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{{Systems}}
{{Systems}}
[[Category:Systems|Death and Dying]]
[[Category:Systems|Death and Dying]]
= Current Implementation of the Death System =
Dying in Avlis is different than dying in single-player NWN.
Dying in Avlis is different than dying in single-player NWN.


Dying on Avlis is a hindrance. It is meant to be so, to make Avlis both challenging and engaging. There is no reason to fear death in single-player NWN, but plenty of reason to fear death in Avlis.
While PC death on Avlis is not permanent, it is meant to be a hindrance. This makes Avlis both challenging and engaging. There is no reason to fear death in single-player NWN, but plenty of reason to fear death in Avlis.
 
When a character in Avlis takes enough damage to reduce his hitpoints below zero, he falls down and begins to bleed to death. There is slight chance that he will begin to recover – if that happens he will begin to gain hit points slowly until he reaches a positive number, and he will stand up again (and be temporarily Slowed, to represent the disorientation that can come with a brush with death).
 
But more often than not the character continues to bleed until he reaches -10 hit points, at which time he dies and his soul leaves his body. The character's soul travels to [[Dagath]]'s Hall on the Outlands of Concordant Opposition; the so-called '''''death plane'''''. Once there, they will begin a '''''death quest''''' to exit the death plane.<br>
 
'''Important:''' IC-ly, PCs may not retain any memories from their death plane visit.
 
In terms of game mechanics, when a PC drops below -10 hit points, they are transported to the death plane. They lose ALL non-Plot items in their inventory, as well as 50 XP per level (if above level 2).<br>
 
A '''''player corpse placeable''''' is created at the location of their death. It contains the PC's entire inventory (except Plot items and Gold Pieces; those follow the PC to the death plane).<br>
 
When the PC completes the death quest & exits the death plane, they are transported to a major temple & recover the lost XP. To retrieve their items, the PC must return to their player corpse; the so-called '''''death run'''''.<br>
 
Other ways to '''''exit the death plane''''':<br>
 
1. A PC (or an NPC) in the lands of the living may attempt a [[Magic:Resurrection|Resurrection]] spell. This will transport the PC to their player corpse & return the lost XP.<br>
2. A [[Magic:Raise Dead|Raise Dead]] spell will do the same but lost XP will NOT be returned -- unless the dead PC has already completed their quest.<br>
 
Locate your PC's player corpse placeable and click on it. Your items should automatically transfer to your inventory, one by one. It is important to make certain all items have been recovered from the corpse, and that the corpse disappears (sometimes this requires clicking on a empty corpse a second time to make it disappear). If the corpse is left there, and the character dies a second time before a server reset, it is possible that the belongings may be put on the old corpse.<br>


When a character in Avlis takes enough damage to reduce his hitpoints below zero, he falls down and begins to bleed to death. There is slight chance that he will begin to recover – if that happens he will begin to gain hit points slowly until he reaches a positive number, and he will stand up again (and be temporarily Slowed, to represent the disorientation that can come with a brush with death). But more often than not the character continues to bleed until he reaches -10 hit points, at which time he dies and his soul leaves his body. Any PC with more than two character levels loses 50 XP for each level he has. This will sometimes cause characters to lose a level.
Last but not least, you will find a '''''player corpse item''''' within the namesake placeable's inventory. It will disappear once your items are transferred.<br>


The character's soul travels to one of the Outer Planes, which on Avlis are sometimes merely called the Death Planes. The plane to which the character travels is dependent upon that character's alignment; for example, a purely Chaotic Neutral character will find that his soul travels to Limbo, the Outer Plane of pure Chaos. 
If another character picks up this item beforehand, it can be used in two ways:<br>


[[Death Plane]]s are based on numerical [[alignment]]; every character has two alignment axes (Law/Chaos and Good/Evil) and numbers associated therewith on their character sheet. Thus if your numerical Good rating is high and your numerical Chaotic rating is high, your character sheet will read "Chaotic Good"; however, if you look further you will see the actual numbers. There are 17 Death Planes, and only 9 alignment titles (e.g. Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, etc.). That means that you can be completely Chaotic and completely Good and go to Arborea, or be a bit less Good (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to Ysgard... or a bit less Chaotic (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to the Beastlands, etc.
1. Carry the fallen: A rare few NPC clerics in major cities will recognize that a PC has another PC's corpse in their inventory, and offer Resurrection on site.<br>
2. Profane the fallen: Zombie powder is a product of the [[Crafting_System#Herbalism|Herbalism craft]]. It can create a zombie out of any IG item with "corpse" in its name -- including a player corpse.<br>


Once he has reached the death the plane the character must undertake a short quest before being able to exit. Characters who successfully complete this [[Death Quest|death quest]] will regain the XP that they lost upon dying. When a character leaves the death plane in this manner he does not return to the place where he died, but instead to a set location. For example, in Mikona people who die will return from death to find themselves in that city's temple to Mikon. They must then make what is called the dreaded [[Naked Run|naked run]] back to their body.
This will not prevent the departed from returning to life but they might be in for a shock!


