the ring, you can telepathically communicate with any creature wearing it. A wearer can't prevent this telepathic communication

Then the party could find a collection of rings, amulets, coins, etc. and restore/return as necessary.

Or go the shadow/specter route I suppose.

Really ignore game mechanics is the best option.

[Callak_Remier]

Xanathar's guide.

Cage the Soul

I have been researching and spell selection. Soon:)

[Kane0]

Eat the body, like with a swallow whole ability.

Destroy the body with disintegrate, immolation, etc.

Maybe port in spells and items from previous editions that do it

Edit: more funny, transport the body somewhere inaccessible, like stuffing it in a leomund’s chest.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Are you the DM? NPC's don't have to follow PC rules. His soul is imprisoned in the McGufffin which the PC's eventually have to find. The only reason to find the exact spell is if you're going to give it to the PC's

If the dead person had a Clone of themselves made (even against their will) it makes the previous body ineligible to be raised. Now the person with possession of the Clone can just kill it and anyone wanting to raise the person would have to find out where the Clone is to have a body to cast it on.
I don't think that's entirely true, they can refuse to come back via the clone. And the reason the original body won't work is because they're soul resides elsewhere (inside the clone.) If both bodies are dead bodies then the soul doesn't reside in either of them potentially making either body a valid target. A better idea would be to make the clone, destroy the jar so it will no longer work. Leave the clone body behind and keep the real person alive and imprisoned somewhere else.

[HappyDaze]

Are you the DM? NPC's don't have to follow PC rules. His soul is imprisoned in the McGufffin which the PC's eventually have to find. The only reason to find the exact spell is if you're going to give it to the PC's

I don't think that's entirely true, they can refuse to come back via the clone. And the reason the original body won't work is because they're soul resides elsewhere (inside the clone.) If both bodies are dead bodies then the soul doesn't reside in either of them potentially making either body a valid target. A better idea would be to make the clone, destroy the jar so it will no longer work. Leave the clone body behind and keep the real person alive and imprisoned somewhere else.

Well, if the soul is free and willing to return, it goes to the clone body. I don't think it has the option of opting out of coming back in the clone body unless it has decided to not return at all (i.e., remain dead permanently).

[Lord Vukodlak]

Well, if the soul is free and willing to return, it goes to the clone body. I don't think it has the option of opting out of coming back in the clone body unless it has decided to not return at all (i.e., remain dead permanently).
Iffy assumption, I can think of no reason they couldn't refuse to return to the clone body and opt to wait for a raise dead. According to the DMG a creature knows the name, alignment and patron deity(if any) of whomever is attempting to bring them back and can refuse to return on that basis. And again even if IT does force them back to life. Clone only prevents the original body from being used for raise dead because the soul is unavailable ie not dead. If you kill both then either dead body could be considered equally valid.

[HappyDaze]

Iffy assumption, I can think of no reason they couldn't refuse to return to the clone body and opt to wait for a raise dead. According to the DMG a creature knows the name, alignment and patron deity(if any) of whomever is attempting to bring them back and can refuse to return on that basis. And again even if IT does force them back to life. Clone only prevents the original body from being used for raise dead because the soul is unavailable ie not dead. If you kill both then either dead body could be considered equally valid.

Except with Clone, nobody is bringing you back. The caster may have been your sweet aunt Betty but the Clone is now held in the dungeon of Count Nasty McBastard..which one shows up on your coming back from the dead invite?

[Lord Vukodlak]

Except with Clone, nobody is bringing you back. The caster may have been your sweet aunt Betty but the Clone is now held in the dungeon of Count Nasty McBastard..which one shows up on your coming back from the dead invite? The caster, and if said caster was Aunt Betty then Aunt Betty can say to the PC's. "Oh he has a clone deary" and the PC's can track the clone. Stealing the clone jar would fall under the same paragraph of tricking the dead. The Evil Cleric tricks a good cleric into raising the target.

OR you're own name, patron and alignment show up as its your clone. And if you didn't commission a clone that's a huge red flag.

Again grow the clone, break the jar so it can no longer fulfill its function. Leave the clone behind and take the real one alive. Its essentially you're exact same plan but with little to no room to argue about how it works.

[Silvananthus]

Well, I remember from some D&D novels that when some ne'er do wells wanted to kill the king and prevent his resurrection they used a poison laced with dust that had anti-magical properties like dust of disjunction or anti-magic shell in dust form of some sort. While I am not up on D&D 5E rules for that sort of thing. I thought a poison laced with antimagic properties was a pretty ingenious way to do in the king. No healing worked because of the antimagic properties and the material was so infused into the king that even his corpse couldn't be raised because it still had antimagic properties that canceled out the resurrection attempts.

[Dalebert]

Someone brought up Speak with Dead. That's what you have to worry about. It's a lot easier and cheaper resource than raising them. For that you need to eliminate their head/mouth.

Does the baddie have access to a minion who could have Animate Dead in a ring of spell Storing or something? Maybe also Invisibility?

If you want to prevent True Resurrection, steal the body. For TR to work without any part of the creature, the body needs to have been destroyed.

[PeteNutButter]

Isn't this the plot of Tomb of Annihilation?