Lady Midday (Poludnica)

Medium Fey, Neutral Evil
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +4

---

Armor Class 17 (sun-blessed raiment)

Hit Points 144 (17d8 + 68)

Speed 30 ft. (40 ft. in sunlight)

---

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
12 (+1)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)	14 (+2)	17 (+3)	20 (+5)

---

Saving Throws

Dex +8, Wis +7, Cha +9

Skills

Insight +7, Deception +9, Perception +7, Stealth +8 (only in open terrain)

Damage Resistances

Radiant, Fire, Psychic

Damage Immunities

Exhaustion, Heat-based effects

Condition Immunities

Charmed, Frightened, Stunned (in sunlight)

Senses

Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 17

Languages

Common, Sylvan; understands all spoken languages but speaks rarely

---

Sunbound Nature

While standing in direct sunlight, Lady Midday gains the following benefits:

• Advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws
• Resistance to all damage except force
• Regains 10 hit points at the start of her turn

While in full shade or indoors, she becomes incorporeal (takes half damage from nonmagical attacks) and loses her regeneration.

---

Noontide Manifestation (1/Day)

At the stroke of noon, Lady Midday may fully manifest in a sunlit open area. For 1 minute, a 30-foot radius centered on her becomes magically bright and oppressively hot.

• The area is considered difficult terrain.
• Creatures that begin their turn in the area take 5 (1d10) fire damage unless they succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw.
• The area is considered sunlight for the purpose of her abilities.

---

Spellcasting

Lady Midday is a 9th-level spellcaster. Her spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with spell attacks). She requires no material components.

Cantrips (at will): Thaumaturgy, Minor Illusion, Druidcraft, Sacred Flame
1st level (4 slots): Command, Charm Person, Shield of Faith
2nd level (3 slots): Mirror Image, Hold Person
3rd level (3 slots): Daylight, Counterspell, Hypnotic Pattern
4th level (2 slots): Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer
5th level (1 slot): Wall of Light

---

Actions

Scythe of the Zenith

Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 5) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) radiant damage.
On a critical hit, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion from heatstroke.

---

Riddle of Reaping (Recharge 5–6)

Lady Midday poses a supernatural riddle to a creature within 60 feet that can hear her. The target must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw.

• On a failed save, the creature is stunned for 1 minute.
• The stunned condition ends early if another creature uses an action to answer the riddle aloud and succeeds on a DC 17 Intelligence (Arcana, Religion, or Nature) check.
• On a successful save, the target is immune to this effect for 24 hours.

---

Mirage Step (Bonus Action, Recharge 4–6)

Lady Midday teleports up to 30 feet to a sunlit space she can see. She leaves behind a shimmering mirage that lingers until the end of her next turn. A creature entering the space must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) fire damage and be blinded until the start of its next turn.

---

Judgment of the Field (1/Day)

Lady Midday marks one creature within 60 feet. For 1 minute:

• She has advantage on attacks against the marked creature
• The target has disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma saving throws
• The target cannot benefit from cover or concealment against her

This effect ends early if the target drops to 0 hit points or enters complete darkness.

---

Tactics

• Lady Midday appears only in open, sunlit terrain—never under tree cover or indoors.
• She opens combat with Greater Invisibility or Mirror Image to avoid being targeted.
• She controls the battlefield with Wall of Light and softens enemies with Hypnotic Pattern.
• She uses Riddle of Reaping to disable key targets, particularly spellcasters.
• She marks overconfident or disrespectful characters with Judgment of the Field.
• She avoids direct confrontation in darkness or enclosed spaces, preferring to disappear and reappear later.

---

Lore

DC 15 Intelligence (Nature or Arcana):
Lady Midday is a field spirit rooted in agrarian folklore, said to punish those who labor or wander during the sacred rest hour of noon.

DC 20 Intelligence (History or Religion):
Her origins trace back to ancestral beliefs tied to solar rhythms, harvest cycles, and death from heatstroke or exhaustion.

DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana or Insight):
She is a manifestation of nature’s unspoken rules, capable of mercy as well as violence. Her riddles carry deep symbolic truths, and her judgment may be stayed by humility or cleverness.

Lady Midday (Poludnica)

A tall, beautiful woman with pale flesh and long, silvery hair, advances with a graceful stride. She is dressed in simple but elegant garb and is both clean and well groomed.

Lady Midday (Poludnica) is usually pictured as a young woman dressed in white that roams field bounds. She assails folk working at noon causing heatstroke and aches in the neck. Sometimes she even caused madness.

She makes herself more evident in the middle of hot summer days, takes the form of whirling dust clouds and carries a Scythe or shears. She will stop people in the field to ask them difficult questions or engage them in conversation. If anyone fails to answer a question or tries to change the subject, she will cut off their head or strike them with illness. She may appear as an old hag or beautiful woman, and she is useful in scaring children away from valuable crops. She is only seen on the hottest part of the day and is a personification of a sunstroke.

