[PORTRAIT] Aldus Peake: The Wendigo (done)

[MisterRaziel]

Aldus Peake: The Wendigo - (CR9)

Aldus Peake is set upon by a vicious wendigo!
/Imageshack
/Stinks, don't it?

Human Form:

Aldus Peake (CR 9)
Human Barbarian 6
Chaotic Evil | Medium | Shapechanger
Init +7
Senses: Low-Light vision, Scent, Listen +11, Spot +11
Languages: Common
AC 13 (Dex +3) Touch 13, Flat-footed 16
hp 136 6d12+12 plus 4d10+12
Resist: Cold Resistance 5
Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +2

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Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee +3 Longspear of Frost +11/+6 (1d8+2 plus 1d6 cold/x3) or Unarmed +8/+3 (1d6+2)
Ranged +2 Longbow +11/+6 (1d8/x3)
Base Atk +6/+1; Grp +11

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Abilities Str 14(+2), Dex 17(+3), Con 15(+2), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10(+0), Cha 12(+1)
Special Qualities: Alternate Form, Scent, Cold resistance 5 (in place of lycanthrope empathy), Fast Movement, Rage 2/day, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +2.
Feats: Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Alertness, Track
Skills: Hide +7, Move Silently +7, Survival +6, Jump +6
Possessions: combat gear plus 306 gp, Heart of the Wendigo

Special: The Wendigo cannot truly die unless its frozen heart is cut out and destroyed by fire. If the heart is left in the Wendigo's body, the body reconstitutes in 1d6 weeks.

Forced Change: While in arctic or cold environments (read: snowy), or while it snows, Aldus must change into the Wendigo.

He is a slender, pale man with gaunt features. Roughly-treated buckskins hang loosely off his almost skeletal frame, and long, spidery fingers grip the haft of his spear. The smell of carrion assails your nostrils, emanating from every pore.

He stares at you, hungry and unblinking; a predatorial slouch to his shoulders. Ice-blue eyes rimmed with red regard you not as a human being, but as prey. Rust-brown blood flecks his sparse beard.

Wendigo Form:

The Wendigo (CR 9)
Human Barbarian 6
Chaotic Evil Large Shapechanger
Init +8
Senses Low-light vision, Listen +11, Spot +11
Languages: None (does not communicate)

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AC 19 (+4 dex, +5 natural), Touch 14, Flat-footed 19
hp 184 (6d12+36 plus 4d10+36)
Immune: Cold
DR 10/Fire
Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +2
Weakness Vulnerable to fire

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Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Melee 2 claws +16 (1d6+5) and bite +16 (1d8+10)
Space: 10
Reach: 10
Base Atk +6; Grp +32
Attack Options: Large Size (bonuses to grapple/bull rush, etc)
Special Actions: Shapechange, Improved Grab, Chilling howl

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Abilities Str 30(+10), Dex 19(+4), Con 23(+6), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10(+0), Cha 12(+1)
Special Qualities: Same as human form, DR 10/Fire, Ferocity (works like Diehard), Alternate Form
Feats: Same as human form
Skills: Hide +8, Move Silently +8, Survival +6, Jump +12
Possessions combat gear plus: Same as human form

Special: The Wendigo cannot truly die unless its frozen heart is cut out and destroyed by fire. If the heart is left in the Wendigo's body, the body reconstitutes in 1d6 weeks.

Improved Grab: If the Wendigo hits with both claw attacks in a single turn, it may attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Chilling Howl: The Wendigo unleashes a loud, keening howl, requiring any within earshot to make a DC 15 fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.

The Wendigo gains a +6 bonus to hide, move silently, and survival checks in arctic or snowy conditions when in Wendigo form.

What stands before you looks like nothing else but a skeletally-thin baboon covered in wiry, white fur. Two foot-long ears sweep back past its thick mane.

It stands hunched on crooked legs that end in wide, cloven hooves. Long, thin arms extend past its knees, ending in paddle-like hands with long fingers and wicked claws.

Its lipless mouth is nothing but a bear-trap of long, thick fangs, giving the impression of a humourless grin. Above the teeth, two red-rimmed eyes glare with an endless hunger.

Biography

History:

Aldus Peake was born in a small city in a temperate region to the south. His father, a thatcher, raised the boy with hopes of passing on the family business.

From the start, though, young Aldus was stricken with an incurable wanderlust, travelling far from the watchful eyes of his parents to explore the woods near his home.

