By Alan McCoy from Dungeons & Dragons: Fundamentals
How to build challenging encounters against a
Revenant
Note: This has been prepared utilizing only the 5E Core Rules. The Revenant can be found in the Monster Manual page 259.
The Revenant is a physical embodiment of Revenge. It is created only when the dying essence of the person is utterly convinced that it has been wronged by a specific person or group; thus, the continued belief and existence of a focus target for the revenge is necessary for the continued existence of the Revenant itself. It is likely that the creation of the Revenant is only made possible by the intervention of an outside force – a revenge god/spirit, a magically charged area or the presence of a curse.
While the specific reason for the limitation is grounds for speculation, the fact is that Revenants are of limited duration, they have ONE year in which to exact revenge, or they will cease to exist.
Because Revenants are only created from specific instances and personages of blame, it is highly unlikely that multiple revenants will ever be encountered. While it is conceivable that a pair or even a trio might somehow exist, the chances of larger groupings are extremely small. For this reason, it should be noted that a Revenant will align itself with strong allies when necessary to accomplish its revenge. After all, it has nothing to gain from treasure hording, title, or magical wealth; it shall willingly spend as necessary to secure assistance. (Note: this can serve a dual purpose, should the Revenant be destroyed, its next vessel *corpse* is readily available.)
A Revenant has a focused purpose and an unerring sense of direction, it knows its target and can always find them; disguise, distance, magical transformation, none of these methods have proven effective in hiding the object of its vengeance from the Revenant.
While most Revenants have but a single target for their vengeance, it is known that some have multiple; in these cases, it is commonly believed that the Revenant is required to follow a specific order of vengeance; the GUILTIEST first and so on…
The truth of this assertion has not been determined, there might be a dictated order of vengeance, or it might be a more pragmatic reasoning: with only one year in which to exact vengeance, it only makes sense that the guiltiest be targeted first.
Step 1) Let’s Review what we know about Revenants:
Revenants look like physically formidable zombies; they resemble the person that they were in life and thus will always be recognizable to their target.
Revenants are physically impressive, strength and vitality nearing mortal maximums, and agility well above average.Revenants are mentally superior as well, above average in intelligence, with exceptionally strong wills and even greater presence.
Revenants have been equipped with exceptional resistance as reflected by having bonuses to their saving throws in Strength, Constitution, and Charisma (+7); and Wisdom (+6). This is further reflected by their damage resistance to Necrotic and Psychic damage and their immunity to Poison.
Revenants have conditional immunity to Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned and Stunned. This is in addition to the fact that being undead they have no need for Air, Food, Drink or Sleep.
Revenants have their normal vision as well as Darkvision (60 ft), they have a passive perception of 13.Revenants can communicate using any of the languages it used in life.Revenants regenerate physical damage easily and quickly, rapidly restoring themselves, allowing them to return to their pursuit of vengeance.
When the physical form of a Revenant is destroyed, they spirit migrate to an available corpse, animating and adapting that corpse to its needs, then continuing its vengeful mission. This process is known as rejuvenation and usually takes twenty-four hours to accomplish.
Step 2) How do they Fight?
Revenants are powerful physical fighters, and some have spells and other means with which to back up their physical capabilities.
Revenants are intelligent fighters, and while they want justice, they are not driven to blindly rush in and attack opponents. Instead, they will create situations in which they can isolate their target. They are also patient enough to wait for their target to have been suffering from wounds and have otherwise depleted their resources prior to attacking.
A Revenant will utilize its vengeful glare ability on an opponent to eliminate a combatant or to create a greater feeling of helplessness as it brings forth ‘Justice’.
Unless the Revenant had training in combat weaponry in their prior life, they will utilize their powerful fist multi-attack on opponents.
As noted above, Revenants have been known to employ mercenaries or other assistants to help them overcome strong opponents, they are also fully aware that being destroyed simply means another incarnation, perhaps one on the other side of an impenetrable barrier is now available.
Step 3) Role-Play Tips
Revenants are creatures with personality! They are formed for and believe in the fact that they are pursuing JUSTICE! Their purpose is to right a wrong or otherwise make their chosen target suffer. While not inherently evil (they’re neutral), they will use ways and means to that achieving justice that are otherwise unsavory or unpalatable. The Revenant believes that it is fully entitled to its vengeance, it has a right to it, and it is fully justified. The Revenant considers its mission one of JUSTICE.
A Revenant should never appear inside your game as a random or wandering adversary, there is a reason for their appearance meaning that they will have a specific purpose and specific target. This is not to say that the target must be within your adventuring group or party, simply that it must be there for a reason.
The origin of your Revenant must always be considered: Who they were in life – their skills, class, available resources are all relevant. Additionally, knowledge of the relationship they had with the target is an absolute necessity to portraying the Revenant; you must know the conflict cause and resolution. Finally, discover what empowered the creation of the Revenant, something is responsible, and it undoubtably has an agenda.
The Revenant is almost impossible to destroy in simple combat, as it will simply rejuvenate into another form, and will soon return to attack again, therefore it is paramount that the reason for its creation be known.To give your players a means of defeating the Revenant, it is necessary to determine what the conditions of victory are – possibilities include:
- Standoff – Defend the target of vengeance until the full year has passed.
- Reconciliation – Convince the Revenant that its mission is not Justice, that the target has not wronged them, it was a misunderstanding or some error in judgement.
- Restitution – Convince the target to make amends to the Revenant with something other than death.
- Resolution – The Target must suffer and die to allow the Revenant to fulfill its purpose.
Note: It is my opinion that the Revenant is more interesting and best utilized when a party member is not the direct target of the Revenant. While I can see some interest in including a monster that keeps showing up and actively pursues a party member, attacking when it feels it has a tactical advantage. The novelty would probably wear thin after a while.
Step 4) Changes that should be made to the MM entry
Revenants are written as powerful physical fighters and warriors; I would suggest that allowing their original class to have some relevance in to their current form would make them a more logical and interesting opponent.
This has been addressed somewhat in the Variant: Revenants with Spells and Weapons sidebar in the description, but rather than being the exception, it is my feeling that this should be the standard.
Quick and easy would be to consider drawing abilities and spells from the Warlock Class, this is by no means the limit, however.
Another thing to consider – The Monster Manual entry obviously focuses on a Revenant from a human based archetype, what would a Revenant based on other creatures look like… worth some thought.