Oh there's also the "Boon of Immortality" in the 5e DMG, under the rewards section. I mean it's an in-game mechanical bonus rather than an actual existing-in-lore one, but it's not a far stretch to say that a character has been blessed (or cursed) by their deity to have an unnaturally long lifespan.
"Despair not, for in the end all things shall work out for the best - in at least one timeline."
That is basically what being a chosen is in my mind. Everyone other than the chosen think it a boon... after a few centuries the chosen think it a curse.
That is basically what being a chosen is in my mind. Everyone other than the chosen think it a boon... after a few centuries the chosen think it a curse.
No, its not because you're a "lackey." Its because death is the thing that makes life worthwhile; the knowledge that any moment might be your last makes every moment more precious. The ties one builds to people and places and things creates the illusion of permanence and gives one a place. What happens when time wipes that all away? They can't die, but they also can't really live. All the Chosen are left with is the purpose their god gives them.
My first real introduction to this idea was the portrayal of the TV show Roar. The characterization of Longinus was brilliant. God would not let him die - he was cursed for eternity for killing Christ. The same idea came back almost immediately in Dracula 2000 in which Dracula is revealed to be Judas Iscariot, and his undeath was his eternal curse for betraying Christ.
Same thing with the flying dutchman . Examples of the curse of immortality are all over if you look for them.
No, its not because you're a "lackey." Its because death is the thing that makes life worthwhile; the knowledge that any moment might be your last makes every moment more precious. The ties one builds to people and places and things creates the illusion of permanence and gives one a place. What happens when time wipes that all away? They can't die, but they also can't really live. All the Chosen are left with is the purpose their god gives them.
My first real introduction to this idea was the portrayal of the TV show Roar. The characterization of Longinus was brilliant. God would not let him die - he was cursed for eternity for killing Christ. The same idea came back almost immediately in Dracula 2000 in which Dracula is revealed to be Judas Iscariot, and his undeath was his eternal curse for betraying Christ.
Same thing with the flying dutchman . Examples of the curse of immortality are all over if you look for them.