Every head in the room turned toward the door. The woman standing there was tall and angular, with narrow shoulders and high cheekbones. Her eyes burned green, and a white lock of hair laid against her cheek. She seemed different now, though. A stranger in a familiar place, and as she stepped forward there was an unusual smell that came with her. The scent of something burnt, wafting off her dress. On her chest, just above her neckline, was a puckered scar that looked shiny; a wound cauterized by fire.
"Surprised to see me, Retch?" she asked in that sweet voice she'd always used when she was angry. "I'd be surprised, someone I left bleeding in a ditch came back to wish me well, of an evening."
Watkins had his hand near the butt of his ugly, hatchet-bladed dagger when Rena barked a single, harsh word. She flicked back her rain-spotted cape, and black fire burst forth from her palm. It snatched hold of Watkins, wrapping around him like an ardent lover. He tried to scream, but the black flames poured into his mouth, forcing their way down his throat. His eyes bulged from their sockets, then burst as his skin cracked, and fat ran down his shriveling cheeks.
"You'll be damned, indeed," Rena said as the corpse flopped onto its belly, twitching as the last vestige of life bled out of it. "Don't worry. I kept a spot warm for you."
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| You're curious about what hell's like, aren't you? Go on, then, ask me. |
The Returned
Resurrection is a regular part of many games, but too often we just treat it as a fact of life. Someone dies, you pay a certain amount of gold and diamond dust to a priest, and then wait while they conduct the ritual to bring your companion back from beyond. You heal them, tip your hat to the cleric, and then you're on your merry way.
However, death is one of those things that should have an impact on your character. And for the Returned, that death is a large portion of who they are now, and it's often where they draw their power and their purpose from.
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| Each of us owes a death... mine's currently in collections. |
For example, your Returned might have died near an ancient ritual site, and the latent magic of that place soaked into their empty vessel, resurrecting them unexpectedly. Or perhaps they were about to breathe their last, when the potent necromancies of an unquiet boneyard filled their lungs. Both of these would be ideal ways to explain a sorcerer's bloodline or an oracle's curse, and I touched on options similar to this in 5 Tips For Playing Better Sorcerers and 5 Tips For Playing Better Oracles respectively.
Sometimes, though, the Returned doesn't come back by sheer happenstance. They might make a bargain with some outer power, or be saved by a guardian spirit. This is a common explanation for were warlocks and witches might get their powers, and form their pacts (mentioned in 5 Tips for Playing Better Warlocks and 5 Tips For Playing Better Witches in case you're curious), but it is by no means limited to characters of a magical bent. Barbarians with fiendish totems may have acquired those powers by dying and accepting some kind of bargain with an evil outsider to act as their vessel, and common folk living good lives may find themselves touched by the celestial, arising as paladins when they open their eyes once more.
While not all Returned come back from the other side with strange powers, all of them come back with a purpose, and a Tell.
Why Don't The Dead Lie Still?
Death isn't something you can just shake off like the damp after the rain. It leaves its mark on you, and clings to you. Sometimes it holds in subtle ways, and sometimes in more vulgar ones, but those who've seen the other side carry signs, if you know what to look for. That's the Tell.
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| I keep telling you, boys, you can't keep a bad man down. |
Sometimes the Tell for a Returned is subtle. A puckered scar over the wound that killed them that can easily be hidden by a jerkin or armor. Even a rope scar from where they were hung could be covered with a neckerchief. Other Returned have harder Tells to hide, though. Hair that's gone bone white, eyes that seem sightless, skin that looks drawn, or which is too cool to the touch. The lingering smell of ashes or grave dirt, or just an unnatural aura that lets people know they've been touched by the back side of hell's left hand.
The other thing that a Returned comes back with is a purpose.
Death is a great weight to shift, and those who have nothing tying them to the material plane often find it's easier not to struggle back to the world. While some Returned may be made by accident due to dying in strange locations, or subject to certain rituals, those are the exceptions that prove the rule. Which is why you need to know what motivated your Returned to climb up out of their grave.
For some, the answer is simple. They lived a life that led them to hell's doorstep, and they are trying to do anything they can to avoid that fate. A Returned might take a devil's bargain to return to life, deciding it's better to be the right hand of a devil than to stand beneath its whip. Others might swear oaths with their dying breaths, calling out to celestial spirits to save them, pledging themselves to the cause of good to try and wipe out the harm they'd done.
Other Returned may have more worldly motivations for refusing to embrace death when it comes for them. Some might be driven by a thirst for vengeance, willing to make any bargain, or grasp any hand if it means they don't go down into the final dark alone. A Returned might fear for the safety of their friends or loved ones, or have oaths that have gone unfulfilled that drag them back from death. Particularly oaths sworn in the service of powerful gods, or inscrutable fey lords, for there are some duties that are stronger than death.
Incidentally, if you're looking for potent foes to swear vengeance on, or just scoundrels to trade places with on death's list, then you might want to check out 100 Random Bandits to Meet, as well as 100 Pirates to Encounter, and 100 Prisoners For A Fantasy Jail.
And, of course, my character conversion for Ghost Rider might peak your interest, if you're looking for one of the most infamous characters who could fit into the mold of The Returned.
What Did You See?
I mentioned this in Fun With Raise Dead, Resurrection, and Reincarnation (in Pathfinder) a while back, it bears repeating for this concept. If your character died, what did they experience on the other side? How much, if any, do they remember? And did that experience alter them in a fundamental way?
As a for-instance, was a few moments in hell enough to cause a lifetime buccaneer to change their ways, and to turn them into a force for good? Was a single glimpse of paradise enough to make someone fight all the harder to prove they deserved to enter that realm? Do they remember empty darkness, burning, or just a cold nothingness that makes them shiver every time they think about it?
Being dead is a big deal. No one knows that better than the Returned.
Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!
That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.
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