The Wendigo by

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# The Wendigo

### Wendigo

*At first the creature looks like an emaciated man running on all fours, then 
it looks like a large antlered wolf. Right before it attacks, it is obvious the 
creature is neither.*

**Born of Greed and Starvation.** The wendigo’s origins are 
mysterious. Some claim they are beings summoned forth from 
the corpses of humans who have died of starvation. Others say 
they come from those who have died because of cannibalism or 
their own greed.

**An Insatiable Appetite.** Wendigos are found in harsh 
climates, preying on the weak and hungry. Legends speak of 
entire settlements devoured by a single wendigo. All that remains 
of these settlements are eerily silent buildings and a few scattered 
bones, all material wealth untouched.

**An Emaciated Horror.** Wendigos have an emaciated 
humanoid shape with some disturbing lupine features, 
described by one scholar as a “hairless 
zombie werewolf.”

**Punisher of Vices.** Wendigos also 
have a special role in the punishment 
for cannibalism and greed. Greedy or 
cannibalistic individuals whose vices have 
caused the deaths of others, directly or 
indirectly, might be cursed by those victims as 
the victims die. This curse manifests as a wendigo 
being unleashed into the world

___
___
> ## Wendigo
>*Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil*
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 16 (natural armor)
> - **Hit Points** 114 (16d12 + 102)
> - **Speed** 40 ft, climb 20 ft.
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|21(+5)|18(+4)|16(+3)|11(+0)|16(+3)|12(+1)|
>___
> - **Skills** Athletics +9, Perception +7, Stealth +8, Survival +7
> - **Damage Vulnerabilities** fire
> - **Damage Resistances** bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing 
from nonmagical attacks
> - **Damage Immunities** Cold, Poison
> - **Condition Immunities** charmed, exhausted, frightened, poisoned, stunned
> - **Senses**  darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17
> - **Languages** Common, Primordial, and Sylvan; can crudely mimic any spoken language; telepathy 60 ft
> - **Challenge** 11 (7,200 XP)
> ___
>
> ***Aura of Starvation.*** A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet 
of the wendigo must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving 
throw or be paralyzed by gnawing cold and crippling hunger 
for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at 
the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on 
itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is 
successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the wendigo’s Aura of Starvation for the next 24 
hours.
>
> ***Keen Hearing and Smell.*** The wendigo has advantage on Wisdom 
(Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
>
> ***Magic Resistance.*** The wendigo has advantage on saving throws 
against spells and other magical effects
>
> ***Regeneration.*** The wendigo regains 6 hit points at the start of its 
turn. If the wendigo takes fire damage, this trait doesn't function at 
the start of the wendigo's next turn. The wendigo dies only if it starts 
its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.
>
> ### Actions
> ***Multiattack.*** The wendigo makes three attacks: two with its icy 
claw and one with its bite. Alternatively, it uses its Frozen Spittle.
>
> ***Icy Claw.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. 
Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage and 14 (3d6) cold damage.
>
> ***Bite.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:
14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, healing for the damage equal to the necrotic damage dealt.
>
> ***Frozen Spittle.*** Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 100 ft., one 
target. Hit: 28 (8d6) cold damage, and the target must succeed 
on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the end 
of its next turn

