You find yourselves upon a beach of hot ash with acrid waters lapping at your heels. The sky above is a muted red like dying embers and faint droplets of reddish rain bring you to consciousness. Your body is weak and the dull pain of your wounds seem to radiate throughout your very core as you slowly drag yourself to your knees to look around. Farther down the beach are five other indistinct forms beginning to stir as you have and you can see smoke rising off of these other people, trailing into the sky and being drawn upwards into the sky towards a terrifying maelstrom of flame and lightning. Looking up you can see a trail of smoke rising from yourself as well.
As this panorama unfolds around you your mind begins to be flooded with the realization that you're dead and the maelstrom in the sky is either hell or worse the abyss. Farther up the beach you can see a large, empty chair with a tall endtable beside it and atop the table sits a small box.
Standing, you and the five other indistinct shapes move towards the chair until you stand a short distance away. When all six stand before the chair a translucent silhouette forms sitting with legs crossed and fingers steepled before its face.
"Greetings mortals and welcome to the other side. I hope you've had the time to grasp the situation that you find yourselves in at this particular moment." The form pauses for effect and with a finger points upwards towards the swirling vortex. "You're dead. And to top that off you haven't been the nicest of people while you were alive so your souls are on their way to being fodder and fuel in the war against the heavens... Or you can serve a greater purpose, serve me and I can send you back." The forms hand moves over the box and the lid vanishes revealing six brands glowing hot and ending in a six pointed and twisted, jagged star. "The choice is yours. All you have to do is accept my mark and through it my energies will break the chains pulling your souls."
Character creation guidelines
Level 6 (if you want to join a prestige class let me know in advance so I can provide opportunities)
Modified Point Buy (Start with one stat at 18, 15 points at level one, every even level gain 2 point buy and every odd level gain 1 point buy. Which means you have 23 at gamestart)
Wealth 10,500g (No single item can account for more than 40% of wealth)
Plus a bonus chosen by me based that I'm still mulling over
One campaign trait and one other trait
Betrayed Your rise to power was cut short by a knife in the back or poison in your cup. Someone you trusted turned on you and it wasn't until afterwards that you could understand the signs and you won't make that mistake again. Gain a +1 trait bonus on Sense Motive and always treat it as a class skill.
Hung For your crimes you were caught, dragged before a court and sentenced to hang until you were dead. Unfortunately they never told you that sometimes it can take a long, long time to die on the gallows. Gain a +1 trait bonus on fortitude saves to account for your natural unwillingness to die.
Hunted When they came for you in the night you fled. You spent weeks leading "justice" on a merry chase and almost got away too. Gain a +1 trait bonus on survival and always treat it as a class skill.
Burned Your death was not a pleasant one. Wether it was on the stake or trapped in a building you were burned alive. Because of your intimate ties to fire in your last moments you gain a +1 trait bonus on all fire damage dice caused by spells.
Drowned You spent your last moments in the cold embrace of water. Because of your intimate ties to water and cold in your last moments you gain a +1 trait bonus on all ice damage dice caused by spells.
Misfortune Your death may have been caused by bad luck or simple carelessness, crushed under a collapsing structure or slipping on a wet roof. In death you learned to watch your step. Gain a +1 trait bonus on reflex saves.
Sacrifice Someone more powerful than you decided that you would make a great appeasement to their god or devil and gave them your still beating heart. Because of the ritual you gain a +1 trait bonus on knowledge the planes, knowledge arcana OR knowledge religion and it is always a class skill for you.
Knife in the Dark Who ever thought you would fall victim to another predator but you did and now you know to trust that little tingle on the back of your neck. Gain a +2 trait bonus to detect ambushes and concealed combatants.
Assassinated Someone wealthy be it a rival or someone tied to a previous victim wanted you dead and was willing to pay enough to make sure it was done. You must be doing something right. Gain a +1 trait bonus on intimidate, bluff or diplomacy and always treat that skill as a class skill.
Smitten Your infamy knew no bounds and attracted the attention of a powerful champion of virtue who, with the power of their deity, brought about your utter destruction. Being the "victim" of such a blatant display of divine power has steeled your soul against further attacks. Gain a +1 trait bonus on all saves versus divine spells.