The Old Crone of Pohjola
And it’s back to my series of 5E D&D conversions of material from the AD&D Deities & Demigods. When last I left off, I’d tackled a bit of the Finnish Mythos as well as several magical items. Returning to the Finnish Mythos, I’m faced with a minor irritation. Most of the Finnish Mythos consists of heroes, and converting heroes to 5E D&D is a bit of a pain. So, in order to minimize the pain bits, I’m going to limit myself to three final Finnish Mythos conversions.
The first is Louhi, the wicked crone who rules “the evil land of Pohjola with an iron hand.” In later posts, I’ll get to the Son of Pohjola, Louhi’s savage offspring (and one of the few NPCs from Deities & Demigods that I ever used while DMing). I’ll finish up the Finnish Mythos with the air maidens, those angelic servants of Ukko, the supreme god of the Kalevala.
(Nota Bene: That link above is an affiliate link.)
Louhi rules the evil land of Pohjola with an iron hand. She opposes all of the good heroes of Kalevala, and works continuously for their downfall. (Deities & Demigods, page 60)
Louhi
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evil
Armor Class 14
Hit Points 110 (13d8+52)
Speed 25 ft.
Ability Scores STR 8 (-1), DEX 18 (+4), CON 19 (+4), INT 19 (+4), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 7 (-2)
Saving Throws INT +14, WIS +14, CHA +3
Skills Arcana +9, Intimidation +3, Perception +9, Nature +9
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison
Senses passive Perception 19
Languages Common, Giant, Infernal
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)
Illusion Immunity. Louhi cannot be fooled any illusion created by a cantrip or 1st-level spell (or their equivalent).
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Louhi fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Louhi has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Mind of Iron. Louhi’s proficiency bonus for Intelligence and Wisdom saving throws is doubled.
Queen of the Dead. Undead never attack Louhi unless controlled to do so, and even then, the undead have disadvantage on attack rolls to hit Louhi. When Louhi casts animate dead or create undead, the undead she creates have 15 additional hit points and inflict an additional 5 points of damage with their attacks.
Spellcasting. Louhi is a 15th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Intelligence (save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). She prepares spells from the cleric (up to 5th-level spells), druid (up to 5th-level spells), and wizard (up to 8th-level spells) lists. She has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): dancing lights, mage hand, minor illusion, poison spray, sacred flame
1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, mage armor, silent image, thunderwave
2nd level (3 slots): hold person, phantasmal force, spike growth
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, protection from energy, vampiric touch
4th level (3 slots): divination, phantasmal killer, wall of fire
5th level (2 slots): contagion, mislead
6th level (1 slot): circle of death, create undead
7th level (1 slot): etherealness
8th level (1 slot): incendiary cloud
Spell Recovery (1/Day). Louhi has learned to regain some of her magical energy by meditation. When she finishes a short rest, she can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than 15, and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.
Actions
Quarterstaff. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d6-1) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage, or 3 (1d8-1) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) poison damage if used with two hands.
Legendary Actions
Louhi can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Louhi regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Cantrip. Louhi casts a cantrip.
Detect. Louhi makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Teleport. Louhi magically teleports, along with any equipment she is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space she can see.
Lair Actions
Within the evil land of Pohjola, Louhi reigns supreme. If Louhi is encountered in her lair, she has a challenge of rating of 15 (13,000 XP). While in her twisted forest home or forboding castle, on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Louhi takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects:
Blinding Ice and Snow. A whirling cloud of ice and snow roars up around Louhi. Each creature within 10 feet of her, including around a corner, must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of Louhi’s next turn. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to this effect until the end of the Louhi’s next turn.
Grasping Shadows. Sinuous shadows appear in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground that Louhi can see within 60 feet of her. That area becomes difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the shadows. A creature can be freed it it or another creature takes an action to make a DC 18 Strength check and succeeds. The grasping shadows fade away when Louhi uses this lair action again or when Louhi dies.
Queenly Might. Louhi rolls 1d8 and regains a spell slot of that level or lower. If she has no spent spell slots of that level or lower, nothing happens.
Regional Effects
The region around Louhi’s forboding castle is warped by her powerful magic, which creates the following effects, all of which fade within 1d10 days if Louhi dies.
* Icy fog lightly obscures the land within 6 miles of Louhi’s castle.
* While Louhi is at rest, storms rage within 6 miles of Louhi’s castle, forming blizzard conditions.
* Icy, jagged formations create labyrinthine passages within 1 mile of Louhi’s castle. The formations act as 10-foot high, 10-foot thick walls that block line of sight. Creatures can move through the passages as if they were difficult terrain. Each 10-foot cube of ice has AC 5, 30 hit points, resistance to bludgeoning and slashing damage, vulnerability to fire damage, and immunity to psychic and lightning damage.
