Preventing Raise Dead

[Skyflare19]

I need to come up with a reasonable way to prevent my party from casting Raise Dead, which is their only revival spell, on at least one of the two NPCs that are planned to die in an upcoming session. The party has built up a good relationship with one of the NPCs over the course of the campaign, and I would prefer it if the death of at least that one would stick, just to add some of the feeling of loss to the war that the party is involved in.

My first idea was to have an enemy infiltrate a fort during a seige and kill the characters once the bad guys lost. This plan involved a bomb of some sort, but I am open to other ideas. Thanks.

[Amnestic]

Spell doesn't work if the target is missing a head. Any assassin worth their salt in a fantasy world where resurrections are known to occur should be used to beheading their victims and probably also burning the bodies.

Alternatively, soul trap the NPCs. Quest now turns from "resurrect them" to "get the soul back within 10 days".

[Warder]

Animate Dead on the corpse works too. It's been clarified a bunch of times that killing the AD zombie leaves the corpse of an Undead creature, not its original creature type, so you need Resurrection to bring a zombie back.

[Chaos Jackal]

Raise dead is pretty limited. Anything that thoroughly mangles the body effectively prevents it. A bomb assassination could work, but it's not foolproof; you could get into arguments over how devastating the bomb's effect is to the body, what "mortal wounds" entails, or, if the party had defenses/guards or tried to thwart it, how the assassin went through. I assume that, since you're asking here and want to give plausible explanations, you wanna avoid calling on DM fiat as much as possible.

From what you're saying, I guess there's a fight coming up. You could do something as simple as narrate a decapitation during combat, if you don't consider placing/stitching the head on the stump as a mortal wound the spell can fix; even that can still be overcome by subsequently destroying the head in a gruesome display or something. You know, enemy stomping the skull declaring that their friend is dead and gone, that kind of thing.

Another simple solution is to have the body taken in some manner.

Soul trapping works. Soul cage doesn't last for long, but there are creatures and items that can do it. Or you could homebrew something.

You could also have an enemy with disintegrate or another such effect that destroys the body. Finger of death is an alternative that can feel extra nasty - the corpse of their friend is attacking them, and raise dead can't restore undead so it won't work afterwards.

Out of combat, if you wanna stick with the assassin, you could again have the head taken/destroyed or a scroll of animate dead zombifying the corpse.

Those being said, if you want something more specific, you're gonna have to give more information on the setting and the situation.

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

Easy.
The soul only returns if it is willing. Simply have the souls be unwilling. You don't even have to explain why, since it's not like they pop down to explain themselves on saying no. But if you really have to give an explanation, just say they're now in the realm of whatever god they worshiped, and it's far more appealing to them than being in the midst of a war that just got them brutally assassinated, so they'll stay right where they are, thank you.

[tokek]

Another option is to kill them with a hellfire weapon.

Once they are a lemure trapped in hell they can't come back. Also it will make the party super-hate on whoever did it if they are anything like any party I've run for.

[Skyflare19]

Alternatively, soul trap the NPCs. Quest now turns from "resurrect them" to "get the soul back within 10 days".
I like the idea of the soul trap as a possibility. Though with the time frame of the remainder of the campaign, the party would have no time to side quest to save him.

[Skyflare19]

Animate Dead on the corpse works too. It's been clarified a bunch of times that killing the AD zombie leaves the corpse of an Undead creature, not its original creature type, so you need Resurrection to bring a zombie back.
I really like this, add a little extra trauma to the ordeal.

[Skyflare19]

I assume that, since you're asking here and want to give plausible explanations, you wanna avoid calling on DM fiat as much as possible.
Thisuch is very true. In regards to the upcoming combat, the party will be fighting to enter the fort, those already inside, namely the relevant NPCs, are non combatants. But making the NPCs undead would absolutely work.

[Skyflare19]

Easy.
The soul only returns if it is willing. Simply have the souls be unwilling.
The NPCs are too important at the moment and would both want to see a resolution to the war. I wouldn't be able to justify unwillingness.

[Skyflare19]

Another option is to kill them with a hellfire weapon.

Once they are a lemure trapped in hell they can't come back. Also it will make the party super-hate on whoever did it if they are anything like any party I've run for.
This one is really neat. Where are hellfire weapons found? I haven't heard of these.

[tokek]

This one is really neat. Where are hellfire weapons found? I haven't heard of these.

They are in Descent into Avernus

They basically just do what I said. Uncommon magic weapon the only real effect of is that the soul is sent directly to hell to serve as a lemure. Apply the finishing blow with it and off to hell they go.

