Post/Author/DateTime	Post
celestialkin 01-28-08, 01:33 AM	http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e189/Celestialdragon100/Lord_of_Time_by_Ironshod.jpg This image inspired me to think of this topic, so now I want to hear the pros' thoughts on the matter. How would you incorporate death into your campaign? If you have done it before, would you mind sharing how you did it and how it went? I personally do not like the idea of him/her/it being a god, but at the same time I do not like the idea of it being a simple "force" in the universe with no real sentience, freewill, or say in what it does. If death was it's own entity in D&D would this cause problems? If death had freewill, would this cause issues if for some reason he chose to "spare" someone(s)? If death becomes the one who chooses when, how, and if someone dies doesn't that take away some freedom from the players, NPCs, and gods, and wouldn't that turn him/her/it into fate? I do not think of death as being merely a servant of the gods, but then again I do not know if he would/could be above the gods. This is just my look on it, though. Then comes the question of who death would have dominion over. Would he reap, or even have say over, the gods and demon lords themselves? This also brings up the interesting question of if a PC/NPC who was Reincarnated or Resurrected could honestly say that he looked death in the face. (Then again, I guess this could make for an interesting scene every time a player dies. :thinks:) This also makes me wonder if it would be possible for a PC to interact with said entity while still being alive. And what would be it's set form? I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one!
Space_Dragon 01-28-08, 01:51 AM	My campaign world has an overgod of death and negative energy. He himself is a very abstract and distant being (definetely not stattable, since he doesn't even really have a form, and never interferes in the workings of the world anyway). However, all gods who have the Death domain are beholden to him, so he can make his will known through them. Additionally, he has an army of outsiders (called Grim Reapers) to act as his eyes, ears and hands. I haven't finalized their stats yet, but the base reaper will be around CR 15 or so, with advanced specimens reaching well into epic territory. They are neutral, with most leaning mildly toward goodness (there is no law/chaos axis in my setting, but if there was they would be LN). They are tasked with overseeing the natural continuance of the life and death cycle, and sick Inevitables on people who mess with it. At least two grim reapers are known to have ascended to godhood; Wee Jas (the commander of the reapers, overseer of the dead) and Nerull (a renegade reaper who went completely off the deep end).
Kain_Darkwind 01-28-08, 01:53 AM	I typically have Death as the rider of the pale horse. The Four Horsemen in my world are powerful daemons (neutral evil outsiders, of which yugoloths are a specific subset) that bring about the end of worlds. They sit about at the power of demigods.
sciborg3 01-28-08, 09:39 AM	I'd give him skis.
Red_Viper 01-28-08, 09:53 AM	I like Discworld's Death. He's freewilled, intelligent even with a sense of humour, but he does his duty. And with a style
RAGNAROKISCOMING2007 01-28-08, 11:18 AM	I'd make him a neutral cosmic entity with god-like powers over death. he sends out "mini-reapers" to reap the souls of mortals whose time has come, while he himself seeks to slay powerful outsiders when their time is up. Just a thought.
Mr_Seth 01-28-08, 01:57 PM	I'd give him skis. Cookie for the Marvel reference. :cookie: In my next campaign world, I plan to make Death an NPC that the characters interact with occasionally, an old weathered fellow with a smoker's cough and a tendency to know a little too much. If a player says something to the effect of "I'll see you soon", he'll likely respond with "You have no idea," or a grumbled "Gods, I hope not." With any luck, they won't realize he's death until after they've croaked. In my world, Death is lawful neutral, influenced somewhat by the character of Manny Calavera from Grim Fandango. He's a cosmic postman/traffic cop/busman, making sure you get where you're supposed to go. And, quite frankly, he's a bit cheesed off at his lot and can't wait to finish his stint, so he can stick someone else in the role. Yeah, he's a bit influenced by Piers Anthony's On A Pale Horse as well, but much less so.
Kain_Darkwind 01-28-08, 02:18 PM	I'd give him skis. Cookie for the Marvel reference. :cookie: You sure it isn't a DC reference? Seems to me Sciborg is channeling Kirby here.
Mr_Seth 01-28-08, 07:16 PM	You sure it isn't a DC reference? Seems to me Sciborg is channeling Kirby here. Really? I never could get that straight... all I remember is that Deathurge was in Great Lakes Avengers a while back.
sciborg3 01-29-08, 11:59 AM	Yeah, I was talking about the Black Racer....who was black in being the grim reaper but also, oddly enough, a male of African descent.
