@DrOct
I guess worlds with such diverse humanoid races may not be as quick to realize that the Revenant is indeed undead. Ultimately it’s up to the DM to decide how common they are and how people react to them both initially and in the event that their true (undead) nature is discovered.

@Zachary
As one of the few D&D nerd who doesn’t play WoW, I’ll have to take your work on this one.

@Jason
It sounds like your group is handling the Revenant in much the same way mine would. The experienced gamers are happy to try something new but realize that there can and will be role-playing implications. Thanks for commenting.

@JesterOC
A Revenant that doesn’t realize he’s undead… I like it. That’s a very interesting approach to this new race. I’d be a lot more willing to have Revenants become part of the campaign with that kind of interesting background. Great suggestion.

With those parameters I see nothing wrong with Revenants in the game world, especially with Teifling warlocks walking around.

Then dealing with the townsfolk, when we made it back to town…

All told, I certainly agree it’s not for everyone’s game, but in our campaign, it has been a fun alternative to making a completely new character and trying to introduce him into the party.

I’m with you though–undead as a player race isn’t my cup of tea.
.-= Zachary´s last blog ..RPG Blog 2 Says Thank You With Super-Special Deals! =-.

To me the most (maybe really only) trait that they seem to have that would be a give away that these people were more than just really gaunt creepy looking people, would be the red eyes. But again, in a world where it’s common to see Dragonborn and Tieflings, and where magic is a none-too-uncommon thing, I’d say that could be explained away pretty easily. Certainly they’re going to get stares, but I still don’t think that people who don’t know what they are are going to necessarily jump to Undead all that quickly.
.-= DrOct´s last blog ..Amnesiac RPG Characters =-.

@Anarkeith
As I mention in the article, if you’re just playing for the kick-ass elements of D&D then go nuts and play a Revenant. They do sound like an interesting and fun race to play. I also see how being undead can make for some fun role-playing (your example is awesome). I’m just saying that when a Revenant PC is between adventures and the rest of the PCs head to town, the Revenant shouldn’t assume that he’ll be as welcome as everyone else. Obviously as he earns a reputation (based in part on the choices he makes due to his alignment) people may become more accepting. Until then I would expect that undead are going to be feared if their non-living nature is detected. I don’t think I’d forbid them from my game, I do think they have a place in D&D, but I think PCs choosing this new race need to realize that it comes with baggage.

@David Wright
You’re so right. Role-playing the racial card once and a while is an interesting experience. Having it happen every single time is boring (and not why we play D&D). But just because we’re not actively playing it out doesn’t mean it’s not there. Revenant PCs need to be mindful of that fact.

@Toldain
Undead can work in D&D as PCs. I’m not denying that at all. I’ve read novels and played in adventures where the heroes were undead (vampires). It can be a lot of fun. But playing an undead creature means that the player will have to do some homework. They need to come up with a compelling background and motivation for this anomaly. As you suggest the Revenant’s “quest” may very well play into the larger story arc.

@Spenser
This is exactly what I’m talking about. If the Revenant is played in a smart way it will most certainly work. You can’t just walk around and brazenly display your undead nature without drawing the wrong kind of attention. If you lay low and carefully pick the moments you revel yourself in social encounters it will have a lot of excellent role-playing value.

@George
This is a great example of how the Revenant will work in a typical campaign. The PCs have a reason for accepting this undead and there is a clear goal in place.

@Wyatt
I’m always impressed by your unique view and the way you’ve incorporated so many of the things discussed on the various blogs into your own setting before any of the rest of us even think of it.

I like the idea that people understand that Revenant PCs are “on a mission from god” whether the PC realizes it or not. As such the population doesn’t just automatically group them in the scary undead category.

I don’t think the concept of the Revenant is stupid, but I do see it having broader implication for a player than if he played an Elf or a Dwarf.

