Revenant

A revenant is a pallid, decaying version of how its victim looked at death, with skin pulled taut over bone and clammy, cold flesh. Its sunken eyes look dull until it faces its killer, then burn fiercely. It radiates sorrow, rage and resolve.

It never uses weapons, preferring to choke: its clawed hands lock around the throat for 2d8 per round and do not let go until one of them is dead. Its gaze affects only its murderer, who must save vs. spell or be paralyzed by fear for 2d4 rounds.

Weapons can hack it to pieces, but the parts keep fighting under its control and its will pulls them back together. It regenerates 3 hp per round of any damage but fire and is immune to acid and gas. Only reducing the original body completely to ash ends it. Driven by will rather than evil, it ignores holy water and holy or unholy symbols, cannot be turned, and cannot be raised or resurrected.

A character slain violently may return if Constitution is 18, Intelligence or Wisdom exceeds 16, and all six scores total 90 or more. Even then the chance is 5%, or 10% if both Intelligence and Wisdom top 16. A revenant with 18 in Intelligence, Wisdom and Constitution can jump into any freshly killed humanoid with a successful save vs. death.

If its own body is too ruined, it takes any fresh corpse, yet its killer and allies always see their victim's face. It keeps every ability from life, has at least the hit points and saves of an 8 HD creature, and becomes neutral. It can speak its native language but stiff vocal cords keep it silent except at critical moments, such as when it casts a spell at its slayer.

It always knows where its killer is and stops at nothing. Accomplices in the killer's company die after the killer; those elsewhere are left for later. Innocents are harmed only in self-defense, and it will use guile when needed. Its body decays slowly, but within three to six months rot accelerates and the spirit departs to its home plane. Once revenge is complete, the body disintegrates at once and the spirit rests.

Revenants give murder victims the chance to avenge themselves. They need no allies, though one facing a foe able to destroy its body may use adventurers as pawns.