Deep Dive - The Revenant
It's October again, which means another edition of a Halloween-themed Deep Dive. Our previous Halloween Deep Dives have included a wide selection of classic horror monsters, including the ghoul, hell hound, mummy, scarecrow, vampire, and werewolf. This time around, we will be looking at the Revenant. An undead monster who died a cruel and violent death. They have returned to seek revenge upon those who killed them, grasping them by the throat and refusing to let go.
AD&D (1e) - Revenant
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 10
Move: 9”
Hit Dice: 8
% in Lair: Nil
Treasure Type: Nil
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-16
Special Attacks: Paralyzation
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: See below
Intelligence: See below
Alignment: Neutral
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/X.P. Value: VII/1,275 + 10 per hitpoint
Fiend Folio, 1981 TSR Inc.
The Revenant first arrives on the scene in Fiend Folio (1981) and it is no ordinary undead creature. It’s definitely back from the dead, but don’t make any assumptions about how it is going to eat brains. It's a neutral-aligned creature that has essentially willed itself into existence. You're not going to find many non-evil undead monsters roaming the material plane and even fewer that won't try to kill you on sight. That is, of course, unless you are the one that originally killed the humanoid. If you were, you are in for a world of hurt and suffering.
A Revenant only has a single goal in life. To kill the person who killed it. The Revenant focuses its rage on the person who killed it, and if there was a group, it goes after the individual that dealt the killing blow. It will travel to the ends of the earth in search of its killer, seeking to kill its murderer and ignoring all others. Though, don’t think that means you are safe. If you get in the way, it has no problem getting rid of you too.
If you are worried that maybe one or two Revenants are walking the earth seeking you for some reason, you can probably relax a little bit. Unless you see a shambling corpse walking straight toward you. Revenants use their former body, unless it was a very gruesome murder and their body is destroyed, in which case their spirit will grab any corpse it can find. So that means if you happened to kill an elf cause they refused to sell you a legendary magic item for a copper piece, they might come back not in an elven body. What a fun surprise.
While you may think killing yet another undead can’t be that hard, even with their eight hit die, a Revenant does have some ways of stopping you in your tracks. Literally. If you happened to deliver the killing blow to a Revenant, don’t look in its eyes as it can make its killer paralyzed in fear while it shambles forth and then grasps you tightly around the neck.
While it might seem like a friendly hug around your throat, it is actually trying to squeeze the life out of you. Once it has your throat in its gross, clammy hands, it is not going to let go until you are dead, you cut off its arms, you break its hold, or you find some way to destroy the Revenant.
If, for whatever reason, the Revenant can’t get its dead fingers around your still-living throat, it will rely on some of its skills and abilities it had in life. This means if the Revenant had once been a wizard, it can throw a fireball at you. Lucky for your companions, they won’t ever be the target of a spell from a Revenant, unless they happened to help you kill the original creature. Weirdly enough, though, is that the Revenant will never, ever use a weapon. We aren’t sure why it hates weapons, but we suppose it feels nicer to kill someone with your bare, lifeless hands.
If you are trying to kill this creature, you should just put away your sword or mace since weapons do not affect a Revenant, including shiny magical ones. In addition, since it is an undead creature since you made it that way, it is immune to any spell that would try to control its mind or rotting corpse. Clerics even have a hard time with this creature as they can’t use their turn undead feature and these returning spirits aren’t even bothered by holy water, holy symbols, or any other godly equipment. If you are hoping acid will save you, it won’t.
Fiend Folio, 1981 TSR Inc.
Luckily, you do have a few tools at your disposal to dispose of it. Revenants don’t like fire. We are now out of tools you can use. Good luck.
Unfortunately, fire isn’t completely the answer as these undead creatures regenerate three hit points per round, so it can quickly fix itself. In addition, if you are out of fire and think that cutting up a rotting corpse into little pieces will be useful, you would be wrong. Any parts you lop off the creature continue to function on its own. So if you happen to cut off its arms while it is choking out your barbarian, the arms and hands will continue to try to strangle your friend while it probably laughs at your feeble efforts. It then re-attaches its arms.
The only way to keep a Revenant destroyed is to kill it completely with fire or wait three to six months for its corpse body to completely decompose and its spirit is forced to flee back to the afterlife. That, or you let it kill its killer. Once it gets its revenge, the spirit can finally rest in peace and the undead dies immediately and permanently.
Basic D&D - Revenant
Armor Class: -3
Hit Dice: 18****
Move: 120’ (40’)
Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite
Damage: 2-8/2-8/3-6 (all + poison)
No. Appearing: 1 (1)
Save As: Fighter (18)
Morale: 10
Treasure Type: I, O, V
Alignment: Chaotic
XP Value: 6,600
Found in the Dungeons & Dragons Companion Rules (1984), the Revenant is a spirit found alongside the Druj and Odic. All spirits have some common traits, so that's where we'll start. In this edition, spirits are evil creatures that take over someone's body. They are mighty entities that roam the earth, not staying in any one place for longer than a day. They are invisible during the day, and their only action is to move as the sunlight drains them of all their powers. At dusk, all spirits regain their abilities, becoming one more in the long line of creatures that go bump in the night.
