Let's say your character was more than human but less than a God. He has just been killed.

Any interesting ways of achieving a resurrection without a basic Raise Dead spell or ritual?

A a carefully prepared chemical bath and with a bolt of lightening?

I think part of the interesting part would be tied to the manner of death. However, a tried and true methods (especially with the more than human angle) is to make it part of the life cycle. He is a phoenix and his death is just part of the way he regenerates. He cannot have children but he cannot die...permanently. You are then free to jack with his existence by screwing with the method of return. Sure he might have the same skills upon return but he may come back as a badger or a teenager or an old man or an alien...you get the idea.

Just a thought.

Bill

He dies and ceases to exist in that current place.  Simultaneously he pops up some where else with only a vague recollection of who he is or what he was doing.  Yet he is drawn to return to the place of his death and at that point he regains his memories and starts back on his original journey.  

The story elements are in where he pops up and how long does it take him to get back and what new adventures does he run into on the way there.  After all he is more then human and as such adventure and intrigue are naturally just drawn to him.

Immortals in Blood Games II resurrect themselves. They heal even after they are dead, coming back to life in their old bodies in a matter of days - actually, three days for simple death with no dismemberment, by a strange coincidence. They are very weak when they first come back, having a score of 1 in each attribute, but eventually return to their normal attribute numbers. Their big limitation is that after the first death, their skill ranks are frozen. To learn new skills, they have to drop old ones. Other than that, they are just like normal people.

-clash

A lot would depend on the purpose of that character's death.

Remember Dragonslayer? The wizard was too frail to make the journey to where the dragon was, so he allowed himself to be killed and his ashes taken to the dragon's lair where he was resurrected.

Maybe the character must learn a lesson about self-sacrifice that can only be experienced by giving his life for a cause or a person. Of course, a lesson like that only works once, because the character then comes back.

EDIT: I just also thought that death may be the only way a PC can reach the realm of the gods. To do whatever needs to be done with the gods in person, as it were.

Well if the character is less than a God, death does not apply to this character. Every time the character is killed, she/he awakens a day before her/his death.

Regards,
David R

In the past years he made a deal with a mortal because he already knew when and where his end would come.  The time has come, he has already claimed her child who is to become his next incarnation provided certain rival powers do not succeed with their sinister plots.

I stole this from my favorite graphic novel ever but it's still pretty awesome.

That or if he is meant to die often then perhaps he just appears through a random doorway near the scene of his death, dressed in fancy clothes and silently slips by as onlookers look in horror at his mangled previous corpse.  That would be kind of cool actually, a minor deity who reminds the world just how horribly they can die at any time by showing up and inevitably suffering some heinous demise.

Death, sitting on her throne of bones in her echoing hall, momentarily falls asleep.  She jerks awake with a start -- "Eh...?!" she mutters.  "Did I just..."  

She looks around the great hall.  It's quiet; it's cold.  Everything's in order, but she can't help but to feel that she just missed out on something...

In ye olde days, I'm given to understand people often traveled to the underworld to reclaim the souls of the lost.

A voice echoes in the darkness.  Sounds like someone's cast speak with dead.

It says:  "Would you want to be resurrected, if it meant you'd owe the Cult of Abu-Garron ten thousand gold pieces afterwards?"

Quote from: Engine;273071In ye olde days, I'm given to understand people often traveled to the underworld to reclaim the souls of the lost.

Way back when, our group had a TPK in AD&D.   The GM was pissed because he had made this cool dungeon and wanted us to play.   So he had us wake up in Hell and if we could make it through this dungeon...now in the bowels of Hell, we would escape back to the world of the living.   If we failed, our characters would be trapped in Hell forever.

Quote from: P&P;273086It says:  "Would you want to be resurrected, if it meant you'd owe the Cult of Abu-Garron ten thousand gold pieces afterwards?"

I am going to use this!

Quote from: Spinachcat;273090Way back when, our group had a TPK in AD&D.   The GM was pissed because he had made this cool dungeon and wanted us to play.   So he had us wake up in Hell and if we could make it through this dungeon...now in the bowels of Hell, we would escape back to the world of the living.   If we failed, our characters would be trapped in Hell forever.

You know, that's really clever. Given my problems with TPKs, I should really embrace this.

Strange forces are at work. In a superhero game it just seems to "happen", usually the circumstances vary. "I wasn't really dead yet", "I'm the alternate universe me, but that's really only a slightly different me who dislikes chocolate rather than vanilla ice cream" and so one.

Even more frightening the circumstances of their death--and rebirth, often give them new powers, abilities, and might even lead them to create a new costume and adopt a new name..

In fantasy games where gods DO often intervene noticebly and directly they simply could have a need for an agent and a dead one is easier to get. In a monotheistic game it might be a "miracle."  Never forget the auspicious twin, or look alike cousin which might not be the same as resurrection but can bring a very similar person (at least appearance wise.)

Riprock posted on some older conceptions of vampires here:
http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=12852&page=2
 
They're still dead sort of, with a body in a grave.  But part of them can teleport out and do stuff as if they're alive.