Revenant (Homebrew)

Revenants are those who’ve learned to commune with the Mists. The Mists are a magical protoreality that makes up the fabric of space and time. The Mists remember what came before, and echoes of those who left an especially powerful imprint on the world can still be found there. A revenant is able to call upon these legendary historical figures, bringing them back into action to enhance the revenant’s own abilities and power. The legends invoked by revenants are not the actual persons, but rather Mist-echoes of them. As such, they don’t necessarily have the full range of memories and thoughts as the original person.

When someone dies, their soul may be exposed to the Mists, when they are brought back, there is a small chance they are left with an imprint of the Mists on their soul, which they can then learn to tap into. However, ever since the first revenant was brought back, all that’s necessary to begin training as a Revenant now is knowledge of the profession, the faith and will to reach into the Mists, and an open mind. The latter requirement may be the most important. Revenants walk a balance between light and darkness. They’re willing to have a Demon like Mallyx the Unyielding ride shotgun in order to make use of his power, after all, and many of them are determined to win at all costs.

A revenant’s legends are not merely echoes of the past but are fully sentient, with opinions and personalities of their own. What this means for the relationship between revenant and legend varies between individuals, as some legends are considerably more thrilled about being channeled than others. In fact, some of them are downright cranky about it; Mallyx in particular is so offended at having his immense power borrowed by mortals that using some of those powers will take health from the revenant. King Jalis Ironhammer, on the other hand, is overjoyed to be back in action and will bolster the revenant’s defenses while gleefully encouraging them to take him into battle.

Which legends your revenant prefers to channel may depend quite a bit on who they are as a person, and having those characters as a major part of their life may or may not shape them as well, just as a relationship with any other character would. Public perception of revenants will vary from person to person. Revenants and their legends may be of great interest to scholars and historians—provided the legends are willing to talk, of course, while some may view this practice as unfaithful and wrong. This is a subclass that appeals very strongly to characters—and players—who have a deep interest in and respect for the past.

Invocation

When you reach 3rd level, you gain the ability to invoke Mist powers. Revenants are able to commune with deceased legendary heroes and villains, which aid them in battle and grant them certain abilities depending on what Legend they channel. While you may only channel one Legend at a time, every long rest that you take, you may choose to change your Legend. Revenant skills cost Mist Energy, a resource that replenishes with the use of Energy Meld.

Legendary Assassin Stance

Invoke the power of the legendary assassin Shiro Tagachi and gain access to two new abilities.

Enchanted Daggers. As a bonus action, summon three enchanted daggers that will attack as you attack, siphoning health from targets hit. For every weapon attack that hits, a singular dagger will follow up and do 1d4 piercing damage. Additionally, the dagger will heal you for the same amount of damage.

Assassin's Presence. Allies (including yourself) in a 20 ft. radius centered on you gain the ability to critically strike when they roll a 19 to hit.

Legendary Demon Stance

Invoke the power of the legendary demon Mallyx the Unyielding, and gain access to two new abilities.

Death Drop. Consume 3 Mist Energy to grow demonic wings of mist and fly 20 ft. into the air. You stay in the air for one turn, and then drop down dealing a weapon attack in a 20 ft. radius from your landing point. Enemies in this radius must make a DEX saving throw with a DC of 8 + your Dexterity ability modifier + your proficiency bonus. Enemies that fail this saving throw will be enveloped in mist. Enemies enveloped in mist are Blinded.

Pain Absorption. As a bonus action, choose a creature that you can see that will benefit from this ability. Once per turn, you take 1d4 points of Necrotic damage, and your chosen target will obtain the damage dealt to you as temporary HP. This ability will keep damaging you and giving your ally temporary HP while consuming 1 Mist Energy every turn after you activate it, unless you spend a bonus action to break the link and end this ability. Your ally can only receive this temporary HP if they are in combat and adrenaline is flowing through them.

Legendary Dwarf Stance

Invoke the power of the legendary dwarf King Jalis Ironhammer and gain access to two abilities.

Forced Engagement. Launch a chain at your target. When the chain connects with a foe, it pulls the target towards you and taunts them for one turn.

Vengeful Hammers. Invoke hammers to circle around you, damaging foes around you with 1d8 bludgeoning damage when they end their turn within 5 ft. of you.

Energy Meld

You may restore 1 Mist Energy as an action.

Ancient Echo

Starting at 9th level, you unlock a second Legend to invoke through your Invocation class feature.

With Ancient Echo, you may choose two Legends to invoke, and although you can only have the abilities of one Legend at a time, you are able to swap between the abilities of your two chosen Legends using an action only if you have no Mist Energy remaining or if you are not in combat. When you swap Legends, your Mist Energy refills back to maximum. Additionally, Energy Meld now restores three Mist Energy instead of one.

Spirit Boon

Starting at 13th level, invoking a legend will grant boons to nearby allies based on the legend that was invoked.

Invoking Torment. When you invoke the Legendary Demon Stance, allies in a 20 ft. radius of you pulse with energy, damaging enemies that are within 5 ft. of them with 1d8 necrotic damage.

Forerunner of Death. For one turn after you invoke the Legendary Assassin Stance, allies in a 20 ft. radius of you may add an extra 1d8 slashing damage to their attacks.

Dwarven Battle Training. When you invoke the Legendary Dwarf Stance, choose 5 allies in a 20 ft. radius of you to remove the Prone, Restrained, and Stunned conditions from.

Spiritual Resolution

Your connection to the Mists have bolstered your bond with the Legends even further, allowing you to draw more power from them. Each Legend gains one new ability.

Embrace the Darkness. While you are in the Legendary Demon Stance, you may summon the power of the legendary demon to transform into a powerful avatar for 2 Mist Energy per turn. You may keep this ability up for 2 Mist Energy for every turn it is active. You gain the following benefits until you run out of Mist Energy, or until you deactivate it.

- You gain another action and give yourself 1d4 bonus hit points for each creature you kill while this ability is active.
- All of your bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing attacks now deal an extra 1d10 points of necrotic damage.
- You have a +2 bonus to AC.

Rite of the Great Dwarf. While you are in the Legendary Dwarf Stance, you may use an action to consume 2 Mist Energy and choose 5 creatures in a 20 ft. radius around you to turn into animated stone, giving them resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage until you run out of Mist Energy. You may keep this ability up for 2 Mist Energy for every turn it is active, or you may stop feeding Mist Energy to the Legend and deactivate this ability.

Impossible Odds. While you are in the Legendary Assassin Stance, you may use an action and consume 2 Mist Energy to empower yourself with Shiro's incredible speed and destructive prowess, doubling your movement speed and gaining an additional attack action. You may keep this ability active for 2 Mist Energy per turn, or you may stop feeding Mist Energy to the Legend and deactivate this ability.