This wanderlust stayed with Aldus his entire life. Shortly after his 20th birthday, Aldus left home to seek adventure in the icy regions at the northernmost point in the world.

During his travels, he studied literature and the practical sciences at Universities along his way, and woodcraft under skilled rangers.

When he finally reached the far north, he fell in with a group of barbarians eking out an existence on the permafrost. For years, he lived as one of them: learning their ways, hunting, gathering, and observing.

One chill winter night, beneath the full moon, Aldus strayed far from a hunting trail, following reindeer tracks - a rare bounty.

The tracks led on for miles, but still Aldus crept along, an arrow nocked, his feet making no sound.

The tracks ended at the shredded carcass of a reindeer. Snow and blood mixed into a gory slush for ten feet in any direction.

As he moved closer to investigate, hoping, perhaps, that some useable meat was left on the broken bones, he heard a piercing roar that chilled him to the bone.

He stood upright, scanning the woods. Again came the roar, and this time he was paralyzed with fright.

Out of the woods leaped a giant ape, long arms hanging below the knees, and knuckles scraping the ground.

Its eyes were fixed on his, and he was terrified. Never had he seen such pure malevolence - such a deep, abiding hunger. It reached out almost casually with one fist of razor-sharp claws and he knew no more.

The next memory he had was of daylight. A warrior from the village was kneeling over Aldus, trying to rouse him.

Memories came back in a flash. The beast... the wound...

He clambered to his feet, his wound mysteriously gone. The warrior led the way, and Aldus' stomach was gripped by a hunger the like of which he'd never before felt.

It had to be satisfied.

He ripped his knife from its sheath and leaped on the warrior's back, hacking and stabbing until the body went limp.

He feasted.

Infused with a new strength, Aldus returned to the village, saying that the warrior was killed by a bear as they returned to the village. No more questions were asked.

Daily, the hunger returned; daily, Aldus feasted; daily, a villager went missing.

For a week this went on, until finally the Elders decided that no more doubt could be cast: Aldus was a murderer. He was stripped of everything and sent, naked, into the frozen forest.

Aldus didn't make it far. The cold overtook him after only a few miles of walking, and he collapsed.

Falling snow awoke him. Each flake was agony - it was as though his body was stretching in unnatural ways. His hands grew; white fur sprouted from his body; his jaw elongated.

Until finally, all he knew was the hunger. He had become Wendigo - a monster of legend, said to be the soul of one who had consumed the flesh of man and attracted the attention of an evil and powerful Manitou. He was cursed forevermore to consume sentient flesh.

The next morning, Aldus' village was swept away in a storm of blood, claw, and ice.

Since that day, Aldus has wandered the snowy wastes, seeking only to assuage the burning hunger.

Appearance: Aldus is roughly 5'7" tall and extremely thin. He has unkempt blonde hair and a sparse beard, both of which look like they haven't been washed in years. Dried blood often forms a crust in his beard.

His pale yellow eyes are watery and rimmed with red, as though he hasn't slept in days. But they have an unnerving, predatory focus.

Personality: Aldus is standoffish and taciturn, constantly circling, talking little. The company of other sentient creatures holds little enjoyment for him - other creatures are merely prey. He speaks slowly, snarling. He fixes others with a predatory glare, gauging every weakness and following every pattern.

Tactics: Aldus often sticks to the trees, making heavy use of cover and firing arrows. Failing that, he uses his long spear to keep enemies at bay, resorting to Barbarian Rage, fists and teeth if they get too close.

The Wendigo makes excellent use of its surroundings, blending in with snowy backgrounds and stalking prey.

When it comes time to strike, the Wendigo will make a prodigious leap at the weakest member of a group, using its howl to terrify and paralyze foes. It will then use its Improved Grab to try and capture a party member, and drag it into the forest, where it tries to hide and lose pursuers so it can eat its capture at its leisure.

[Vaynor]

Ummm, if his speed is 40 ft., shouldn't he move 8 squares and not 5?

[MisterRaziel]

It appears my math was off! Duly corrected! Anything useful to critique?

[Annarrkkii]

Re you aware that the Wendigo template already exists in the Fiend Folio?

Besides that, I think it's great.

[Vaynor]

Yes it does, but it's a lot different from what is shown here.

[MisterRaziel]

Glad you like it.

See, I've never actually read Fiend Folio. But this is, I guess, a different take on it - I drew most of my inspiration from the MM's Lycanthrope template.