Resurrection Scroll use on NPC's

[Talvana]

What's the opinion on being able to use a Scroll of Resurrection on an NPC? Why can't we do it? Wouldn't it add mechanics to the game? I would imagine you would have to use your scrolls a more sparingly but it would also give the player an opportunity to save an NPC of interest.

[Sentient_Toaster]

Story reasons. They give you a lot of those scrolls while providing ample means (like Withers) to not need them, and yet they want you to be concerned about whether particular NPCs might die or not.

It's logicailly inconsistent, but the scrolls not working on non-party-members is how they reconcile that.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

To be fair both withers rezz and all the revivify scrolls are a clear concession to video gaming.
In most campaigns resurrection is exceptionally rare, in some campaigns the players are even the only ones who can do it, and it's more expensive.
NPCs at the tabletop usually don't even get death saving throws, much less resurrectable. Their souls simply move on to quickly or are simply unwilling to be resurrected.

[jonnin]

as said... its total nonsense but its an attempt to balance it. If this were table top, you would have to do a long trek to locate and access someone who could cast the spell (very few in the world can, talking like running down Cadderly here) and would involve either a hefty payment (which could be in services rendered or coin or material components) or some ordeal. And if your own team can do it, casting the spell yourself would still involve something... services rendered (this time to your deity) or hard to find (read: quest for) components or some such. Its an extremely powerful thing to do -- if it were easy as reading a commonly purchased scroll, no one would ever die!

[Vexov]

Bring out Hell mode?.
* Withers deleted.
* Scrolls of Res deleted.
* Initiative is a 1D20.
* Bounty Hunters. Random ambushes and even at camp (before rest or after rest). Punish you for being a murder hobo and abusing the utter crap out of vendors.

[Morion]

Lazy developer. There is mod for that but it is useless - npc just can stand and still game count it as dead. You cannot even farm exp on that as exp is not marked as stat of the monster but just scripted to every mob/npc.