I'm looking for one for some fiction. Can anyone tell me about this monster? I know the origins, just need the mechanical, or a rough idea about its abilities.
If it breaks any rules or copyright, I don't want to tick off anyone. A genereal idea is enough.
I'm looking for one for some fiction. Can anyone tell me about this monster? I know the origins, just need the mechanical, or a rough idea about its abilities.
If it breaks any rules or copyright, I don't want to tick off anyone. A genereal idea is enough.
It's an old legend. The first major use in horror fiction was Algernon Blackwood's 1910 story "The Wendigo" but it's been used a lot since.
You can check the wikipedia article for more details.
One of the books of the proceedings of the American Anthropological Association (something you'll find in any good college library) from I believe the mid-60s focuses on legends of the Wendigo and you'll find a lot of folklore there you won't find easily elsewhere (or on the internet).
As for a rough idea of the monster's abilities, it's an evil wind spirit that's also a demigod. It possesses or inspires people to become cannibals, and once they do, they become horrible cannibal monster spirits themselves, sometimes with cloven hooves, sometimes with no legs (just flying because they're burnt off) and so on. There's also (and I kid you not) the belief that when the wendigo is getting to you, you'll see all the people around you looking like "fat beavers." (This was evidently a favorite food of the native Americans, though it really sounds funny now.)
The story "Wendigo's Child" by Thomas Montelone is worth tracking down as well. Incredibly creepy. Scared the hell out of me as a kid.
Actually, the thing's OGL, which means you could put the mechanics here and even use them in commercial products (just the world info is off limits).
The Grand OGL wiki isn't that far with it yet, and I don't know of any other place that contains the stats (except Pathfinder #6, of course) - and since I'm at work right now, I can't post the stats, but it's a CR 17 CE large outsider who can haunt your dreams and drive you mad.
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I'm also fairly certain there was a Wendigo in one of the MMs (I think III or IV) which was a significantly lower CR than the Pathfinder one.
Other options could easily be adapting the ghoul with some specific spell like abilities or even hags might work well.
I'd second the Blackwood recommendation. Good story and should have no problem finding it on the net (public domain)
Creative Director
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Wendigo.
I did up a wendigo temlpate for the Fiend Folio; I still quite like that version a lot. The version we printed in Pathfinder #16 is NOT a template, but a CR 17 super monster that's ALSO quite cool.
As mentioned above, the wendigo is indeed a creature from real-world myth. Algonquian myth, in fact; it's basically a cannibalisim-themed evil spirit.
Algernon Blackwood's short story "The Wendigo" is probably my favorite incarnation of the monster in fiction. A close second is the myth's appearance in the Lovecraft Mythos as the Great Old One Ithaqua, although this wasn't invented by Lovecraft but instead by August Derleth. The Ithaqua version of the wendigo shows up quite often in Lovecraft-themed stories.
There's a wendigo in Stephen King's Pet Semetary, although it's not much more than a cameo role, it's a good one!
There's been several quite good movies with a wendigo element to them in the last decade or so as well. Ravenous is a great movie. Wendigo is a better than average movie. The Last Winter's my personal favorite wendigo movie.
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I'm looking for one for some fiction. Can anyone tell me about this monster?
The Ancients have this to say;
It has terrible teeth,
And terrible claws.
And terrible tusks
In its terrible jaws.
It has knobbly knees,
And turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart
On the end of its nose.
Its eyes are orange,
Its tongue is black.
It has purple prickles
All over its back
Oh, help!
Oh, no!
It's a Wendigo!
a CR 17 super monster that's ALSO quite cool.
- How cool is it?
- It's so cool, it's attacks deal 2d6 extra cold damage!*Ka-CHING!*
I'm looking for one for some fiction. Can anyone tell me about this monster?It has terrible teeth,
And terrible claws.
And terrible tusks
In its terrible jaws.It has knobbly knees,
And turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart
On the end of its nose.Its eyes are orange,
Its tongue is black.
It has purple priclkles
All over its backOh, help!
Oh, no!
It's from Idaho!
Fixed that for you ;-)
Anyway, I did it just because it rhymed.
I'm looking for one for some fiction. Can anyone tell me about this monster?The Ancients have this to say;
It has terrible teeth,
And terrible claws.
And terrible tusks
In its terrible jaws.It has knobbly knees,
And turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart
On the end of its nose.Its eyes are orange,
Its tongue is black.
It has purple prickles
All over its backOh, help!
Oh, no!
It's a Wendigo!
ROFLMAO :-D
"And my favourite food is Wendigo Crumble!"