My character just died

My character just died.

Another player told me his idea for his next character: a 20-year-old aarakorca who's sole aim is immortality by any means necessary. He chose that race because they live no more than 30 years.

I've grown really enamoured by the idea, but aren't comfortable with just palming it off. I like the aarakorca aesthetic (plus we can be bird bros; we were monk bros before I died), so would like to keep that. How do I otherwise come up with a similar yet unique character concept?

Willing to do any (multi)class, though I'd rather stay away from divine casters out of taste.

What's his class tho?
I guess you should be a younger Aarakorca who follows him as his mentor (?)

If your DM allows it, Do Aarakorca Revenant and be the reason your other friend wants to not die

These are nice ideas actually, but I'm unsure how well it'll fit together given that the other player is still alive (human ex-politician monk). He's very savvy, so will probably avoid death for quite some time...

As a sidenote, the setting we're in happens to treat undead VERY badly. By which I mean 'smite-on-sight' badly, regardless of their benevolence. That doesn't mean we can't deal with them (another player wizard is essentially making a ghost army under the government's nose), but it's just something to bear in mind

bump

Why would you want to steal the thunder of this guy's character? Have you talked to him about making a complimentary character?

If you got this idea purely from him, and he intends to play it, you should clear with him before you do. Otherwise you should come up with your own concept and let him do his thing as he likes.

>As a sidenote, the setting we're in happens to treat undead VERY badly. By which I mean 'smite-on-sight' badly, regardless of their benevolence
What about if you made a character who was only half skeleton?

We're all old-time friends. He offered to just give me the character (even sent me his rather lengthy backstory), but I refused out of dignity.

He's okay with me complementing or building on his idea. Just looking for ideas from you guys!

I'd need some serious Disguise bonuses to not die after a gentle stroll through the city.

What if your character was only a skeleton on the inside, being controlled by a spooky fleshy octopus that's hollowed out his head and lives in his skull?

Any way I can do that with any of the official books/unearthed arcana?

I'm still rooting for the Revenant route, the fact that they don't like the undead would only make me want to do it more

That sounds awesome.

In your setting, is there a race that the bird people get along with exceptionally well? Preferably something long-lived like elves, goliaths, etc.?

>dying at all

get a new DM

Maybe an Aarakorca that wants to be human (or an elf, or whatever)? Surely such a strange race would be at least somewhat shunned, getting stares when in the cities while many keep their purses tightly in their hands, as they have heard rumours of theiving bird-people, while others treat them as mere animals, to be hunted, or enslaved.
Or maybe your reasoning would be the same as your friend - you have a short life and other races do not. You don't think immortality is possible, but perhaps you can somehow turn into a longer living race?

Did you CLEARLY said that you refused? Because he's still full of hope. That's sad.

what kind of an unoriginal, uncreative hack are you?

As I said, we're close friends, and have been for years. At that point we were just pooling ideas, and he showed the sheet to me in case I *wanted* to use it. We're not exactly secretive nor inflexible with anything.

Dying isn't necessarily the result of bad GMing. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Plus, sometimes a balanced encounter does just result in unlucky rolls.

Maybe your character is a bard who wants to be *immortalized* by being remembered forever after you die for the great stories or ballads you've written and you think your friends character has the kind of goal, circumstance, and motivation to give you exactly that kind of story. You'll help him in any and every way you can and even give your life for him if it will make it into the story and help you be remembered forever.

>adventure into megadungeon
>die
>few decades later, new adventurers come along
>have one of their compatriots die near you
>they continue on
>eventually they return, stashed with enough gems and gold to do multiple resurrections
>by sheer misfortune, they pick up the wrong bone
>it's your bone
>you get resurrected
>oh god
>what is going on
>i don't want to die again
>i don't want to die again
>i don't want to die again

My character died yesterday due to a deal with Asmodeus gone a little sour

Ways to obtain immortality:
- generic wizardly magic stuff
- cyborg-ification (turn yourself into a warforged)
- anti-ageing alchemy
- divine sponsorship
- sheer force of will and violence towards the GM

Anything else I missed?

What part of this idea enamors you?

The quest for immortality in itself?
The time limit to accomplish the goal before it's literally impossible?
The rise to become something greater than your species is by default?
The aarakorca race itself?

Once you identify what aspect is the most appealing, either you'll be able to figure out something different yourself or user can suggest ways to pursue that particular thing without stepping on your friend's toes.

Go back to tumbblit, I hear dungeon world is great this time of year

There are other neat opportunities for interaction besides the Revenant. A death-seeker looking for an honorable death or an old adventurer aging gracefully would make for some cool interactions.

If the Birdman wants to stave off the end, pair him with someone who doesn't mind overmuch.

The Joke
Your head

Do not do the revenant one. It sucks all the juice out of your friend’s idea.

Are aarakorca a new thing? I hadn't heard of them before and in the last few months Veeky Forums has been doing a lot of requests for them in the drawthread.

Birdfolk race from the Elemental Evil supplement. They’re flavoured quite interestingly, but some GMs hate them because they have a natural flight speed, which can ruin quite a number of planned obstacles.

The only thing I don’t like about them, despite OP, is their short lifespan. I can’t accurately play something that only lives in maturity for 25 years before dying without ‘retirement’; it’s a bit too alien for my modern human head, I guess.