Special Conversion Thread: Moldvay's Undead
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demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Looks good to me!
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
They do hit harder than a morgh and have the spellcasting... I'd be fine either way.
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Any more Moldvay monsters that are better suited for fey-hood, like the calliwhatzits?
Shade
Monster Junkie
Note: This is the wendigo, a unqiue epic creature.
If ghouls personify the fear of the wilderness and Black Annis personifies the fear of death, Wendigo personifies the fear of cannibalism. The origin of Wendigo comes from the Indian tribes of Canada.
The Canadian wilderness can be a terrifying place in the winter for people who have only a subsistence economy. Living by hunting is always a chancy life. There are times of plenty, but there are also times when game is scarce. During lean times, food can be gathered from the wild. During the winter, however, food is often unavailable. In the past, when there were few good methods of preserving food, there was the very real possibility that food would run out before spring. The problem was increased by the natural tension of people cooped up together.
Anthropologists refer to the extreme fear of cannibalism, coupled with a kind of "cabin-fever," as Wendigo psychosis. They hypothesize that the fear itself, if it grew too great, might trigger a psychotic hallucination of Wendigo.
Indian myths of Wendigo were carried over into more modern Canadian folklore, though the single entity now became numerous creatures, half phantom and half beast, who live in the forests and prey on human beings, particularly children. These wendigos might be people who entered into a pact with certain evil spirits that lurk in the forest and help these people kill their victims. Perhaps these wendigos were humans gazed upon the mythical being Wendigo, as in the Indian myths.
The legend of this creature has been immortalized in Algernon Blackwood's short story "The Wendigo," first published in 1907. Versions of Wendigo have worked their way into some of the stories of the Cthulhu Mythos; in fact, the Old One named Ithaqua, the Wind Walker, is essentially a reworking of the Wendigo legends to fit into the mythos.
Like Black Annis, Wendigo is on the borderline between the undead and other kinds of monsters. Even if the DM chooses to consider Wendigo as undead, the monster would be too powerful to turn, so the choice makes little practical difference.
WENDIGO
FREQUENCY: Unique
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -5
MOVE: 24"
HIT DICE: 30 (135 hp)
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-30
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (15' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 250
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Wendigo sometimes appears as a giant spectral being, part human and part animal, but his appearance varies because Wendigo is so chaotic that his body constantly changes. Everyone who sees Wendigo sees him differently, since Wendigo's form reflects a person's deepest fears.
In addition to his physical attacks, Wendigo can summon 2-24 ghouls, 1-6 ghasts, and 1-3 wind walkers, one group each per day. Wendigo can use this summoning power once per turn until, after three turns, he has summoned each kind of monster.
Anyone looking at Wendigo must save vs. spells or be affected by fear. If the save fails, the person must make a second saving throw against death magic. If this second save also fails, then the individual becomes a servant of Wendigo and will be under his complete control. The control can only be broken by reducing Wendigo to zero or less hit points, slaying him.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #138 (1988).
If ghouls personify the fear of the wilderness and Black Annis personifies the fear of death, Wendigo personifies the fear of cannibalism. The origin of Wendigo comes from the Indian tribes of Canada.
The Canadian wilderness can be a terrifying place in the winter for people who have only a subsistence economy. Living by hunting is always a chancy life. There are times of plenty, but there are also times when game is scarce. During lean times, food can be gathered from the wild. During the winter, however, food is often unavailable. In the past, when there were few good methods of preserving food, there was the very real possibility that food would run out before spring. The problem was increased by the natural tension of people cooped up together.
Anthropologists refer to the extreme fear of cannibalism, coupled with a kind of "cabin-fever," as Wendigo psychosis. They hypothesize that the fear itself, if it grew too great, might trigger a psychotic hallucination of Wendigo.
Indian myths of Wendigo were carried over into more modern Canadian folklore, though the single entity now became numerous creatures, half phantom and half beast, who live in the forests and prey on human beings, particularly children. These wendigos might be people who entered into a pact with certain evil spirits that lurk in the forest and help these people kill their victims. Perhaps these wendigos were humans gazed upon the mythical being Wendigo, as in the Indian myths.
The legend of this creature has been immortalized in Algernon Blackwood's short story "The Wendigo," first published in 1907. Versions of Wendigo have worked their way into some of the stories of the Cthulhu Mythos; in fact, the Old One named Ithaqua, the Wind Walker, is essentially a reworking of the Wendigo legends to fit into the mythos.
Like Black Annis, Wendigo is on the borderline between the undead and other kinds of monsters. Even if the DM chooses to consider Wendigo as undead, the monster would be too powerful to turn, so the choice makes little practical difference.
WENDIGO
FREQUENCY: Unique
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -5
MOVE: 24"
HIT DICE: 30 (135 hp)
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-30
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (15' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 250
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all
Wendigo sometimes appears as a giant spectral being, part human and part animal, but his appearance varies because Wendigo is so chaotic that his body constantly changes. Everyone who sees Wendigo sees him differently, since Wendigo's form reflects a person's deepest fears.
In addition to his physical attacks, Wendigo can summon 2-24 ghouls, 1-6 ghasts, and 1-3 wind walkers, one group each per day. Wendigo can use this summoning power once per turn until, after three turns, he has summoned each kind of monster.
Anyone looking at Wendigo must save vs. spells or be affected by fear. If the save fails, the person must make a second saving throw against death magic. If this second save also fails, then the individual becomes a servant of Wendigo and will be under his complete control. The control can only be broken by reducing Wendigo to zero or less hit points, slaying him.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #138 (1988).
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
Oh god. Another wendigo conversion. We've got... let's see...
wendigo template, Fiend Folio
Wendigo, Pathfinder #6
Witigo, Creature Collection 3
And Cleon's three (!) wendigos in his "Fearsome Critters" thread.
And that's just off the top of my head.
The Pathfinder Wendigo is probably most similar to this one--CR 17, native outsider. I've never heard of wendigos summoning things or dominating people before. Generally they just infect them with their hunger.
What are wind walkers? Lesser wendigoids from the same article, I imagine?
wendigo template, Fiend Folio
Wendigo, Pathfinder #6
Witigo, Creature Collection 3
And Cleon's three (!) wendigos in his "Fearsome Critters" thread.
And that's just off the top of my head.
The Pathfinder Wendigo is probably most similar to this one--CR 17, native outsider. I've never heard of wendigos summoning things or dominating people before. Generally they just infect them with their hunger.
What are wind walkers? Lesser wendigoids from the same article, I imagine?
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