Lady Midday (Poludnica)

Kain’s 5e Monstrous Manual – Page 52 – Dicefreaks (tapatalk.com)

Medium fey, chaotic neutral
________________________________________________________________________________
Armor Class 17 (unarmored defense)
Hit Points 161 (17d8 + 85)
Speed 30 ft.
________________________________________________________________________________
STR 19 (+4) DEX 17 (+3) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 15 (+2) CHA 19 (+4)
________________________________________________________________________________
Saves Con +9, Wis +6, Cha +8
Skills Insight +10, Nature +8, Stealth +11
Tools Farmer’s tools +8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from non-cold iron weapons
Damage Immunities fire, radiant
Condition Immunities blinded, exhaustion
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
________________________________________________________________________________

Heatstroke A creature that begins its turn within 10 feet of a poludnica takes 7 (2d6) fire damage and gains 1 level of exhaustion. A successful DC 16 Constitution save reduces the damage to half and negates the exhaustion.

Magic Weapons. The poludnica’s weapon attacks are magical.

Nighttime Curse During the night, a poludnica vanishes into the Ethereal plane, unable to affect the world around her, but able to observe.

ACTIONS
________________________________________________________________________________
Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage. On a critical hit, the target gains one level of exhaustion.

Sunbeam. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 100 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (5d6) radiant damage. The target must make a DC 16 Constitution save or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. A successful save reduces the duration to 1 round.

REGIONAL EFFECTS
________________________________________________________________________________
A poludnica’s territory is affected in any of the following ways by the creature’s presence:
• Plant growth is roughly doubled within 1 mile of the poludnica’s lair.
• The average temperature is about 10-20 degrees hotter during the daytime.
• Mundane protections against heat or light (not permanent structures or buildings) have a 50% chance to fail and fall apart at noon.

Poludnica, “Lady Midday”

Liber Mysterium

The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team

A distant cousin to the more common hags, she appears as a very tale, beautiful pale woman with long white hair, but she is in fact anything but. Her skin is warty and leathery; she resembles an ancient, wrinkled woman. Her nose is long and bent downward, and her chin bends upward, so that they almost meet when she grins.

She lives in vast underground complexes, filled with ovens and roaring fires. Her dominated slaves fulfil her wishes, roasting sheep and baking bread for her, all day long. poludnica exits her underground lair only during sunlight hours. She usually perches in the immediate vicinity ofher lair, waiting for unwary travellers to pass.

Poludnica is always hungry, and always looking for her next meal. She is not commonly encountered, but parents of children commonly warn about her. Any child that wanders off, especially into fields of rye, run the risk of being captured. Parents will often warn “Don’t go to the rye, poludnica will eat you!” or “Poludnica will burn you up!”

A poludnica stands some 6 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Their favored class is a Witch.

Poludnica
Medium-size Monstrous Humanoid (Fire)
Hit Dice	7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative	+6 (+2 Dexterity, Improved Initiative)
Speed	50 ft.
AC	20 (+2 Dexterity, +8 natural)
Attacks	Stinging-nettle + 10/+8 melee, or 2 claws + 10 melee
Damage	Stinging-nettle 1d4 Constitution damage, claw 1d4+3
Face/Reach	5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Stinging-nettle, domination
Special Qualities	Fire subtype, immunities, bestow immunity, devouring
Saves	Fort +6, Refl +7, Will +8
Abilities	Strength 16, Dexterity 14, Constitution 19, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 16, Charisma 17
Skills	Climb +9, Hide +9, Intimidate +10, Jump +10, Listen +9, Wilderness Lore +10
Feats	Alertness, Improved Initiative, Run
Climate/Terrain	Any temperate, warm, and underground
Organization	Solitary
Challenge Rating	7
Treasure	Standard
Alignment	Always chaotic evil
Advancement	By character class

Combat

In combat, poludnica relies on her stealth and quickness to surprise opponents, and then renders them unconscious with her stinging-nettle.

Stinging-Nettle (Su): On a successful stinging nettle attack, poludnica deal 1d4 points of Strength damage. When a creature’s Strength drops to 0, he falls helpless and unconscious on the ground.

Domination (Sp): They can breathe on unconscious humanoid creatures to gain control of their actions. Creatures must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or be controlled as the dominate person spell (caster level 7th). The save DC is Charisma based and includes a +2 racial modifier.

False Appearance (Su): This inherent ability changes the appearance of the poludnica into a tall, beautiful woman as the disguise self spell (caster level 7th). This ability is constant, but the poludnica can suppress or resume it as a free action. Once a creature recognizes this as an illusion, it can not be affected again by the false appearance of the same poludnica.

Bestow Immunity (Su): By breathing on a creature, poludnica can bestow immunity to fire on that creature for 24 hours. This ability is equivalent to a 4th-level spell.

Devouring (Ex): Poludnica can devour incredible amounts of food without any ill effects. She can eat virtually anything soft enough to chew, but prefers roast sheep and bread straight from the oven.

They can devour a helpless Medium creature in but a minute.

