Revenant Pursuer (3.5e Prestige Class)

Summary::Return from the dead as an undying ghost in an armor shell, as you pursue your killers, justice, or merely a persistent desire to not die. Length::5 Minimum Level::8 Base Attack Bonus Progression::Good Fortitude Save Progression::Poor Reflex Save Progression::Good Will Save Progression::Good Class Ability::Other Class Ability Progression::Other

Revenant Pursuer
"Destroy."

Even the bravest of knights can fall victim to the cold hand of death, their life cut short even as their business remains unfinished. But sometimes their spirits prove too strong and resist the call of death. They crawl back into their armored shells burning with passion to return and make right what once went wrong. Their armor rises again to pursue their goals with an undying endurance unmatched by the living. They are the revenant pursuers.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Revenant Pursuer.

A creature which qualifies for this prestige class who perishes in their qualifying armor can choose to lose their last level (removing any gained skill points, ability points, feats, class features, and similar) and instead gain the 1st level of Revenant Pursuer in its place (thus they can actually enter the class at level 9, even though they need to be level 9 to even qualify). If they choose this, their armor and body melt away into darkness and vanish, only for them to come back to life after 24 hours, within 1 mile from the location of their demise with no level loss or cost beyond the pre-requisites of this prestige class. Their spirit is now bound to the inside of their armor.

Part of the transformation requires wearing magical heavy armor, typically full plate. In addition to being magic, the future revenant pursuer must have at least 5000 gp of either diamonds or onyx on their person at the time of death, which are consumed in the process of transforming into a revenant pursuer. Many future revenant pursuers are not aware that they are fulfilling a ritual, but some have purposefully triggered the transformation to change into the durable and immortal form of the revenant pursuer.

 : The magic armor the revenant pursuer died in now becomes their body, a hollow suit filled with little more than shadow and mist, determination and rage. They are unable to remove the armor. They retain the properties of the armor, but no longer have a maximum dex, and their armor check penalty and arcane spell failures are cut in half (round down). They do not take a penalty to speed for heavy armor. Their armor is automatically ghost touch armor and functions against incorporeal attacks, and any natural weapons they make are considered ghost touch weapons.

The revenant pursuer may enhance their armored body as if they possessed the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, though they still must obtain the required spells and treat their character level as their caster level.

 : A revenant pursuer floats through the air like a ghost in spite of its bulk. It gains a hover speed (perfect) equal to its land speed, and never takes fall damage.

 : The revenant pursuer gains an unarmed strike with the same material composition as what their armor is made of. It deals 1d6 damage as a medium creature (or the creature's original unarmed strike damage, if higher), and may be enhanced as if it were a manufactured weapon.

 : The revenant pursuer can, as a standard action, denote one target within his line of sight as their quarry. Whenever they are following the tracks of his quarry, a revenant pursuer can take 10 on their Survival skill checks while moving at normal speed, without penalty. In addition, they receives a +2 insight bonus on attack rolls and an additional +2d6 damage made against his quarry, and all critical threats are automatically confirmed. A revenant pursuer can have no more than one quarry at a time. They can dismiss this effect at any time as a free action, but he cannot select a new quarry for 24 hours. If the revenant pursuer sees proof that their quarry is dead, they can select a new quarry after waiting 1 hour.

This class advances one's effective fighter level, initiator level, favored enemy, animal companion, sneak attack, skirmish, ki points and flurry of blows, barbarian rage and times per day, and smite abilities and times per day at each level. It does not, however, grant any other abilities of the class, nor does it grant you an effective level if you do not have any of these class abilities.

When you become a revenant pursuer, your type changes to Undead and you gain the Augmented Construct subtype. However, your features and abilities are altered from a typical undead, given your half construct nature. You count as both an undead and a construct at the same time. You have the following features and traits as below.

Do not recalculate base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged. Increase all current and future Hit Dice to d12s.

They may spread it out as they see fit, and may not exceed their highest ability score. For example, a creature with Str 20, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 16 and Cha 8 has eight points to spread out as they see fit. They cannot use more than 4 points on Wisdom, but they can spend the remaining four points between Dexterity (+1) and Intelligence (+3) for Str 20, Dex 14, Con -, Int 13, Wis 20 and Cha 8.


 * They gain Darkvision out to 60 ft.


 * They gain immunity to ability damage, ability drain, critical hits, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, nonlethal damage, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning


 * They take damage from positive energy effects, and receive half healing from negative energy effects. Effects which repair constructs, such as the repair series of spells, have full effect.


 * They have immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).


 * They are not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.


 * They use Charisma in place of any Constitution based effect.


 * They are not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection'' can affect them, but it restores them in their undead armor state.


 * They do not breathe, eat, or sleep, though they are considered to be wearing heavy armor at all times.

 : The revenant pursuer is capable of many powerful fighting combos and skills. While the revenant pursuer is capable of learning all five abilities by the time it reaches the end of the class, it can choose which abilities to learn first. Select from the following:


 *  : As a standard action the revenant pursuer can hit up to five adjacent squares in their reach with a single melee attack.


 *  : As a full attack action the revenant pursuer can make a charge attack, taking the usual charge benefits and penalties. If they hit, the creature takes damage as normal and must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + ability modifier used for attack) or fall prone.  A successful save negates the prone, but not the damage.


 *  : As a full attack action the revenant pursuer makes three attacks at their highest attack bonus. You may also make a 5 ft step between each attack, which does not use up your 5 ft step for the round.  First they make a normal melee attack with a weapon on hand, then they make either a shield bash (if they possess a shield) or a slam attack, followed by another melee attack with their weapon on hand.  If the last attack hits the creature must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + ability modifier used for attack) or fall prone.


