Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Old Sparky 04-29-07, 12:39 AM	Does anyone know of any expanded or alternate reincarnation tables. The one in the Player's Handbook seems quite limited and unimaginative when one takes into account the diversity of playable races that are spread out in the various FR sourcebooks, other core D&D products (including multiple monster manuals), third party sources, and the vast potential of the internet.
Zandilar 04-29-07, 02:03 AM	Heya, Does anyone know of any expanded or alternate reincarnation tables. The one in the Player's Handbook seems quite limited and unimaginative when one takes into account the diversity of playable races that are spread out in the various FR sourcebooks, other core D&D products (including multiple monster manuals), third party sources, and the vast potential of the internet. The spell has always been kind of limited in the forms it allows one to come back with (this edition's version resembles 1st edition's wizard version very closely - 1st edition druid version was all animals). I think the table is the way it is for simplicity's sake. There's no reason why a DM can look at the table and go "well I think I'll just choose a race that isn't on this table now" even if they don't get a 00 roll (1st edition didn't even have that concession). Search the internet, I'm sure someone out there has come up with something. :)
Old Sparky 04-29-07, 03:44 PM	I tried searching the internet. Its a big place and I got lost, so I figured I'd come back here and ask around. Anyhow, I realize why the PHB version is simplistic and I'm not really criticizing it. I was more or less wondering if anyone (publishers or fans) had taken it upon themselves to make an expanded version... maybe possibly even one that would be somewhat FR specific. :)
Zandilar 04-29-07, 07:33 PM	Heya, I tried searching the internet. Its a big place and I got lost, so I figured I'd come back here and ask around. It does that. I went and took a look myself after I posted here, and I couldn't find anything either. Anyhow, I realize why the PHB version is simplistic and I'm not really criticizing it. I was more or less wondering if anyone (publishers or fans) had taken it upon themselves to make an expanded version... maybe possibly even one that would be somewhat FR specific. :) Well I might have a tinker when I'm at home with my books, I have a few ideas... If I come up with something viable, I'll post it (it will be Realms specific). ;)
Zandilar 04-29-07, 10:09 PM	Heya, Zandilar's Notes Regarding Reincarnation in the Realms. The Nature of the Spell Reincarnate is a spell similar to Raise Dead in the way that it functions, and yet it is quite different. In some ways it could be said that the spell is actually far more powerful than any spell for returning the dead to life - it creates a new viable body out of the elements surrounding the caster, but this must be done within a week of the person's death or it will invariably fail. There are persistant rumors that wizards and sorcerers have been able to make use of this spell, if this is the case, knowledge of the rituals and arcane methods of casting this spell have fallen into obscurity[1]. Other rumours include some very powerful druids being able to complete this spell for someone who has died with in the last 10 years[2]. The Gods and Reincarnate One of the most important things to remember about spells of this nature is that the gods take an interest in each casting. Usually the god who pays the most attention is the god the person venerated in their life (since they are the ones who have to release the soul from their realm to come back), though the god of the druid (or possibly wizard or sorcerer) will also take an interest (since they must intercede for this to be possible at all). This has a myriad of effects on the spell, but the most important one is: Arcane or Divine, this spell works only at the will of the gods. If a god doesn't want a person's race to change, it won't. Some gods are more flexible than others in this regard, and some actively work mischief or change the outcome from time to time if it furthers their aims[3]. For example - Sune is hardly going to let one of her faithful come back "ugly," so unless she wanted to teach her faithful some kind of lesson, a sunite is unlikely to come back as an orc. Another example would be the elven gods - an elven faithful of the Seldarine is unlikely to come back as anything other than an elf or a fey. In very rare cases will a god intervene more directly and give the person a new form other than humanoid. Usually this will take the form of some kind of planar infusion, generally celestial, infernal, or elemental energy, causing them to return to life as an aasimar, tiefling, or genasi. These results can also occur due to the proximity of nexuses of such energy, or in the presence of powerful planar beings. Exceedingly strong sources of such planar "taint" (for lack of a better term) can even result in half-planar forms occuring[4]. It should be noted that this spell, as well as any raise dead style of spell, will not work at all in the presence of strong sources of negative material energy, and will have completely unexpected results in the presence of strong sources of positive material energy - not all of them pleasant. Gender and Reincarnate Gender seems to be entirely random, except in cases where a deity may have a strong gender bias. For example, Lolth is not likely to allow a male drow to come back female, nor is she likely to let a female drow come back male[5]. Race Attached to this essay, there is a list of known results[6]. As you can see, there is quite a diverse number of possibilities, but this can be limited by what the deceased person had been during their life prior to reincarnation, and what the prevailing attitudes of the deities involved are. 1 - If it is the DMs wish to make this spell available on the wizard/sorcerer spell list, I recommend that it be 7th level - the same level as limited wish. I'd also recommend that it take some effort for the PC caster to learn - perhaps a difficult quest to recover some obscure tome of ancient lore. 2 - This could quite possibly be a 9th level druid spell with a more complex list of creatures they could bring someone back as. It should be on a par with true resurrection. 3 - More chaotic gods are prone to let the dice fall where they will, but there are some exceptions as noted. Amongst the human gods, Tymora and Beshaba are the most likely to grant truely random results. 4 - This should definitely be restricted to high level uses of this spell, or to the higher level "True Reincarnate" version of the spell mentioned in this essay. In any case, this should be limited to Native Outsider types. 5 - A straight 50/50 roll - flip a coin, or roll high/low to determine gender... Unless the player expresses discomfort about a gender change for his/her character, this should be mostly random. 6 - This will follow when I get home and take a look at my books.
