For example, praying to the god of the devout, fallen character may require an Intelligence (Religion) check at an easy to medium difficulty, where loudly demanding the soul of the fallen to return from the Aether may require a Charisma (Intimidation) check at a very hard or nearly impossible difficulty. Advantage and disadvantage can apply here based on how perfect, or off base, the contribution offered is.

After all contributions are completed, the DM then rolls a single, final Resurrection success check with no modifier. The base DC for the final resurrection check is 10, increasing by 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone (signifying the slow erosion of the soul’s connection to this world). For each successful contribution skill check, this DC is decreased by 3, whereas each failed contribution skill check increases the DC by 1.

Upon a successful resurrection check, the player’s soul (should it be willing) will be returned to the body, and the ritual succeeded. On a failed check, the soul does not return, and the character is lost. Only the strongest of magical incantations can bypass this resurrection challenge, in the form of the True Resurrection or Wish spells. These spells can also restore a character to life who was lost due to a failed resurrection ritual but do not reset the character’s resurrection count. There are many powers out there that can even because these means to fail and eventually death does claim all things.

If a spell with a casting time of 1 action is used to attempt to restore life (via the Revivify spell or similar effects), no contribution skill checks are allowed. The character casting the spell makes a Rapid Resurrection check, rolling a d20 and adding their spell casting ability modifier. The DC is 10, increasing by 1 for each previous successful resurrection the character has undergone. On a failure, the character’s soul is not lost, but the resurrection fails and increases any future Resurrection checks’ DC by 1. No further attempts can be made to restore this character to life until a resurrection spell with a casting time higher than 1 action is attempted. The Clone spell follows these rules as well, increasing the DC by 1.

Mortal Realm
​You just died. The soul takes about one minute to leave the body and disassociate. Casting a spell like gentle repose stops the progress while revivify returns the body to life.

 ⇓ 1 Minute ⇓
Border Ethereal
Casting a spell like gentle repose stops the progress of the soul further.

⇓ 5 Days ⇓
Deep Ethereal
Casting a spell like gentle repose stops the progress of the soul further. Before you move on to the Fugue Plane you can be called back to your body with the raise dead spell.

⇓ 5 Days ⇓
Fugue Plane
Gentle repose no longer effects the progress of the soul at this point. Here is a place of judgement. If you are faithless your journey ends in 5 days once, you reach the Fugue Plane. Your soul is destroyed, incorporated into the wall. If you are false, you remain here for 5 days tormented by devils and eventually devoured by demons. Time on this plane is static and days feel like years. At any time before you end your time on the Fugue Plane you could take a deal with a devil. If you have faith in a god, you are usurer-ed to the astral plane in 5 days.

⇓ 5 Days ⇓
Astral Plane
Before you arrive at the outer planes you can be returned to life with the resurrection spell. During this time most lose all the memories of their past life. These memories float on the astral plane as memory cores and it is these core that are contacted when spells contact the dead or attempt to determine a character’s willingness to returning to life.

⇓ 100 Years ⇓
Outer Planes
You become a parishioner. After more than 100 years on the outer planes you either merge with your god, merge with the outer plane in which you reside, or in some rare instances become a powerful enough entity to maintain an independent existence. Before this time, you can be returned to life with wish or true resurrection. After this time, you are lost. You never recall anything about your journey through the afterlife no matter how far your soul gets.