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Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:34 pm
by Ahriman667
Just wondering how this was played out by any of you guys. I read somewhere else online that the Raise Dead spell explicitly said no curses or spell effects (words to that effect) were removed, but could not find that in the OSRIC rulebook.
This happened to my player recently doing the Tomb of the Iron God. He was the PC that received the geas, but he was slain and then raised from the dead (less then 24hrs afterward).
Cheers.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:58 pm
by francisca
mmmmm.....the Hotblack Desiado Gambit.....interesting thought....I'm ruminating....
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:31 pm
by Philotomy Jurament
I rather like the idea that one could escape a geas by dying and then being raised. It's extreme, it's expensive, and a lot could go wrong. If you wanted to make it even more uncertain, you could say upon being raised you get a saving throw to escape the geas.
Interested to know if there's some sort of by-the-book rule on this, though.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:46 pm
by TRP
francisca wrote:mmmmm.....the Hotblack Desiado Gambit.....interesting thought....I'm ruminating....
In my book, this concept is sehr alte Schule, the sommbitch, if he pulled it off, would earn bonus XP. Harlots would give him freebies. Bards would sing of this for centuries. And, the cleric may, just may, hire the most badass assassin he can afford to erase this weasel sommbitch.

Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:09 pm
by darnizhaan
DMG says under Geas p 46
Geas: The casting time is also the total time the magic-user has to word the geas spell. It is otherwise similar to a quest (q.v.).
Ok, under Quest p 42
A quest can be negated by a cleric of greater level than the one which placed the spell, if the cleric so doing is of the same religion as the quested creature. Some artifacts or relics can probably negate the spell, and any deity can do so, but only directly.
OK, so a deity can do it. Maybe a magic-user of higher level can do it if the DM rules so, and of course a
wish can do it. I think it is reasonable that if the person died in pursuit of the
geas, that it is nullified, otherwise, they would probably still be under its influence.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:40 pm
by EOTB
I would say that it was cancelled, but the spellcaster may not accept that the obligation was fulfilled and take other actions depending upon their attitudes/alignment, etc.
If I remember the adventure you're running correctly, I would say the Geas might be reapplied when he goes back into that area.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:27 pm
by Ahriman667
The spellcaster in this case is the Iron God, so I should probably rule that the geas is still in affect if the party continues on through
his Tomb.
I don't anticipate anything coming out of this whole geas thing, as the party has every intention (so far anyways) of clearing out the dungeon...which is the requirement of the geas in the first place. I was just more or less curious what the conensus was if it crops up in the future, when the PC's may want to choose not to continue on an adventure...fickle bastards
Cheers.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 7:32 pm
by Matthew
I would say no, indeed an unfulfilled geas sounds like just the sort of thing to hold the spirit of the deceased player character to the prime material plane.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:26 pm
by deathsdj
Matthew wrote:I would say no, indeed an unfulfilled geas sounds like just the sort of thing to hold the spirit of the deceased player character to the prime material plane.
I really like this take on it. Kinda creepy feel to it which is cool too.
Cheers!
MJW
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:27 am
by AxeMental
Matthew wrote:I would say no, indeed an unfulfilled geas sounds like just the sort of thing to hold the spirit of the deceased player character to the prime material plane.
I agree. The magic is cast upon either your body or your spirit (or both), I don't see why being killed would effect that (your just reunited with the curse when raised from the dead). So, in either case (body or spirit) your stuck with it. My inclination is that its on the spirit, but that the spirit is only bound by it if he "returns" (so a spirit summoned back to the prime material from the happy hunting grounds -free of the gease- would suddenly be bound by it again).
Hell, I could see undead raising from the grave as a ghoul etc. to fullfill a gease.

Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:50 am
by Mudguard
Yeah, I think we still need the geese-fulfillment even if you've been dead, like once.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 5:10 pm
by BlackBat242
AxeMental wrote:Matthew wrote:I would say no, indeed an unfulfilled geas sounds like just the sort of thing to hold the spirit of the deceased player character to the prime material plane.
I agree.
.....
Hell, I could see undead raising from the grave as a ghoul etc. to fullfill a gease.

Revenant (FF pg 75-76)
The driving force would not be vengeance against its killer, but rather fulfillment of the Geas/Quest.
Or maybe a Haunt (MM II pg 74-75) if you are feeling merciful.
Re: Does PC death followed by a Raise Dead remove a Geas?
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:23 am
by deathanddrek
francisca wrote:mmmmm.....the Hotblack Desiado Gambit.....interesting thought....I'm ruminating....
Ha ha! That's gold!
I think if, for whatever reason, you ruled that a
raise cleared a
geas, it would be sort of congruent with the experience point bonus awarded for being brought back from the dead. You met your maker and returned changed.