Spellstitched Hangwight (3.5e Creature)
From D&D Wiki
Male or female wight rogue 3 | |
LE Medium undead | |
Init/Senses | +2/darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +13, Spot +13 |
Languages | Common |
AC | 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 natural) |
hp | 30 (7 HD) |
Fort/Ref/Will | +4/+8/+8 |
Speed | 30 ft. (6 squares) |
Melee | slam +8 (1d4+3 plus energy drain) |
Ranged | +1 dart +7 (1d4+3) |
Base Atk/Grp | +4/+7 |
Special Actions | spell-like abilities, energy drain, sneak attack +2d6 |
Spell-Like Abilities | (CL 7th): 3/day—magic missile 2/day—blindness/deafness, darkness
|
Abilities | Str 16, Dex 14, Con —, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 16 |
SQ | create spawn, undead traits, trapfinding, evasion, trap sense +1, damage reduction 5/+1, spell resistance 18, +2 turn resistance |
Feats | Alertness, Blind-Fight, Weapon Focus (slam) |
Skills | Escape Artist +6, Hide +12, Listen +13, Move Silently +20, Spot +13, Tumble +12 |
Possessions | 10 +1 darts |
Create Spawn (Su) | Any humanoid slain by a hangwight becomes a wight in 1d4 rounds. Spawn are under the command of the hangwight that created them and remain enslaved until its death. They do not possess any of the abilities they had in life. |
Energy Drain (Su) | Living creatures hit by a hangwight’s slam attack gain one negative level. The DC is 16 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. The save DC is Charisma-based. For each such negative level bestowed, the hangwight gains 5 temporary hit points. |
Skills | Hangwights have a +8 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. |
![]() |
---|
Tragedy or trap? |
The lightless forest you're forced to travel through is unnerving enough on its own, but as you begin glimpsing corpses hanged from the grarled branches, you start to lose your composure. Was that a movement amid the foliage? The neck-snapped corpses have their bodies tattooed all over with arcane runes of emerald and violet hues. Their faces are twisted into pained visages, but in your terror you begin to think that they leer and sneer at you from the corner of your eye.
When a powerful undead master wants to protect his assets and mere skeletons or zombies won't do, they will often seek to gather intelligent undead to their service. Hangwights are especially desired: born from the remains of innocent men and women lynched during times of panic, these wights have been further strengthened through training as spies and assassins and the magical tattoos that allow them to wield arcane powers. Hangwights invariably wear the noose they were hanged with around their neck as a reminder of the grave offense committed against them. Hangwights often function as messengers, thieves and murderers thanks to their stealth and deadliness.
Combat
A common ruse for hangwights is to pretend to be mundane hanged corpses (Spot DC 22 to notice), and attack foes just as they pass under them. Hangwights always try to have mage armor up before a battle, as there's no time to use it once combat is underway. As canny foes, hangwights try to face foes in packs and surround them. A few stay back and pelt foes with stinking cloud (which doesn't affect the unliving hangwights) and blindness/deafness. Since the hangwights aren't powerful as such, they try to bring foes to their level through a plethora of negative effects and superior numbers. They have no qualms about running away and facing foes at a later time - they seek to kill, not to damage, and if the fight will lead only to the hangwight's death, there's no use continuing it.