Zandilar 04-30-07, 06:03 AM	REINCARNATION Notes: 1) This table will vary depending on who the deceased's deity is, what race they are, and what the Druid's (or Wizard/Sorcerer's if using the arcane version) deity is. Feel free to adjust the percentage chances to fit. (ie: If you're rolling for an elf follower of the Seldarine, you could decide that at least 50% of the time an elf will result, and adjust the rest of the numbers to suit.) 2) Roll Gender if required - 01-50 Male, 51-00 Female. Base Table 01-29 Human 30-39 Half-breed 40-49 Orc 50-59 Halfling 60-69 Gnome 70-79 Dwarf 80-89 Elf 90-91 Goblins 92 Yuan-Ti 93 Lycanthrope 94 Other Races 95-00 Special/DM's Choice Sub-tables Note about the subtables: 1) I have not included percentage chances for each type - this is because some entries are not suitable in all locations. Thus I leave it up to the individual DM to determine the chances for each race. 2) Kir-Lanan are the only race in Races of Faerun not listed on this table. This is due to the fact that this spell cannot be cast upon them, nor would they make a suitable result, given their close ties to negative energy. 3) Planetouched are not explicitly included on the table, but a list is provided below if exceptional circumstances warrant it. 3) This has just been the result of me going through Races of Faerun. If there are not enough options on this table for you, feel free to add whatever race you wish. Suggestions for additions include fey, dragonkin, and animals. ud - this race is only likely to come up in the Underdark, if Reincarnate is not cast in the underdark ignore the race. region - this race is only likely to come up in the appropriate region, if Reincarnate is not cast in the appropriate region, ignore the race. special - this race is not recommended, except in more powerful campaigns, or in exceptional situations as noted in my desciption of the spell. Orcs Orc, Mountain Orc, Gray region Orc, Orog ud Half-breeds Half-Orc Half-Elf Half-Drow region Half-Aquatic Elf region Halfings Halfling, Strongheart Halfling, Lightfoot Halfling, Ghostwise region Gnomes Gnome, Svirfneblin ud Gnome, Forest Gnome, Rock Dwarves Dwarf, Artic region Dwarf, Gold Dwarf, Gray ud Dwarf, Shield Dwarf, Urdunnir ud Dwarf, Wild region Elves Elf, Sun Elf, Moon Elf, Wild region Elf, Wood Elf, Aquatic region Elf, Drow udregion Elf, Avariel region Humans Calshite Chondathan Damaran Illuskan Mulan Rashemi Tethyrian Bedine region Chultan region Durpari region Ffolk region Gur region Halruaam region Imaskari region Lantanna region Maztican region Nar region Netherese special Raumviran region Shaaran region Shou region Sossrim region Talfir region Tashalan region Tugian region Turami region Ulutiun region Vaasan region Zakharan region Planetouched region special Aasimar Genasi, Air Genasi, Earth Genasi, Fire Genasi, Water Fey'ri Tanarukk Tiefling Goblins Goblin Hobgoblin Bugbear Goblin, Dekanter region Other Races region Aarakocra Centaur Lizardfolk Shade special Wemic Yuan-ti region Yuan-ti, Pureblood Yuan-ti, Tainted one special Lycanthropes region special Lythari Werebat Werebear Wereboar Werecrocodile Wererat Wereshark Weretiger Werewolf If anyone has any suggestions or comments about this table, please feel free to make them. :)
Stigger 04-30-07, 07:11 AM	As I recall, Kir-Lanan wouldn't qualify as is, since I seem to recall they don't actually have souls, an abomination that came about from the ToT. Kinda hard to get reincarnated as a thing without a soul... just to nit pick a bit. Though to be honest I've yet to figure out the reasoning behind this spell... seems really odd to me for some reason.
