D&D: Pros & Cons Of Letting Player Characters Come Back From The Dead In Campaigns

Coming back from the dead is a subject that's almost certain to come up in the course of any lengthy campaign, but it can often be a contentious one. isn't shy about supporting the resurrection of party members, baking in several different possibilities depending on how and when a character dies. That doesn't always mean resurrection is trivial, especially for a low-level party, but it's a route that's generally feasible to pursue in a campaign that's sticking to the rules as written.

That being said, rules are explicitly intended to be guidelines rather than inalienable law, and there are plenty of cases where a dungeon master might want to ban player characters coming back from the dead altogether. It's the kind of choice that's best to establish before starting a campaign, as the DM and the party need to be on the same page when dealing with something so monumental. In some campaigns, getting rid of resurrection can be the best move, but it's not the right fit for every game table.

Dungeons & Dragons 4e had some good ideas, and the 2024 Player's Handbook finally returns to one that never should have been cut to begin with.

The biggest pro of letting player characters resurrect in is simply that it's something many players enjoy, and is ultimately about having a good time at the game table. In modern play, it's common to invest significant time, effort, and emotion into telling a character-based story. Having that cut off by an untimely death with no way to bring the character back into the narrative can be frustrating, and rolling up a replacement could leave a player less connected to the campaign than before.

There's also the fact that 5e is fundamentally heroic fantasy, where daring feats of strength and powerful magical displays show off the capability of an adventuring party that can overcome virtually any odds. It's certainly possible to take the system in different directions, but heroic fantasy is what it does best, and resurrection fits nicely into