That…. really isn’t going to happen for them. According to “open grave”, the Queen’s name might well be key to her defeat, or is at least sufficiently important that Orcus has devoted incredible time and effort to learning it, in his attempt to usurp her throne. She’d probably destroy anybody cheeky enough to go looking for it, or place them under some divine geas never to reveal it to or even be able to write it, speak it aloud, or otherwise communicate the name to another sentient being, not even through telepathy.

I love these ideas, otherwise. I’m playing a devoted death-cultist follower of the Queen in a campaign right now, and I think I’m going to be forwarding this page to my GM.

I completely agree with you that the Raven Queen is a remarkable source of narrative possibilities. In my campaign, she stands at the center of a web of plots (using the web/loom of fate parallel), slowly moving the characters into her camp. The campaign is designed to be quite wide open, except that all roads lead to Letherna, eventually. It has been a source of great joy for me, moving the characters imperceptibly to her way of thinking. We are near the end of the Heroic tier, and 3 of my 6 players are devoted to her, with the others not far behind, all of their own volition.

My ultimate goal is to transform the characters into her champions, wading into battle wearing armor of skulls and talons, looking for all the world like agents of darkness, but pursuing goals they know to be just. For the most part, my players are true-blue hero types, and I think that this paradox, to pursue good with the appearance of evil, is one of the Raven Queen’s biggest narrative possibilities.

This is building on my previous article in the series. Part of my concept there was that the goddess of death is fickle, and her agenda can’t be easily encapsulated. Sometimes she’ll trade a life for a life. Sometimes she’ll restore a life lost too soon.

Sometimes not. Taking these things for granted is a bad idea, even if it’s worked that way in the past. Maybe especially if it’s worked that way in the past.

This is one of the reasons her priesthood is all over the board in my game — she has sects of every alignment, unlike the rest of the pantheon. And they’re all right in their theologies. But none of them is completely right.

Unaturally prolonging one’s life sounds like something the Raven Queen would be vehemently against… ‘Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate.’

I’ve been DMing a door-kicker throwaway campaign since 4e came out, and now that my group is used to the whole “this isnt 3.x” idea i think its time to kick in some sort of overarching story.

though i must say, episodic campaigns are much more fun in 4 than they were in 3.x.

but you’ve got me thinkin’. thanks.

Fairy tales and legends are good sources too, of course. I intend to do a series of posts about that, starting relatively soon.

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