So the other day I took the Seat of Repose... and while on my way to the Chamber of Repose, I grabbed the first book I could conveniently reach in passing from the book shelf...which happened to be the AD&D 1st Edition FIEND FOLIO...
Whilst turning the FOLIO's pages under my careless fingers I happened, serendipitously,upon that entry of the tome which had always been one of my favourites...that of the Revenant.
I relate my re-discovery of that Undead monster.
The Revenant is an interesting AD&D monster...because it is not inherently evil, Clerics will be unsettled to realize that Turn Undead does not work upon a Revenant.
The Revenant seems to be based upon the ancient British "Barrow Wight", which in legend, although an undead spirit, was not always a force of evil or doom but one of warning or vengeance.
Although Barrow Wights were usually understood to be the undead guardians of the treasures which of old had been laid in those Barrows which gave them their name, they were also sometimes reputed to be spirits who would appear to kin to warn them of impending doom or danger.
The most interesting fact about a Revenant in the F.F. is that any player character in an AD&D or D&D game who dies a violent death which comes about from the will of another sentient being may potentially return as a Revenant...
The requisite for returning from the grave as a Revenant is that the character must have an intelliegence or wisdom greater than 16 and a Constitution of 18.
All attributes must also come to a sum of 90 or more and if all of the above criteria are satisfied, there is a 5% chance of a character becoming a Revenant after death.
In addition to being immune to Turn Undead, they are also immune to any spells which affect or control the mind and niether holy water nor holy/inholy symbols can affect it.
The sole motivation of a Revenant is revenge upon the agent of its death by any means necessary, and they can travel by day or by night. Their only intelligence is the ghastly will which drives them onward every day and night towards the object of their vengeance...
The above image is an original work and is copyrighted. It may not be used for commercial purposes without permission of J.E. Becker.
No comments:
Post a Comment