Resurrection

See also: Reincarnation

This article covers the concept of reviving mortal beings. For the Pathfinder First Edition spell, see resurrection (spell). For the Pathfinder Second Edition ritual, see resurrect.

The act of resurrection returns a deceased mortal soul to its physical form, reversing death in the moment if not permanently.

Returning to the mortal's physical form at death distinguishes resurrection from reincarnation, in which the soul returns to inhabit a new body not necessarily of the same ancestry or species, and undeath, in which a body is reanimated by void energy and part or all of the soul is forcibly bound to the form.

Methods

Barring divine intervention or extremely unusual circumstances, resurrection requires powerful magic to accomplish, such as:

• ritual magic, such as the resurrect ritual
• certain other spells, such as raise dead or breath of life
• wish magic
• miracles
• powerful magic items and artifacts, such as the Deck of Destiny or Radiant Spark

Pharmaceutical technology, such as a cardioamp, can also resurrect a being.

Self-resurrection

A creature resembling a phoenix.

Certain creatures, such as tidehawks and phoenixes, are capable of self-resurrection in which they return to life automatically after a brief period of time if any physical remains of them exist.

Such self-resurrections might be limited if their remains are in a consecrated or desecrated area counter to their nature or if their remains have been converted into an item, such as a phoenix cinder.

Fafnheir, Father of Linnorms, is said to curse any who manage to destroy him by inhabiting their body with his soul until the victim dies in Fafnheir's explosive self-resurrection.

Divine intervention

A requested miracle can resurrect a person through divine intervention, and while it lacks many of the limitations of resurrection magic it can also be subject to the petitioned deity's whims—which can include obligating either the requester or the resurrected person to the deity's service.

The psychopomp usher Saloc, a defender of souls during Pharasma's trials of judgment, has resurrected condemned souls on their own in order for them to have a second chance at redemption. Pharasma has also sometimes held a soul in the Boneyard for its mortal form to be resurrected when she knows it has not fulfilled its potential.

Limitations

While resurrection is inherently powerful magic, its many forms can have several limitations.

Age

Some forms of resurrection are ineffective on creatures that died naturally of old age.

Time

Different types of magical resurrection can fail to function if a certain amount of time has passed since the creature's death, which can range from as little as a few seconds to a few days, and can extend to years, decades, or more. The most powerful forms of resurrection have no limit on time.

Lack of remains

Many, though not all, forms of magical resurrection require at least some of the deceased's remains to exist. Several forms require the body to be mostly intact. Utter disintegration or destruction can prevent lesser forms of magical resurrection from succeeding.

Avernus razorbacks are bred in Cheliax in part to dispose of remains so thoroughly that any forms of resurrection that require them become impossible.

If the deceased's body is possessed by an outside being, such as through a false resurrection, it also cannot serve as their vessel for resurrection.

Undeath

Some undead creatures can be resurrected to mortal life after being destroyed, but extant consummate undead such as vampires who seek resurrection as a potential cure for their affliction without first being destroyed find it ineffective.

In an extreme example of undeath preventing resurrection, the balor Khorramzadeh carried the decapitated corpse of the silver dragon Terendelev to Iz in 4713 AR in order to turn her into a ravener and prevent her resurrection or judgment.

Soul destruction

A map of the River of Souls.

Resurrection takes place in the nebulous period of time between a mortal being's death and their judgment in the Boneyard, a process and path known as the River of Souls, a period during which souls are vulnerable to entrapment or destruction. For example, the Outer God Nhimbaloth preys on souls in the River of Souls, and devourers do so across the planes; those consumed are destroyed and cannot be resurrected.

Soul entrapment

The final blade Razor Jenni.

Souls can also be trapped in items before entering or while in the River of Souls, preventing their resurrection by any power short of wish magic or divine intervention. Among the most famous soul-trapping items are the final blades of Galt. Soul-trapping items date back to at least the historic empire of Thassilon, in which an effigy of the favored servant could entrap the soul of someone who died near it.

Cacodaemons who consume souls entrap them in gems, which are often used by other daemons in cruel experiments or traded for their value. Night hags hunt souls in the Ethereal Plane and Dreamlands for entrapment and are among the most notorious traders of them in Abaddon.

Bound souls also power some types of constructs. The mirror men of Irrisen are formed from the trapped souls of criminals, while Jistkan automatons are powered by the souls of their Imperium's champions.

Some forms of resurrection can still resurrect souls trapped in certain types of items, such as soul jars.

Divine prohibition

A vanth psychopomp.

Despite seeming like a subversion of the River of Souls, a resurrected mortal will eventually reach their final death, and so Pharasma's agents generally ignore the act. However, vanth psychopomps have retaliated against those who overuse or abuse resurrection magic, and shinigami are sometimes tasked with (or bribed into) killing resurrected mortals if their renewed existence is deemed to be excessively disruptive to order.

Akhana aeons inscrutably view the resurrection of certain souls as inherently imbalancing to the Universe and pursue such mortals for a subsequent death or attempt to trap their soul inside of the akhana's body.

