If your party member is greyed on the side portraits then prolly he/she is elf and must be resurrected( raise dead does not work on elfs). If the portrait is gone from your side the the killing blow was so strong that the party member was disintegrated and he/she is gone for good.
Technically speaking though, Resurrection should actually work on chunked/disintegrated/petrified and shattered characters too, since that's the primary difference between raise dead and resurrection. Raise dead needs a relatively intact body, while resurrection just needs a piece or even a pinch of dust from it.
Also...I can't remember if it was implemented in IWD or not, but raise dead also doesn't work on character who died of level drain or a death effect (like finger of death or the Death spell), because those types of spells directly attack the soul of the creature and it needs stronger magic to overcome it.
If he/she is an elf you need resurrection as stated above, why? I don't know.
Raise dead is more like heart massage cough cough not dead yet, while resurrection is more like HALLELUJAH!!! HE IS ALIVE!!!
In the PNP books there's some explanation about Elves having spirits, while Humans and most others have souls. The impact on Raise Dead is the only practical difference the distinction ever makes. Just, FWIW...
If he/she is an elf you need resurrection as stated above, why? I don't know.
It's a hold-over from 1st edition. Although an early version of the Forgotten Realms (Waterdeep) existed, it wasn't part of the core rules, and didn't have a developed theology. Thus, Gygax borrowed from Tolkien, and decided that elves had "spirits" rather than "souls" and went to a different destination when they died.
Whilst this is inconsistent with the FR campaign setting, it was held over in 2nd edition in the description of the Raise Dead spell.
Disntegrate, finger of death, death spell and massive damage from pyschial or elemental sources (fire, electricity, ice, acid) can permanently kill a character. (Unless you play on story mode, ofcourse!) You will lose out the portrait from the portrait bar as well. That character is gone forever unless you reload.
Comments
Also...I can't remember if it was implemented in IWD or not, but raise dead also doesn't work on character who died of level drain or a death effect (like finger of death or the Death spell), because those types of spells directly attack the soul of the creature and it needs stronger magic to overcome it.
Mummification!
Problem solved!
Raise dead is more like heart massage cough cough not dead yet, while resurrection is more like HALLELUJAH!!! HE IS ALIVE!!!
Whilst this is inconsistent with the FR campaign setting, it was held over in 2nd edition in the description of the Raise Dead spell.