Bringing back unwilling souls

[Virgo]

Okay, Playground; a question for your collective wisdom. Do you know of any way to bring an unwilling soul back to the Prime Material?

The soul in question probably won't consent to return, ruling out Ressurection, and is already in the afterlife, ruling out Trap the Soul or Soul Bind (unless we solve the 'getting them back' issue first. But bonus points if the method leaves the soul imprisoned anyway; I'd love to keep the soul in a runestaff as an intelligent item.

[J.Gellert]

Why doesn't the soul want to return?

The simplest way would be to trick it, by having someone innocent-looking cast the Resurrection spell. For example, a cleric of the South Gods if the dead character is Sapphire guard

[Flickerdart]

You could also Plane Shift to the plane on which the soul will most likely be a petitioner and then Soul Bind or whatever on the 1HD creature that it now is.

[Virgo]

The soul is one of the party's enemies, a CE psychopathic changeling enchanter and alienist to whom my LE psychopathic changeling sorcerer took a shine (based on obvious similarities).

Should he return, he'd probably just be imprisoned for life, so he's none too eager to come back at all.

Abyss-diving would be difficult for a variety of reasons, mostly due to my character's close connection to devils. Even if we knew specifically where to find him, it would turn into a nasty battle with endless hoards of demons pretty quickly.

[quick_comment]

Epic spells can do it.

But the best way is probably to planeshift to whatever plane the soul has the afterlife on and kidnap it.

Edit: Since you dont want to planeshift, why not try just outright purchasing his soul from the demons?

[Flickerdart]

If he went to the Abyss, his soul has already been assimilated into whatever version of lemures it is that Devils have. There's no bringing him back.

[J.Gellert]

Edit: Wrong... Disregard this. For a moment I thought Clone could do it but nope.

Edit again: A Wish can do it. "Undo misfortune" on the poor fool's death. Nothing about being willing or unwilling there.

[quick_comment]

Wish could also do it as the "transport creatures" version.

[Alleine]

If there's a spell for contacting souls, then you could always talk to the person and convince them to be willing next time you try to revive him. Imprisonment on the material plane > eternity in the abyss.

[Coidzor]

Sounds good for a lark for XP even if the guy's already a dreck or demonic larva thingy...

If he went to the Abyss, his soul has already been assimilated into whatever version of lemures it is that Devils have. There's no bringing him back.

Drecks, methinks...

[derfenrirwolv]

Nope. Any method of doing it is in the House rules/ custom epic spell/ creative use of wish that the DM probably shouldn't allow territory.

Remember that when you do that you're interfering with a deites home turf

[Oblivious]

You can animate the corpse (animate dead) and give the corpse memories from his life without actually retrieving the soul (Speak with Dead).

But not at the same time.

[Douglas]

I don't know of any RAW means of bringing someone back to life against their will short of direct intervention by a deity, and even there you have to find one with the right Salient Divine Ability.

[Babale]

I am also interested in this, as I'm playing an epic necromancer-based build. Anyways, other then a crack assassin team of vampires and ghost commanders, I'm planning on having lich spellcasters. But in order to keep them obeying me, I am holding their phylacteries. Now, destruction is good and well, but if they hate me enough, they may choose to die rather then serve me. (Many of them will be forced into becoming liches by me). So, my plan is to research an epic spell that can do this, but really, isn't a wish enough?

Couldn't a wish, at the very least, be used to make the target want to be ressurected?

[Keld Denar]

Remember, in the Abyss, CE psychopaths are a dime a dozen. His soul is worth very little to its possessor. So...what you really need to do is find yourself a nice, pristine emblem of good and law, like a Paladin or Gold/Silver dragon and trap its soul. Then, planar bind a messenger demon like a Quasit, and tell it to go back to its master and propose a trade. The trade should be conducted in neutral territory, a place like Mechanius would be idea. Make sure you bring the proper verification shananigans with you, since the demons WILL try to pull a fast one on you. But you have something of great value that they would like, and they have something of little value that you would like, then mutually agreeable terms should be reachable. Its like offering someone a gold coin in return for their copper coin. Demons are chaotic, but they aren't stupid. Plus, if you let the fiend know your intentions (binding the soul to an item so that you can taunt it for the rest of your life), he might find it amusing enough to throw in a free boon, if you are savvy enough.

Now, you just have to figure out where to find a bright shiny pure paladin, and how to get her gem in an itty bitty little gem. I suggest you diguise the gem as a lich's phylactery, place it in a dungeon, and then spread rumors about a lich in a dungeon. Paladins trip over each other to be first in line for a good lich slaying. Once she picks up the gem, boom, teleport in, nab it, teleport out, and a' bargining you shall go!

[Babale]

Can or can't a Wish be used to make a soul willing to return?

[Douglas]

That would fall under the "greater effect" clause, which is entirely up to the individual DM.

[Babale]

Really? But isn't it at most Dominate Person?

[Lycanthromancer]

Really? But isn't it at most Dominate Person?

Considering that the 'person' is now an outsider, it'd have to be dominate monster, but basically, yes...

You could, of course, use divination to figure out where the guy's soul is, and then simply do the person-transposition function of wish (or just go there in person, via plane shift). The dretch, or whatever he is now, should appear in front of you PDQ.

[Aron Times]

Create Undead and Create Greater Undead work.