@Dave
Good point, some areas and social setting might very well be more tolerant than others. Think of Karrnath in Eberron, they’re already very tolerant of undead. Having Revenant PCs walking around probably wouldn’t phase them at all.

Your examples of ways to use the race’s uniqueness to the PC’s advantage are great. This is exactly the kind of role-playing experiences that I’d expect to see from someone playing the Revenant (or any atypical race).

@DrOct
I’ll admit that upon first reading the description of the Revenant I did assume rotting corpse (smell and all), but as you point out the designers knew that going that route wouldn’t work. However, the Revenant does still possess undead traits as described in the quoted text. So you’re probably right that the PC wouldn’t immediately be seen as undead, but unless he took steps to hide his race any close interactions would most likely revel that he’s undead. I guess it’s all in how each DM chooses to see the Revenant. Perhaps my interpretation is more extreme than that of other DMs.

@Ken Marable
I don’t watch True Blood, but this is more where I’m going with my point. Just because people realize the Revenants are undead doesn’t mean they want to do anything about it.

I really like your take on how this might play out. People will probably stop, stare, leave, or just mind their own business. I like your parallel between the Revenant’s social awkwardness and that of Drizzt. I think the situations would be very similar. One you got to know the Revenant (personally or just by reputation) he’d encounter less racism.

@DrOct
If the Revenant race stays as rare as the designers intend then I agree that they might be mistaken for “goth.” But people tend to latch on to character concepts that are on the fringes and suddenly everyone’s playing one (Drow we’re looking at you). I suppose ultimately it’s up to the DM to determine how prevalent this new race is in any gaming world.

Looking over the original Revenant article, reading the description and looking at the artwork that attends it, they look to me like gaunt pale people with dark hair and fingernails. Really they just look like slightly stylized versions of people I see at goth clubs all the time!
.-= DrOct´s last blog ..Amnesiac RPG Characters =-.

I imagine in standard D&D settings it would be similar. When the revenant or troll PC walks into a tavern, personally, I would imagine a lot of silent stares. After all, no matter how drunk “Ivan Townsfolk” is, he still knows these creatures spend an average day slaughtering things that a mere glimpse of would cause Ivan to wet himself. Plus, although they can barely stomach seeing these creatures in the tavern, they know Bob the InnKeeper lets them in because ever since Martha the Innkeeper’s Wide died last winter, he’s needed all the gold he can get to help raise their 8 kids. So, yeah, the ordinary patrons feel that they have a perfectly enjoyable evening ruined, and that family that was going to spend the night here decide to move to a different inn, but who is going to tell an undead carrying a sword bigger than you that he has to leave? The townsfolk just hope that the adventurers don’t decide to slaughter a bunch of them for fun, so that they can go home, hug their families a little tighter that night and say a couple extra prayers to cleanse themselves from being in the presence of that sort of creature.

At least that’s how I would play it. Definitely not open arms welcoming which would be absurd in most any setting outside of Plancescape, but certainly not panic and screaming in terror – at least in any major city that is cosmopolitan enough to deal with adventurers on a semi-regular basis.

In fact, the more I think about it, the speed at which the tavern clears out when any adventurers walk in is probably inversely proportional to the population of the city/town/village. So in a major city, a few stuffy people stomp out showing their displeasure, but most just stare and grumble about where the world is going to. In a smaller town, you’ll get the place clearing out, but in a “Oh yeah, I just remembered I have to be somewhere else” sorta way. In a small village you would probably get the panic and locked up homes until they left.

Also, it’s been many, many years since I read the Icewind Dale trilogy, but my recollection was that the people of Ten Towns generally reacted to Drizzt as glad that he’s out there protecting the towns, but also glad that he is OUT THERE period and not hanging around town.

So, this got a lot more long-winded than I planned, but I honestly hadn’t thought it through as much as I should have before. But for me, I see the middle road between just accepting and running in terror as the most common. It is the tolerance of knowing you could be killed instantly by them, so best just mind your own business.