Body? Yes – when a character dies in Avlis, his soul goes to the death plane with none of his possessions except for his gold, and certain ''special'' items. All of his items are left behind on a corpse that appears on the spot where he died. This is perhaps the biggest hindrance of death, because if he died in a dangerous place it might be very difficult for him to return to his corpse and reclaim his items. Also, while he is on the death plane or is returning to his corpse that corpse can be seen and examined by other characters – they can even take items from his corpse. Indeed, a character may return to his corpse to find some or even all of his items looted.
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=== Previous Implementations of the Death System ===


Alternatively, a character can be returned to life via the [[Magic:Raise Dead|Raise Dead]] spell. This spell has the advantage of returning the character to the spot where he died, but he will not gain the XP he lost upon dying. [[Magic:Resurrection|Resurrection]] also has the same benefit, but players brought back with resurrection will regain their lost XP from dying.
Click Expand (to the right) to review.
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The character's soul traveled to one of the Outer Planes. The plane to which the character travels was dependent upon that character's alignment; for example, a purely Chaotic Neutral character would find that his soul travels to Limbo, the Outer Plane of pure Chaos.


It is important to make certain all items have been recovered from the corpse, and that the corpse disappears (sometimes this requires clicking on a empty corpse a second time to make it disappear). If the corpse is left there, and the character dies a second time before a server reset, it is possible that the belongings may be put on the old corpse.
[[Death Plane]]s were based on numerical [[alignment]]; every character has two alignment axes (Law/Chaos and Good/Evil) and numbers associated therewith on their character sheet. Thus if your numerical Good rating is high and your numerical Chaotic rating is high, your character sheet will read "Chaotic Good"; however, if you look further you will see the actual numbers. There were 17 Death Planes, and only 9 alignment titles (e.g. Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, etc.). That meant that you can be completely Chaotic and completely Good and go to Arborea, or be a bit less Good (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to Ysgard... or a bit less Chaotic (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to the Beastlands, etc.
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</div>

Latest revision as of 00:20, 24 May 2024

Systems and Tools

Current Implementation of the Death System

Dying in Avlis is different than dying in single-player NWN.

While PC death on Avlis is not permanent, it is meant to be a hindrance. This makes Avlis both challenging and engaging. There is no reason to fear death in single-player NWN, but plenty of reason to fear death in Avlis.

When a character in Avlis takes enough damage to reduce his hitpoints below zero, he falls down and begins to bleed to death. There is slight chance that he will begin to recover – if that happens he will begin to gain hit points slowly until he reaches a positive number, and he will stand up again (and be temporarily Slowed, to represent the disorientation that can come with a brush with death).

But more often than not the character continues to bleed until he reaches -10 hit points, at which time he dies and his soul leaves his body. The character's soul travels to Dagath's Hall on the Outlands of Concordant Opposition; the so-called death plane. Once there, they will begin a death quest to exit the death plane.

Important: IC-ly, PCs may not retain any memories from their death plane visit.

In terms of game mechanics, when a PC drops below -10 hit points, they are transported to the death plane. They lose ALL non-Plot items in their inventory, as well as 50 XP per level (if above level 2).

A player corpse placeable is created at the location of their death. It contains the PC's entire inventory (except Plot items and Gold Pieces; those follow the PC to the death plane).

When the PC completes the death quest & exits the death plane, they are transported to a major temple & recover the lost XP. To retrieve their items, the PC must return to their player corpse; the so-called death run.

Other ways to exit the death plane:

1. A PC (or an NPC) in the lands of the living may attempt a Resurrection spell. This will transport the PC to their player corpse & return the lost XP.
2. A Raise Dead spell will do the same but lost XP will NOT be returned -- unless the dead PC has already completed their quest.

Locate your PC's player corpse placeable and click on it. Your items should automatically transfer to your inventory, one by one. It is important to make certain all items have been recovered from the corpse, and that the corpse disappears (sometimes this requires clicking on a empty corpse a second time to make it disappear). If the corpse is left there, and the character dies a second time before a server reset, it is possible that the belongings may be put on the old corpse.

Last but not least, you will find a player corpse item within the namesake placeable's inventory. It will disappear once your items are transferred.

If another character picks up this item beforehand, it can be used in two ways:

1. Carry the fallen: A rare few NPC clerics in major cities will recognize that a PC has another PC's corpse in their inventory, and offer Resurrection on site.
2. Profane the fallen: Zombie powder is a product of the Herbalism craft. It can create a zombie out of any IG item with "corpse" in its name -- including a player corpse.

This will not prevent the departed from returning to life but they might be in for a shock!

Previous Implementations of the Death System

Click Expand (to the right) to review.

The character's soul traveled to one of the Outer Planes. The plane to which the character travels was dependent upon that character's alignment; for example, a purely Chaotic Neutral character would find that his soul travels to Limbo, the Outer Plane of pure Chaos.

Death Planes were based on numerical alignment; every character has two alignment axes (Law/Chaos and Good/Evil) and numbers associated therewith on their character sheet. Thus if your numerical Good rating is high and your numerical Chaotic rating is high, your character sheet will read "Chaotic Good"; however, if you look further you will see the actual numbers. There were 17 Death Planes, and only 9 alignment titles (e.g. Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, etc.). That meant that you can be completely Chaotic and completely Good and go to Arborea, or be a bit less Good (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to Ysgard... or a bit less Chaotic (but still CG on your character sheet) and go to the Beastlands, etc.