Poludnitsa

Medium fey, chaotic neutral

Armor Class 15
Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	15 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	16 (+3)

Skills Deception +5, Nature +4, Perception +4
Damage Resistances fire, radiant
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Faerie Blessing. The AC of the poludnitsa includes her Charisma bonus.
• Illumination. The poludnitsa sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. She can suppress or resume the radiance with an action.
• Innate Spellcasting. The poludnitsa’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +5 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • At will: detect magic, disguise self (humanoid forms only), druidcraft, light
  • 2/day: daylight, ray of enfeeblement
  • 1/day: confusion

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The poludnitsa makes two scythe attacks or uses sunstroke twice.
• Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) radiant damage.
• Sunstroke. Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 90 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (4d6) radiant damage.

ABOUT

The intentions of poludnitsas are hard to predict. Some days, they lure adventurers into ambushes, drive travelers mad, or cause mayhem in villages while changing disguises. On others, they punish the haughty and greedy and dispense helpful advice to wanderers.

Poludnitsas loathe and despise hags of all types- though they are sometimes every bit as wicked as their adversaries-and usually aid those who seek to slay them.

The poludnitsa (poh-lood-nit-sah) is based on a capricious trickster that appears in Polish, Russian, and Slovak folklore.

While most fey creatures lurk in forests and prefer twilight or darkness, poludnitsas (also known as midday maidens) dwell in fields of rye and corn near human settlements, most often appearing on hot summer days at high noon. They usually adopt the guise of peasant girls or women, blending with other field workers to pick off potential targets for their malicious punishments. In their true form, poludnitsas appear as comely, elven women clad in all white and carrying a scythe or shears, their bodies shining with radiant sunlight.