In the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 roleplaying game, the revenant is a type of fictional monster for player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

s to encounter.

Publication history

The revenant first appeared in first edition in the original Fiend Folio

Fiend Folio

Fiend Folio is the title shared by three products published for successive editions of the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons...

(1981).

The revenant appeared in second edition for the Forgotten Realms

Forgotten Realms

The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

 setting in the Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix (1989), and reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).

The revenant appeared in third edition for the Forgotten Realms setting as a template in Monsters of Faerûn

Monsters of Faerûn

Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn is a supplement for the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons.-Contents:It features about 150 pages of monsters unique to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting...

(2001), and in the adventure City of the Spider Queen

City of the Spider Queen

City of the Spider Queen is an adventure module for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:...

(2002).

The revenant was added as a fully playable character race for 4th edition in Dragon Magazine

Dragon (magazine)

Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...

 #376 (2009)

Description

In some earlier versions of the game, the revenant is a powerful undead

Undead (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, undead is a classification of monsters that can be encountered by player characters. Undead creatures are most often once-living creatures, which have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces....

 creature strongly resembling a zombie

Zombie (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the zombie is an undead creature, usually created by applying a template to another creature.-Dungeons & Dragons :...

, a far less powerful undead creature at first glance. Notably, more recent versions of the game have adapted the revenant to reflect the aforementioned role of one who returns from the grave to fulfill a set task, but is not necessarily bound by the will of the person or deity who resurrected it.