Alic came to us with a great idea for a world based in the Midwestern part of the United States. They wanted to take the most famous folk-lore in this area and turn it into a story where the payers follow the lore of the monsters. So, we did a lot of research and turned them into Homebrewed Monsters and Encounters! Just in time for Halloween!
History:
Mothman is a widely reported creature from Pleasant Point, West Virginia. It was first covered in a newspaper that a couple spotted a, “... Man-size Bird … Creature … Something.” From there, the Mothman craze spread over the national news. It was popularized by Gray Barker in 1970 and later popularized by John Keel in his 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies. An annual festival in Pleasant Point is held with respect to the Mothman legend.
Stats:
The Mothman is a beast that carries terrible times with it. Anyone who crosses his path is struck with grief and terrible times.
HP: 130 (Scale as you need)
AC: 16
Stats:
Strength: 17 (+2)
Dexterity: 17 (+2)
Constitution: 15 (+1)
Intelligence: 13 (+1)
Wisdom: 17 (+2)
Charisma: 20 (+3)
Abilities:
Dark Vision: 120 ft.
Catastrophe: The Mothman uses his dark aura to force a disaster. A random player is chosen once per turn, the chosen player must roll with disadvantage.
Damage Immunizes: Cannot be Frightened or Charmed.
Fly Speed: 60 ft.
Attack Abilities:
Claw: The Mothman dashes at a player and attacks a player with its massive claws.
1d6+3 Slashing.
Gust: The Creature flaps its massive wings forcing its enemies back. When this attack is used, any player within 5 ft. must make a Strength 13 saving throw. On a failed save the player is pushed back 15 ft. and takes 1d4 Bludgeoning Damage.
Impale: The Mothman unsheathes his blade imbued with darkness and slashes at an opponent. Take 1d8+4 Necrotic Damage.
Encounter:
Have the party hear about this 3 days long wild festival that is going to be held in the town of Pleasant Point Virginia. They show up and have a great time and learn about why the festival is being held. The town does this to ward off the Mothman from attacking any of the townspeople or animals. The actual town has a Mothman shaped pancake eating contest so maybe have the party do this and other festivals like activities!
Later that night, have the mayor's daughter get kidnapped by what looked like the Mothman after 10 years of peace. The mayor recruits the party to help him in exchange for gold. They head off into the woods, avoiding traps and creatures to find the cave where the Mothman resides. Then have them fight the Mothman. Since he is a man-like creature, you can have him talk in broken common language. If they have him surrender, have the party make sure he swears he will never attack the townspeople again. If they kill him, let the mayor know. Either way, the town will host the festival again next year and thank the party for their heroic deeds!
History:
The wendigo is a people-eating creature or evil spirit that lurks around the forests around Nova Scotia and the Great Lakes Region of Canada. They may appear as a monster with hints if humans mixed in or a human who has been possessed by the evil spirit and made them monstrous. It is always associated with murder, insatiable greed, and evil.
There is also a controversial modern medical term Wendigo psychosis described as a culture-bound syndrome with symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and fear of becoming a cannibal.
The Wendigo is part of the traditions of Algonquin-speaking people such as the Ojibwe, the Saulteaux, the Cree, the Naskapi, and the Innu. The description of the wendigo varies between the people, but they all view the wendigo as an evil supernatural being.
Humans who are consumed by greed usually turn into wendigo and they can turn into them by being in contact with them for too long. They migrate to people to talk about them out loud but can show up at any time, usually to eat people.
Stats:
The Wendigo is a dark and evil creature. It haunts and devours the innocent, while it stalks the plains feasting on anyone or anything who even speaks its name.
HP: 150 (Scale as you need)
AC: 17
Stats:
Strength: 18 (+3)
Dexterity: 14 (+1)
Constitution: 15 (+2)
Wisdom: 19 (+3)
Intelligence: 16 (+2)
Charisma: 17 (+2)
Abilities:
Dark Vision: 120 ft.
Immunizes: Cannot be Charmed or Frightened.
Fear Eater: Whenever an NPC or PC speaks about the Wendigo, it becomes aware of their existence.
Resistant: The Wendigo is resistant to Non-Magic damage.
Weakness: The Wendigo is Weak to all fire abilities.
Attack Abilities:
Bite: The Wendigo uses its incredibly sharp teeth to attack. Take 1d6+3 Slashing.
Howl: The beast howls, all players within a 10 ft. radius must make a Con 14 saving throw. On a failure, the player becomes frightened for 1 minute.
