Heroes Insider Weekly

Dr Fate's-A Simple Guide to the Weird and Wonderful- The Revenant

Dr. Fate's

A Simple Guide to the Weird and Wonderful

by @DouglasAllanSteel

*NOTE: This is a guide, not a factual bible of information. Use the information contained within this bestiary to help you form your own conclusions on the creatures that I am going to talk about. Since most of these creatures are fictional the myths are up to interpretation. I will try to include as many of these interpretations as I can.*

The Revenant

The Revenant is much like the traditional Vampire that was covered previously. Yet unlike the Vampire, the Revenant can trace its origins to the folk filled British Isles not the legend filled Eastern Europe.

The name “Revenant” comes from the Latin word “Reveniens” which means “Returning”. It is much simpler than the Werewolves and Vampires that were previously discussed.

The Revenant, unlike our friends the Vampire and the Werewolf, is one of the many monsters that has almost been completely lost to history. The modern interpretation of what a Revenant is, has long since corrupted the original folklore. Though the Revenants fall into obscurity has much to do with its similarity and traits to the traditional vampire, and its revival has been seen through the more cult aspects of modern society.

The Traditional Revenant was a corpse that came back to life after death in order to terrorize the living. Most Revenants were wrong doers in life, murderers, thieves, those stricken by sin or unbelievers. Unlike the Vampire thought, there is no thought about Witches being involved or any type of magic. Some areas tell that a Revenant would only return to deal vengeance on the one who caused there death, however most agree they did little more than terrorize the living populace.

Most modern tales rank Zombies and Revenants as a single creature, which is one of the reasons that the Revenant has been lost to such a degree. However, it’s always worth remembering that whilst a Zombie is nothing more than a corpse that walks again (shall be covered at a later date) The Revenant is usually a much more personal tale of regret, revenge and tragedy. The Revenant usually has a purpose as to why it has returned from its grave, in order to seek out something or someone.

Yet it shares many of its weaknesses with both Zombies and Vampires. Like both of those creatures it is susceptible to both fire and decapitation. However it is also know to still have a heart, and removing it will cause the Revenant to die.

The modern Revenant often makes its appearances in video games and role-playing games such as dungeons and dragons. Here the Revenant is usually portrayed as a high-level undead enemy with access to magic and the ability to control many lower level undead creatures such as Skeletons or Zombies. They are also usually visually portrayed as dead warriors, wielding both sword and shield at the player character as a sign of aggression.

This more modern approach to the Revenant has changed what they are at the core, and placed them much higher up the undead hierarchy than they ever were intended to be. They are now comparable with Liches and Vampires.

Summary Rule Set for Revenant:

·      A walking corpse, immure to most superficial damage

·      Weakness to fire, decapitation and removal of the heart

Summary Rule Set for Modern Revenant:

·      Superior Strength, Stamina and Endurance

·      Armour, and shield making them resistant to physical attack

·      Sword, axe or mace making them very dangerous in close combat

·      High level magic, comparable to that of a Warlock

The Revenant has undergone possibly one of the most extensive changes of all folk creatures. That being said it could be claimed that this change has made the Revenant a more unique and interesting creature, so there is no shame in changing it and allowing it to be more distinguish from the Zombie.