Very nasty weapon indeed. I happen to have it on my mind as my CG Ranger is plotting to kill a king with one for precisely the purpose of ensuring that no resurrection is possible (short of a raid on hell for a rescue mission, possible Wish spell etc). Lets just say the king deserves to go to hell.

[Anymage]

This one is really neat. Where are hellfire weapons found? I haven't heard of these.

Descent into Avernus. Although nothing stops you from just making weapons that trap, mangle, destroy, or otherwise render the soul unsuitable for resurrection. Just note that if the party can beat the assassin and get their hands on their weapon, don't expect to ever bring back any bad guys of yours.

Also, the little button with a quotation mark and a little + in the bottom corner allows you to chain together multiple replies into a single comment. That's usually easier to read and respond to than several posts in a row.

[Skyflare19]

They are in Descent into Avernus

They basically just do what I said. Uncommon magic weapon the only real effect of is that the soul is sent directly to hell to serve as a lemure. Apply the finishing blow with it and off to hell they go.

Very nasty weapon indeed. I happen to have it on my mind as my CG Ranger is plotting to kill a king with one for precisely the purpose of ensuring that no resurrection is possible (short of a raid on hell for a rescue mission, possible Wish spell etc). Lets just say the king deserves to go to hell.

Cool. I hadn't actually looked into that one. I have one adventure path and every time that I have tried to run it, something went wrong with the party, and it was just too much work. And good luck with your regicide.

[Skyflare19]

Descent into Avernus. Although nothing stops you from just making weapons that trap, mangle, destroy, or otherwise render the soul unsuitable for resurrection. Just note that if the party can beat the assassin and get their hands on their weapon, don't expect to ever bring back any bad guys of yours.

Also, the little button with a quotation mark and a little + in the bottom corner allows you to chain together multiple replies into a single comment. That's usually easier to read and respond to than several posts in a row.

That last bit is nice information for the future. Thank you. Also, with my campaign drawing to a close, and my warlock's pension for decapitating anyone who is super evil means that it won't be too problematic if they get something like that.

[Sigreid]

If I recall correctly, the spell fails if the soul doesn't want it to.

[Mastikator]

Raise dead does not restore vital organs, if the target is missing a vital organ, like the head, or the heart, or is turned to ash, then the spell will not work. A bomb would 100% do the trick, especially if the NPC is using their body to heroically shield the party.

[Sigreid]

Digested by a purple worm, giant frog or the like would work fine as well. Especially if they run off after swallowing the NPC.

[Segev]

As a warning, "I have two NPCs that are slated to die that I want to make sure at least one of cannot be brought back, precisely because the PCs are close to them and I want to make them feel the sting of the loss of war," is a good recipe for encouraging murderhobos who make no connections in the future.

No, one instance of it won't flip the switch and suddenly make all of the players never care about another NPC again - at least, it probably won't (I suppose there's a remote possibility) - but it will make them feel like they're being punished for caring about the NPCs.

Be prepared for the player characters to start looking for ways to bring back their friend through larger quest goals or sidequests, and while you don't have to automatically give it to them, don't artificially stymie them, either.

I also recommend playing as fair as possible with the NPCs' deaths: don't make them fiat deaths, and don't try to force them. If they make sense, sure, let them happen, but it sounds like you're gunning for them artificially, and deliberately aiming to make the PCs have no agency in regards to their protection or death. I would avoid doing that, if I were you, unless the PCs have been overtly foolish and not provided adequate care for the risk level their NPC friends would be under. And, too, if they're being specifically targeted for assassination, there should be a good reason why they are, and the PCs should know of that reason and the availability of assassins.

[Crucius]

I don't know if you are still capable of controlling the amount of diamonds they have for the Raise Dead, but if they have 0 then it's going to be tough to cast the spell.

Proposition: you mentioned you would like at least one of the npc's to stay dead. What if you kill them both and gave the players a choice: they would need to have only 1 diamond, and through that they would have to choose which npc gets revived. Sounds like an interesting conundrum to me at least. Maybe they'd rather save the gem for themselves in the future, who knows.

[Zhorn]

Another vote for the Hellfire weapon option. Sets up a fun little side story where you can hint at some lower planes lore, that while it might not be a central focus of your campaign, can inform the players of the game universe stretching further than what they see.

