Widow Wisp – CR 10

Welcome to Monster Mondays! Today we present the Widow Wisp, a dangerous hunter who leads travelers off the spaceways.

Widow Wisp CR 10 (XP 9,600)

One of the many distant stars blinks and shifts, revealing that it is not so distant, and bears a screaming face, the sound tearing away at your mind.

CE Large aberration
Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16

DEFENSE

AC 25, touch 25, flat-footed 16 (+7 deflection, +9 Dex, -1 size)
hp 81 (12d8+24)
Fort +6, Ref +13, Will +11
Defensive Abilities natural invisibility, Immune magic

OFFENSE

Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect), starflight
Melee shock +18 touch (4d8 electricity plus chaining shock DC 19)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks chaining shock
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +15)

At will—gravity bolt (DC 16), minor image (DC 17), mirror image
3/day—antimatter ray (DC 16), lightning bolt (DC 16)
1/dayhallucinatory terrain (DC 19)

STATISTICS

Str 5, Dex 29, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 16
Base Atk +9; CMB +7; CMD 24
Feats Greater Spell Focus (illusion), Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Bluff), Spell Focus (illusion),Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +24, Fly +30, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (geography) +17, Perception +16, Stealth +21
Languages Aklo, Common
SQ feed on fear, lead astray

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Chaining Shock (Ex)

Whenever the widow wisp hits a creature with its shock attack, all other creatures and unattended objects within 15 feet must make a Reflex save DC 19, or take the shock damage as well. Any technological objects damaged must make a Fortitude save DC 19 or become non-functional for 1d4 rounds.

Lead Astray (Sp)

The widow wisp can use its hallucinatory terrain and minor image to fake the appearance of new or moved astronomical phenomenon. Any creature who has failed to see through or disbelieve the widow wisp’s illusions has difficulty in using Knowledge (geography) to navigate for the next 24 hours. In addition to making the usual skill checks to navigate, they must also beat the widow wisp’s Bluff roll. If they succeed, they navigate as per the normal results of their roll. If they fail to beat the widow wisp, they instead plot a course towards a destination of the wisp’s choosing, often one of great risk or danger.

Feed on Fear (Su)

Any time a widow wisp is within 15 feet of a dying creature or a creature subject to a fear effect it gains fast healing 10.

Immunity to Magic (Ex)

Widow wisps are immune to all spells and abilities that allow spell resistance, except magic missile and maze.

Natural Invisibility (Ex)

Widow wisps have the ability to extinguish their natural glow as a move action, effectively becoming invisible, as per the spell.

ECOLOGY

Environment deep space, ship graveyards
Organization solitary, pair, or constellation (4-12)
Treasure normal

Absent powerful long range sensors, the stars are still the primary tool of the ship’s navigator. A relative constant, they can be used to judge location, speed, and relative distance, provided the navigator’s charts are up to date.

Sometimes the stars lie.

Widow Wisps create fields of illusionary stars, deliberately throwing off navigation attempts in large swaths of space to specifically lure travelers into disaster. Once a ship is disabled by a dangerous spaceborn hazard or creature, the widow wisps then swoop in to feed upon the pain and fear of the dying, only to retreat and set their trap yet again.

Larger than their terrestrial cousins, the widow wisps seem to share their same focus on leading travellers astray before devouring them, but it is unclear if this is mere predatory behavior, or the link to something more dire. The widows are speculated to either work for various deep unseelie lords, or the horrors between the stars themselves, but few have gotten any words out of a widow that haven’t been outright lies.

There does seem to be a growing pattern, instead of leading ships into navigational hazards, the widows have started to lead ships into foreign and hostile territory, and several recent border disputes have been blamed on the widow’s interference. A war would cause far more fear and panic for the widows to feast on than a few lost travellers, and it may even provide enough sustenance to feed something far larger in the depths of space.



About Kevin Bryan

Kevin Bryan is a monster writer for the Open Gaming Network, and is looking forward to bringing all sorts of strange and bizarre creatures to life. His personal website is Kevinswriting.com.

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