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___
___
> ## Dire Wendigo
>*Large monstrosity, chaotic evil*
> ___
> - **Armor Class** 18 (natural armor)
> - **Hit Points** 206 (16d12 + 102)
> - **Speed** 80 ft, climb 40 ft.
>___
>|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA|
>|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
>|24(+7)|22(+6)|20(+5)|11(+0)|20(+5)|12(+1)|
>___
> - **Skills** Athletics +9, Perception +7, Stealth +8, Survival +7
> - **Damage Resistances** bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage
> - **Damage Immunities** Cold, Poison
> - **Condition Immunities** charmed, exhausted, frightened, poisoned, stunned
> - **Senses**  darkvision 180 ft., passive Perception 19
> - **Languages** Common, Primordial, and Sylvan; can crudely mimic any spoken language; telepathy 120 ft
> - **Challenge** 20 (24,500 XP)
> ___
>
> ***Legendary Resistance (3/Day).*** If the dragon fails a saving 
throw, it can choose to succeed instead. 
>
> ***Aura of Starvation.*** A creature that starts its turn within 20 feet 
of the wendigo must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving 
throw or be paralyzed by gnawing cold and crippling hunger 
for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at 
the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on 
itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is 
successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the wendigo’s Aura of Starvation for the next 24 
hours.
>
> ***Keen Hearing and Smell.*** The wendigo has advantage on Wisdom 
(Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
>
> ***Innate Spellcasting.*** The wendigo's innate spellcasting ability is 
Charisma (spell save DC 16). The wendigo can innately cast the 
following spells, without providing material components:
>
> - **At will:** detect magic, pass without a trace
> - **1/day each:** greater invisibility.
>
> ***Maddening Whispers.*** As a bonus action, the wendigo chooses one 
creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a 
DC 16 Wisdom saving throw, or it takes 13 (2d8 + 4) psychic damage 
and must use its reaction to move up to half its speed and make a 
melee weapon attack against one creature of the wendigo's choice 
that the wendigo can see. Constructs and undead are immune to this 
effect.
>
> ***Regeneration.*** The wendigo regains 10 hit points at the start of its 
turn. If the wendigo takes fire damage, this trait doesn't function at 
the start of the wendigo's next turn. The wendigo dies only if it starts 
its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.
>
> ***Magic Resistance.*** The wendigo has advantage on saving throws 
against spells and other magical effects
>
> ### Actions
> ***Multiattack.*** The wendigo makes four attacks: two with its icy 
claw and two with its bite. Alternatively, it uses its Frozen Spittle 
twice.
>
> ***Icy Claw.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. 
Hit: 17 (3d6 + 7) slashing damage and 14 (5d6) cold damage.
>
> ***Macabre Bite.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit:
20 (3d8 + 7) piercing damage plus 7 (3d6) necrotic 
damage, healing for the damage equal to the necrotic damage dealt. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution 
saving throw against disease or become poisoned until the disease 
is cured. While poisoned, the target's Wisdom score is reduced by 
1d4 at the start of each of its turns. This reduction will not cause 
a target's score to go below 3. When a target's Wisdom reaches 
a score of 3, it becomes insane and ravenous. While in this state, 
the creature acts as an ally of the wendigo, gains a bite attack (1d6 
piercing damage), and must spend its action each turn making a 
bite attack against an enemy of the wendigo.
>
>The Wisdom score reduction lasts until the target finishes a short 
or long rest.
>If the poisoned creature dies while affected by this disease, they rise after 24 hours as a wendigo.
>
> ***Frozen Spittle.*** Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 200 ft., one 
target. Hit: 42 (12d6) cold damage, and the target must succeed 
on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the end 
of its next turn
>
> ***Baleful Howl.*** The wendigo emits a terrifying howl. Every enemy 
within 300 feet of the wendigo that can hear it must succeed on 
a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A 
frightened target that starts its turn within 30 feet of the wendigo 
must use all its movement on that turn to get as far from the 
wendigo as possible, must finish the move before taking an action, 
and must take the most direct route, even if hazards lie that way. A 
frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of 
its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
> A target that successfully saves is immune to the wendigo's baleful 
howl for the next 24 hours
>
> ### Legendary Actions
> The Dire Wendigo can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the 
options below. Only one legendary action option can be used 
at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The dire
wendigo regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. 
>
> ***Detect.*** The dire wendigo makes a Wisdom (Perception) check. 
>
> ***Icy Claw.*** The dire wendigo makes an icy claw attack. 
>
> ***Spittle (Costs 2 Actions).*** The dire wendigo makes a frozen spittle attack.

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### Dire Wendigo

**Macabre Overindulgence.** When a wendigo lives for centuries and feasts upon enough unfortunate souls, their form shifts and engorges into a horrifying mass of frozen muscle and flesh, and transforms into a Dire Wendigo.

### A Dire Wendigo's Lair
Wendigos lair in icy caves, temperate forests and cold subterranean 
chambers. They favor abandoned forest ruins, decrepit mineshafts or cave systems, and icy mountain crevices or tundra crags. These lairs are typically as far from immediate civilization as possible - but near roadways or places with continuous traffic from humanoid creatures, as to hunt and drag their victims back into their cold, dank and deadly lairs to be consumed (or worse, saved for later).

A Dire Wendigo's deadly presence drives most natural wildlife out of the immediate area, and those that remain are typically predators or are driven to become predatory in nature and feed upon others of their kind in a frenzy of bloodlust.

A Dire Wendigo will hop from the tips of crags or the tops of trees, observing their potential victims from above for hours at a time, remaining absolutely silent as their lesser brethren hunt their next meal. Once the prey has been hunted down by their pack, they will descend and demand their share - going as far as to cannibalize their packmates if they refuse.

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#### Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dire 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:

- Freezing fog fills a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on 
a point the wendigo can see within 120 feet of it. The 
fog spreads around corners, and its area is heavily 
obscured. Each creature in the fog when it appears 
must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw, taking 
10 (3d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much 
damage on a successful one. A creature that ends its 
turn in the fog takes 10 (3d6) cold damage. A wind of 
at least 20 miles per hour disperses the fog. The fog 
otherwise lasts until the wendigo uses this lair action 
again or until the wendigo dies.

- Jagged, icy body parts fall from the ceiling, striking up to 
three creatures underneath that the wendigo can see 
within 120 feet of it. The wendigo makes one ranged 
attack roll (+7 to hit) against each target. On a hit, the 
target takes 10 (3d6) piercing damage.

- A blisteringly cold wind blows through the lair near 
the dire wendigo, each creature within 120 feet of the wendigo must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving 
throw or take 5 (1d10) cold damage. Gases and vapors 
are dispersed by the wind, and unprotected flames are 
extinguished. Protected flames, such as lanterns, have 
a 50 percent chance of being extinguished.

#### Regional Effects
The region containing a dire wendigo's lair 
is warped by the wendigo's presence, which creates one or 
more of the following effects:

- Chilly fog lightly obscures the land within 6 miles of 
the wendigo's lair.

- Beasts and other creatures within a 6 mile radius become more predatory than normal, actively attacking and cannibalizing each other and other creatures - even normally peaceful creatures become incredibly bloodthirsty, attacking on sight.

- It becomes unnaturally quiet within a 1 mile radius, with an unnerving calmness permeating the surroundings - such as a lack of wind, still bodies of water, and silent (yet predatory) creatures, and even rain falling becomes absolutely silent.

If the dire wendigo dies, these effects fade over the course 
of 1dl0 days.