Skeptical Clown 01-29-08, 03:02 PM	If you rule out Death as a god, a supernatural force, or a servant of the gods, then I think you've ruled out most of the interpretations available. The Grim Reaper could be a type of being rather than a single entity--like the shikigami, the japanese interpretation of the Grim Reaper. Or he could just be a mass murderer with a lot of power.
Selgard 01-29-08, 04:06 PM	If Ole Grim is a god, then he's probably passive himself, while his followers may go out to "expedite" folks to their doom (if evil) or help to take care of the sick and dying, and to give last rites and such. (if good, ala Kelemvor in FR). If Ole Grim is Not a god then he still generally would take one of two "identities".. Grim would either be a silent invisible watcher, waiting for souls to die. In this case there could be multiple "Grims" wandering the countryside, just on the "death side of the veil". When someone dies, there's ole Grim waiting to take them on to whatever place they go to. (be it judgment, the alignment of their plane, of their Deity, or however your cosmology is setup). In this design- he is largely benign. While people do hate and fear him he's just doing a job. A second version would be a malevolent creature who stalks the countryside killing people. He could kill folks randomly, or (imo, ideally) he could stalk those who have either "cheated death" by happenstance or he could stalk those who have cheatead death through magic. By through magic i mean any of the following: Life preservation magics, undeath, reincarnations, resurrections, or whatnot. Death as a random homicidal manial is, in my opinion, less appealing than having him stalk people who get raised from the dead. Afterall- who in the campaign gets raised from the dead?.. the PC's. =) In any version Ole Grim can be someone the characters can deal with. Maybe they want to barter with grim to keep him off their heels or maybe a cherished loved one has died and they want to get him/her back. Just a couple ideas. =) -S
faghter_hero 02-03-08, 07:14 PM	Suppose there are multiple reapers, and these are Neutral beings that ferry dead souls to the outer planes where they belong. They don't cause the deaths, they just clean up afterwards. Spells like Resurrection could function by tricking the reapers with a soul dummy made of XP and gem dust, or bribing one to retrieve someone. Then you could have different Death NPCs, each with its own personality, agenda, and preferences. They might even specialize in a particular kind of death.
Eldritch_Lord 02-03-08, 08:29 PM	Suppose there are multiple reapers, and these are Neutral beings that ferry dead souls to the outer planes where they belong. They don't cause the deaths, they just clean up afterwards. Spells like Resurrection could function by tricking the reapers with a soul dummy made of XP and gem dust, or bribing one to retrieve someone. Then you could have different Death NPCs, each with its own personality, agenda, and preferences. They might even specialize in a particular kind of death. I like that one; it gives you plot hooks and explain the miraculous soul-recovery power of expensive gems.
pigknight 02-03-08, 11:52 PM	Incorperate Death into your game...hmm...hmm...I got it!! You say "Wazup Nerull!" Seriously why does everyone forget about Nerull?
Space_Dragon 02-04-08, 12:19 AM	Incorperate Death into your game...hmm...hmm...I got it!! You say "Wazup Nerull!" Seriously why does everyone forget about Nerull? Because Nerull is lame.
faghter_hero 02-04-08, 10:02 AM	Because Nerull is lame. His EDIT buddy Wee Jass isn't much better, either.
Saedar 02-04-08, 10:18 AM	His f***buddy Wee Jass isn't much better, either. 1.) Wee Jas is amazing. 2.) And slightly more on topic... You could have Death function as an enigmatic being or Overpower like the Lady of Pain from the Planescape campaign setting. IIRC, there was something about how with the most minimal of effort she was able to flay a (demi?)god into itty bitty pieces. So, maybe don't even stat out Death but make it an entity so powerful yet still present that it only has to answer to other Overpowers (such as the Lady of Pain or The Serpent or whatever it was that Vecna is supposed to talk to).
Naderion 02-04-08, 11:05 AM	In my spirit-centric cosmology, he would likely be a unique shadow-spirit with his own agenda, but I have no Idea what it could be.
