The Immortality Thread...

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

Everyone share your inventive, creative, peculiar, or borrowed, ways you've allowed players and/or npcs to become immortal.

Here's my most recent, borrowed, magical device(taken from a Conan novel). Ive added some obvious abilities:
Necromancer Ring: Can only be used by necromancers or those able to magically control undead.
It's charm: When used by a Necromancer, it grants powers that would effectively increase the wearers powers to control undead. Stats will stay the same as in life, but gain some benefits when struck by weapons.
It's unknown secret power: If the wearer is struck down while using said ring, the necromancer connects to his or her own body, thereby controlling it. Think, feedback loop.
Another secret power: Gives wearer the ability to see in the dark.
Other notes: The necromancer has effectively became the undead with appropriate powers granted. The Necromancer will continue to exist, though body will decompose, and can even continue to learn and gain powers/levels. Necromancer will feel a powerful compulsion to work alone, live in and around locations where the dead rest.
Permenant death: If ever the ring is removed from the Necromancers finger, permanent death will be immediate, without save, and w/o the ability to resurrect.

This device is great in that it really isnt that powerful and does have an achilles heal. Great for mid-level players.

Okay, everyone, i'm looking forward to everyones participation in this thread. Should turn out to be very interesting.

[kirksmithicus]

Folk lore - The characters became popular folk heroes or anti-heroes in a second campaign that took place 50 years after their deaths. The players found it amusing to see how I stretched and twisted the truth about their former characters. The second campaign also centered around finding the lost treasure of the first group.

Not the most exciting path to immortality but it was funny.

[Arch Lich Thoth-Amon]

I ran another campaign years ago where the party met up with the wizard that hired them(big back story, wizard had a problem he couldnt deal with himself, but i'll save it for another time). So, anyway, this huge living space was between dimensions & devoid of time, filled with magical lore, books, items, etc. He had good contacts. As long as one was in the room, one wouldnt age. But once you left, time would catch up with you.

It was a really cool scenario that would take quite a bit of space and time to explain. But the long and short of it was: the room represented Shangri La, and the wizard represented the citizens of Shangri La.

Thinking back, i cant remember if i stopped aging completely, or just slowed the aging process to where someone would live 5-10 times longer than usual. I had both ideas, but i dont recall which i went with.

Fun stuff.