Spellstitched Hangwight (3.5e Creature)

Spellstitched^MM2 Hangwight

CR 7

	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 1/day—mage armor, ray of exhaustion, stinking cloud
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.

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