A diminutive blue humanoid with sharp black claws and exaggeratedly pointed ears floats in the air, emanating a palpable sensation of cold.
Cursed Fairy. Warmth thieves were fey in the court of the Queen who had the peculiar ability to rob living creatures of their body heat. They attempted to use this power to overthrow the Queen… and failed. The Queen, amused, allowed them to live, but with a nasty curse: warmth thieves must steal body heat to live, perishing if they don’t regularly take heat from living creatures. Warmth thieves can’t tolerate temperatures much above freezing, preventing them from subverting the curse by moving to warmer climates. Their desire for warmth is so powerful they sometimes throw themselves at creatures that can magically create fire to enjoy a brief, though painful, respite from their suffering.
Unintended Side Effects. Unknown to the Queen, her curse transfers in an odd way to mortal beings who die at the warmth thieves’ bone-chilling touch. When warmth thieves’ victims die, their spirits return as chill haunts, which are not under the fey’s control. Warmth thieves have tried with varying levels of success to recruit chill haunts in their schemes to retaliate against the queen and her court.
Social Creatures. Warmth thieves once enjoyed the company of other fey. Now unwelcome in fey courts, they content themselves with the companionship of mortals, taking care not to stay too long in warm buildings. They must balance this desire for camaraderie with the need to drain warmth from the same creatures with whom they spend time. They may feel a twinge of regret at their actions, but they have no problem moving on to another village to start anew.
Warmth Thief
Tiny fey, neutral evilArmor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 112 (15d4 + 75)
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 (+0) | 18 (+4) | 20 (+5) | 17 (+3) | 15 (+2) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Dex +8, Wis +6, Cha +8
Skills Deception +8, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with cold iron weapons
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities paralyzed, prone
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Sylvan, Umbral
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Aura of Warmth Stealing. At the start of each of the warmth thief’s turns, each creature within 5 feet of the warmth thief must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) cold damage. The warmth thief regains hp equal to the single highest amount of cold damage dealt.
Cold Physiology. A warmth thief can’t abide constant warmth. Each hour it spends in an area with a temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the warmth thief must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion that can’t be removed until it finishes a long rest in an area with a temperature below 40 degrees.
Actions
Multiattack. The warmth thief makes two freezing claw attacks.
Freezing Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage plus 14 (4d6) cold damage. The warmth thief regains hp equal to half the cold damage dealt. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be chilled for 1 minute. A chilled creature takes 7 (2d6) cold damage at the start of each of its turns. A chilled creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. A humanoid slain while chilled rises 24 hours later as a chill haunt, unless the humanoid is restored to life or its body is destroyed.