A pack of ghostly wolves appears in a swirl of greenish fog, seeming to coalesce from the fog itself.
When a pack of wolves dies of hunger or chill in the deep winter, sometimes the pack leader’s rage at a cruel death—or the summoning call of a necromancer—brings the entire pack back to the mortal world as a slavering pack of greenish, translucent apparitions that glides swiftly over snow and ice, or even rivers and lakes.
Dozen-Eyed Hunters. At night such a swarm can appear as little more than a mass of swirling mist, but when it prepares to attack, the mist condenses into a dozen or more snarling wolf heads with glowing red eyes that trail off into tendrils of fog. A wolf spirit swarm does not eat, but the urge to hunt and kill is as strong as ever.
Absorb Their Kill. Most such swarms serve powerful undead, warlocks, noctiny, or orcish shamans as guardians and enforcers, terrifying horses and henchmen alike. The souls of those slain by the pack are said to join it.
Howl Before Combat. Hirelings, mounts, and familiars often panic at the sound of a spirit pack’s chilling howl. Packs of wolf spirits are canny enough to always howl for a time before rushing a herd or encampment.
Undead Nature. A swarm of wolf spirits doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Wolf Spirit Swarm
Large swarm of Medium undead, neutral evilArmor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 97 (15d10 + 15)
Speed 50 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 12 (+1) | 4 (-3) | 10 (+0) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Str +5, Dex +6
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +6
Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, slashing
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages understands Common
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Chilling Howl. As a bonus action on its first turn of combat, the wolf spirit swarm howls, emitting an unnatural and eerie cacophony that chills the blood. All creatures within 300 feet that hear the howl must make a successful DC 12 Charisma saving throw or be frightened until the start of the swarm’s next turn.
Speed Over Snow. A swarm of wolf spirits is not affected by difficult terrain caused by snowy or icy conditions.
Actions
Multiattack. A wolf spirit swarm uses icy doom, if it’s available, and makes 3 bite attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) cold damage. The target is also knocked prone if the attack scored a critical hit.
Icy Doom (Recharge 5-6). All creatures within 5 feet of the wolf spirit swarm take 22 (4d10) cold damage, or half damage with a successful DC 14 Constitution saving throw. Those that fail the saving throw also gain one level of exhaustion and become frightened until the start of the swarm’s next turn.