Marut inevitables pursue those who combine resurrection magic with other forms in pursuit of immortality, or forms of resurrection magic that require mass sacrifice. Zelekhuts pursue those who abuse resurrection magic to escape the consequences of justice, and kolyaruts pursue those who abuse it to escape the terms of a contract.

Being resurrected can be anathema for certain deities, such as Angazhan, who requires his followers to allow only reincarnation.

Damnation and corruption

Asmodeus wields an infernal contract.

Infernal temptations that result in damnation or the terms of infernal contracts can result in a soul's immediate true death, making it impervious to all forms of resurrection short of wish magic.

Evil outsiders, and certain corrupting spells, can also corrupt, curse, or redirect souls in ways that can make them difficult or impossible to resurrect.

Loss of self-identity

Leshies who lose too much of their sense of self or attachments to their mortal lives can also fail to be resurrected, even if their souls have not yet been judged.

Refusal

Resurrection is believed to be ineffective on creatures that are unwilling to return to life, though there are notable exceptions. The repeated forced resurrection of sentient beings is considered blasphemy or prohibited in most parts of Golarion, save for the largely undead nation of Geb where the practice is employed by necromantic researchers of the Mortuarium in Yled known as twilight sages and by Geb to torture fallen foes into becoming graveknights.

Judgment

Pharasma judges souls.

Resurrection cannot be performed after Pharasma's judgment and the mortal soul's transformation into a shade in its final death, at which point it begins its afterlife transformation into its new form as a planar being. This can include souls who have voluntarily pledged themselves to a divine entity or planar power and are transformed into an outsider sooner than expected.

Exceptions

Fey creatures on their native First World do not experience death as other creatures. Natives of the First World are themselves blocked from the River of Souls, making its inhabitants effectively immortal as long as they remain on the plane. When a native of the First World "dies" on the plane, their energy simply returns to the First World and reforms within 10 days; in some cases, such as sprites, they return as a new form of fey. Should a fey native to the First World die on another plane, they truly die and cease to exist.

Effects

Resurrected beings retain none of their conscious memories of the River of Souls or Boneyard, though some details might appear in their dreams.

Many types of magical resurrection restore a person in a somewhat physically weakened state. In the lowest forms, the resurrected person still bears the injuries they suffered before death. Resurrection can also permanently alter aspects of a person, including physical traits or their personality.

Resurrection can also change the flavor of a being's flesh to add an earthy note.

On Golarion

The funeral of Eutropia Stavian.

For most people on Golarion, resurrection is in the domain of tales rather than an event they experience or witness. Many legal and social events occur upon a person's death to mark their passing, such as the handling of debts or obligations; resurrection can complicate these events.

Practitioners

Clerics, who have a deeper understanding of the progression of souls and a connection to divine magic, are the most common practitioners of resurrection magic.

Certain organizations specialize in retrieving remains with the hope of resurrecting them. The Envoy's Alliance of the Pathfinder Society is sometimes tasked with such missions and carry body recovery kits that assist in preserving remains for resurrection.

Opposition

A death slayer of the Red Mantis.

Conversely, some organizations work to prevent certain deceased beings from returning to life. Part of the renown of Red Mantis assassins is how they so thoroughly execute their targets that resurrection becomes more difficult or impossible, and they are willing to also assassinate any who claim to have done so. The Kiifotaliish of Nex disintegrate corpses to prevent their animation, exploitation, or resurrection.

Politically motivated followers of Norgorber view resurrection as a subversion of their faith and the plots they devise in worship of the god of murder and secrets, and persistently hunt such risen people.

Gray Gardeners of Galt were known for pursuing criminals who were executed by means other than the final blades and then resurrected. The Wings of the Night were a secret society of the Knights of Ozem who hunted resurrected allies corrupted by Gallowspire or the Worldwound.

Cultists of Charon, Rider of Death, known as the Passengers of Charon target resurrected beings for death and soul entrapment in the hopes that doing so will earn them favor with Charon.

As food

Undead reviviphages of Nemret Noktoria in the Darklands prefer to eat freshly resurrected flesh for the sensations of mortal life that it provides to them. Nightmare dragons feast on dreams had by resurrected beings of their time spent in the Boneyard.

Notable resurrections

Queen Anastasia of Irrisen.

• Anastasia Nikolaevna, queen of Irrisen, is a native of a distant planet where she had died and was resurrected
• The siblings Prince Carrius II and Grand Princess Eutropia Stavian of Taldor; Carrius II was resurrected by an obscure cult and briefly ruled the nation after Eutropia's murder, then stepped down after Eutropia's resurrection
  • Eutropia's dog Taldogis was also killed and resurrected during these events
• The sorcerer Hao Jin, also known as the Ruby Phoenix, who died in a fire as a youth and gained her magical aptitude after being resurrected
• Lord Oirel of House Uiry in Absalom, who died commanding the forces of Fort Tempest during the Black Echelon Uprising and was resurrected in its aftermath

References

Paizo published a major article on avoiding death, with a significant focus on resurrection magic, in The Twilight Child 74–79 titled "Cheating Death".

External links

• Resurrection (real-world concept) on Wikipedia