(GLÅUGUST) Came Back Wrong
GLÅUGUST challenge 3, prompt 1: resurrection magic.
When I devoured the 3.5e corebooks as a child, one of my favourite spells was reincarnate. I loved the idea of bringing back a dead ally and having them randomly roll into the body of a gnoll or troglodyte or something. (The exclusion of the fun monstrous options from the reincarnation table is yet another reason Mike Mearls will not see heaven's light.) It felt like a much more interesting cost than the flat "lose a level" of raise dead.
What if it went further, though? What if some methods of resurrection turned you into a whole new kind of creature?
Each of these forms is presented as a one-template GLOG mini-class (Σ). A PC resurrected in one of these forms overwrites their most recently acquired template with that of the mini-class. They'd also work for NPCs, of course.
Limid
Immerse the corpse in stagnant water contaminated by strong, persistent magic. 1-in-6 chance if the corpse is thrown in within an hour of death. 2-in-6 if they actually draw their last breath while standing or lying in it. 3-in-6 if they drown in it.
A colony of seething, squabbling demon-plankton infiltrates the body, drawn by the fading flicker of your neurons. It resurrects at 0HP in 1d6 minutes.
Class: Limid
Appearance: Mostly the same. Your skin is slightly desaturated; people are likely to perceive you as ill in some nonspecific manner.
Σ: Scum
All your vital fluids are replaced with oily, foul-smelling silt. You are immune to poison, disease, and blood loss, don't need to breathe, and can slake your thirst with any liquid that doesn't deal actual physical damage. Hostile creatures avoid biting you if possible.
Σ: Villainy
You detect as a demon.
You must commit an act of malice against a sapient being once per day, otherwise you cannot heal by any means. It can be incredibly petty, it doesn't even have to be illegal, but it has to ruin somebody's day. Stealing a few coppers from a rich man doesn't count; stealing a beggar's bowl does.
Hempenherr
Take the corpse, which must be mostly intact and no more than a day dead. Drain it of fluids and bleach it with limewater, then cut away the tendons and replace them with cord. Rope for the big muscles, string for the fiddly little tendons. You have to remove every trace of the original musculature. Tie it all together with a series of elaborate knots. Then sew everything back up and say a brief prayer.
Manuals do exist for this ritual and are fairly widespread, but most are sensationalised fakes. They usually claim that it's an ancient folk rite suppressed by the Powers that Be. This isn't quite true - it died out organically because it was laborious, of limited use, and everyone thought it was weird and creepy. They also claim that it only works on men, which also isn't true.
If successful, the body spends 1d6 hours writhing disquietingly on the ground, then staggers to its feet with half HP.
Class: Hempenherr
Appearance: Horribly emaciated, blanched, and covered with scars. With concealing clothing, you might pass as a mundane (if very malnourished) person to a casual observer.
Σ: Just Enough Rope
You are an animated rope figure wound around a skeleton. Your limbs can stretch to twice their natural length and your joints bend any way you want them to. For any task where rope would be useful (climbing, restraining an enemy, holding something open or closed), your effective Strength score is 18. For all other tasks, it's half what it used to be.
You take double damage from slashing weapons and fire. You detect as magical and are considered an animated construct in addition to a living being, whichever is least convenient for you.
Σ: String Charmer
Rope, string, cord, wire, and vines will obey your spoken commands while you hold them. This effectively lets you manipulate them at any distance. This doesn't work on anything with a knot in it.
Reprista
Cast the spell star-queen's paean. Elvish, obviously. It's only known to exist in scroll form, and elements of it are written in the ancient elvish language Deep cZonne, which defies effective transcription.
The spell combines a regular (if very loud) incantation with a complex hour-long performance on a stringed instrument, traditionally a lyre. It must be performed at night, outdoors, under clear skies. The subject must have died doing something heroic and slightly foolish, like a valiant last stand against unthinkable odds or leaping across a bottomless chasm. You don't need the body, only an object of personal significance to the subject, which is destroyed by the casting.
If successful, a new body, woven from twigs and starlight, coalesces over the course of the performance, and shudders into life on the final note. It spends 1d6 days in a semi-comatose state before coming to life fully.
Class: Reprista
Appearance: Like your former self, but moreso - distinguishing features are exaggerated, mannerisms become trademark tics. In bright light, you are very slightly translucent.
Σ: A Cappella
You cannot perceive any sounds except intentionally performed music. Yes, birdsong counts. You are immune to all sonic effects, including sound-based damage.
You can only vocalise by singing. Your singing voice is supernaturally beautiful and resonant, and carries twice as far as a normal human voice, however quiet you try to be. You instinctively announce your actions in dramatic fashion; you can suppress this most of the time if you need to, but in combat it's unavoidable. When anyone within earshot speaks your name, you must respond, and reveal yourself if you're hidden.
Besides this, all your movements are completely silent.
Σ: Primo Uomo
Your voice demands answers. When you address a single person directly, they are compelled to respond, also in song. If they're trying to do something else at the same time, like fighting, they take a -4 penalty to any relevant rolls. A successful Save negates this effect and inoculates that person until the next sunset.