First, a quick update. The revamp of the random daily quest is in the bag, and good up to level 20- I’ll try to remember to add new enemies as the content piles up but I think I’ve definitely bought myself some breathing room. The beach vacation event I mentioned elsewhere probably won’t pan out for next update, but I’m hoping to get out a quest or two that will make up for that. There will also be a new harem girl!
Also, I’ve started looking for an artist, considering that I’ve passed the $600 milestone on my Patreon! So if you happen to A) have artistic skill, B) are reliable, and C) are comfortable with sprites, monsters and/or landscapes, shoot me an email with a couple examples from your portfolio and we will talk. This work will be compensated, so serious enquiries only. Just remember to mention “artist position” in the subject line of your email, okay?
Now, onto today’s question…
How permanent is death in the HC setting? How well do people understand the fate of the spirits of the dead?
-glacier
An excellent pair of questions. Unfortunately, the answer to the first part may disappoint. Much like Final Fantasy 7, death isn’t permanent unless it is. Sorry, but that’s kind of how video games work- you have to allow for small failures, and temporary character death provides both a punishment for allowing your beloved party member to fall, and an extra mechanic (ie, life potions, phoenix downs or what have you) for you to account for while planning your dungeon crawl or overland travel.
The setting, however, feels differently. I’ve always kind of felt that it’s better to leave the specifics in the air. Obviously, the name “Resurrection Potion” and the reference made by the Essential Salts item implies that you’re literally bringing the dead back to life. It would also be in keeping with the setting that such items absolutely do bring back the dead- but only the extremely rich can afford them, leaving a nigh-immortal oligarchy ruling over mortal plebes. Or it could be that such items only bring those who are near death back to functional life, and the names are simply marketing hyperbole.
I admit, I’m deliberately keeping my options open- I want to be able to permanently kill of and resurrect characters to suit the needs of my story, so I’m avoiding hard and fast rules.
As for the dead themselves, they’re not saying anything. Most dead either come back brainless (like zombies, wights and skeletons), come back “wrong” (like vampires and ghosts), or don’t come back at all, instead being replaced by an entirely new entity. Straight, clear answers are not the purview of the dead. Necromancers don’t have any special insight, either, any more than a coroner or a mortician would have. Just because necromancy is what you do doesn’t mean that you understand how it all works.
Official dogma on the subject differs. The Angels refuse to offer a single, unified answer. The Angel of Light and Mercy preaches a kind of reincarnation- good people reincarnate into successively more pure forms (eventually becoming angelic servitors), and bad people are punished by reincarnating as impure ones (like animals, fish, bugs, etc). The Angel of Peace and Comfort suggests that there is some kind of “rest”, maybe not an afterlife per se but an eternal sort of peace and comfort. Of course, the Demons gleefully contradict all this- there is no afterlife, they say, just oblivion, so why not enjoy yourself and indulge in sin during life? But who would ever trust a demon, especially one that is pushing a world view where there are no long term consequences to selling your soul?
So hopefully that long list of non-answers gives you some insight. As for me, I’d better get back to work- deadlines can creep up on your while contemplating the mysteries of life. Until next time, happy fapping!
Hm… I wondering how Larelle’s Raise Dead spell factors into this. Technically the person she raises is fine and all. Also i guess it’s just a normal resurrection from a gameplay standpoint. But it’s still weird.
I just want to say that generally speaking, medieval medicine had no way to distinguish between people who are dead and people who simply lost consciousness for a long time, aren’t reacting to stimuli, and whose vitals got to the level where a simple test just won’t work for checking. Well, until the corpse starts giving off a bad smell.
Anyway, point is, if you want to keep it somewhat grounded but still want to be free to choose to eliminate characters and then return them to life or just to the story, then I do think that writing that the character “seems dead” rather than “is dead” and simply making the character state something about being in a coma or stuff of that sort.
I mean, in the end that’s what happens, in most cases, to people who are hit in combat and then just keel over: they lose consciousness due to pain or shock and simply don’t wake up before bleeding out. But if anyone tried to save them there’s still a chance.
Then again, maybe I’m just thinking about it too hard.
i have played rpg video games since the days of nitendo
i think chorno cross for the snes dose the bring back the mane pc
back in a way he has to die it cant be change but if you take his clone ( prize from the fair ) you can put in his place
how aging factors into this?
do the resurrection potions and essntial salts etc. even work on people that die of old age?
Dealing with the immortal oligarchy is easy: Resurrection magic isn’t a youth spell. Sure you can restore yourself to life and cure whatever killed you but you’re still 92 and will probably die again within a couple months. Eventually you are going to reach the point where you die fast enough that you are doing noting but being resurrected.
That, and the little fact that resurrection does rely on the actions of someone other than you. The grave is not a very nice place to find out that the priestess you are relying on has fallen in love with your heir.