When a noble is killed, his body falls in the province where he was
killed. If he was killed in a sublocation, such as a sacred grove, his
body will still fall in the province. If he is killed at sea, his body
will wash ashore into the nearest land province. The body can be found
and recovered with the explore command.
When a noble dies on Olympus, his soul goes to Hades and wanders there for a year doing penance. While the soul remains in Hades, the noble can be resurrected by a priest. After the period of penance, the soul disappears (where it goes is a matter of some theological debate) and the noble can no longer be resurrected. When the soul disappears, the body also permanently decays.
Priests may learn a skill to administer last rites. This hastens the departure of the dead noble’s soul from Hades.
Nobles who perish in Hades face a special hazard. Their souls are consumed immediately by the greedy demons of Hades and hence can never be resurrected.
By default, when a noble dies the player does not receive back any of the NPs invested in the noble. In some scenarios, the player may receive back 1 NP per dead noble, or all the invested NPs.