Ruy 02-04-08, 06:03 PM	I would make death a N deity, servant of LN Fate(another deity). Death has a number of servants into which he imbues a fraction of their power to which it outsources most of its tasks. There are the reapers, in charge of ending mortals' lives, that vary in form from place to place( Grim reapers, valkyries, shinigami, freelance employees, etc.). These sometimes can be tricked, avoided, defeated, or bargained with by very clever or powerful individuals. Maruts are in charge of correcting these errors, or in extreme cases, Death itself intervenes. Entropic reapers(Planar Handbook, I think) are reapers that have gone mad or rebelled. In some places Death personally takes to the task of collecting the souls. Next, we have the psychopomps, who again vary from place to place, and in some places reapers double as psychopomps. Their role is to guide the soul of the recently deceased into the afterlife. Sometimes a soul may get lost. If this happens, it is the psychopomps' responsabilty to find the soul. When the souls arrive to the afterlife, they are judged by the (duh) Judge of the dead, a LN deity, and assigned to their respective afterlives. Again, the souls are guided by the psychopomps to whatever afterlife they deserve. There might be other death-related deities, such as deities of undeath/deathless that rebel or don't care about fate's edicts for different reasons (example deites may be Nerull and Evening Glory(Libris Mortis)), or deities, that, on the contrary, wish to accelerate the body count ( Perhaps Erythnul).
DebiHuman 02-04-08, 07:56 PM	Death would kvetch about his mother, speak in capital letters and dance the fandango. He would lose all his bets to Charon because Death is dumb but you have to pay the ferryman. Oh, and he's followed around by his little brother Morte who always gets the girls (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Oh, you meant for a serious campaign didn't you. Rats. I mean rats. Plague rats. Lots of plague rats. And bargaining with Death would be quite risky. All contracts would have to be signed in blood. Yeah, the skeletal guy in the black shroud with the sycthe. Not a good sign when you can see him. In my campaign he'd only be seen by people who have a quarter of their hit points or less left. And he has time stop so that he can make that bargain for your soul. Teleports in, makes the bargain (or not, but not making the bargain could be much worse) and teleports out during a crucial combat. That's my Grim Reaper for you. He's not the main attraction but he does put a kink in your plans. Debby
Rania 02-05-08, 01:17 PM	DISCWORLD!! Honestly, you COULD do a Discworld!Death in a serious campaign. If you remove most of the story references (Morte, Susan, have Binky just be an unnamed pale-ish horse), and don't have cats come up, Death isn't very whimsical; just more interesting than the traditional options.
setekh 02-09-08, 03:12 AM	DISCWORLD!! Honestly, you COULD do a Discworld!Death in a serious campaign. If you remove most of the story references (Morte, Susan, have Binky just be an unnamed pale-ish horse), and don't have cats come up, Death isn't very whimsical; just more interesting than the traditional options. I always liked that Death only ever answered to Azrael in the end. <.< "And at the end of all stories Azrael, who knew the secret, thought; 'I REMEMBER WHEN ALL THIS WILL BE AGAIN.'" I actually incorporated that into my own setting in a way.
MadPrak_Mark2 02-12-08, 12:58 AM	My campaign world has an overgod of death and negative energy. He himself is a very abstract and distant being (definetely not stattable, since he doesn't even really have a form, and never interferes in the workings of the world anyway). However, all gods who have the Death domain are beholden to him, so he can make his will known through them. Additionally, he has an army of outsiders (called Grim Reapers) to act as his eyes, ears and hands. I haven't finalized their stats yet, but the base reaper will be around CR 15 or so, with advanced specimens reaching well into epic territory. They are neutral, with most leaning mildly toward goodness (there is no law/chaos axis in my setting, but if there was they would be LN). They are tasked with overseeing the natural continuance of the life and death cycle, and sick Inevitables on people who mess with it. At least two grim reapers are known to have ascended to godhood; Wee Jas (the commander of the reapers, overseer of the dead) and Nerull (a renegade reaper who went completely off the deep end). This seems the best way to me, assuming he is N.
Master_of_69 02-12-08, 09:55 AM	I would make him similar to the way FATE is true neutal Death does not have pitty or joy he is simply the end of all things and few can truely advance beyond him.. for even the gods can be killed ... most of them anyway
Prime32 02-12-08, 03:11 PM	Death/Charon is already in D&D - and if you manage to kill him, he keeps respawning from the River Styx with more and more Hit Dice until there's nothing you can do to stop him.
Legdiwena 02-19-08, 08:12 PM	Discworld?
Amon_V 02-25-08, 04:20 AM	He strikes me as Nerull, perhaps without all the wacko cultists though. Death/The Reaper is probably not a fan of undead, even though anyone who wants to worship him is probably a rather dreary person. I'd probably want to break away from having "death" be the bad guy though. Something more fun, like Death shows up and restores someone to life because "That's WAY too early!!". The fun way to discuss death is to make him some kind of Alternative Marut (Inevitable) who generally intervenes to kill undead (which are always Verboten) and generally can be bargained with, even cheated. In an odd way, Death is confident of the FINAL outcome, so he allows the tactical situation, the short term, to play however it will. That said, as one of the guys working for Primus, Death/The Reaper, can not tolerate widespread abuses of "Plan Omega" and kills or revives those whose actions would massively derail civilization.
