Becoming a Revenant?

[breakofdusk]

Hi, i have been playing a 6th level wood elf Ranger for 9 months, and I've had an amazing time of it! however, in our last session, i was killed and woke up as a revenant. there was a possibility of me being revived and i now my soul can return to my body and i only have a year to live as an undead.
i feel like the DM should have checked with me before making this change, and i don't think it fits with my character. i wanted to continue my ranger and we wanted to all play into the higher levels. Now i can't. what are peoples thoughts? was this Just?

 

[jasper]

1. Could the party make it back to town in time to cast a raise what ever?
2. Are you going to being the undead or the DM?
3. Is there a Story involved?

 

[ccs]

Is that one year time limit in-game or in real time?

In game that's plenty of time to gain a lot of lvs.
In real time? Depends on how the games run & how often you play what lv you'll reach.

Does the DM realize that you don't want to play as a Revenant?
If you say "No", then go talk to him. Tell him. Ask him why he did that. And ask if/how he plans to fix it.

After that you've got two choices:
1) Stop playing the character & make a new one.
2) Keep playing the Revenant character and
A) Stick to whatever plot the DM might have & hope there's something down the line that'll fix you.
B) Be pro-active. Seize the spotlight & do your absolute best to force the "plot" into becoming "fixing Breakofdusks' character". If the DM doesn't like that? Then maybe he shouldn't have just turned you into a revenant....

 

[breakofdusk]

Yes, there in an immense amount of story involved and we are on a boat ride on our way to in island to consult a wizard who has contacted us through our dreams. we would have 3 days to find the wizard and see if he can cast raise dead, or resurrection on me.
i feel that that would have fit into the story more fluently and would have added a challenge and suspense to the game.

 

[amerigoV]

So whats the story? Ie, who killed your PC and what would drive the PC to return? Basically, you get to be an unkillable PC until you kill the guy that killed you. Unfortunately, no side quests (that is your only quest - you are an undead Terminator - be sure to practice your Arrrrnold voice).

Sounds like an odd, but perhaps interesting time.

 

[breakofdusk]

CSS

we are plying in in-game time. so we will have time to do a lot of stuff, but i still think it changes the personalty of my character and gives me a different motivation and goal in the world...other than the adventure at hand.

the DM i think understands that i feel uneasy about being a revenant and im confused why he did it. he explained that the only way to remove the revenants curse from my should would be a wish spell. but....we are level 6.

there is always the option to create a new character, but we already have a really complex story going on and i don't think it fits.

it just feel...off. i feel in fundamentally doesn't fit the character or who they are. (like a cleric being cursed with lycanthropy against their will)
what im concerned about, is that i don't think the DM is that concerned about preserving MY idea of my character and changing it to what he thinks.

 

[ccs]

it just feel...off. i feel in fundamentally doesn't fit the character or who they are. (like a cleric being cursed with lycanthropy against their will)
what im concerned about, is that i don't think the DM is that concerned about preserving MY idea of my character and changing it to what he thinks.

Well the, turn the game into "Fixing my character".

 

[breakofdusk]

thats what im considering, im just a little shaken up about it all, and im just concerned about commandeering the game with my plot

 

[amerigoV]

thats what im considering, im just a little shaken up about it all, and im just concerned about commandeering the game with my plot

In reading through this again - I am speculating this is what is going on in your GM's mind. Best to talk to him/her to really know:

1. PCs are of on a complex story in a remote area

2. Your PC gets killed (I have not seen you write that it was a unfair or plot driven, just that it happened so I am going with that).

3. The death is disruptive to the plot and to the player

4. GM tries to "fix it" by having PC come back as a Revenant so player can keep their PC and continue with the plot.

I do not think the GM is trying to hijack your PC or anything like that. I think they made a poor choice in how they tried to keep your PC and the plot going. Just sit down and say "what are you trying to accomplish because a Revenant will singlemindedly destroy the game." There is an old 3e supplement called Ghostwalk that might help out - you get to play a "ghost-like" PC without the issues of something like a Revenant.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

You wouldn't be comandeering or hijacking the story. Here's why. 1) The DM put you in this situation, so he should be willing to deal with the consequences. 2) The rest of the party could decide they don't wanna deal with this, forcing the DM to either QuickTime the entire quest or accept that you're gonna have to roll up a new character.

But I'm also curious. With most roleplaying games, players accept risk that their characters will die or at the very least experience events that will cause them to change in some way. Characters should not be static, but change and grow based on their experiences. The characters do not always have control over what happens to their characters, but they can control how they react. And your DM has already indicated that this may be temporary and there are ways to reverse your current condition. While this situation may not necessarily fit with how you envisioned your character now, it is a small portion of your full character arc. It is a conflict, a problem, a quest, and at the other end your character will likely come out stronger than he was before.

Additionally, I wonder what it means for you to be a revenant and how it changes the way you play your character. From my understanding, a revenant is an undead creature that has risen and driven to seek vengeance against those that wronged them. But they are also intelligent and maintain the memories you had in life. There's no reason this would have a major impact on how you play your character, and could even allow you to explore some neat things about your condition.

For example, if your character was light hearted and jovial in life, there's no reason he couldn't continue to be jovial and light hearted. This might be because being undead doesn't fundamentally change his personality. Or, perhaps he feels numb and dead inside, but he's going through the motions and reacting as he would in life because it's what he knows and what's expected of him (see the way people act when they lose their souls in Supernatural for examples). Either way he's acting the same, but the stuff happening underneath or the reasoning may change, and people don't necessarily need to know that or even be aware of the difference.

Another thing could be that he is mentally and emotionally still the same, but physically has no feeling. He could be clumsy, cut himself while eating and not notice he's missing a chunk of a finger, or whatever but still basically who he was in life.

Or he may be normal as he was in life, but at the mention of his killer or in the presence of anything that reminds him of his killer, suddenly is overcome with a sudden and explosive rage until someone or something can soothe him.

I understand how this may be unexpected and not what you envisioned for your character. But if you keep yourself open to the possibilities, this may become an awesome opportunity to really explore who your character is and a challenge that will ultimately be rewarding by the end.