What does "raised" mean?

Question

I have read several times over that Warforged can not be made undead. However, their racial entry clearly states that they can be "Raised and resurrected". This phrasing, "raised and resurrected", often pops up in regards to Undead, Outsiders, Constructs, and other creatures that generally can not go through either process.

I once believed "raised" in this sentence referred to "raising something into Undeath", but this may be inaccurate. Thus: What DOES the word "raised" mean in the context provided above?

Answer 1

Generally, 'Raised' means the same thing as 'Resurrected'

Both mean to bring something back to life (not undeath).

Specifically, it is a reference to the spell Raise Dead

Raise Dead is a specific spell, and usually the lowest level spell that PCs will have access to for restoring life to a character. The spell requires that the target corpse be mostly intact, which differences it from the spell Resurrection, which creates a new body from magic. Thus, if something can/can't be "raised and/or resurrected", it means they are/aren't a valid target for Raise Dead-type magic (which requires an intact corpse) as well as Resurrection-type magic (which requires only a portion or the name of the corpse).

In this case, Warforged are valid targets for both, while not being valid targets for spells that create undead.