Wendigo, Ravenous

Family: Wendigo

This bestial man is covered with matted hair, his face indistinct save for a wide set of jaws. The creature’s belly is fleshless and glistening with exposed entrails that pulse and seethe.

Large monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)

Hit Points 58 (9d10 + 9)

Speed 0 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 13 (+1) 12 (+1) 7 (-2 14 (+2) 5 (-3)

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +5, Survival +4 (+6 to track humanoids)

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Damage Immunities cold

Condition Immunities prone

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages Aklo, Auran

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Special Traits

  • Keen Smell. The wendigo has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
  • Regeneration. The wendigo regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the wendigo is dealt fire damage or a critical hit, 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.
  • Void Sight. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the wendigo’s darkvision.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The wendigo makes two attacks: one with its claws and one feed, if it has a possible target.
  • Feed. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature the wendigo has advantage on attack rolls against. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw against disease or contract wendigo psychosis.
  • Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) slashing damage and a Medium or smaller target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and the wendigo can’t claw another target.
  • Wind Walk (1/day). The wendigo casts wind walk without requiring a spell slot or any components.

About

Wendigos are creations of Ithaqua’s influence. Over time, they gradually turn from mortal beings into horrific, cannibalistic monsters of the freezing night sky.

Wendigo Psychosis. Rarely, when a humanoid is forced to commit acts of cannibalism in the frozen reaches of the world, its soul suffers damage as a result and it contracts wendigo psychosis. Within a matter of days, this disease can transform a mortal creature into a ravenous wendigo.

Ravenous wendigos indirectly serve Ithaqua, albeit in a mindless, instinctual way. Only when they transcend to a full-fledged windwalker, gaining in intellect and power, do they serve Ithaqua knowingly and directly.

Wendigos are comparable in size to humans, from which they originally spawned. Some wendigos grow slightly after their transformation but remain close to human size.

Wendigo Psychosis

This magical disease targets humanoids. It fills the mind with shame at first and causes nausea at the thought of eating normal food, and eventually results in increasingly irresistible cravings for the flesh of related humanoids.

When a humanoid creature is bitten by a wendigo or commits an act of cannibalism, the creature must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or become infected. Any creature that contracts this disease has disadvantage on Charisma checks and Charisma saving throws until the disease is cured.

Whenever the diseased creature eats anything other than the flesh of a humanoid of the same or a similar heritage (a human is similar to a half-elf, for example, as are any two creatures that share a type or tag), it becomes poisoned for 24 hours. The first time it eats such nauseating food, it gains the additional character flaw “I desperately hunger for the flesh of my own kind” until the disease is cured.

Every 24 hours that elapse, the target must repeat the saving throw, although success or failure has no effect on its own. Track the number of successes and failures starting at this point until the creature collects three successes or three failures. The disease is cured when the creature collects three successes. When the creature collects three failures, it transforms into a ravenous wendigo, losing all vestiges of its former species and identity. Once the transformation is complete, only a wish spell can transform the wendigo back into the humanoid it once was.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Sandy Petersen’s Cthulhu Mythos, © 2018, Petersen Games; Authors: Sandy Petersen, David N. Ross, James Jacobs, Arthur Petersen, Ian Starcher.