: Re: I'm afraid that my setups will be overlooked I have a main character that cannot die. I'm trying to convey this information to the reader, but since my character isn't aware of this, I've

@Angie602

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The components of a really effective payoff, in my mind, are these:

The reader knows something is coming
But: they don't know what is coming. They have open questions; they have doubts. They're in a state of tension; anticipation.
The payoff resolves the tension, in a way that makes sense to the reader -- but, ideally, not something they were able to guess themselves.

It sounds to me like the reason you're unsatisfied with your buildup is because, while it does build support for the twist (helps it make sense), it doesn't do anything to build tension or anticipation. "People gossiping" is a hint, but it doesn't create a narrative arc.

So the question is: how can you get your readers to not merely accept your resurrection twist, but look forward to it?

You need to figure out what kind of anticipation you can build. Here's a few suggestions -- they're tailored to your specific case, but they're just examples; you and any other writer should be able to come up with your own ideas.

Fake Out. The hero thinks something else is going on; the reveal makes everything click into place. E.g., the hero is trying to figure out who saved his life when he blacked out during a shipwreck. Answer: nobody did; he died and came back.

Reflection. Establish the groundwork for somebody else, first. Maybe your hero has a bitter rival who just won't stay dead. That's a lot easier to build up with lots of tension -- and once you have, then going "hey btw you're one of these too" is muuuch less of a stretch.

Heroic Buildup. The hero knows something is special about them, but they don't know what. Prophecies and oracles are staples for this -- they're practically information-free buildup; "something here is important, by divine/authorial decree".
Imagine the despair of "oh no I'm dying and I never even found my power" and then being "ohhhhhh now I get it."

Thematic Buildup. Some stories work less on straight cause and effect, and aim for developments that resonate more with emotion than strict logic. If you build a strong thematic element into your story -- an idea, an image, a rule, that become the rules of your story -- then you can do almost anything. Because that's how the story goes.
If you think this doesn't pack enough punch to literally bring somebody back from the dead -- consider Aslan, Gandalf, and even Buffy.

You can find your own arc and buildup -- something that interests you, and fits in well with your story. The trick is simply to look beyond "have I justified this enough," on to "how do I build a story arc with this as its climax."

All the best!

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