Whisper: The creature whispers to a player. They must make a Wisdom 14 saving throw. On a failure, an illusion on the players worst fear appears. Take 1d8+3 Psychic Damage.
Encounter:
Have the party come across a town that is rumored to have a dark secret and they are in need of help. The town is supposed to be a very wealthy mining town but when they arrive, the town is stirken with poverty. People are starving and the houses are run down and small. Every person is scared of something but won’t speak of it. They just keep saying for the party to speak to the mayor. The mayor’s house is the only nice house in the area. It’s massive with plenty of food and warmth. The mayor is a greedy looking man who is hoarding the town’s wealth from the mining business. He tells them that a horrible monster has been snatching people up in the middle of the night for the last year. He needs help to defeat it. It tells them about the creature without speaking the name. Instead, he writes it down on a piece of paper and warns the party to not speak of it. He promises the party 50 gold each if they can defeat it.
The mayor sends the party on a wild goose chase that doesn’t make any sense or show them where the “monster” lives. Eventually, they stumble upon a hurt man. He stops the party and begs them to save the town. He tells them that the mayor is keeping the townspeople in check through fear. He has a deal struck with the wendigo that he feeds them some of the townspeople in exchange for his safety. They’re all scared of him so he stays in power of the town. He begs them to save them.
When the party returns, they head to the mayor's house to confront him. When the party reveals they know the secret, he laughs. He shakes his head and says they shouldn’t have survived. He sent them on a crazy adventure for them to die so this wouldn’t happen. He twitches unnaturally and says, “Well, I guess I’ll do it myself.” He transforms into a nasty monster of the wendigo and begins to fight the party.
When they defeat him, the town is so happy and thankful for their help. They give the party the gold they promised and tell them they will turn the town back to what it’s supposed to be. They warn them to not say the name of the monster and keep an eye out for the monster in the woods, for they never know when they might appear.
Goatman
History:
The Goatman is a half-animal, half-man creature, with the head of a goat and the body of a human who wields an ax. The legend goes that he was once a scientist that worked in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center where he experimented on goats. One day, the experiments backfired and he became mutated into the creature he is today. He then started attacking cars with axes and roaming the roads of Beltsville, Maryland.
Another version of the legend has it that he is a hermit who lives deep in the woods, wandering around at night along Fletchertown Road.
He also uses tricks to blend into the human population. He can blend into any crowd just by the deception of the eye and the mind. He likes to study humans, almost never attacking them, but will attack if need be.
Stats:
A freakish creature made from the darkness of the planet. Tread carefully, it's deception can turn friends into foes.
HP: 100 (Scale as needed)
AC: 15
Stats:
Strength: 15 (+1)
Dexterity: 17 (+2)
Constitution: 16 (+1)
Wisdom: 13 (+2)
Intelligence: 13 (+1)
Charisma: 23 (+5)
Abilities:
True Sight: 60 ft.
Damage Immunizes: Cannot be Frightened
Mimic: After the Goatman sees a player or NPC it can mimic their appearance and voice.
Attack Abilities:
Sinister Axe: The creature reveals his signature weapon. In addition to Slashing damage, the ax can determine any damage weaknesses an opponent has. Take 1d12+4 Slashing Damage.
Sinister Bolt: The Goatman uses the knowledge it obtained to fire a magic bolt, using the target's weakness. If the player isn't weak to a certain damage type, take Necrotic damage. Take 2d6 damage.
Encounter:
If you use the story with the scientist, have the party travel to a small town in Maryland. Have there be a rumor about a mad scientist who works in a laboratory hidden deep in the woods. Have the townspeople hint that there is some crazy stuff going on in the lab but they have heard of magical items hidden there. They say that the man has turned himself into a goat but have never seen him in the light. Only spotty sighting every so often, usually around the farms of the town. If the party decides to head up there, have the lab be a stereotypical mad scientist lab but with goats all around. Pictures of them, books on their anatomy, goats in cages inside and out. Have them hear a horrible mixture of goat noises with human speech. Out staggers the Goatman. If the party decides to fight him, have him not be able to respond in common but he seems to understand the language, but not fully grasp the speech. If they defeat him, you as the DM decide what items they find. You can homebrew some magical items but it would be best to have them centered around animals if you can. If they capture him, have them return him to the mayor of the town who thanks them for their service. He will watch over the mad scientist and make sure he never harms any animals or terrorize the town again.
The original idea was requested by Alic Shaw. It was researched, revised, and edited it by us, Bards of Lore. We take no credit in the lore of the creatures themselves!
Windigos are so creepy. Hope I never have to encounter one