Monster Monday: Rawhed

Rawhed
No. Encountered: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60’/240’ (fly)
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 5 + 4
Attacks: 2 Claw/1 Bite or Gore
Damage: 2d6/2d8
Save: F6
Morale: See Below
Hoard Class: VIII, IX, XVIII (in lair)
XP: 1060 + 6/hp

Rawheds are a form of undead created when a powerful and especially malevolent wizard is slain but his familiar is not.  If the familiar is able to reach the body of the wizard, it will fuse horribly merge with the corpse to create a Rawhed.  Once finished, the creature resembles a human skeleton roughly 7’ in height with rotting, fleshy head resembling whatever animal served as the familiar.

Rawheds desire to eat the flesh of human victims.  They will not range far from their layers, which are usually the remnants of the tower or dungeon in which the mad wizard once housed himself, but being undead they will never starve and can go centuries without the flesh they desire.  However, doing so makes them extremely violent and aggressive.  When encounter with a Rawhed occurs, roll 1d6.  On a roll of 1 the creature has eaten recently enough that it will let the party pass without attacking (Morale of 4).  On a 2-4 the creature has eaten recently enough to have its wits, but it is still hungry and will waylay passersby (Morale of 8).  On a roll of 5-6 the creature has not eaten in years and will attack wildly and frantically with no sense of self preservation (Morale of 12).

Their favorite meal is lying children, and the Rawheds of the World are in luck because children always lie.  Rawheds can hear a lie from 24 miles away - he maximum amount they will range from their lair.  They can then know the exact location of their quarry for up to 24 hours after they spoke their last lie.  This includes any lies said after the Rawhed became aware of the target.  It will pursue the target using its magical flight until it either catches it or the target moves further than 24 miles from its lair.

Rawheds can mimic the sound of any animal, including humans and demi-humans.  If it has heard a person lie, it can mimic the voice of anyone that person has met.  Rawheds can also cast invisibility at will, which it will do before approaching anyone unless its wits have been taken by hunger.  They are also only damaged by magical or silver weapons.  Finally, they possess all the normal immunities and weaknesses associated with intelligent undead.


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The reason I haven't posted one of these in a while is that this one has been really hard to write.  I'd like to thank Brandon and Cole for giving me some of the ideas that made it in the final version.


The monster itself is based on the Rawhead and Bloody-Bones boogeyman that supposedly originates in Britain but is most know to me by way of the American South.  I first encountered the creature in the pages of a Short & Shivery volume probably sometime around age 10.  The version I have rendered is a mixture of what I could remember about the monster after not having read that story in 14 years and some stuff I thought was neat.