DebiHuman 02-29-08, 08:36 PM	Discworld? Ahhh, a Discworld novice. This is a humorous look at the "medieval" world as written by British author Terry Pratchett. "The Colour of Magic"* is the first book in the series and introduces Rincewind the most inept magician at Unseen university in the city of Anhk-Morpork set in the world of Discworld which is a flat world balanced on the back of 4 elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle, the Great A'Tuin. I highly recommend this series. In the series DEATH is a character who always speaks in capital letters. For a list of all the books in the series see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld Debby *The color of magic is Octarine which can only be seen by wizards and cats. And yes, Pratchett also is fond of using asterisks.
syrinth 03-06-08, 01:55 AM	If I were to incorporate Death in the campaign it would CERTAINLY be Discworld style. I'm actually still fighting over if I want him to be in it or not.
Sigurd van Norhusen 03-06-08, 07:24 AM	IMC there was only one Death... and he was in Ravenloft (Necropolis). Having lesser Deaths manifest when enough negative energy is around would be a tempting idea, though.
vlsigma 03-06-08, 08:31 AM	A buddy of mine tried to recreate Castlevania a while back (before Expedition to Castle Ravenloft was released). In most of the games, Dracula is served by Death, who taught him all sorts of things. The way he did it was he made Death into a lich that kept coming back after a couple of hours. His phylactory turned out to be inside the shaft of his scythe. On another note, he put Death in a maze of bones and we had to fight through skeletons of various shapes and sizes to get to Death. Very annoying stuff.
Kuroimaken 03-06-08, 07:57 PM	Well, I personally like many aspects of death. One of my favorites is Death from Romancing Saga. It's kinda just there, sitting at the end of a bottomless pit guarded by a huge fire elemental skeleton thing. It's called one of the three evils, and you can fight it, but it doesn't actively -spread- evil -- it even tells you where the final boss who wants to destroy the world is, though you really have no clue why it tells you that. It'll revive your buddies if you sacrifice a piece of your soul, or give you wicked cursed equipment if you gift it with someone in your party. And if you do the things it likes, it might even save your sorry behind if you're in a bad scrape with tough monsters. Then there are the Shinigami from Bleach -- not really gods, they're more like spiritual entities that help keep the real world safe from evil spirits, as well as the corrupted spirits of men themselves. And if you die, you can become one. And finally, there's Neil Gaiman's Death. Read the Sandman comics. She's pretty much the coolest Endless, ever. Death is often unstattable, though. Some have suggested that death could be a servant to greater powers (or gods), but I say you're not required to make it either a god OR a mindless entity. You can always make something in between -- an entity, or entities, with mind(s) of its(their) own, doing its job, but that more often than not cannot be bested by mortals by any means. Maybe even the gods can't touch Death because it's a natural force of nature given form, kinda like the Norns, and if you add to that an agenda, you're in for an interesting character or more. But it really depends on how you want Death to behave. Do you want it to sit somewhere and keep to itself? That way the players can go there and bargain with it for the souls of their friends or loved ones, for instance. Do you want it to be active? Do you want people to be able to see it when it comes to collect a soul? For what purpose does it maintain the cycle of life and death? Do the souls it reaps reincarnate, or just allow new ones to be born? Maybe Death has a sinister purpose for collecting them, like powering an artifact (plot device!). Maybe each god has its own Death, and they either battle over the souls of those who die, or they go after the souls of those who followed their respective gods and everything else is up for grabs. Maybe the reason Ressurrection spells work is because they wrestle control of the soul from Death's clutches, and the reason True Ressurrection doesn't make you lose a level is because there's no struggle in the process? You should answer those questions, and perhaps ask yourself a few more, if you intend to design a good Death.
