Let's say you are DM with a player who is a cleric to a

>>54226128
Depends on the criminal and the Clerics reason.

>>54226128
Seems like that would depend on why the cleric wants to raise the criminal.

>>54226128
well, I guess it would depend exactly how deities govern the distribution of their powers in your setting, as well as these >>54226173 >>54226182
I generally think that a cleric has a little bit of leeway to make their own calls, presumably they've proved themselves to get where they are in their god's favour, but that doesn't have to be the case for your world

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In 4e explicitly, and 5e implicitly, a cleric doesn't actually get their spells directly from their god. The deity can't just say "lol it doesn't work." Punishing heretics is typically left up to the church itself. If a deity actually gets involved in a single cleric's case, it would only be for a REALLY big reason, not just raising some dude.

But even if the deity is watching closely, it could very well be that the cleric believes it is his duty to raise the criminal from the dead, and he's therefore acting out his alignment. Maybe he's bringing them back to life so they can face justice ("death is no escape from prison!").

Assuming you're just talking about some cleric who raised a fellow party member who happens to be a criminal, I say it's fairly complex and a great springboard for roleplaying. You should certainly not punish the cleric for that, because that's discouraging the player from doing interesting things.

>>54226128
I doubt you mean Moorcock OR Andreson, so you're probably using it as a pointless buzzword, but what do you mean by lawful?

>>54226128
There's a difference between justice and legal proceedings. Was the criminal actually guilty? Was the punishment actually just, compared to the severity of the crime?

>>54226228
>>54226379
>>54226173
>>54226182

Let's say for example he is raising a fellow party member who was convicted and executed for murder, and did in fact commit it.

>>54226429
Even then there could be some justification, such as that the criminal is still of vital importance to some task or quest the cleric must complete, and no other individual would suffice. I'd probably still allow it, and would hope that the cleric intends to see the criminal re-punished once the world doesn't need saving anymore or whatever the cleric is doing.

>>54226128
Depends on the setting
Depends on the rules of magic
Depends on the god
Depends on the cleric's reasoning
Depends on the criminal's reason for committing a crime
Depends on his backstory too.

Come on OP, try fucking harder.

>>54226429
Have the deity or one of his representatives pop up and go "the fuck you doing nigga".

The PC can then try to justify it.

>>54226128
>>54226429
Without knowing more, I'd have the spell work, but a geas put upon the convict that causes him to permanently lose HP if he commits Unlawful Murder, and have it fade upon completion of a Quest of Penance. (ie the main plot)
The convict can always choose not to be resurrected.

Circumstances could lessen the penalty, such as the the Cleric rezzing the convict out of Devotion to Allies and that being a core value of the LG God.
Similarly, if the only reason the Cleric is doing it is because "he was in our party" and bringing back the convict would be a true injustice, I might have the spell not work.
It depends on if the magic comes directly from the god or if the power is bestowed directly to the Cleric to use as they see fit.
If the Cleric is free to cast his spells as he sees fit, the spell works but raises the eyebrow of the deity.

I should hope that the deity in question trusts the cleric enough to allow him the leeway to do what he thinks is best. That said, if you think that the god would not approve of this use of his powers, it would not be remiss of the god to let the cleric know that.

Personally I'd have the god let the cleric off with a warning, and have him remind the resurrected criminal that the execution of justice cannot be undone, merely delayed. Perhaps when the adventure is over the cleric brings back the criminal to the noose, or perhaps the criminal has found redemption and paid for his crimes in full in some other way.