Resurrection In Raan

One of the many subjects that members of the Divine, Occult, and Primal spell traditions must learn about concerns the matters of life and death, and how the metaphysical rules that govern the Raaniverse affect this.

The Astral Void

While there is speculation about the exact nature of the Astral Void (see Astral Plane), what is known is this:

• When a creature with a soul dies, the soul lingers in the vicinity of the corpse for a small while; minutes at most.
• The soul is then drawn into the Astral Void, through which it travels to its final reward, usually somewhere in the Outer Planes.
• Every time a soul makes a return trip through the void it accumulates Voidcall as the soul isn't meant to travel backwards through the Astral Void.
• For every voidcall a soul has, there is a 10% chance that it suffers a catastrophic event known as the Cry of the Void, instead of successfully being returned to life.

Cry of the Void

To put it plainly, a Cry of the Void is the cry of terror from a soul that has been annihilated on its trip back the wrong way through the Astral Void, and it is terrifying.

Void Cry

What Happens to the Soul?

The unfortunate fate of the soul that was to be resurrected is annihilation somewhere within the Astral Void, beyond the reach of any mortal or immortal being. A soul that suffers a Cry of the Void has been utterly annihilated and been lost to the cycle of death and final reward. Even the greatest of the divine beings cannot restore a soul lost to voidcry, not even the Goddess of Life herself, Amanda.

What Happens to the Caster?

The Cry of the Void isn't just a harrowing experience for the poor soul, but the caster who attempted the resurrection which caused it and anyone nearby as well. Centered on either the soul receptacle (whether the corpse of a resurrection, or the chrysalis of a reincarnation, etc) or the caster themselves if there is no corpse (or so little as to be effectively no corpse, such as the remains of a Disintegrate spell) the destruction of the soul sends waves of palpable doom out in every direction, striking any and every sentient creature within the 100-foot-radius. This effect is one of the few that crosses planar barriers, striking any and every sentient creatures on coterminous areas of adjacent planes; thus on the Material Plane, creatures nearby in both the Astral and Ethereal Planes would also be affected within range.

Any affected creature must succeed at a Will saving throw at the same DC of the resurrection spell. A failure inflicts Doom 1 and Frightened 3 on the creature. A critical failure inflicts Doom 2, and terrifies the creature into the Fleeing (away from the corpse or caster) condition for 1 minute.

Effects Upon Campaign

This metaphysical law has several effects upon the campaign.

Skill Checks

The following skills gain an additional Trained Use: Sense Voidcall

• Arcana
• Medicine
• Nature
• Occult
• Religion

Sense Voidcall

You spend 1 minute examining a creature to assess its Voidcall value (if any).

Spells & Effects Altered

Generally speaking, a spell or effect that returns a creature to life after 5 minutes or more has passed gains the Voidcall trait. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• Elixir of Rejuvenation (Item 20)
• Raise Dead (Spell 6)
• Reincarnate (Ritual 3)
• Resurrect (Ritual 5)

Spells & Effects Not Altered

Generally speaking, a spell or effect that returns a recently-dead creature to life within a few minutes of its death is unaltered. Examples include:

• Revivify
• Breath of Life (Spell 5)
• Miracle Worker (Feat 18)
• Resuscitate (Feat 18)