Shattered Kingdoms

I've always been pretty unsatisfied with my resurrection RP on Corathir, and I'm trying to find ways to make it more dynamic, engaging, interesting, and ultimately, unique, without being cheesy and lame.

So, two questions:

As resurrectees, what can priests do to make your resurrection experience unique (as in, when you walk away, you KNOW who just rezzed you and what god they represent) and also fun? Do you find pre-made sets of emotes (perhaps even decked out with colors and whatnot) cheesy or interesting? Do you value resurrection RP at all?

As priests, what do you do to make your resurrections dynamic and engaging?

For both priests and resurrectees, do you feel pre-rez RP to be more important, or post-rez? Which is more interesting?

This isn't meant to be a complaint thread, we had one of those already. I'm not talking about ways to enforce or ensure RP into resurrections, I just want to know people's thoughts on the status quo, from their experiences.

I think the pre-rez rp is really important because it will help you determine what you will say to them afterwards. Usually, whenever I rezzed someone I made sure why I was rezzing them and the post-rez rp determined on what I told them afterwards. Usually, tieing the how they died into spewing the pedagogy in the post-rez rp.

Personally I think that the RP before a Rez is much more important, you can ask questions about how well the person knows your faith, and make sure they have respect. The post RP is morese to ensure that they are thankful and whatnot.. the more unique the post emote from the healer I think the better, not a standard one for all... but pre sure why not...

I think pre-rez RP is always interesting/important. Especially since I find many people asking Azeol for ressurrections who don't know him, and his title happens to include pillow monster...and that doesn't seem like a title of a priest. Thus, I get to interrogate them a bit, and see how they struggle.

Afterwards is usually something I make them do in return, and pre-made emotes depending what I have them do. If I'm bored, I'll usually think up of something interesting.

You know, I've discovered that the rezz-monkey mentality works both ways. If you just say " 'k, thx for the rezz, bye, have a nice life," then you're just an [REDACTED] and you deserve to be "c harm"ed by said priest. However, if the priest doesn't really do much more than say "You're alive, praise the Lord!" and then go back to talking to his buddies, you're kind of like, well, screwed. "Um, yeah, did you want to ask me what I learned from death? Maybe ask for a bit of eq? No? Okay, then, I'll just...um...bye..."

...

Hey, it's 11:03 at night. Don't even bother to read this, please.

As a resurrectee, I enjoy meaningful resurrections, when a priest has time for them. However, I do expect to be entertained a bit if I'm going to sit through much. That has a lot more to do with deep character interaction than with pretty temples or colored emotes (Ugh!).

IMO, one of the better short forms of resurrection is a brief liturgy. After the priest has resurrected my character, he praises his god in specific terms. I respond with thanks in the same vein. Perhaps there's a follow-up verse or comment. All this gives me the flavor of the religion, without taking much of the priest's time.

As a priest player, I had most fun with resurrection RP
1) when it tied with my character's purpose and theology.
2) when it didn't get monotonous, doing the same thing every time.

Example: One priest of Zavijah I played wanted people to join lightie religions, since he counted that wise. Pantheists had to answer a question meant to lead them in that direction. That allowed for a variety of questions, particularly with characters he dealt with multiple times. He had other guidelines for other character types. It was almost always fresh for me, which helped me make it fresh for others.

Post-resurrection RP is more fun since you can use emotes. However, pre-resurrection is the only time you can determine qualifications for resurrection. The best balance depends on what you're doing.

Um, with Maathus I varied, but I generally always (except when in a big rush such as in PK insta rezzes) (but since you have to wait most of the time now for people to get to the river first, that shouldn't be a problem) did emotes before and after the rezz. Towards the end, I was a big fan of something along these lines:
Maathus raises his arms above his head and is suddenly engulfed in a swirling vortex of energy.
Maathus begins to concentrate.
Maathus has ressurected a silly male human.
Maathus lets his arms drop to his side as the vortex spits out a naked wet body.
Maathus says, "Give thanks to the Maelstrom which has spent its energy sucking your spirit from the River and giving it a new shell!"

Then I'd greet them and wait to see what they'd do. If they didn't get on their knees and give thanks, I'd give em a nudge and say, "Give thanks!". Nudge them again. Once all that was in order, I'd sometimes give them a sandwich and tell them to be on their way and to do this or that, depending on the current circumstances. Sometimes tell them to wreak havoc, or rebel against the imperial powers, cause mischief and mayhem whenever they can, etc...

Something along those lines. And of course if I didn't know the person who was asking for life, I'd find out if they honored Marfik and stuff, in one way or another. But yeah, people should have to make a little effort and be polite to get life. And the priest has every right to do whatever he wants to them, so basically just have fun with your rezzes. If your ghosts aren't doing what you want, don't help them. If once they're alive, they do something you dislike, make them do something else.

DENY REZZEZ...

Do that enough becuase of the lack of RP and when word gets around on a OOC level that you wont rezz someone agian if they dont RP with you before/after a rez then they will be more likely to RP with you...

Worked with me at least...

Pre-Rez RP is way easier to get going than post-rez. After all, you have a captive audience, and in many cases, they have nowhere else to turn without losing a level. Granted, it limits you to tells, so there are some hindrances.

After you give them the good ol' 1up, what you do should vary depending on your religion. Something I've been toying with is immediately casting "spear of faith" when they get rezzed. Some sort of minor (or major) task to complete with their new gift of life is usually pretty good. Examples...

Healing: Finish the lyrics to this song
Nature: Go atune your senses in this clearing.
Chaos: Count the number of griffons you see from here to the Nerina inn, spin around in circles that many times when you get there, hold your breath until you pass out, then when you wake up, kill the fourth thing you see.

My advice to priests:

1] Don't count on good post-resurrection RP from your resurrectees.
2] Make the resurrection RP something quality from YOUR end. Build up a ritual that you perform in one of your churches/shrines/sanctums that you and possibly other members of your faith participate in.
3] Most people in the River are STUCK. That means you can take all the time in the world to resurrect them. If they get impatient and ask someone else for help, then they weren't worth it in the end. If they stick around and wait, then you're more likely to get something out of them.
4] Be picky. You don't have to resurrect anyone. That means if they give you a hint of [REDACTED] or shadiness, just move along.