Poludnica’s Sheep

The sheep poludnica keep are anything but ordinary. Each is a Large monstrosity, with wool the color of fresh blood. For poludnica’s sheep, use the Bison’s statistics. Change the creature type to magical beast, and add the Fire subtype.

Lady Midday

CR 9
XP 6,400
Female fey (sunbound spirit)
N Medium fey

---

Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, detect lies; Perception +18

---

DEFENSE

AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 18 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural)
hp 120 (16d6+64)
Fort +10, Ref +14, Will +11
Defensive Abilities DR 10/cold iron; fire resistance 20; radiant resistance (as per daylight); SR 20
Immune fatigue, exhaustion
Weaknesses diminished in darkness (see Sunbound)

---

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. (50 ft. in direct sunlight)
Melee +1 radiant scythe +16/+11 (2d4+7/×4 plus radiant sear)
Special Attacks radiant sear, riddle of reaping, judgment of the field
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +14)

• Constant—detect magic, detect lies
• At will—charm person (DC 17), daze, hypnotism (DC 17), faerie fire
• 3/day—suggestion (DC 19), hold person (DC 18), mirror image
• 2/day—phantasmal killer (DC 19), daylight, greater invisibility
• 1/day—wall of light (functions as wall of fire but deals radiant [light] damage)

---

STATISTICS

Str 14, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 20
Base Atk +8; CMB +10; CMD 25
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (scythe), Persuasive, Spell Penetration
Skills Bluff +21, Diplomacy +19, Knowledge (nature) +17, Perception +18, Sense Motive +18, Stealth +20
Languages Common, Sylvan, Aklo; telepathy 60 ft.

---

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate plains and farmlands (direct sunlight only)
Organization solitary or omen (Lady Midday plus 1–2 will-o’-wisps)
Treasure standard (sun-silver sickle, dried flower crown, talisman of the harvest moon)

---

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Radiant Sear (Su)
Lady Midday’s scythe is imbued with concentrated solar energy. On a successful hit, she deals an additional 2d6 radiant (non-fire light) damage. The target must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or become fatigued for 1 minute. If the target is already fatigued, it becomes exhausted. If already exhausted, it falls unconscious for 1d4 rounds due to heatstroke. This is a light-based effect.

Riddle of Reaping (Su) — 3/day
As a swift action, Lady Midday targets a creature within 60 feet with a mystical riddle laced with solar truth. The creature must succeed at a DC 20 Will save or become confused for 1d4 rounds. While confused, the target is plagued by hallucinations of burning fields and skeletal harvesters. Creatures with 4 or fewer HD instead become staggered and frightened for the same duration. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect.

Judgment of the Field (Su) — 1/day
As a full-round action, Lady Midday may designate one creature within 60 feet as the object of solar judgment. For 1 minute, she gains the following benefits against the marked creature:

• +2 sacred bonus to attack rolls and AC
• +4 insight bonus on saving throws against the target’s effects
• The marked creature provokes attacks of opportunity from her, even when taking 5-foot steps

This effect ends early if the target enters an area of total darkness or magical shadow.

Sunbound (Ex)
Lady Midday is spiritually tied to the sun. While exposed to direct sunlight, she gains fast healing 5 and a +20 ft. enhancement bonus to her movement speed. In complete shade or darkness, she takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws, and cannot use her spell-like abilities.

Mirage Step (Su) — 2/day
As a move action, Lady Midday may teleport up to 30 feet to a sunlit square she can see. Her departure and arrival are marked by a burst of shimmering heat. Creatures within 10 feet of either location must succeed on a DC 18 Reflex save or be blinded for 1 round.

---

TACTICS

Before Combat
Lady Midday prefers to observe trespassers or workers from a distance before engaging. She often uses mirror image or greater invisibility to approach unseen.

During Combat
She isolates and weakens targets with hold person, hypnotism, or suggestion. If diplomacy or riddles fail, she uses Riddle of Reaping to disable spellcasters or the overly confident. She follows up with Judgment of the Field, targeting the most disruptive enemy, and moves through combat using Mirage Step to remain elusive and strike surgically.

Morale
Lady Midday does not engage in prolonged combat. If reduced below 30 hit points, or if sunlight is no longer present, she vanishes in a ripple of heat and wind. She may return on another day at high noon to complete her judgment.

---

DESCRIPTION

A tall woman in flowing white garments shimmers into view beneath the sun’s harsh gaze. Her hair glows with the color of ripened grain, and a radiant blade rests easily in her hands. Her smile is distant, and her presence is both serene and oppressive—like stillness before a summer storm.

Lady Midday, also known as Poludnica, is an ancient fey spirit born of sunlight, grain, and tradition. Her purpose is to uphold the sacred balance between labor and rest, punishing mortals who violate the noonday peace. Though capable of mercy, her standards are exacting and her wrath swift. Farmers leave tokens in the fields and heed the old ways, hoping never to meet her eyes when the sun is highest.

---