I know that some people still believe that the bald guy in the D4 cinematic is Rathma, even though some have showed why it is not him. So is Rtahama even still alive? If so why did he not show up during the events of RoS?
Was away on vacation?
Too many necromancers running around wearing all his bones, summoning all his former buddies to help them, not him/her/it. Rathma is also upset the set powers keep getting changed, buffed and nerfed every other winter.
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Considering the original Nephalem are immortal and there hasn’t been any indication he fell in battle, yes.
Rathma works behind the scenes. It is quite possible that he saw his interference as detrimental to the balance. Maybe he needed the events of D3 to happen to be able to have Lilith return since she may be the only way to save Sanctuary.
The obvious answer is plot didn’t need him in D3.
Too little info to say in all honesty. However, I don’t believe he’s still alive. Instead I think he’s likely dead and his spirit is perhaps dwelling somewhere and/or even within something.
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Just like Decard Cain
How about all the other nephalem?
As in us players? We are not immortal as far as I understand. Just the first group.
There was actually an Original (as in the first generation) Nephalem, Kalmor, who was still alive by the time of Diablo 3 RoS, we had to fight him in a side event. He described his days as being endless until he’s killed, which serves as further implication that the ancient Nephalems don’t die of old age.
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Na the first generation. Which Rathma is part of.
Unless they were killed in battle or sacrificed themselves they are alive. Bul Kathos was hiding as a mountain. I’m sure the wiki could say for sure who’s alive or not. I just know unless they say something happened to him, Rathma is still alive.
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That can be some spiritual, religous nonsense maybe.
What is your source that the ancients (Nephalems from the first Generation) are, or was ever immortal?
i know that is written in the wiki, but there is no proof for it and u know anybody can write in wiki…
I heard something else. The mythos and legends says, that Lilith and Inarius made the first mortals. That was the Nephalems. So even the original Nephalem like Rathma, Bul Kathos, Fiacla-Géar and so on shouldn’t have been immortal.
My source:
at min. 2:50 - 3:05.
BlizzCon 2019 | Diablo IV: Unveiled | Full Panel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7UsescTKec&t=50s&ab_channel=BlizzardEntertainment
I mean i read somewhere in the lore too about it, maybe in the book of cain, that nephalems are ageing and can die from age. Or in the Storm of the Light Bul Kathos mentioned it, or in the diablo manual … it’s a while i read it. But i think that was something like that: After Inarius manipulated/changed the Worldstone, the other / nxt Generations of Nephalems was weaker and weaker and dies faster of age. Faster means, that the ancients would live longer but aren’t immortal from age.
On the other side. Is Bul Kathos still alive? - he is know as the immortal king. But when yes, why was Kanai his successor? And why is Orek a (living?) ghost who opens GRifts?
i’m not allowed to present u the actual clan history and research-results which my order did. But be sure - Rathma is on the right side and still alive. In one form or another. [Of course nothing official}.
Rathma was mortal, not immortal, but that doesnt mean he will age. Just that he can be killed. Common grammatical error.
Immortal just means won’t die from age or natural causes. Immortal beings can still die. Not a grammatical error.
That’s not what immortal means. Look it up! 
Immortals, by definition cannot be killed by any means. They are immune to death in all forms.
Mortals can die, but they can also be ageless. Again, not the same as immortality or mortality.
The Book of Cain would be a good source imo, as some of it’s passages implies that the Ancient Nephalems weren’t mortal.
For example:
Taken from the “The Purge”" page of the Book of Cain:
"As I have said before, untangling myth from history is a tricky business. According to the arcana that have found their way into my possession, the powers of the nephalem did, indeed, fade over the course of generations. Today our mortal bloodlines are the result of this great diminishment.
The above passage implies that humanity’s mortal state wasn’t always the case.
Taken from the “Ancient History: The Birth of Civilization” page of the Book of Cain:
"Years became decades and then centuries, leading to millennia of time elapsed. Generations of Nephalem, even with the remarkably long lives they were said to have possessed, passed away. With each generation, those events which might have been truth turned to legend, eventually settling into myth. The angels and demons faded from consciousness. The nephalem themselves slowly became mere mortals not unlike ourselves.
The above passage implies that the ancient Nephalems possessed long lives, far longer than humans.
Now how long was the lifespan of the 1st generation of Nephalems, not sure. However, they apparently could live an astoundedly long time, as there was a 1st generation Nephalem (who I mentioned earlier in this thread), by the name of Kalmor. Kalmor was a Nephalem who was still alive even during the events of Diablo 3 RoS; and most likely he would still live if it were not for the Diablo 3 Nephalem character.
Tbf, Immortal in Diablo doesn’t necessarily mean what it does in the dictionary. For example, demons and angels in Diablo are normally considered Immortal, and yet they can still be killed (although in the case of powerful demons, they can eventually revive). Even the original being Anu eventually died in battle against Tathamet (who also died).
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That’s OK, mythically. Being reborn anew upon “death” is another definition of immortality, so Diablo doesn’t have it wrong.
Think of it like this:
Mortals|<---Ageless--->|Immortals
Both mortals and immortals can be ageless, but immortals cannot be mortals, because mortals can die.
But then the same can be said for mortals who find ways to live on beyond death as ghosts, spectors, or other beings. Zoltun Kulle is one such example.
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I think that was because he was executed by his horadric brothers, and his body sealed away by magic.