Wight: Ambition in Death

Lore: Soldiers of the Underworld

In days long past, the word ‘wight’ meant ‘person.’ Nowadays, it means just the opposite; it now refers to an undead soul driven by dark desires and vanity. When death comes to claim them, those that cry out to the demon lord Orcus, or some other evil god of the underworld, will rise again to wage an eternal war on the living and continue their ambition.

Existing between life and death, a wight yearns for the spark of the living. Hiding from sunlight, which they hate, they dwell within tombs or crypts that no living thing would go near. Should one be killed by a wight, they may find themselves risen from death to serve it as a zombie.

Many wights serve their dark god as a soldier. Though they are capable of planning, they rarely do. Instead, they rely on the overwhelming wrath of their evil hunger to simply overwhelm their enemies.

There are a few interesting directions you can go with this lore. Perhaps the BBEG is some evil god who sends a wight to eliminate the players early on in the campaign. Maybe the players meet one and choose to help it fulfill its twisted ambitions in an evil campaign. Small stories, perhaps, but engaging!

Design: Winter is Coming

Game of Thrones module when?

Maybe they should add some more skulls. Otherwise, people might not be able to tell it’s undead.

I actually really like this design. They could have put a zombie or a skeleton in armor and call it a day, but they didn’t. Instead, they went for a more creepy pale spirit kinda look. It looks like a World of Warcraft enemy from the WotLK days! It’s sick!

The face is what really gets me. It’s as pale as death, which makes the red about the teeth and eyes stand out more. Just imagine this guy strolling out of the darkness towards you. It’s a helluva image!

Can it compare to other monsters higher on the list? Honestly? No. But by the standard of undead monsters, this one is pretty high up there!

Stats: Kiss of Death

Wights are not particularly durable enemies. Neither their AC nor HP are particularly high. If they weren’t resistant to necrotic and non-magical/non-silvered melee attacks, as well as completely immune to poison, they’d be fairly easy to kill. Especially if you manage to catch them in sunlight, thanks to Sunlight Sensitivity.

As an enemy, it’s fairly simple. It’s got a longsword and a longbow, neither of which are particularly deadly for anyone past level three. Life Drain is a tad more dangerous; with this, the wight sucks away the victim’s maximum HP. Should it hit zero, the victim will die and rise again as a zombie in service to its killer.

And… that’s about it. Yeah, it’s not particularly complicated. It’s a regular slug fest with a low chance of zombification.

If you’re running an undead campaign and you need an early game boss fight, this is a solid pick. Simple but dangerous. Beyond the early game, however, you’ll need to find something else.

Placement

Overall, this monster is… decent. In every category, it’s either meeting the average or is slightly above it. But compared to the heavier hitters on the list, it just can’t compete.

With all that in mind, the Wight is going to #122 on the Best of the Bestiary!

Beholder
Death Tyrant
Mind Flayer
Dragon Turtle
Tarrasque
Mummy/Mummy Lord
Nagas (all three of ’em)
Green Dragons
Red Dragons
Blue Dragons
Black Dragons
White Dragons
Silver Dragons
Couatl
Behir
Aboleth
Sea Hag
Slaadi (all six of ’em)
Lamia
Bronze Dragons
Brass Dragons
Copper Dragons
Gold Dragons
Chuul
Vampire/Vampire Spawn
Kuo-Toa
Gibbering Mouther
Kraken
Intellect Devourer
Thri-Kreen
Shadow
Chimera
Sphinxes
Death Knight
Fomorian
Bone Devil
Dracolich
Faerie Dragon
Gelatinous Cube
Lich
Treant
Peryton
Troglodyte
Remorhaz
Unicorn
Orcs (all four of ’em)
Magmin
Shield Guardian
Kobold
Kenku
Hobgoblins
Night Hag
Green Hag
Black Pudding
Ankheg
Hook Horror
Succubus/Incubus
Oni
Purple Worm
Storm Giant
Hill Giant
Empyrean
Efreeti
Grimlock
Umber Hulk
Minotaur
Dao
Cloud Giant
Manticore
Scarecrow
Drow (all four of ’em)
Shadow Demon
Modrons (all five of ’em)
Marilith
Drider
Aarackockra
Azer
Demilich
Spectator
Gray Ooze
Ochre Jelly
Hydra
Rakshasa
Marid
Salamander
Harpy
Werejackal
Otyugh
Satyr
Half-Dragon
Cambion
Fire Giant
Nothic
Pixie
Animated Armor
Roper
Banshee
Basilisk
Yochlol
Bulette
Cloaker
Darkmantle
Doppelganger
Revenant
Ghoul and Ghast
Sahuagin (all three)
Ettin
Sprite
Medusa
Pit Fiend
Erinyes
Chain Devil
Bearded Devil
Barbed Devil
Spined Devil
Ice Devil
Mimic
Djinni
Troll
Merrow
Nalfeshnee
Wight <———————-
Glabrezu
Chasme
Grell
Barlgura
Horned Devil
Balor
Water Weird
Skeletons
Shadow Dragon
Myconids (all four of ’em)
Piercer
Werebear
Lizardfolk
Vrock
Dretch
Pseudodragon
Gnolls (all three)
Goristro
Hezrou
Manes
Quaggoth
Frost Giant
Weretiger
Werewolf
Duergar
Quasit
Dryad
Shambling Mound
Flumph
Goblin
Nightmare
Rust Monster
Wereboar
Wererat
Githyanki
Owlbear
Planetar
Imp
Ogres/Half-ogres
Roc
Clay Golem
Flameskull
Displacer Beast
Carrion Crawler
Githzerai
Grick
Invisible Stalker
Rug of Smothering
Bugbear Chief
Bugbear
Flesh Golem
Vine Blight
Twig Blight
Needle Blight
Mephits (all six of ’em)
Bullywug
Hellhound
Ettercap
Gas Spore
Cockatrice
Lemure
Homonculus
Merfolk
Solar
Deva
Gorgon
Hippogriff
Griffon
Cyclops
Centaur
Ghost
Pegasus
Fire Elemental
Water Elemental
Air Elemental
Stone Giant
Deep Gnome
Dinosaurs (All six of them)
Stirge
Specter
Iron Golem
Stone Golem
Earth Elemental
Galeb Duhr
Helmed Horror
Flying Sword
Crawling Claw
Violet Fungus
Shrieker
Gargoyle