 *  : As a full attack action the revenant pursuer can make a single melee attack against all creatures in a 120 ft line.


 *  : As a full attack action the revenant pursuer makes three attacks at their highest attack bonus. You may also make a 5 ft step between each attack, which does not use up your 5 ft step for the round.  First they make a normal melee attack with a weapon on hand, then they make either a shield bash (if they possess a shield) or a slam attack, followed by a Whirlwind Attack against all creatures in reach, as per the feat.  If you possess the feat, you may use the feat as a standard action instead of a full attack action.

 : A 2nd level revenant pursuer is a dangerous being who can easily spot their prey. They gain the LifesenseLM feat, though they may detect undead creatures (but not constructs) as well and can determine if a creature is living or undead by the color of their aura.

A revenant pursuer with phantom sight always knows the direction (but not position or distance) of a creature which is currently their quarry, though they cannot detect constructs this way.

 : A 3rd level revenant pursuer gains evasion like a rogue, except they may use it in any armor. If they already have evasion, this becomes Improved Evasion.

 : A 3rd level revenant pursuer can perform a special stabbing attack imbued with their undead energies. As a full-attack action they may move up to 10 ft without provoking for movement and make a melee attack. On a successful hit they deal normal damage, and the target must make a Reflex save DC 10 + 1/2 HD + ability modifier used for attack rolls, or become impaled taking damage again and gaining 1d4 negative levels. The revenant pursuer gains 5 temp hp for each negative level applied, which last for 1 hour. They may use this ability once every 1d4 rounds.

 : The 4th level revenant pursuer can step out of existence and enter the Plane of Shadow (and vice versa) at will as a 1 round action which provokes attacks of opportunity. This ability functions as shadow walk (self only). While on the Plane of Shadow, the revenant pursuer can still sense their quarry as defined in Phantom Sight, but otherwise has no special sight to their original plane.

 : The 5th level revenant pursuer is a frightening thing. The revenant pursuer gains a frightful presence out to 30 ft against all opponents in range whenever the revenant pursuer engages in hostile action. Creatures must make a Will save or become shaken for 1 minute (save negates), while quarries must save vs frightened for 1d4 rounds and then shaken for 1 minute (they are merely shaken for 1d4 rounds on a successful save). A creature who saves becomes immune to that revenant pursuer's frightful presence for 24 hours.

They gain access to the following phantom powers for 1 minute.


 *  : The revenant pursuer is covered in a black flaming aura.  Creatures which start their turn within 5 ft of the revenant pursuer take 1d6 points of divine damage, no save.  This is a constant effect, which the revenant pursuer cannot turn off.


 *  : As a standard action the revenant pursuer can fire a ball of negative energy out to 60 ft as a ranged touch attack.  It deals 1d6 points of damage per HD on a successful hit.  They may use this ability at will.


 *  : As a full attack action the revenant pursuer  can fire a swarm of dark bolts out in a 60 ft cone, dealing 1d6 points of damage per HD with a Reflex save for half (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + ability modifier used for attack).  They may use this ability once every 1d4 rounds.


 *  : Any weapons the revenant pursuer use deal an additional 1d6 divine damage.  This is a constant effect.

It now can no longer be turned or rebuked, and takes half damage from positive energy effects while taking full effect from negative energy effects. Most importantly, it can respawn from death, crumbling into shadow. If destroyed, it will restore itself in 2d4 days at the site of its original death and rebirth (or the nearest valid space if the area is occupied). This area radiates a permanent and unable to be suppressed desecrate effect the first time a revenant pursuer reforms in this area.

To stop a revenant pursuer from respawning, a creature must go to the site of its death and rebirth and shift to the Plane of Shadow. A inert and completely immovable copy of its original armor lay at the spot where it died in the Plane of Shadow. If the armor is destroyed, the undying hunter cannot respawn until its armor is restored with a wish or miracle. Regardless of composition, revenant pursuer armor has hardness 40 and 10 hp per character level of the revenant pursuer.

For this reason, and the fact the revenant pursuer cannot move said armor, many revenant pursuers build a tomb around the location where their armor lays in the Plane of Shadow and in the Material Plane to keep out creatures who would destroy them and to prevent suspicion about the desecrate effect by enclosing it behind walls.

Playing a Revenant Pursuer
Combat: The revenant pursuer is a punishing melee beast, with several options that give him the power to debuff and attack at range. They are ruthless and fearless, and do not fear death due to their power to respawn.

Advancement: A revenant pursuer hasn't stopped being whatever class they were before, likely a melee fighter, and so they can continue their path.

Resources: As an undead, a revenant pursuer rarely has "friends". It usually goes solo, though those who are members of a party may find companionship and aid.

Revenant Pursuers in the World
"No matter how many times I killed it, it kept re-appearing. It is persistent, isn't it?"

NPC Reactions: If a revenant pursuer can, it will pass as simply an intimidating armored knight, but one close look may reveal the armor empty and its nature undead.

Revenant Pursuer Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Religion can research revenant pursuers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Revenant Pursuers in the Game
Adaptation: Perhaps this is the "fighter's lichdom" and the method is well known, if considered abominable. If this is the case, the death may be ritual suicide rather than on the battlefield as an accident of fate.

Sample Encounter: As the party explores the ancient castle, it's long-dead guardian stalks to slay the intruders.