Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast.

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Will-O’-Wisps in D&D are inspired by folklore, and their legend is in turn inspired by the natural phenomena that make swamp gas glow at night. I think they’ve been in the game since AD&D, though their exact lore might have changed a bit over the years.

The Lore

Will-o’-wisps are cruel fey spirits who feed on the fear and despair of other sapients. They like to hang out in swamps and marshes, whose natural mists and swamp lights provide them with hiding places. Their bodies are orbs of gauzy material, and they glow with an otherwordly light that has the power to lure unwary victims. It can also burn their flesh and drain their spirit.

Their tactics are pretty much iconic - lure victims to an isolated place full of hindering terrain and kill them in a way that produces maximum horror.

These creatures can communicate in Elven, and when they speak they have that cool effect where they brighten and dim in compass with their speech. They can also douse their light for better stealth, but this also prevents them from using it as a weapon.

The Numbers

Will-o’-Wisps are Small Fey Magical Beasts, and Level 10 Lurkers with 57 HP. They count as Insubstantial, taking only half damage from non-force attacks. They have low-light vision and a flight speed of 6 with Hover, and an altitude limit of 2 squares.

As mentioned above, wisps can turn their light on or off using the Fey Light ability (minor action 1/round). A darkened wisp has concealment and can make Stealth checks to become hidden, but it cannot attack. If a wisp is missed by an attack, it can Blink Out as a reaction. When this happens, the wisp darkens and teleports 5 squares. I guess it can make that Stealth check as part of this action too.

The wisp’s attacks are all light-based. The most classic one is of course Luring Glow. This is a Close Burst 20 that targets one non-blinded creature, which is another way to say it’s a ranged attack that doesn’t draw opportunity attacks. It targets Will, does no damage, pulls the victim 3 squares, and dazes it (save ends).

Once the victim is in range and vulnerable, the wisp is going to hit it with its basic Glimmer Wisp attack, which is Reach 2, targets Reflex, and does radiant damage. Once per encounter it can also use Spirit Drain on a bloodied target. This is a Reach 3 attack that targets Fortitude, deals psychic damage, weakens (save ends) and heals the wisp for 14 HP.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Wisps are lurkers and have a couple of good stealth powers, but they don’t seem to have a lot of ability to take advantage of this stealth. Their best power is the very controller-y Luring Glow. When building wisp fights, you should pair them with other opportunistic monsters that can bring the hurt to those dazed characters.

Our sample encounter is level 9: two wisps and a quartet of spriggans (two powries, 2 thorns). Evil fairies all around.