Zandilar 04-30-07, 07:34 AM	Heya, As I recall, Kir-Lanan wouldn't qualify as is, since I seem to recall they don't actually have souls, an abomination that came about from the ToT. Kinda hard to get reincarnated as a thing without a soul... just to nit pick a bit. I'll look into that. ;) If they have no souls, you're right. Though to be honest I've yet to figure out the reasoning behind this spell... seems really odd to me for some reason. Cheaper than Raise Dead, it's only a 4th level spell (Raise Dead is 5th), and there's the possibility of coming back as something better than you were previously. (As a human, I'd definitely give my right arm to come back as an elf. ;))
Stigger 04-30-07, 07:41 AM	Think it was mentioned in Lords of Darkness. As to the reincarnation thing... just strikes me as a very strange concept. Of course I'm not a really big booster of the idea of being raised anyway, at least in principle. Makes the game run more smoothly, but given the choice, I'd probably avoid it were it an actual option. But I'm one of those weirdos who still thinks of eternal life as a vile curse, so... :)
theAlastorian 04-30-07, 08:24 AM	Wait a minute. The whole purpose of reincarnate is that you may not actually come back as a pc race. Hence the list of animals. Coming back as a human (from what I recall) was really quite difficult. There really shouldn't be a mess of pc races on the list. Not only is it an annoyance for the player who gets brought back, it also provides a small side quest for the other players to put them back in their original form. There should be a lesson learned from character death. It's a bad idea to die. Try to do better next time. So no, the reincarnate list should not change from what it currently is.
Zandilar 04-30-07, 10:01 PM	Heya, Wait a minute. The whole purpose of reincarnate is that you may not actually come back as a pc race. Hence the list of animals. Coming back as a human (from what I recall) was really quite difficult. There really shouldn't be a mess of pc races on the list. Not only is it an annoyance for the player who gets brought back, it also provides a small side quest for the other players to put them back in their original form. There should be a lesson learned from character death. It's a bad idea to die. Try to do better next time. So no, the reincarnate list should not change from what it currently is. Really? There are no animals on the 3.5e list for Reincarnation. Here is the current list as seen in the SRD: Reincarnate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/reincarnate.htm) 01 Bugbear 02-13 Dwarf 14-25 Elf 26 Gnoll 27-38 Gnome 39-42 Goblin 43-52 Half-elf 53-62 Half-orc 63-74 Halfling 75-89 Human 90-93 Kobold 94 Lizardfolk 95-98 Orc 99 Troglodyte 100 Other PCs can only be returned to their original form by way of a Wish or a Miracle - a bit out of reach of 7th level characters (minimum level to cast Reincarnate), don't you think?
Zandilar 04-30-07, 10:10 PM	Heya, Think it was mentioned in Lords of Darkness. As to the reincarnation thing... just strikes me as a very strange concept. Of course I'm not a really big booster of the idea of being raised anyway, at least in principle. Makes the game run more smoothly, but given the choice, I'd probably avoid it were it an actual option. But I'm one of those weirdos who still thinks of eternal life as a vile curse, so... :) Well, I'm on the opposite end of that. I am endlessly fascinated by immortality or near-immortality. Anyway, Raise Dead, Reincarnate, and the like won't work if you've lived the full length of your natural life (ie: when you get to old and venerable ages, the spell just won't work at all - not even an optional choice to come back!). Arguably, the DM could just say "well the thread of your fate has been cut, and you can't come back even if you want to," but I'm sure most DMs wouldn't want to do that to a player, unless that player understood from the get go that this might be the case. Usually, those spells work at the option of the player. If the player says to the DM, "no, my character is happy in the afterlife," then the DM has no choice but to accept that and have the player roll a new character. Most of the people I've played with don't chose that, however.
Stigger 05-01-07, 01:02 AM	Neither would I in the context of the game, simply for the sake of ease and continuity, its just a game afterall and a lot of personal preference principles can go out the window in a fantasy environment in a lot of respects. In the context of life, I'd turn it down. :)
Old Sparky 05-05-07, 04:50 PM	I could definitely see animals as great possibilities for reincarnation possibilities with the animals treated as if the Awaken Animal spell were cast on them.
ikki 05-05-07, 05:14 PM	ofcourse some, like shifters (that shapechanging prc), dont care one bit what form they return in :D