I slipped a hellfire weapon into my LMoP campaign. Till then my players (all newish to d&d) were thinking of all fiends as demons. As the campaign has been rolling on, they've been learning about the differences between devils, demons, and yugoloths, and how their alignments result in different expectations and interactions, and generally has an ongoing mystery of how and why such a weapon made its way onto the prime material plane.
Demons wouldn't want it there as killing with it creates more opponents for them.
And oddly devils don't want it their either, since it goes against the Pact Primeval.
So they are left with having to figure out which yugoloth is responsible for this, and what their greater goal is.
It's not a central focus of my campaign, but weaving in little side quests like this all around has really immersed my players in feeling like they are in a living breathing world.

My second vote goes to beheading and making off with that melon. Assassins would be collecting payment from someone, so proof of having done their job makes sense.
Minimal explanation needed and you don't need to have elaborate motivations.


Be prepared for the player characters to start looking for ways to bring back their friend through larger quest goals or sidequests, and while you don't have to automatically give it to them, don't artificially stymie them, either.Yes. If the players are going to actively pursue a solution, it is better to be onboard with your players rather than working against them. The NPCs work against the PCs. The DM works with the players.

[da newt]

Who will be doing the killing and why?

This may make the realistic (ish) solution more apparent.

The hellfire weapon may be perfect, or maybe a cultist ceremony requires the sacrifice's heart, or maybe the beast BBEG eats the NPC's liver or brain, or the body is immolated, or ...

[Mastikator]

As a warning, "I have two NPCs that are slated to die that I want to make sure at least one of cannot be brought back, precisely because the PCs are close to them and I want to make them feel the sting of the loss of war," is a good recipe for encouraging murderhobos who make no connections in the future.

No, one instance of it won't flip the switch and suddenly make all of the players never care about another NPC again - at least, it probably won't (I suppose there's a remote possibility) - but it will make them feel like they're being punished for caring about the NPCs.

Be prepared for the player characters to start looking for ways to bring back their friend through larger quest goals or sidequests, and while you don't have to automatically give it to them, don't artificially stymie them, either.

I also recommend playing as fair as possible with the NPCs' deaths: don't make them fiat deaths, and don't try to force them. If they make sense, sure, let them happen, but it sounds like you're gunning for them artificially, and deliberately aiming to make the PCs have no agency in regards to their protection or death. I would avoid doing that, if I were you, unless the PCs have been overtly foolish and not provided adequate care for the risk level their NPC friends would be under. And, too, if they're being specifically targeted for assassination, there should be a good reason why they are, and the PCs should know of that reason and the availability of assassins.

This is a really good point, I think a better option to "feel the sting of war" is to slowly drain the players of their resources by not letting them *long rest during the siege, and have constant small skirmishes designed to tire them out until the PCs have nothing but hitpoints left, and then go a little further. When they run out of diamond dust is when the siege is over.

*a single enemy warrior CR 1/8 attacking them during long rest is to interrupt it RAW. And if they try to do something smart like splitting the party then the raids get just a bit too frequent for half the party

[J-H]

Raise dead does not restore vital organs, if the target is missing a vital organ, like the head, or the heart, or is turned to ash, then the spell will not work. A bomb would 100% do the trick, especially if the NPC is using their body to heroically shield the party.

So what's the method to restore a heart that's been removed? Wish, Miracle, Divine Intervention, Resurrection (both versions have a casting time of 1 hr), and that's it?
Regeneration and Heal both require target: A creature, and a corpse is not a creature. Also, it costs 1 minute to cast, so it's bad in combat.

I'm running a campaign with some Aztec-themed enemies, and there are a couple of them with a special attack involving ripping out the target's heart, killing the target if damage reduces them to 0hp (similar to disintegrate I suppose).

[Warder]

So what's the method to restore a heart that's been removed? Wish, Miracle, Divine Intervention, Resurrection (both versions have a casting time of 1 hr), and that's it?
Regeneration and Heal both require target: A creature, and a corpse is not a creature. Also, it costs 1 minute to cast, so it's bad in combat.

I'm running a campaign with some Aztec-themed enemies, and there are a couple of them with a special attack involving ripping out the target's heart, killing the target if damage reduces them to 0hp (similar to disintegrate I suppose).

Notably Revivify doesn't fail on creatures with missing hearts (or heads, etc), so maybe there's a way using that if you can keep them from dying immediately again.

[Chaos Jackal]

Notably Revivify doesn't fail on creatures with missing hearts (or heads, etc), so maybe there's a way using that if you can keep them from dying immediately again.
Revivify can't restore missing parts.

[Warder]

Revivify can't restore missing parts.