Mr_Seth 03-07-08, 08:19 PM	Y'know what? I'm almost tempted to make ol' Gary the manifestation of the reaper in my campaigns now, replete with ponytail and hawaiian shirt. "Chess? Naw, that was the old guy. No imagination, I swear. You can still play me for your soul, but I prefer to do things a little differently..." *pulls out a few six-siders and a copy of Temple of Elemental Evil*
Legdiwena 03-08-08, 04:02 PM	I liked Death from the second Bill and Ted movie.
jareddm 03-15-08, 12:09 PM	http://d20npcs.wikia.com/wiki/Death%2C_CR_373 The TRUE DEATH! :f:
Prime32 03-15-08, 03:13 PM	http://d20npcs.wikia.com/wiki/Death%2C_CR_373 The TRUE DEATH! :f: No. The True Death: http://www.tvguide.com/images/pgimg/grim-adventures-billy-mandy.jpg
Caennen 03-16-08, 02:08 PM	In my campaign I have two deities that are similar to death i have a Goddess of Death and a God of Souls, the goddess is similar to what you have there and the God of Souls is more along the lines of a god of afterlife. the easiest way to put Death is to make him a deity or make him a HIGH level necromancer Thanatos would be a good name (latin for death).
Zebppir 03-24-08, 06:12 PM	I haven't decided yet but I think I'll do "dead like me" or "the adventures of billy and mandy"
MadPrak_Mark2 03-25-08, 11:14 PM	Y'know what? I'm almost tempted to make ol' Gary the manifestation of the reaper in my campaigns now, replete with ponytail and hawaiian shirt. "Chess? Naw, that was the old guy. No imagination, I swear. You can still play me for your soul, but I prefer to do things a little differently..." *pulls out a few six-siders and a copy of Temple of Elemental Evil* http://www.xkcd.com/393/
Mr_Seth 03-26-08, 02:06 PM	http://www.xkcd.com/393/ Yeah, if Gary was on the other side of the table, grinning like a madman, that'd be right on the money. :3
DarkSoldier 04-05-08, 01:59 AM	IMC, Gaia and Thanatos are the gods of life and death, respectively, and together represent the cycle of life: birth, growth, death, and reincarnation. For the most part, Thanatos sits in a throne between the Halls of Elyseon and Tartaros, making sure that the reincarnation cycle goes smoothly. When somebody dies, a psychopomp appears on the Ethereal scene, visible only to the newly dead to inform them of what has happened, and offers to guide them to the Halls. The majority of those who refuse become incorporeal undead. His clerics are the only ones who normally get access to raise dead, resurrection, and true resurrection. Other clerics can cast it, but then the material components include the soul of the person getting brought back. Unless you can get a soul out of the afterlife, which is normally very difficult (one NPC got smuggled out, and another actually escaped on his own), you have to ask a cleric of Thanatos to ask his deity to allow a dead person to come back.
Hellsbells 04-08-08, 08:56 PM	He watched as the sands on his hourglass ticked away, counting till when the world died. He turned around and willed the hourglass of the one he sensed would appear before him soon to appear. Ah good, almost out, just on schedule. A faint ghostly image of a blood covered but otherwise fine warrior appeared before him. He looked the man over and began some polite conversation with him. This one had come easy, not like some who would try to resist his pull, those annoyed him, he had to collect them personally. He said something rutine, something along the lines of this was his last chance, he may yet be able to turn back and not go on. Lo and behold some of the sand began to rise back to the top of the orb. He bid the man good bye and willed the hourglass and the image of the man away. Slowly back on earth the man's heart began to beat, his breath returned. His friends smiled and welcomed him back. Worse even then the resistors were the necromancers. They were always trying to find ways to cheat him or bring back the dead, and not even the way the holy ones did but in a cruel mockery of what they had been. Worse even then the necromancers and the resistors were those who did not deserve it. Heroes like the one who had just been here or people who still had important deeds to complete on the mortal world did not bother him, they had earned it and they would all come through eventually, they always did, no one was truly immortal. It was the selfish, foolish misers who continued long after there aloted time. He was just on his way to collect one such now, and then he had a god to meet with. For even the gods died eventually, just long after anyone else. He did not choose when they would leave he only inforced it. He looked once more at his hourglass then flew off. Thats death in my world. The reaper is actually a quite nice fellow to those few he deams worthy to talk with. He also hates necromancy and the undead, even more then the most strict of good deities. He always feels cheated by them and the only person who hates to be cheated more then the devil is death.
Hellsbells 04-08-08, 09:16 PM	In my next campaign world, I plan to make Death an NPC that the characters interact with occasionally, an old weathered fellow with a smoker's cough and a tendency to know a little too much. If a player says something to the effect of "I'll see you soon", he'll likely respond with "You have no idea," or a grumbled "Gods, I hope not." With any luck, they won't realize he's death until after they've croaked. I had a simmilar incarnation of death (well actually the same "death" as above but different time. He almost always wore a stylish zoot suit and had a "nervous habt" of always checking his watch.
