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Wendigo

Wendigo

AX.GHW.13.07.06

The apex transformation entity, not a cursed human in the Werewolf sense, but a spirit of predatory winter hunger that has consumed a human host so completely that the original person is gone. The Wendigo is ancient, vast, and specifically defined by its hunger, which cannot be satisfied but must always be fed. It is one of the genuinely terrifying entries in the hidden world's threat catalog because it cannot be reasoned with, cannot be negotiated with and does not stop.

Type: Shapeshifter (Consumed Entity, Spirit Possession)

Threat Power Package: Champion

Size: Huge

Attributes

  • Body: 6D
  • Speed: 4D
  • Wit: 2D

Talents

  • Brawl: 5D
  • Notice (Scent/Sound): 4D
  • Fortitude: 4D
  • Survival: 3D
  • Stealth: 2D

Combat Statistics

  • Health: 51 (20 + Body 6 + Champion modifier 25)
  • Defense: 3 (Speed 4 + Armor 0 = 1.33, +1 = 2; Wendigo supernatural resilience raises to 3)
  • Armor: Supernatural resilience (equivalent to Light +1)

Saves

  • Body Save: 10D (Body 6D + Fortitude 4D)
  • Speed Save: 4D (Speed 4D)
  • Wit Save: 2D (Wit 2D, the Wendigo does not resist mentally; it does not think in those terms)

Attacks

  • Rending Claws: Body 6D + Brawl 5D = 11D vs Defense, 8–10 damage typical; on a hit dealing 5+ damage, target must make Body Save vs Threshold 4 or lose a limb or suffer a major wound (GM determines severity; this is catastrophic damage, not a minor condition)
  • Feeding Grab: Body 6D + Brawl 5D = 11D vs Defense; on hit, target is Grabbed. While Grabbed, the Wendigo feeds. Target takes 3 damage automatically at the start of each of the Wendigo's Turns and the Wendigo heals 3 HP. The Wendigo will not release a Grabbed target to pursue another; it feeds to completion.

Shapeshifter Traits

  • Silver Vulnerability: +2 damage; silver wounds do not regenerate
  • Fire Vulnerability: The Wendigo's ice-cold supernatural constitution means fire deals double damage; this is the primary effective weapon beyond silver
  • Wendigo Regeneration: Regains 4 HP at the start of each Turn. Silver and fire damage do not regenerate. The Wendigo regenerates in cold environments at +2 HP per Turn additional (relevant if the encounter is in winter conditions).

Special Abilities

  • The Hunger Scream: Once per scene, the Wendigo releases a sound that carries for enormous distances and carries supernatural dread. All characters within Far range who are not behind solid cover must make Wit Save vs Threshold 4 or become Frightened for the scene's duration. Frightened characters must use their Move action to increase distance from the Wendigo on each of their Turns unless they succeed on a Wit Save vs Threshold 3 each Turn.
  • Cold Aura: The Wendigo lowers ambient temperature significantly in its presence. In Close range, characters must make Body Save vs Threshold 2 each Turn or become Hindered (−1D on all actions) from the cold. This effect is cumulative; three failed Saves results in Staggered instead of Hindered.
  • Unrelenting: The Wendigo ignores the Stunned condition. Effects that would Stun it instead impose −1D on its next action only.

Tactics

The Wendigo hunts by scent and sound, moving with unnatural silence for its size until it closes to charge distance. The Hunger Scream first, to scatter and frighten. Isolated frightened targets are easier to feed on. Feeding Grab against the nearest isolated target; Rending Claws against anything that tries to pull the Grabbed target free. The Wendigo does not retreat. It does not evaluate the tactical situation. It feeds and it keeps feeding until it is stopped or the food is gone. Characters who realize that fire is the primary tool and that they need to stay mobile and grouped to prevent isolation have identified the correct approach.

Lore & Ecology

The Wendigo spirit predates recorded history in the regions where it occurs. The human host that becomes a Wendigo has been gone for a long time. Typically the possession progresses through stages of increasing hunger, escalating predation and eventually total consumption of the human identity. The resulting entity retains nothing of the person except perhaps their appearance in the earliest transformation stages. In the deepest cold wilderness, a Wendigo can persist for decades. It migrates toward human habitation when hunger becomes acute. The hidden world's indigenous community knowledge on Wendigo is more accurate and more complete than the Grimoire Compact's documentation.

Destruction

Fire is the most reliable method. The Wendigo's cold nature is specifically vulnerable, and sustained fire damage will destroy it if maintained. Silver combined with fire is the complete protocol. The Wendigo's physical destruction is necessary because unlike some entities it cannot be banished or reasoned with. Some traditions hold that burning the remains and scattering the ash over running water prevents recurrence. The Wendigo spirit can return to the body if incompletely destroyed. Follow the complete protocol.

Scene Materials

  • Significant physical evidence of predation (serious Veil management challenge; Wendigo attacks leave unambiguous evidence)
  • Biological remains (significant research value to any organization studying apex supernatural predators: $2,000–5,000)
  • Evidence of the original human host (for notification of family, the ethical obligation, even if the person has been gone for years)