Wendigo (Wen-Dee-Goe)

The Winter's Bane

Wendigo are the ferocious, undead byproducts of cursed humanoids that give into starvation, and succumb to cannibalism. These wintery horrors plague the frozen forests of Meidrerall, and glide along the snowy grounds, consuming anything they come across.

Trackless Predators

Wendigo are part evil spirits, which grants them their undead nature. They chase and hunt anything that moves, and consume all forms of life within the frozen forests of Meidrerall, becoming the manifestation of starvation within the harsh winter climates that lead many to their own creation. While they can easily track other creatures and can lure out others with their mimicry, however, it is hard for other creatures to track a Wendigo. Despite their large bodies,Wendigo move seamlessly across the surface of the snow, leaving no tracks, and flowing as if they were not attached to the world, and needn't make contact with the ground.

homebrew by Team Brievary

Wendigo CR: 7

Large undead, neutral evil

Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points: 113 (15d10+30)

Speed: Hover: 60ft Burrow: -1ft

STR

14 +2

DEX

19 +4

CON

13 +1

INT

10 +0

WIS

12 +1

CHA

16 +3

Saving Throws: Con +5, Wis +4, Cha +6

Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +7

Damage Immunities: cold, poison

Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone

Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14

Languages: Abyssal, Common

Mimicry. The wendigo can mimic animal sounds and humanoid voices. A creature that hears the sounds can tell they are imitations with a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Insight) check.
Magic Resistance. The Wendigo has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Wendigo Curse. The creature, other than an undead or construct, that lands a killing blow on the Wendigo begins to transform after 2d4 days into a Wendigo themselves. the Transformation takes 30 days and begins subtly (slightly paler skin, thinner and taller body) but advances with each passing day (DC 20 Perception/Medicine check to notice changes at the beginning and DC lowers as curse progresses).
Every time the cursed creature notices a dead body of a sentient humanoid within 60 feet of it, it must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be forced to spend it's movement to get to the body and action to begin devouring it. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Each time the cursed creature devours flesh of a sentient humanoid, it lowers number of days to finish transformation by 5.

Actions

Multiattack. The Wendigo makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws. If it can, Wendigo uses its Hallowing Roar instead of a Bite attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 8 2d4+3 piercing damage plus 10 3d6 necrotic damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 10 2d6+3 piercing damage plus 7 2d6 cold damage. The target has to make a DC 17 constitution saving throw or take an additional 7 2d6 cold damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful save.
Hallowing Roar (Recharge 6). The Wendigo emits a thundering roar. Each creature within 30 feet of the Wendigo must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or take 14 4d6 psychic damage and be stunned 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.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Two unguligrade legs, maintain a long, gaunt body often covered in what appears to be deer fur, and showing bone. Two long and lanky arms reach from the creature's shoulders all the way down to their feet, allowing for the Wendgo to reach farther targets. Their head takes the form of a mutilated deer with carnivorous teeth. Beyond this, bone shows in many places upon the Wendigo's body.

Biological Traits

Tall, thin, gangly, and animalistic, the Wendigo shows no signs of its previous humanity. Appearing like a strange, carnivorous bipedal deer, the Wendigo is a curse that strikes fear into those who wander the frozen woodlands in winter, unprepared for the starving predators within.

Genetics and Reproduction

Wendigo do not reproduce. Wendigo are created when an evil spirit possesses a humanoid that has committed cannibalism, or when a Wendigo is slain. In the event of a Wendigo being slain by a humanoid creature, the humanoid is cursed, slowly transforming into a Wendigo themselves.
A creature afflicted with the Curse of the Wendigo, is capable of removing the curse with magic and special ritual.

Growth Rate & Stages

Wendigo do not grow or properly age. The closest thing to a growth rate that a Wendigo experiences is the transformation process a humanoid undergoes while suffering from the Curse of the Wendigo. When a humanoid is afflicted with the Curse of the Wendigo, it will have a grace period of 2-8 days before the curse starts to take hold and manifest. After the curse starts, a humanoid creature will quickly change over the course of 30 days, with early signs of the transformation showing the skin becoming pale, and the body becoming gaunt, with a quicker loss of weight. During the transformation period, cursed creatures will have to fight the urge to eat corpses of humanoid creatures around them, with failure to prevent it showing signs of expediting the transformation process by up to 5 days per corpse.
by the later stages, a victim of the curse's body starts to grow antlers, transfigurate into animalistic limbs, grow fur, and completely lose control of their minds, as they become animalistic creatures, retaining their sentient capabilities, but becoming closer to a cursed spirit.

