Homebrew Wendigo Species Details

A deep silence fell over the camp. It was as though everyone knew what was to come, yet no one dared to express it any spoken language. They had planted their encampment deep in the jaws of the wilderness. The lake in front of them gleamed like black glass below the starry sky. The cold air stung in their eyes and they had long since lost the feeling in their ears. The wind brought forth messages of trees without leaves and forever frozen lakes. The bleak odors of coming winter lay before them - they were in the lands of the wendigo.

Physical Description

A wendigo's appearance reflects the bitter winters of the remote north and its presence is often signaled by sudden cold and wind. Though the appearance varies greatly per wendigo, depending on its personality, region, and age, they are all a terrifying sight to behold. Standing between 7 and 9 feet tall they easily tower over all creatures they encounter. They are gaunt to the point of emaciation, with desiccated skin pulled tightly over protruding bones. Their complexion is that of ashes with suppurations littering their flesh. Long limbs end in sharp, crooked claws. Yellow eyes are pushed back deep into their sockets and what lips it once had are tattered and bloody. A strange and eerie odor of decomposition seems to emit from each and every part of them.

No wendigo looks the same and yours too is a unique creature, shaped by the wilds it lives in, the hardships it has faced and the creatures it has encountered and consumed. A wendigo that lives in an extremely cold climate may have patches of matted, off-white fur covering its body while another could be covered in mud and moss, with mushrooms growing in the crevices between their ribs. Branches could grow out of their skull and down their spine like manes. Some wendigo possess facial features that no longer resemble those of a humanoid but instead of a creature of the forest; it is rumored that wendigo with heads like deer stalk the forests - their massive horns giving them an impressive silhouette.

Be creative - what area does your wendigo originate from? Do they live in the tall, cold pine forests or are they from a towering primordial forest, where starvation in winter is a concept that has long since been forgotten?

History

Because tribal history is rarely passed around by any other means than the word of mouth, the history of wendigos is vague. The very first wendigo was said to have been a warrior who sought out a deal with a devil to aid his tribe in a war they could not possibly win. In exchange for the skills and stature to outfight his rival tribe, the devil took his soul. When the battle was won and the enemy lay dead at his feet, the warrior found that his mouth watered and his stomach roared at the sight of the corpses - the devil had cursed him with a hunger for human flesh. Rather than praising him, the tribe turned against the warrior and banished him, for he no longer served a purpose to them. The wendigo left his tribe behind for the forests and traveled north until his legs felt like they could not go any further and even then he still kept going, his body numb from the cold. Here the wendigo remained, forever hungry.

Other stories tell of travelers and tribes in times of extreme famine during the cold harsh winter and how they were forced to resort to cannibalism as a last resort to remain alive. The consummation of another humans flesh, whether done intentionally or because there was simply no other way to survive, leads one to be overcome by evil spirits and transform into a wendigo.

Society

Wendigos are mostly solitary creatures. Whether your wendigo was tricked into this state of being by a force of evil or a human who committed cannibalism, you are not welcome to be a part of any tribe or form of society. Few creatures are capable of seeing past the outer appearance of a wendigo and into the human that still resides deep inside, but those who do so may find a powerful ally in them.

Despite their terrifying presence, not all wendigo are inherently evil - most young and newly formed wendigo experience an intense guilt for their constant hunger for more flesh. Some are even overcome by grief for the crimes they have committed against their fellow humans and seek to find redemption. The flesh they consume does not have to be fresh and as such, some of these wendigo have resorted to robbing graves to satiate their endless hunger. It is not uncommon for them to attack bandits and other trespassers who dare venture into their domain either.

The older a wendigo becomes, the more detached they become from their human side. Everyone they once knew is dead - their bones dust in the wind. By now, all they know day in, day out, is an ever-growing hunger. It might be easy to control at first - to fill the empty pit of their stomach with nothing but morals and values but with each time they give in to the hunger, with each corpse they consume - the hunger grows.

There comes a point where there is no turning back - the last shreds of humanity they clung to have slipped through their fingers. They become an evil force to be reckoned with. Once their hunt begins, they engage in torturous games - baiting their prey with shrieks and growls, even going as far as to mimic human voices crying for help.

Wendigo Traits

Wendigos are not often allowed into any areas of major populace, they often have to hide their identity through magic, hiding in carts and carriages, or having to hide outside the city until the rest of the party leaves the city. Very few cities allow Wendigos on their premises, however the ones that due treat them kindly, although cautiously.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength, Dexterity, and your Constitution score increases by 1. Your intelligence score decreases by 2.

Age

Age is not a physical concept for the wendigo but rather a mental one - the older they get, the larger and hungrier they become. You cannot die of old age.

Alignment

A Wendigo is driven by their hunger and needs, and so they tend to lean towards chaotic alignments, good or evil. Very few Wendigos lean towards neutral alignments. 

Size

Wendigos are both taller and thinner than most creatures, standing between 7 and 10 feet tall and averaging 150 pounds. Your size is Medium or Large. 

7 feet + 2d12 inches, 80 lbs (x1d6)

Speed

Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages

You can speak and understand Common and Abyssal. You speak Common with bad grammar, lengthy pauses, growls and noncoherent sounds, showing your limited vocabulary, for example, "My is ... no, grr ... name." However, it is the language of Abyssal that comes naturally to you.

Keen Senses

Your senses are finely tuned, able to pick up on the crunch of a leaf hundreds of feet away or the smell of a creature from a mile away. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) rolls that utilize your hearing or smell.

Beast of the Wild

You are proficient in the stealth skill.

Monster

A human heart still beats inside your decaying chest. Your type is both humanoid and monstrosity.

Mimicry

You can mimic sounds you heard, including voices. A creature that hears the sounds you make can tell they are imitations with a successful Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by your Charisma (Deception) check.

Drive of Hunger

If you fail to eat 10 pounds of food for the day, you must succeed of a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a successful save, you have managed to keep the madness at bay. However, 6 hours after you have succeeded you must remake the save unless you have satisfied your hunger during that time. The DC increases by 2 on each successful save and resets back to 10 on a failure. On a failed save, you're affected by your Hungering Void condition.

Strict Carnivore

A Wendigo is a carnivore, as in they can only eat meat. They have a preference for it when its raw but cooked is fine. The wendigo can't consume plants and other foods like bread. When it does so to a significant degree they must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or come under the effect of the poisoned condition until they consume meat or complete a short or long rest.

Feral Hunter

As a creature of the wild, your claws and fangs have acted as your best weapons to take down your prey. When an enemy enters melee, you can choose to use your claws against them, causing 1d6 plus your Strength modifier slashing damage. You may also bite them, causing 1d8 plus your Strength modifier piercing damage.