Monster Monday: Poludnitsa - Lady Midday

Today's Monster Monday is the polunitsa, or Lady Midday. She is a malicious fey from Slavic mythology who appears in the heat of midday to deliver heatstroke and madness to those laboring in the fields. She tends to appear as a woman dressed in white peasant clothes and bearing a scythe, and she is usually either young and eerily beautiful or old and wizened.

Faucheuse ('Girl with a Scythe') by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1872), via Wikimedia

There is more I could say, but I am afraid Lady Midday has struck me with heat exhaustion and left me unable to think clearly. Instead, please enjoy this sassy-looking poludnitsa:

via Wikimedia

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

This eerie young woman in a white dress grips a scythe as waves of heat emanate off her

Poludnitsa                 CR 3

XP 800

NE Medium fey

Init +6; Senses low-light vision; Perception +9

Aura heat aura

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, +2 deflection)

hp 27 (5d6+10)

Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +5

Immune fire, mind-affecting effects

Vulnerability cold

Defensive Abilities shimmer

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.

Melee scythe +5 (2d4/x4 plus 1 Int and Wis damage) or touch +4 (heatstroke)

Special Attacks heatstroke (DC 15, 1d6 nonlethal plus fatigued, 100 ft.), mind scythe

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5^th)

   3/day – confusion (DC 17), heat metal, invisibility (self only), ray of exhaustion (DC 16), sleep (DC 14)

   1/day – control weather, cup of dust (DC 16), mind maze (DC 16)

STATISTICS

Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 17

Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 17

Feats Defensive Combat Training, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (scythe)

Skills Bluff +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +9, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +10

Languages Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Heat Aura (Su)

The temperature within 500 feet of the poludnitsa rises by 1°F per five minutes to a maximum increase of 20°F over one hour.

Heatstroke (Su)

The poludnitsa can inflict heatstroke on any creature within 100 feet that she can see, as a standard action. Targets must make a DC 15 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of nonlethal fire damage and become fatigued. Creatures already affected by the poludnitsa’s heatstroke ability suffer a -2 penalty to their Fortitude saves against additional uses of the ability.

   Alternately, she can inflict heatstroke with a melee touch attack; the target gets no save.

   Subsequent uses of heatstroke do not cause a creature to become exhausted, but if the creature was already fatigued or becomes fatigued for a different reason, they can become exhausted. This ability bypasses effects that normally protect against environmental heat like endure elements, but resistance or immunity to fire damage is effective against heatstroke. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Midday Sun (Su)

The poludnitsa can only take corporeal form for the two hours around midday when the temperature is 70°F or above. At all other times and temperatures, the poludnitsa is invisible and incorporeal, and her only usable abilities are her heat aura and her control weather spell-like ability.

Mind Scythe (Su)

Creatures struck by the poludnitsa’s scythe take 1 point of Intelligence and Wisdom damage along with the normal damage. On a confirmed critical hit, instead of doing physical damage, the poludnitsa’s scythe separates the target from their mental faculties, reducing their Intelligence and Wisdom scores to 1; targets are confused for 1d4+1 rounds and exhausted until both their Intelligence and Wisdom are raised above 1. The poludintsa’s scythe cannot reduce any creature’s Intelligence or Wisdom scores to 0. The poludnitsa applies her Dexterity bonus in place of her Strength bonus to attack rolls with her scythe.

Shimmer (Su)

Shimmering heat waves obscure the poludnitsa’s exact position in combat, granting her 25% concealment and a +2 deflection bonus to her armor class.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate plains and hills

Organization solitary

Treasure none

Also known as Lady Midday, a poludnitsa is a malevolent fey spirit who appears in fields at the height of the noonday sun and causes heatstroke, fatigue, and madness in mortals. They can look like a young woman or an old crone, but they always wear a white dress and carry a scythe. Sometimes a poludnitsa will appear at crossroads and ask passers-by a series of questions, punishing wrong answers with a swift scythe-blow. Other times, a poludnitsa will lure their victim into the wilderness and confound their sense of direction with exhaustion and heatstroke until they are lost and helpless.

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Plot Hooks and Encounter Ideas

• When the adventurers arrive at the inn, they find that there is no beer or bread to be had. Apparently, the local farmers have been unable to bring in much harvest thanks to a malicious spirit cursing them with heatstroke.
• The party arrives at a crossroads at noon, exhausted and disoriented. A young woman in white steps out of the rows of wheat and offers to point them in the right way, if they will answer a riddle.

-your hyperthermic d20 despot