Reincarnate

Reincarnate was a transmutation or necromantic spell returned a dead creature's soul to a new body.

Effects
This spell required the caster to touch at least some piece of the dead creature's body that was part of the creature at the time of death; that was not undead, had died of old age, or been killed by a death effect; and be cast no more than a week after death occurred. The soul also had to be free and willing to return. If all these criteria were met, then a new body was formed out of the natural environment where the spell was cast and the soul took up residence in it, being a young adult of whatever species appeared. This process took an hour to complete and occurred without any possibility of system shock.

Some possible incarnations for humanoid subjects were: badger, bear, boar, bugbear, centaur, dryad, dwarf, eagle, elf, faun, fox, gnoll, gnome, goblin, half-elf, half-orc, halfling, hawk, human, kobold, lizardfolk, lynx, orc, owl, pixie, racoon, satyr, stag, troglodyte, wolf, and wolverine. The environment was a factor in the formation of the new body. For example, a bear might be black, brown, or white, depending on where the spell was cast. A wish or a miracle could restore a reincarnated character to its original form.

The reincarnated soul remembered most of its past life and retained the knowledge of skills and abilities, but the limitations of the new body could prevent the effective use of those skills. It was difficult to fire a bow without opposable thumbs or cast spells without hands for the somatic components, or example. On the other hand, the new body was a prime example of the species and had the movement, natural weapons, natural defenses, and senses inherent in the new form. Physical characteristics like strength, dexterity, and constitution were also subject to change in the new body. In particular, constitution was negatively affected by multiple reincarnations&mdash;it was impossible to achieve immortality by means of this spell.

Components
In addition to the verbal and somatic components of this spell, the caster needed a divine focus or holy symbol and at least 1,000 gp worth of rare oils and unguents to anoint the remains. Some traditions encouraged the burning of rare incense to increase the chances of getting a humanoid body for the soul to inhabit.