Ecology and Habitats

Wendigo tend to live and appear in cold regions, and are more commonly sighted amidst temperate and boreal forests during winter seasons, hunting and eating any food they can, and devastating the already reduced ecosystem.
Wendigo can appear in other seasons and locals, but they most commonly appear in regions where it's cold, and there is a lack of food resources.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Wendigo have deer-like heads, with carnivorous teeth, useful for tearing away at the flesh of their victims. the flesh and fur on their head it often rotting away or matted, with tears around the mouth.
In some cases, Wendigo have nothing more than a deer skull for their heads, with all the flesh and fur being peeled away.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Wendigos primarily populate the continent of Meidrerall, however, the curse of the Wendigo has managed to make it all across the world, with Wendigo appearing within the continents of Vaupane and Occidentra. That being said, Wendigo are a rarer species, with limited numbers existing across the Meirdrerall Continent.

Average Intelligence

Wendigo share similar intelligence levels to that of other typical humanoids, retaining some levels of their intellect and personalities from before their undead transformation. Smarter Wendigo will go so far as to learn magic and utilize traps and hunting strategies against their prey when roaming the wild winter wildernesses they love.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Wendigo retain all perception and sensory skills belonging to their humanoid forms, such as sight, touch, smell, and other basics, but also develop an array of new extrasensory capabilities, such as the innate capability to mimic animal sounds and humanoid voices for the purpose of drawing the attention of prey. Additionally, they develop a resistance to magic, with magical effects doing reduced damage against them.
But perhaps the most unique ability a Wendigo develops is their hallowing cry, a terrifying shriek a Wendigo can produce that will harm the minds of all who hear it, and can even stun creatures for upwards of a minute.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Most Wendigo abandon their names when they transform, but some of the more clever ones retain their names from their human days.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Wendigo are capable of speech, and can typically communicate in both Common and Abyssal, though their animalistic nature tends to have them growl at most living creatures within their vicinity.

History

Wendigos were once other sapient creatures, cursed to transform into undead abominations with nothing more on their mind than the desire to eat human, and other humanoid flesh. They seek to hunt and hunt to eat, rarely developing any form of culture or settlements. While some wendigos retain a high intelligence and can disguise themselves to create traps, luring people into supposedly safe tribes just for them to be fed upon, most Wendigo lives an animalistic life, hunting anything that moves within the forest, and spreading its curse wherever it may end up.
While not the most common creature one can find, the Wendigo has become quite the widespread creature, with many appearing all across the continent of Meidrerall, and the curse even reaching the continents of Vaupane and Occidentra.

Common Myths and Legends

It is believed by many of the cultures and tribes of the great Meidrerall expanse that the Wendigo was birthed from a small tribe one cold winter many years ago. Starving to death, and wishing for nothing more than to sate their hunger, the tribe, often referred to as the Wendigos, or some other variation of that name, turned to cannibalism, eating the flesh of other nearby tribes, and inevitably going insane and turning upon themselves. What few tribe members survived transformed, becoming skinny disfigured monstrosities of an undead nature, and seeking out more flesh, permeated by evil spirits to forever hunt in an attempt to satisfy their neverending hunger.

Genetic Descendants

• Elder Wendigo

Origin/Ancestry

Meidrerall

Lifespan

Indefinite

Average Height

8'5"-10' ft.

Average Weight

67-125 lbs.

Average Physique

Tall and gaunt, Wendigo are the undead, cursed manifestation of starving cannibals, transformed into an animalistic form in their undeath, and incapable of ever overcoming their starving form.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Wendigo often have rotting and patchy skin, as well as layers of white, brown, and grey fur that is often matted with blood.

Geographic Distribution

• Meidrerall

Related Organizations

• The Famished Hand