Rania 04-11-08, 02:38 PM	Y'know what? I'm almost tempted to make ol' Gary the manifestation of the reaper in my campaigns now, replete with ponytail and Hawaiian shirt. "Chess? Naw, that was the old guy. No imagination, I swear. You can still play me for your soul, but I prefer to do things a little differently..." *pulls out a few six-siders and a copy of Temple of Elemental Evil*That is pure epic WIN.
Patrick Draken-Korin 04-18-08, 07:14 PM	If you can stat gods you can stat forces like death (or fate or style), give them a personality (DISCWORLD FTW), and then get owned trying to defeat them. To include anthropomorphic personifications or not to include anthropomorphic personifications (say that three times fast), that is the question. I think if I were to include death, I'd use a prime death entity, ala discworld, where as long as the big guy's in charge, the different events progress as they should. Something happens to the big guy, and the things get weird (far realms weird). And I'd base death partially off Pratchett's own creation; likes cats, and likes serial reincarnaters/resurrecters; gets to chat with old friends. Serious workaholic, hasn't taken a day off since creation, holds his liquor well, very punctual, good with people and animals. maybe not the life of the party, but a swell guy all round. For additional reference; then there's Steve (http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_and_Death/index.php?p=1189) from life and death. Good comic.
Rania 04-18-08, 07:50 PM	If you can stat gods you can stat forces like death (or fate or style), give them a personality (DISCWORLD FTW), and then get owned trying to defeat them. To include anthropomorphic personifications or not to include anthropomorphic personifications (say that three times fast), that is the question. I think if I were to include death, I'd use a prime death entity, ala discworld, where as long as the big guy's in charge, the different events progress as they should. Something happens to the big guy, and the things get weird (far realms weird). And I'd base death partially off Pratchett's own creation; likes cats, and likes serial reincarnaters/resurrecters; gets to chat with old friends. Serious workaholic, hasn't taken a day off since creation, holds his liquor well, very punctual, good with people and animals. maybe not the life of the party, but a swell guy all round. For additional reference; then there's Steve (http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_and_Death/index.php?p=1189) from life and death. Good comic.Discworld is win, that comic is win, and I actually said "to include anthropomorphic personifications or not to include anthropomorphic personifications" three times fast; you get a :cookie: and a :dragon:
Aryxbez 05-27-08, 05:36 AM	I already have Death, Grim Reaper in my campaign. Since I have no D&D Death god Nerull (never cared for him), and I use the Norse and Olympian pantheons as well. Death is really just there to step in rarely to deal with souls and all that jazz. His power is probably similiar to that of a gods, since it's responsibility is the dead after all, I think the Grim Reaper in my games could litterally destroy the soul of his enemies. After all, he's only been used 2 or maybe 3 times in my whole campaign so far. Once to send a PC away into another Universe (request from a player of mine) and when the PC's souls were being bargained by their new master, some Satyr that had the power to suck souls via a jar/pot around his neck, much similiar to a grim reaper.
ciaran 05-27-08, 06:40 PM	A second version would be a malevolent creature who stalks the countryside killing people. He could kill folks randomly, or (imo, ideally) he could stalk those who have either "cheated death" by happenstance or he could stalk those who have cheatead death through magic. By through magic i mean any of the following: Life preservation magics, undeath, reincarnations, resurrections, or whatnot. I think Death as a bounty hunter for those who have returned is an awesome concept. I'm going to utilize it. You could come up with a whole slew of encounters for different ways he tries to take you back. 1) He confronts you directly and openly with one chance to go peacefully. This will likely lead to a straight up battle. So later he tries other means. 2) Ambush. Could be by splitting up the party, in a river, with a rockslide, anything. Then he attacks. 3) He arrives in the midst of another battle with other foes. 4) He waits for you at the inn. You have to rest sooner or later. ;) 5) He sabotages the party's well-being with his others tools - pestilence and famine - since war doesn't seem to be doing the trick. What are you without your health? 6) A fight in dream-land. 7) Final stand. This should be the only awesomely difficult one. If they beat death here then the soul is banned from the afterlife, damned to roam the earth as a ghost. Obviously, a great deal of DM moderation and creativity would be required. It wouldn't be the center point of a campaign (it could be a big part though) but his efforts should be spaced out enough to give that feel of resolution at the end. The best part would be coming up with new supernatural and spell-like abilities for each incarnation.