They are a creature so foul that they are poisonous. Food, water, potions, and holy water become corrupted and useless when they get too close to these creatures. This poison also negates all plant control and will kill all insects around them if the spirit remains in the area for an hour. So toxic are they that if you are slapped, punched, or the like, you'll die instantly from their poisonous existence if you fail your saving throw.
All spirits have the same innate powers and protections. They are immune to spells below 4th-level, all non-magical weapons, and you'll need at least a +2 magic weapon to hit a spirit. Spirits can, at will, use an assortment of cleric spells like darkness and finger of death. Being able to use finger of death every round seems a bit extreme, but believe it or not, things can get worse. If an ally falls in battle, a spirit will take a moment and bring them back as a zombie to fight for them. Stabbing your now-dead friend in the chest may feel like a betrayal, but they’re dead and has no problems trying to eat your brains.
Looking at just the Revenant, we can find them wandering the land at night like other spirits. They are solitary creatures, though they can summon up to four specters to hang out every night. It’s nice to have friends even in death.
Weirdly, they don’t have that thirst for revenge we learned about in the previous edition. Instead, they seem excited to kill anyone, ambushing them in the night. If you are the unfortunate target, you are going to die. The Revenant gets three attacks each round that automatically hit, no need to roll. Not only do you automatically take the damage from its attacks, you then have to make three saves against poison. You know what happens if you fail. You die immediately.
2e - Revenant
Climate/Terrain: Any
Frequency: Very Rare
Organization: Solitary
Activity Cycle: Night
Diet: Not Applicable
Intelligence: See below
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 10
Movement: 9
Hit Dice: 8
THAC0: 13 (base)
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-16
Special Attacks: Paralyzation
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: See below
Size: M (5’-6’)
Morale: See below
XP Value: 3,000
Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix, 1989 TSR Inc.
First found in Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (1989) and reprinted in Monstrous Manual (1993), the Revenant remains an undead force to be reckoned with. That's mainly because it changes very little from its first inception. Being the source of the Revenant's hate and anger is quite unpleasant, what with the strangling and paralyzation. Even if you are not the actual killer, the Revenant can ruin the day of anyone involved in its murder.
There is very little new information to talk about, but we can talk about how to make a Revenant. When a creature dies a violent death, there is a chance it can return. The creature in question needs at least an 18 in Constitution and their Wisdom or Intelligence needs to be at least 16. After that, the total of their ability scores needs to be 90, so that creature better have stacked scores in everything. Once you have cleared these goals, you then have a measly 5% chance that you’ll return as a Revenant. If you happen to have a Wisdom and Intelligence of 16 or over, you can increase that chance to 10%. Still not great, but we suppose that adventurers should be cautious when they kill anyone too smart and too healthy.
Monstrous Manual, 1993 TSR Inc.
If you are interested to see the Revenant in hands-grasping-for-throat-choking action, it is featured in the adventure The Glass House by Wolfgang Baur in Dungeon #15 (Jan./Feb. 1989). Eli the elf is ruthlessly slaughtered by a group of humanoids who kidnapped his wife. Needless to say, Eli returns to the world as a Revenant, seeking revenge for his murder and hopefully finding his wife. The adventurers are tasked with assisting Eli on this quest, as he has to battle winter wolves, a frost giant, and a particularly nasty frost man.
Before we end this edition, let’s first mention the spell the curse of the revenancer found in the Preist’s Spell Compendium Vol. 1 (1999). This is a curse granted by the drow goddess Kiaransalee that will ruin a person's day. If you are afflicted by this spell, you are haunted by vengeful spirits of the dead, and only a 14th-level remove curse or wish spell can remove it.
When you inevitably kill a creature, you are an adventurer, after all, the victim has a 5-30% chance of returning as a Revenant, depending on its ability scores. If the slain foe was a follower of Kiaransalee, that chance increases to 50%. You can have way more than a single Revenant tracking you down, and woe to anyone who incinerates a group of Kiaransalee followers with a fireball. At least this is an almost surefire way of becoming a Revenant if you were hoping to pursue that career in death.
Dungeon #15, Jan./Feb. 1989 TSR Inc.
3e/3.5e - Revenant
Medium-Size Undead
Hit Dice: 7d12 (45 hp)
Initiative: +3 (Dex.)