I'm well aware!

But unlike Raise Dead it doesn't automatically fail on creatures missing parts they need for survival.

[J-H]

Do the rules actually specify that creatures of any given type must have hearts to live?
I mean...it's D&D land, it probably doesn't have genetics or appendicitis either.

[Sigreid]

Here's a way to handle it that might insulate you from the "who cares about PCs reaction". Have the NPC spend a little time in game talking about a lost loved one. Then when the PC dies, let them start the Raise dead, but as they're casting the spell they see the spirit rise from the body as their lost loved one's spirt appears. The NPC spirit smiles at the part and goes with their loved one. The party has lost their friend, but know their friend has gone on to something he has longed for. Would make for a bitter sweet moment.

[No brains]

I'd like to echo the 'don't dismantle player agency' sentiments of Segev and Zhorn. Be very careful when implementing this theme of loss.

But if you want to go through with it and have the cause be a bomb in a fort during a war, consider making the bomb strong enough bury the body under tons of rubble. Now here's the tricky part: let Raise Dead work- if they decide to do it. If there's a war going on, they have better uses of their time than digging through rubble. Present them with a choice: they can save their friend, or they can move on a time-sensitive objective. This heartbreaking choice worthy of a Ron Howard movie pitch* keeps the party's agency, but also works with the themes of sacrifice and loss you can get in a war.

Bonus cruelty points if the NPC gets angry about the choice the party made. They wanted to come back, but that was to see an end to the war. If the PCs jeopardized that, how would the NPC react?

Beware if you do this because then the PCs might want to know where they can get fort-leveling bombs. Pro-tip: The Earthquake spell.

*I'm not sure what inspired me to steal a joke from The Simpsons there, but I was referencing the end of one episode where Ron Howard pitches a movie with a killer robot driving instructor who travels back in time for some reason. His best friend is a talking pie.

[CapnWildefyr]

Well, since your NPCs would want to come back, consider:

torn in half (unless the party can fix that)
missing both legs and an arm, or the face (might not want to come back in that case)
crushed to a pulp under a collapsed building
burned to a crisp so you can't get a good ID, then you realize you raised the wrong person
body dumped in a river - can't recover it in time, and body gets nibbled on by fish/gators
body gets partially eaten by animals/birds or whatever killed it
killed by select undead so the body is undead
petrified, fell off a balcony, and shattered (or similar, like shattered by a lightning strike, or melted some by a fireball)

Personally I'm not always a fan of magic items that steal souls and such, so I'd try the more "normal" ways of fantasy "ain't comin' back" ways to die first, but that's just me. Nothing wrong with that approach, too.

[JNAProductions]

Here's a way to handle it that might insulate you from the "who cares about PCs reaction". Have the NPC spend a little time in game talking about a lost loved one. Then when the PC dies, let them start the Raise dead, but as they're casting the spell they see the spirit rise from the body as their lost loved one's spirt appears. The NPC spirit smiles at the part and goes with their loved one. The party has lost their friend, but know their friend has gone on to something he has longed for. Would make for a bitter sweet moment.

I like this one!

It gives a good, positive reason for the NPC to not return, but still gives that sting of loss.

Obviously might not be able to implement this this time around, but Imma keep this in idea in my brain.

[Mjolnirbear]

I have a different take, based on the assumption that you want the NPC dead because they can say or do something that helps the players.

Keeping them from reviving/ressurecting doesn't solve this problem, because of Speak With Dead.

If that's the actual reason and I assumed correctly, then it may be better to steal the body and/or kidnap the (living) NPC.

[sambojin]

Be a druid. Wildshape into a carnivore. Nom Nom Nom. Problem solved.

You can't raise poo.

[Willowhelm]

This would take things in a very different direction but rather than assassinate and leave a corpse they could be replaced by a doppelgänger or controlled by magic in some way.

Your PCs aren’t bringing them back and no railroading to avoid the raise dead but you as the DM can now prevent the npc from providing whatever aid it was that you were trying to prevent by having them die.

[Tawmis]

Does your world have gods?

What if it's the will of the gods - these NPCs have fulfilled their destiny - and can not return to the mortal plane.

If there's the concern that the players will react poorly (and not properly RP the situation) - allow the NPCs to visit them as spirits, and assure them, that though they felt their death was untimely, they now walk with the gods and angels, and understand that their destiny has been fulfilled... it was always meant that they'd meet the party and lead them to the steps of their destiny, and die in the process, but it was all for a greater cause, and they see that now...