Death, Raise Dead, and Level Loss

Lose a Level

Few things are more disruptive to a game session than losing a level, be it from a monster or being raised from the dead.
In the 3.5 rules set, this means “un-building” your character, trying to undo all of the choices you made the last time you gained a level. There is no simple way to do this and you often end up permanently behind the curve of the rest of the party. To address this problem, we have taken the mechanics for a negative level, streamlined them a bit, and made them permanent in some cases. So, when you suffer an effect that would have caused you to lose a level, you instead take a permanent negative level. No more “un-building” your character and losing a bunch of abilities that allow you to keep up with the rest of the group. Now you just take some penalties until you get a restoration or similar spell cast on you. While this does take some of the bite out of losing a level, it speeds up play and lets you continue playing your character without a bunch of messy calculations.

Energy Drain and Negative Levels

Some spells and a number of undead creatures have the ability to bestow negative levels. These levels cause a character to take a number of penalties, but they never result in actual level loss.
For each negative level a creature has, it takes a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, the creature reduces its current and total hit points by 5 for each negative level it possesses. The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed. Spellcasters do not lose any prepared spells or slots as a result of negative levels. If a creature’s negative levels equals or exceeds its total Hit Dice, it dies. A creature with negative levels receives a new saving throw to remove the negative level each day. The DC of this save is the same as the effect that caused the negative levels.
Some abilities and spells (such as raise dead) bestow permanent level drain on a creature. These are treated just like negative levels, but they do not allow a new save each day to remove them. Level drain can be removed through spells like restoration. These permanent negative levels remain after a dead creature is restored to life. A creature whose permanent negative levels equals its Hit Dice cannot be brought back to life through spells like raise dead and resurrection without also receiving a restoration spell, cast the round after it is restored to life.

Ra ise Dead Spell

School conjuration (healing); Level cleric 5
Casting Time 1 minute
Components V, S, M, DF (diamond worth 5,000 gp)
Range touch
Target dead creature touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none, see text; Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

Description
You restore life to a deceased creature. You can raise a creature that has been dead for no longer than 1 day per caster level. In addition, the subject’s soul must be free and willing to return. If the subject’s soul is not willing to return, the spell does not work; therefore, a subject that wants to return receives no saving throw. Coming back from the dead is an ordeal. The subject of the spell gains two permanent negative levels when it is raised, just as if it had been hit by an energy-draining creature. If the subject is 1st level, it takes 2 points of Constitution drain instead (if this would reduce its Con to 0 or less, it can’t be raised). A character who died with spells prepared has a 50% chance of losing any given spell upon being raised.
A spellcasting creature that doesn’t prepare spells (such as a sorcerer) has a 50% chance of losing any given unused spell slot as if it had been used to cast a spell.
A raised creature has a number of hit points equal to its current Hit Dice. Any ability scores damaged to 0 are raised to 1. Normal poison and normal disease are cured in the process of raising the subject, but magical diseases and curses are not undone. While the spell closes mortal wounds and repairs lethal damage of most kinds, the body of the creature to be raised must be whole. Otherwise, missing parts are still missing when the creature is brought back to life. None of the dead creature’s equipment or possessions are affected in any way by this spell.
A creature who has been turned into an undead creature or killed by a death effect can’t be raised by this spell. Constructs, elementals, outsiders, and undead creatures can’t be raised. The spell cannot bring back a creature that has died of old age.