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 14 (+3 Dex, + 1 ring of deflection)
Attacks: +1 shortspear +6 melee; or +1 shortspear +7 ranged; or light crossbow +6 ranged
Damage: +1 shortspear 1d8+4; or +1 shortspear 1d8+3; or light crossbow 1d8
Space/Reach: 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spellcasting as 7th-level sorcerer (likely spells include fireball, invisibility, and mage armor), vengeful strike, paralyzing glare
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/+1, turning immunity, regeneration 3, immunities, find the guilty, summon familiar
Saves: Fort -, Ref +5, Will +5
Abilities: Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con —, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 19
Skills: Alchemy +3, Concentration +8 (+12 with Combat Casting), Knowledge (arcana) +6, Scry +4, Spellcraft +11, Spot +3
Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge, Spell Penetration
Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and disease. Not subject to critical hits, subdual, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage
Elven Traits (Ex): Immune to sleep spells and effects; +2 racial bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells or effects; low-light vision
Magic Items Carried: +1 shortspear, ring of deflection +1, wand of summon monster II
Challenge Rating: 8
Monsters of Faerun, 2001 WotC
We don't get the Revenant we're accustomed to, but they do appear in the Monsters of Faerun (2001) in a new form. They are now a template that you can apply to various creatures. Probably all creatures that your party has violently slain. The stat block above is from a creature given such a template and as you might guess from it having spellcasting, it retains all of its abilities from when it was alive.
Along with those abilities it had in life, the Revenant receives several other powers. The first one is its Paralyzing Glare, which does what it sounds like. The first time the Revenant’s murderer sees it, they have to make a saving throw or be paralyzed. This is really bad because the Revenant now deals bonus damage to its killer, turning your day from bad to worst if you happen to get paralyzed. In addition, the Revenant always knows where its killer is if they are on the same plane of existence. You better get creative with your Hide-and-Seek game.
Let's not forget that our angry corpse is an undead creature, so it also has all those wonderful qualities that come with being a not-so-dead but still somewhat dead creature. But it isn’t that simple. The Revenant is no ordinary undead monster resulting in more powers. It has a natural immunity to non-magical attacks, reducing all damage by 5 points unless you have a +1 magic weapon on you. Continuing with its immunities, the Revenant is immune to acid, gas, and mind control effects, and you can also throw in immunity to cold, electricity, and polymorph effects.
Just like before, Revenants truly only fear fire as that damage can not be so easily restored. If you stab the Revenant, even with your fancy magic weapon, the Revenant regenerates three hit points every round - unless it takes fire damage. Finally, the sorcerer can unleash their fireball spell and prove to everyone why it is the best spell.
4e - Revenant
Average Height: 5´ 5˝–6´ 2˝
Average Weight: 100–200 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity; +2 Charisma or +2 Constitution
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 squares
Vision: Low-light vision
Languages: Common, choice of one other
Skill Bonuses: +2 Endurance, +2 Intimidate
Undead: You are considered an undead creature for the purpose of effects that relate to the undead keyword. You are also considered a living creature.
Past Life: Select a race other than revenant. You are also considered a member of that race for the purpose of meeting prerequisites, such as feat or paragon path prerequisites.
Unnatural Vitality: When you drop to 0 hit points or fewer and are subjected to the dying condition, you can choose to be dazed, instead of falling unconscious. You make death saving throws as normal, and if you fail one, you fall unconscious instead of being dazed.
Dark Reaping: You have the dark reaping power.
Dragon #376, June 2009 WotC
The Revenant takes an unexpected turn in this edition and becomes solely a player character race first appearing in Dragon #376 (June 2009) and then reprinted in Player’s Options - Heroes of Shadow (2011). In this edition, Revenants are creatures brought back to life, not from wanting revenge for a violent murder, but because the Raven Queen needs their souls for some purpose. Maybe it is to get revenge for their death, but more likely than not, the Raven Queen has some great quest that will help the soul finish the business they started in life.
When you decide to create your Revenant character, you must first choose what your original race was when you were alive. This doesn’t change what you currently look like, but does give you a wider variety of options to help build your character. What Revenants now look like are tall, extremely thin and gaunt, with black pools for eyes with a pinprick of fiery red for pupils. They typically have gray to black skin, white or black hair, and even scales like how birds have them. A Revenant’s entire ‘look’ is a reference to the Raven Queen who brought them back.
Dragon #376, June 2009 WotC
Why the Raven Queen would bring back someone from the dead, instead of allowing their soul to carry on to its resting place, is up for debate. Most often creatures are dead for several decades or generations before the Raven Queen will bring back the creature, but don’t think you were enjoying the afterlife while you waited to return. The Raven Queen can’t take a soul from its final resting place and force them to join her Revenant army. The only souls she can use must be in the process of passing through the Shadowfell and on their way to final rest before she grabs them and redirects their focus. This does bring up the question of just how long it takes for your soul to pass from the Material Plane to your final resting place.
