Copyright 2011 Wizards of the Coast.

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Ragewinds first appeared in Third Edition, and make their Fourth Edition debut here. They’re mostly generic, with some added hooks for the Vale.

The Lore

Also known as sword spirits, ragewinds are undead monsters that can form in battlefields. They’re made up of the spirits of despondent soldiers who believe they died for nothing. These shades are individually weak, but they have the ability to move the weapons they wielded in life. A ragewind arises when many of these indignant ghosts join to form a single composite entity.

Ragewinds can lie dormant to appear as a random pile of old weapons. When active, they assume the whirlwind form you can see in the illustration. They can understand Common and modulate their wind to speak it, but they’re true monsters and are only interested in killing living people who stray too close to them. When destroyed, they release the pent-up anger and hatred inside them, which might cause their enemies to turn against each other. These creatures carry no treasure save the weapons that make up their form. They might also be hanging around something worth digging up, acting as accidental guardians.

The Nentir Vale region doesn’t just contain the ruins of a number of old civilizations - it was also the site of many of their battles. Bloodspear Orcs against Nerathi, Nerathi against the Hill Folk or the dragons of the Dawnforges, Arkhosia against Bael Turath, elves vs. drow, and perhaps others that have been lost to time. Any of these places might house a number of very old ragewinds.

The Numbers

A ragewind is a Large Natural Animate with the Undead tag, and a Level 18 Skirmisher with 112 HP. It has an amazing ground speed of 10 and a flight speed of 5, and perceives the world through Blindsight 20.

As a literal weapon whirlwinds, a ragewind projects a Slashing Aura (1) that inflicts 10 damage on enemies caught inside, or 15 when it’s bloodied. Its All-Around Defense means it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks when moving, and it’s under a permanent Freedom of Movement effect that ends any slowing or immobilizing effects on the creature at the start of its turn.

Its basic attack is named Weapon Fury, which does physical damage and also gives the ragewind 10 temporary HP if it’s bloodied. It can also use a Rush of Blades maneuver to shift 5 squares and use Weapon Fury at any point during the movement.

By expanding itself a bit the ragewind can make a Steel Whirlwind attack (recharge 5+), which attacks a Close Burst 1 and does more damage than a basic attack, half on a miss. If the creature is bloodied the area is a Close Burst 2 instead.

When it dies, the ragewind triggers its Death’s Rage ability, which attacks the Will of every enemy in a Close Burst 5 and, if it hits, forces the target to make a basic attack against its nearest ally.

Final Impression

These are dangerous physical combatants who are hard to pin down and can really punish PC groups who like close formations.

If the location of any of the Vale’s ragewinds was known, they’d probably be the stuff of legends told all over. It’s quite likely that they’re unknown because no one who met one has lived to tell the tale. With a speed of 10, they’re almost impossible to outrun even on horseback.

A lot of the NPC factions we saw so far have a relatively high chance of running into these things, because they spend their time digging up old ruins and battlefields: Dythan’s Legion, the Gray Company, the Hunter Spiders. Y’know, our usual suspects. I imagine this would happen as the climax of their story arcs, as they’re just about to find what they’re looking for.