Spells for Reviving the Dead

  • Gentle Repose (2nd, Ritual) – 2 Copper Pieces (Extends limits of these spells by 10 Days)
  • Revivify (3rd) – Diamond worth 300gp (within 1 minute of death, whole body)
  • Raise Dead (5th) – Diamond worth 500gp (within 10 days of death, whole body)
  • Reincarnate (5th) – Exotic Oils worth 1000gp (within 10 days of death, body part)
  • Resurrection (7th) – Diamond worth 1000gp (within 100 years, mostly whole body)

Urogalan’s Shrines and Temples

Urogalan, the halfling deity of Death and the Earth, is known as a protector of the dead buried in the earth. He is perhaps the gentlest of deities dealing with the domain of Death. Unlike other gods of death, Urogalan does not seem to take any pleasure in his role. And he doesn’t seem to be particularly inclined to create more dead for the burying.

So it was perhaps inevitable that the priests of his church would find some odd loophole to both raise money for their communities and reduce the burdens upon their deity. That loophole manifested as a booming business to stave off both Undeath and Death itself. Attached to just about every large shrine and temple of Urogalan is a House of Gentle Repose. It can be a building, a basement, or even within the temple itself. And it houses all of those who are dead, and have had the spell Gentle Repose cast upon them.

For a fee, the priests will cast the spell (as a ritual) every ten days, thereby keeping the body in stasis until the family can find or purchase a diamond large enough to bring them back to life. If regular payments stop, the body is buried to be at peace with Urogalan.

One can always go to one of these temples to retrieve scrolls of Gentle Repose. The priests are always happy to add one more into the welcome arms of Urogalan.

The Economy of Death

While the game mechanics make it sound like just having money is enough to get the crucial components of diamonds or exotic oils, the reality is that these are often prized possessions that rarely change hands, if ever.

This rarity keeps the business of the Houses of Gentle Repose in demand. Sure, it’s expensive to pay a fee to keep a loved one in stasis, but it’s doable in regular payments. The priests don’t charge a lot above their costs, and since it is cast as a ritual it doesn’t deplete them in any meaningful way.

It is rumored that the priests use some form of circle magic along with ritual to cast the spell in a more efficient way. It is unknown if they have unlocked the secrets of Mass Gentle Repose.

The downside of diamonds is that you need a single large diamond (300gp to 1000gp) for the spell components of Revivify, Raise Dead or Resurrection.

However, the practitioners of the druidic arts have an entirely different option. Why search for a single diamond, and guard it forever until you need it? You could, instead, find the appropriate oils and unguents needed to reincarnate your loved one. While these can be difficult to find, they can be gathered over time until you have what you need.

Sample list of oils that we have learned from dusty tomes…

  • Oils made from a crystal rose (a type of mineral formation only found in Underdark)
  • An ointment made from the fat of a phoenix
  • Oil derived from the Hanna flower (only found in Kara-Tur)

Mass Gentle Repose

(Ritual)

LEVEL: 4th
CASTING TIME 1 Action (Ritual)
RANGE/AREA: 30 ft. (20 ft. Sphere)
COMPONENTS: V, S, M **
DURATION: 10 Days
SCHOOL: Necromancy
ATTACK/SAVE: None
DAMAGE/EFFECT: Warding

For the duration, all corpses or remains within range of a point are protected from decay and can’t become Undead.

The spell also effectively extends the time limit on raising the targets from the dead, since days spent under the influence of this spell don’t count against the time limit of spells such as Raise Dead.

This spell can only be cast in a consecrated area.

** (2 Copper Pieces, per corpse or set of remains, which the spell consumes)