Wolpertinger
Easily mistaken for a small, harmless woodland creature, the wolpertinger is, in fact, a beast of great cleverness and skill. It has the appearance of a hare with owl or falcon wings, small antlers, and two long, thin fangs. It has a deep bloodlust, and uses its fangs to drain the blood of its prey.
Bloodlust. It hunts in the dark of the night, usually seeking out herd animals like cattle and sheep as its quarry. Once the Wolpertinger has found its next victim, it will usually teleport it away from the enclosure to feed. It drives its fangs into the neck of the beast, and will drain its blood throughout the night.
It is a slow feeder, but the blood of another creature is transformed into a magical energy, allowing the Wolpertinger to grow in size until, when standing on its legs, it resembles a large dog, about three feet high. After a meal, a wolpertinger will slowly shrink back down to the size of a hare, when it will seek out another source of blood.
If a wolpertinger has drained a victim, but it does not die, these creatures are often drawn back to the wolpertinger by a magical link. Sometimes this can be used to find the wolpertinger's lair, but often a wolpertinger will attack the half-drained beast a second time, killing it before its warren can be revealed.
A Knack for Deception. The wolpertinger knows that it can often be overlooked, and it takes advantage of this. It often appears as friendly, cuddly, or in need of help in order to lure people closer. It will often keep up this charade for hours and sometimes days at a time. There have been reports of a wolpertinger befriending a young child and then, after having been a 'pet' for a few days, killing the entire family. The child who brought it in, however, is usually spared this fate.
Warrens and Protection When a wolpertinger is in too much danger, it will try to retreat into its warren. Depending on how long a wolpertinger has been in the area, this can be as small as 15 feet of tunnels, or a large labyrinth of interconnecting burrows, pits, and passages. A small humanoid can enter these warrens, as they have been made large enough for a well-fed wolpertinger to enter.
Warrens are well hidden and camoflaged, and are difficult to find. Often the only tell-tale sign of a wolpertinger warren is the blood that might have been left outside. Those with relevant animal skills might be able to track a wolpertinger back to its home, even as it teleports and flies. After the wolpertinger has hidden it its warren, traps can be laid for them. They cannot teleport out of the warren once they enter it, and this is usually a last resort.
Wolpertinger
Magical Beast, chaotic neutral
- Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 85 (10d10 + 30)
- Speed Flying 30ft, Running 15-30ft, depending on its current size.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13 (+1) 27 (+8) 10 (+0) 16 (+3) 21 (+5) 25 (+7)
- Skills Deception +5, Dexterity +5, Peception +11, Stealth +5
- Condition Immunities Prone, Charmed, Grappled
- Senses Darkvision 80 ft, Passive Perception 21
- Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)
So Cute and Fluffy. The wolpertinger's first instinct is to try to fool any adventurer who comes across it. It will do this by looking friendly, domesticated, or injured. If any person questions this, they must succeed a DC16 Wisdom saving throw, or they are fooled by the act.
Limited Magical Resistance. The wolpertinger has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects that attempt to bind, trap, ensnare, or capture it.
Small and Tricksy As a squirmy, small, and teleportation-prone beast, the wolpertinger has advantage on all physical and ranged attack rolls against it, including magical missiles and improvised weapons.
Actions
Multiattack. The wolpertinger makes two melee attacks, or it makes one melee attack and teleports before or after the attack.
Teleport. The wolpertinger magically teleports up to 120 feet to anunoccupied space it can see.
Separate Quarry If the wolpertinger is in contact with another creature, that creature can be teleported alongside the Wolpertinger. The other creature does not need to be willing, but if they wish to resist they must succeed a DC16 Dexterity saving throw.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: + 10 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage. To avoid incurring a level of Exhaustion due to blood loss, an enemy must succeed on a DC15 Constitution saving throw.
Tracking and Encounters
Often adventurers will be called on to solve the mystery of disappearing cattle, sheep, chickens, or even children.
When searching for the wolpertinger's warren, consult the following table in order to determine the signs. If someone has proficiency in 'Animal Handling' they may use that instead of 'Survival' to track the beast. If you are not at the warren, the wolpertinger has a chance to attack before you reach its den.
Tracking the Wolpertinger
| Score | Ecounter |
|---|---|
| C1 | You mistake the tracks of a local dog for that of the wolpertinger. Tracks lead back to the local butcher's shop. |
| 1-4 | Something distracts you, and you end up lost in the woods. |
| 5-8 | Instead of following the wolpertinger, you end up in front of an Owlbear's den, waking it. |
| 9-14 | You find some blood, and have a general sense that you are in the same area as the wolpertinger. |
| 15-20 | There is a large creature dead on the forest floor. There is a spatter of blood that leads in the direction of the warren. |
| C20 | Blood from the wolpertinger's latest victim leads you directly to their warren. |
| 21+ | You spot two strange, listless sheep wandering around. They are pale, stumbling, and seem to be headed in the same direction. |
The wolpertinger is the master of the sneak attack. When the party gets close to the warren of the beast, everyone should make a perception check to determine their ability to see or predict the creature's whereabouts.
