First of all, I don't like the Dex/Con. Maybe it's just showing my frustration with classes and races keying into very narrow ability score necessities, but I just don't like it. I was really hoping for Con/Int. Or Con/Wis (Considering their connection to the raven queen; Avengers/Clerics). Namely because there are only 2.5 classes (Rogue, Monk, half of the ranger), maybe a 3rd (Assassin) that use Dex as a primary. There is only one class, with only half of its builds, that key off Con (Infernal and Vestige warlock), and those pacts do not jive with the race's fluff. And If these guys are so important to the Raven Queen, then why are they all suited for Warlocks and Rogues, not anything even remotely related to the RQ?
Second, this race should have Necrotic resistance. Deva gets both Radiant and Necrotic resistance, Fire Genasi and Tieflings get Fire Resistance. The Revenant has to spend two feats just to get to the Resist Necrotic. As it stands, Deva are better hunters of the undead than a race created by the Raven Queen, hater of undead!
I'm not sold on unnatural vitality. I think the Warforge's "Take 10 on a death save" is more appropriate. The Unnatural vitality just doesn't feel undead-y to me. It feels more appropriate to the Minotaur or a barbarian than it does a revenant; maybe if the Revenant didn't ever go unconscious (until it DIED), but was just dazed while at negative HP. As it stands, Unnatural Vitality doesn't conjure the image of the unstoppable "The Crow" style pursuer, it's "Crap someone get me a heal stat".
Past Life is cute, but ultimately leads to feat tax. Most racial feats boost that race's racial power. For the Revenant to qualify for those feats, it needs a "Get the Race's racial power" feat. And then they have to decide between using the Revenant's racial power OR the Past Life racial power. Beyond feats, there aren't that many racial PPs/ED to begin with, so meh.
Speaking of the Revenant's racial power, blegh. First, it keys off when something hits 0, and then you have to connect with your next attack. That's really corner case specific circumstance. More importantly, I shouldn't have to count the number of monsters with necrotic resistance, and against said monsters, your racial is useless. Compare to the DB racial, which can be resisted commonly (if you pick fire or poison), but it's at least a minor action close blast 3. In order to use your power against anything that isn't resistant to necrotic damage, you have to take Another feat. The least they could've done was offer a feat to allow you to punch through necrotic resistance, either for other necrotic powers (making Revenants good for necrotic using classes, considering they ARE close to the grave, y'know) or for your Dark Reaping.
Which brings me to the feats.
The majority of the feats fall into 3 categories: Get the racial power of your race, supe up your Dark Reaping, or trick out your Unnatural Vitality. I've all ready told you what I thought of all those features in the first place. I personally think many of these feats are feat taxes; "Death's Blessing" should be a racial trait, period. I once again compare the Revenant to the Warforged, who don't need to eat, drink or breathe. That's what playing an undead race is about, damnit.
Spectral Reaping makes me mad. So you don't do half damage on that single attack for the round against an insubstantial foe, after something else has dropped. But I can count on my hand the number of monsters that have insubstantial but aren't resistant to necrotic damage, so you're not getting the benefit of Dark Reaping when you make the attack - just that this one attack isn't weakened.
A few feats did catch my eye. Life Thief is the only reason to use this race with a Rogue, at all. Death Scorned is appropriate - now that's the kind of feat I'm talking about (albeit it makes me wonder if it stacks with Human Preserverance). Cull the Weak makes Dark Reaping far more useful and appropriate, IMO (and how I think Dark Reaping should work). Unnatural Stamina is sexy, and Resilience of Death is nice. Reaping Burst is a little better. Remembered Nack is cute and flavorful.
The reason I focused so much on the mechanics of it is because I really do enjoy the fluff. A lot. The story has lots of potential and various options. And I've always wanted to play an undeadish Race, and here WotC was going to make that legitimate. But the execution kills it for me.
They dropped the ball; there were a dozen directions they could have taken it and they didn't. The Warforged makes a better revenant than this. Setting the Revenant next to the Deva's resistances, the WF's avoidance of breath and taking 10 on death saves, and far more useful Racial powers of most races, the Revenant looks like a day old corpse. It doesn't feel touched by the grave to me. I want something that went into the Underworld and came out the other side, walking and talking Death. Something that sneers in the face of Undead, for it has nothing to fear from them. I want something that is the go-to when you want to play a Necromancer, or a Cleric/Avenger/Paladin of the Raven Queen, or whathaveyou. A once-per-encounter piddly necrotic damage and an extra standard action before dropping ain't it.
I was excited and had high hopes for this race. I should have just stuck with One Bad Egg's "Half Dead"; it's not everything I want, but it serves my purposes better than this. If this is the exclusive content from DDi, then they can keep it.
