Mimicry: The Wendigo can mimic any sound it has heard. A DC 18 Wisdom (Insight) check can hear the corruption in it's voice.
Aura of Hunger: Any creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the Wendigo must make a DC 14 constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes a level of exhaustion. Any creature that is killed by this effect is instead corrupted by the Wendigo and is driven insane by insatiable hunger. They must attack the nearest creature by unarmed strikes, and after thirty days they become a Wendigo themselves.
Constant Corruption: The Wendigo regains 20 hit points at the start of each of it's turns unless it has taken radiant or fire damage in the last turn.
Multiattack. The Wendigo makes three attacks on its turn; one with its bite, two with its claws, or it can make one Devour Flesh attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 4) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 10 ft. Hit: 21 (4d6 + 7) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. If this attack hits, the Wendigo can choose to grapple the creature.
Devour Flesh. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, against a grappled creature. Hit: 22 (4d8 + 4) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage, and the attacked creature's hit point maximum is reduced by the necrotic damage taken. If a creature is reduced to zero hit points in this way, it is devoured by the Wendigo, who regains 15 hit points.
Shadow Jump (Recharge 5–6). If the Wendigo is in dim light or darkness, each creature of the Wendigo's choice within 15 feet of it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 21 (3d12 + 2) necrotic damage.
The Wendigo then teleports up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see. It can bring one creature it’s grappling, teleporting that creature to an unoccupied space it can see within 5 feet of its destination. The destination spaces of this teleportation must be in dim light or darkness.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the Wendigo takes the Hide action.
Description
Wendigo (/ˈwɛndɪɡoʊ/) is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from the folklore of Plains and Great Lakes Natives as well as some First Nations. It is based in and around the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the United States, and the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, grouped in modern ethnology as speakers of Algonquian-family languages. The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, which possesses human beings. The wendigo is said to invoke feelings of insatiable greed/hunger, the desire to cannibalize other humans, and the propensity to commit murder in those that fall under its influence.
In some representations the wendigo is described as a giant humanoid with a heart of ice; a foul stench or sudden, unseasonable chill might precede its approach. Possibly because of longtime identification by Europeans with their own superstitions about werewolves, for example as mentioned in The Jesuit Relations below, Hollywood film representations often label human/beast hybrids featuring antlers or horns with the "wendigo" name, but such animal features do not appear in the original indigenous stories.
In modern psychiatry the wendigo lends its name to a form of psychosis known as "Wendigo psychosis", which is characterized by symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and an intense fear of becoming a cannibal. Wendigo psychosis is described as a culture-bound syndrome. In some First Nations communities other symptoms such as insatiable greed and destruction of the environment are also thought to be symptoms of Wendigo psychosis.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Wendigo's lair is the forest in which it lives. When encountered there, its CR is 16.
Maddening Visage: Any creature that looks at the Wendigo must make a DC 14 wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature must roll on the Short-term Madness table. On a success, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Wendigo takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the Wendigo can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
- Each undead creature in the lair can pinpoint the location of each living creature within 120 feet of it until initiative count 20 on the next round.
- Each undead in the lair has advantage on saving throws against effects that turn undead until initiative count 20 on the next round.
- Until initiative count 20 on the next round, any non-undead creature that tries to cast a spell of 4th level or lower in the Wendigo’s lair is wracked with pain. The creature can choose another action, but if it tries to cast the spell, it must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes (1d6) psychic damage per level of the spell, and the spell has no effect and is wasted.
Comments