Meeting the Wolpertinger
| Score | Result |
|---|---|
| C1 | You fall, and are now prone for the first attack phase. |
| 1-8 | Something distracts you; you are at a disadvantage on your next initiative roll. |
| 9-16 | You see the wolpertinger, but are immediately off-put by how cute it is. You are now charmed. |
| 17-20 | You spot the wolpertinger, but it has also spotted you. Roll initiative immediately. |
| C20 | You see the wolpertinger nearby, and it has not yet noticed you. You have an opportunity for a sneak attack. |
| 21+ | The wolpertinger is far away, but you spot it before it sees you. You have an opportunity to point it out. |
A small warren.
When fighting the wolpertinger, its important to note its size, as that determines how strong it is.
Size Chart
| HP | Size |
|---|---|
| <30 | Tiny |
| 50 | Small |
| 60 | Medium |
| 70 | Large |
| 80+ | Huge |
- A tiny wolpertinger is the size of a hare. It has had little to eat; its magical resistance wanes, and it has no advantage against traps. However, it now has the extra ability flyby.
- Small wolpertingers attempt to charm early and often, and trigger DC Wisdom saves for Charmed after every second attack that lands; they also have flyby.
- Medium creatures are average, all abilities are in effect about the size of a large cat.
- Large wolpertingers stand as tall as a hound, are aggressive, and will attack on sight.
- Huge wolpertingers appear as large as a stag and gain an extra attack, gore.
Flyby
The wolpertinger doesn't provoke an opportunity attack when it flies out of an enemy's reach.
Gore
Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.
Wolpertingers can also gain sizes and applicable size bonuses during the attack with the party after draining a character's blood. If they bite someone successfully, the wolpertinger can treat their victim's DC Constitution roll as a contest, and roll Constitution in response. If the wolpertinger's score is higher than the original saving throw of their victim, they immediately gain a size, but do not recover any HP.
Creating an Adventure
It's easy to create an adventure surrounding a wolpertinger attack. It is not a huge creature, but it is unassuming, and can easily outwit the adventurer who is not prepared or underestimates its abilities. Here are some quick ideas and tables for you to create a campaign, one-shot, or other adventure with this monster.
Hooks
The wolpertinger in the area has caused problems. This can happen in any environment, but is well-suited to wooded areas. As long as there is space for a wolpertinger to burrow, next, or build a warren, it can settle and prey on nearby settlments. To create a hook for your campaing, roll or pick from the following table.
Hooks and Seeds
| D8 | Event | Clues | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In the next town, a herd of sheep has been decimated. Nobody has seen the culprit, and the dogs they have set in the fields have slept through the night. | The dogs react to wolves, large birds of prey, and non-magical beasts. Blood leading into the wilderness. | 10 skeins of wool, and 200 GP. |
| 2 | A family has been slaughtered in the night, the only one spared was a small girl, who is traumatized and refuses to speak to anyone about that night. | The girl is known for being soft-hearted, and taking in injured animals, now, she won't even go near a kitten. | The town has raised 350 GP |
| 3 | Three bulls have been drained of blood. Locals suspect a vampire has hidden in a ruined castle nearby, and have hired you to get rid of it. | The fang impressions are rather small for a vampire, and no people have been caught in its thrall. | A crate of random magical loot |
| 4 | Formerly domesticated dogs now wander the village in a strange thrall. They do not respond to their old masters, and they head into the wilderness at night. | Blood can be seen on their necks, and they do not resist if you physically move them. They are not stealthy. | A magic staff from Palor's temple. |
| 5 | A disquieting legend haunts the local woodland. A nobleman of some wealth wishes to go through, and has hired you to keep them safe as they travel. | There are no small creatures in the forest. There are some larger birds, like owls and hawks, but no squirrels or even mice. | 500 GP, but only upon arrival. |
| 6 | Game has become scarce in an area that was previously teeming with large animals. The local noble has hired you to find out what haunts their lands. | There are many bodies to inspect, but little else. Fresh kill will be hard to find. You meet a dog as you investigate. | Two third-level spell scrolls |
| 7 | A unicorn, which many in town believed was a regional diety and spiritual protector of their village, has been found dead in the wilderness. | The scene was bloody, and you might be able to track what did this. However, scavengers lurk all around. | One Robe of Useful items. |
| 8 | A scirmish breaks out in between two different villages, as each thinks the other stolen their cattle. If you can solve the mystery the local peace coalition will pay up. | There are no bodies and both villages have missing stock. A local wildnerness offers refuge, but it is too dense for bandits. | 100 GP per adventurer. |
Additional Challenges
Wolpertingers use their unnatural thrall abilies to create small herds that congregate near the warren, providing a supply of blood that make it stronger.
The wolpertinger can gain size when it feeds on victims. It can additionally lose size when going through a strenuous maneuver. It might disappear in the middle of a fight, drawing the party deeper into the woods, glen, or mountain where it has made its next.
Sometimes the wolpertinger has a bonded mate, and two wolpertingers can often pretend to be a single creature, causing confusion, panic, and causing parties to second-guess the creature making the attacks on the local village.
The damage a wolpertinger causes can often be interpreted as an attack by a much larger creature, causing confusion and disbelief when a dead wolpertinger is brought as proof of a conquered challenge.
Befriending a Wolpertinger
While some enterprising adventurerers might try to befriend a wolpertinger, they will often find themselves the victim of the wolpertinger in the end. The beast is not know for connections to other animals, and even once taken in, they can turn on their new travelling companion in an instant.
They are not domesticated animals, and even if a wolpertinger is calm and docile for a few hours, or even a few days, none have been successfully made into pets. That doesn't mean, however, that you won't be the first.
