[RPG] Finger of death and Raise death/Resurrect/Reincarnate

dnd-3.5epathfinder-1e

If someone dies because of a Finger of death, can he be brought back with one of Raise death/Resurrect/Reincarnate? In all spells it is said that

"A creature that has been turned into an undead creature or killed by
a death effect can't be returned to life by this spell."

Is Finger of death a death effect?

And more generally: what is a death effect? I searched for a description, but I didn't find anything…

Best Answer

The spell finger of death is a death effect. That means that no, they can't be brought back by raise dead or reincarnate if they fail their fortitude save. However, once one gets to the spell resurrection (and later, true resurrection) death effects/attacks aren't an issue for re-raising.

In most cases, a death attack allows the victim a Fortitude save to avoid the affect, but if the save fails, the character dies instantly.

  • Raise dead doesn’t work on someone killed by a death attack.