Raise Dead vs. Resurrection
HaHaCharade
Member Posts: 1,644
Ok, I don't remember in BG2 the point where one could get the 7th level clerical spell Resurrection (is it even in the game)?
When we played AD&D 1st Edition, way back in the day in college, Elves could not be brought back to life by a raise dead spell. They needed a priest who could cast Resurrection, which often meant they were out of luck unless you were in good with not just a high priest, but one a couple steps higher.
I think Gary Gygax deemed this a must for elves due to the almost mythical nature of their race. Unaging, Almost akin to Wood Nymphs - something not natural.
I generally modify the BG:EE XP cap so I can get a cleric with 5th level spells. (Not to kill Drizzt with Werebears - don't worry). I read the description of Raise Dead and saw that elves are included in it.
I guess my question is - Was this changed in AD&D 2nd Edition? Or just in Baldur's Gate? Also wouldn't mind some old school gamers' thoughts on it. I guess its an ok change, but it was for our gaming table, one of the few disadvantages of playing the otherwise awesome elven race.
When we played AD&D 1st Edition, way back in the day in college, Elves could not be brought back to life by a raise dead spell. They needed a priest who could cast Resurrection, which often meant they were out of luck unless you were in good with not just a high priest, but one a couple steps higher.
I think Gary Gygax deemed this a must for elves due to the almost mythical nature of their race. Unaging, Almost akin to Wood Nymphs - something not natural.
I generally modify the BG:EE XP cap so I can get a cleric with 5th level spells. (Not to kill Drizzt with Werebears - don't worry). I read the description of Raise Dead and saw that elves are included in it.
I guess my question is - Was this changed in AD&D 2nd Edition? Or just in Baldur's Gate? Also wouldn't mind some old school gamers' thoughts on it. I guess its an ok change, but it was for our gaming table, one of the few disadvantages of playing the otherwise awesome elven race.
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Also, yes, the 7th level spell is in BG2 and can be learned by druids/clerics at the appropriate level. The only difference between it and the lower level spell is that the target comes back with full health.
BG resurrection does not implement any of the PnP "special effects" like rolling against shock, or the racial restrictions you mentioned.
It's not the only spell with such simplification, I think. There's a point where the complexity of PnP is detrimental to the video game experience, especially considering people with no D&D experience whatsoever play BG, too.
Of ccourse another great advantage of raise dead is it's easier to spell... ;-)
Is it easier to raise Gnomes, Dwarves and Halflings because they are smaller? Or do Clerics get more practice with these races as they die far more commonly than Elves...
And it must easy peasy to raise a human as they are always popping back up as zombies, skeletons, mummies, ghouls and vampires that it almost gets boring... Why no dwarven vampires!
They can suck on the juicy leg of goodness!
Orcs come from the same dimension as elves, and were constantly at war with one another...the original elves came to this cosmology when Corelion Latherion and Gruumesh's battle began to tear their Realm apart, eventually splitting it into the Orc and Elven planes, but the change was extremely destructive, and they were forced to bring all their people they could to this universe to save them.
But geez, trying to figure out now what's what and who's who is a major challenge!
As for me, I think the BG change from 2E was primarily for ease of approachability. Because you don't get to pick and choose when you encounter what companions and who or what they are, it was probably perceived that limiting Elves in that way would be unfair to the player. After all, you will never get a cleric in BG1 high enough to cast Resurrect, so what's the point? They "Could" have simply made it more money at the temple, but I suspect that they instead just said "Level the playing field and make everyone capable of being raised" Just a guess on my part, but it seems to fit the facts.