Not sure if this fits here but i found it awesome so here goes...
The character of one of my players died in combat. There he was, all bummed out, slowly putting away his character sheets when the teammates decided to pay for the diamond dust for the "Raise Dead"...
(Roughly translated and very summed up)
PC: Nah... Forget it. I was planning on trying another class, anyway.
DM (me):- Wait a sec, dude. Consider this: you had just levelled up and are now half-way in the previous level again. After being raised, you'll be earning the XP of the last encounter, so you'll be that closer to levelling up again. I think you have a good chance of reaching the same level again.
PC: Ok, then...
And so the bummed out PC returned to the table, still a bit doubtful.
In the very next encounter, the party faced a really dangerous creature in a tournament arena (Nunkuruji, if you read this, it was the "frost salamander" in the "Champion's Belt")!
The characters enter the arena and after a dramatic sequence, initiatives are finally rolled. First up: the character that died in the previous encounter. The PC morale was low and due to being late in the night, already sleepy...
PC: Ok... i move here - moves the miniature - and i cast an "Orb of Force".
DM: Sure... - PC rolls for damage - er... but you have to roll for attack first.
PC: Awh... yeah, sorry i forgot... - rolls and starts counting the damage dice - Oh, wait! A nat 20! - his eyes almost popped out.
DM: Ok. Roll again to confirm.
The PC rolls another nat 20!!! The guy was fully awake now (BTW, we use the "nat20+nat20+hit=instant kill" rule).
Everybody gathers around the PC for the final roll. Being a ranged touch attack and all, it was an easy hit and soooo... the big bad critter fell in a single attack, from a spell of a character the PC wasn't even sure if he was going to carry on with. Talk about "back with a vengeance!". For me, that was awesome!
EDIT: BTW, the PC levelled up again in that same encounter.
(Sorry for the long post)