Why the Raven Queen might choose your soul is a difficult question. She always has a specific goal or task for the freshly-undead Revenant, but it might not be readily apparent until you adventure for a little bit. Typically the goal she wants you to complete has something to do with your past life. Unfortunately, for you, as a Revenant, you are a bit of an amnesiac. While you know that you had a previous life, you don’t really have any memories from that other than passing feelings, emotions, or sudden memories that flood in and out. In truth, you are a completely ‘new’ person… just in a body that looks like a corpse.
Dragon #376, June 2009 WotC
5e - Revenant
Medium undead, neutral
Armor Class 13 (leather armor)
Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
Speed 30 ft.
Str 18 (+4) Dex 14 (+2) Con 18 (+4) Int 13 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 18 (+4)
Saving Throws Str +7, Con +7, Wis +6, Cha +7
Damage Resistances necrotic, psychic
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Regeneration. The revenant regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the revenant takes fire or radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the revenant’s next turn. The revenant’s body is destroyed only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
Rejuvenation. When the revenant’s body is destroyed, its soul lingers. After 24 hours, the soul inhabits and animates another humanoid corpse on the same plane of existence and regains all its hit points. While the soul is bodiless, a wish spell can be used to force the soul to go to the afterlife and not return.
Turn Immunity. The revenant is immune to effects that turn undead.
Vengeful Tracker. The revenant knows the distance to and direction of any creature against which it seeks revenge, even if the creature and the revenant are on different planes of existence. If the creature being tracked by the revenant dies, the revenant knows.
Multiattack. The revenant makes two fist attacks.
Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature against which the revenant has sworn vengeance, the target takes an extra 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the revenant can grapple the target (escape DC 14) provided the target is Large or smaller.
Vengeful Glare. The revenant targets one creature it can see within 30 feet of it and against which it has sworn vengeance. The target must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed until the revenant deals damage to it, or until the end of the revenant’s next turn. When the paralysis ends, the target is frightened of the revenant for 1 minute. The frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if it can see the revenant, ending the frightened condition on itself on a success.
Monster Manual, 2014 WotC
The Revenant returns as a monster hunting its killer and are featured in Monster Manual (2014). This Revenant’s form is like its predecessors, with powerful undead abilities coupled with a burning hatred for the person who killed it. This creature has a full year to find its killer and, well, return the favor. And by return the favor, we mean murder their murderer.
Their lore is very familiar. They died. They got better, sort of, and are now seeking out their killer. The Revenant is pure fury. It is a creature of wrath and the embodiment of vengeance. It’s the reason why adventurers should use their words and not their swords.
The Revenant's default corpse is the body it once inhabited. If it no longer exists, the spirit will enter the closet cadaver. Even if the spirit of a goliath enters the corpse of a gnome, the murderer will see their victim returned so a Revenant can’t rely on guile or trickery to get close to their prey. No matter what corpse the spirit takes, the Revenant retains some of its abilities from when it was alive. As in the past, if it were a spellcaster, it could cast spells. Though, this edition is a lot iffier about what abilities they might have from their previous life. Instead of providing a clear baseline, they just say that the Revenant might have some of their old abilities and leaves it pretty ambiguous.
You'll have a hard time avoiding the Revenant if it is stalking you. It knows where and how far away you are, and you can be sure it will be heading your way. If your entire party participated in the killing, the Revenant would be after all of you. Everyone loves describing how they deliver the killing blow, but in the case of the Revenant, the death strike makes you its number one target while your allies get to watch you die. After it pummels you to death with its fists, our undead friend will turn its attention to the next closest person who was complicit in its demise.
If you and your friends are too strong for the Revenant to handle on its own, it'll bring some friends along to help out. Who or what these friends are isn't spelled out. Being dead, it could probably recruit some fellow undead buddies, but perhaps the Revenant instead asks an adventuring party to help it get revenge.
If you are hoping that destroying the Revenant’s body will put an end to this creature, you would be sadly mistaken. While you can use regular weapons to reduce the Revenant to zero hit points, it regenerates ten hit points every round. It is only destroyed if it takes fire or radiant damage which temporarily halts its regeneration for 1 round, so you better reduce it to zero so it can’t regenerate that turn and its body is destroyed.
Destroying the Revenant's body isn't enough to end its quest for justice, as its spirit will head off to find the closest dead body to inhabit. Once it does so, the hunt continues. All in all, it will be a long year if a Revenant is after you. Especially when it gets another adventuring party to help complete its quest to kill you.
The Revenant is a merciless undead creature who turns the idea of being undead on its head. While it wants to kill the living, it is very specific about who it wants to destroy and is very precise. It won’t go around murdering a whole village just to get at the mayor but rather seeks out only a single death to avenge its violent one. These undead are wonderful NPCs and adversaries for an aspiring adventuring party, teaching them the importance of making friends with a variety of humanoid creatures so they don’t have someone rooting for their death for a full year.
