“Soucouyant: The Fiery Skin-Shedder of Caribbean Nightmares”
“A fiery, skin-shedding witch of Caribbean legend, the Soucouyant soars as a blazing orb to drain the lifeblood of the sleeping before dawn.”
A Soucouyant is a vampiric witch of Caribbean legend who sheds her skin to become a blazing orb of living fire, slipping through cracks and keyholes to drain the lifeblood of sleeping victims before returning to her hidden skin by dawn.
Appearance
By day, the Soucouyant appears as a frail, reclusive crone with ember-bright eyes and parchment-like skin that seems to smolder from within. At night she sheds this mortal guise, leaving behind a shriveled husk as her true form—a blazing, swirling sphere of fire—erupts into the air, casting ghostly sparks and leaving scorched patterns where it passes.
Behaviour
Soucouyants are solitary, cunning, and secretive, moving silently through villages under cover of night. They maintain the illusion of harmlessness by day, often living at the fringes of settlements. At night, they hunt with obsessive regularity, returning before dawn to don their skin once more.
Habitat
These creatures dwell in tropical forests, rural hamlets, and coastal regions—anywhere darkness falls deep and human warmth can be found. They favor decaying huts or hollow trees near small villages, where superstition and fear keep curious souls away.
Modus Operandi
The Soucouyant’s fiery form seeps through the smallest gaps to reach her prey, feeding on blood and life energy. Victims rarely awaken, though they are left marked with dark bruises or burns. If discovered, she fights with blinding bursts of flame and swift, darting strikes before fleeing into the night. Salting or burning her discarded skin renders her mortal and helpless until sunrise.
Motivation
Driven by an insatiable hunger for life essence and an obsessive need to conceal her cursed nature, the Soucouyant seeks sustenance and secrecy in equal measure. Some legends claim she bargains for longevity or forbidden magic, her fiery hunger a punishment for ancient transgressions.
Soucouyant 5e 2024
Soucouyant, Pathfinder
Soucouyant
Medium undead (shapechanger), chaotic evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 94 (11d8 + 44)
Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (hover, fiery form only)
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 (+0) | 18 (+4) | 18 (+4) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 16 (+3) |
Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +7, Wis +5
Skills Arcana +4, Deception +6, Perception +5, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Infernal, one regional language (often Creole)
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Shapechanger.
As a bonus action, the Soucouyant sheds her skin and transforms into a Blazing Orb, becoming immune to being grappled, restrained, or knocked prone. She can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing.
She leaves her mortal skin behind in a concealed location. If that skin is found and salted or burned, the Soucouyant takes 20 radiant damage at the start of each of her turns and can’t revert to her humanoid form until she completes a long rest.
Innate Spellcasting (Charisma).
Spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks.
The Soucouyant’s innate spellcasting requires no material components.
- At will: thaumaturgy, produce flame, detect magic
- 3/day each: invisibility, scorching ray, suggestion
- 1/day each: fireball, greater invisibility
Fiery Drain (Recharge 5–6).
While in Blazing Orb form, the Soucouyant can pass through a creature’s space to feed. The creature must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 27 (6d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success. The Soucouyant regains hit points equal to the damage dealt.
Actions
Multiattack. The Soucouyant makes two Flame Lash attacks.
Flame Lash. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d8) fire damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or ignite, taking 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns until the flames are extinguished.
Shed Skin (Recharge 6). The Soucouyant bursts into flame, shedding her mortal shell. Each creature within 10 feet must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save or half as much on a success.
Reactions
Slip Through the Cracks.
When the Soucouyant is targeted by a melee attack, she can move up to 10 feet through a solid object or narrow space, becoming incorporeal until the end of her turn.
Legendary Actions
The Soucouyant can take 2 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.
- Burning Glare. One creature the Soucouyant can see within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or take 9 (2d8) fire damage and be frightened until the end of its next turn.
- Ignite. A flammable object the Soucouyant can see within 30 feet bursts into flame.
- Move. The Soucouyant moves up to half her flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Tactics
The Soucouyant opens encounters in her human guise, using suggestion and charm to lure prey or scatter witnesses. When threatened, she erupts into flame, searing nearby foes before slipping through walls or rafters to strike from above. In Blazing Orb form, she favors hit-and-run tactics, weaving through tight spaces and targeting isolated spellcasters. If overpowered, she retreats into the night to feed again—vengeful, relentless, and always burning.
Soucouyant
[This content was created by Paizo Publishing LLC for the Pathfinder rules but is not from the Pathfinder RPG product line.]
This walking nightmare resembles a white-haired old woman who looks as though she has been skinned alive, her bloody muscles and sinews pulsing grotesquely.
Soucouyants are insidious monsters also known as blood crones. They prefer to live near small humanoid societies, assuming the appearance of a wizened old woman. It is only at night that she assumes her true form, when her wrinkled skin peels back and reveals the monstrosity that lurks within, which seeks the blood of those sleeping, unsuspecting neighbors who know her merely as the eccentric widow living at the edge of town.
They prefer to capture victims for their cruel experiments when possible, and drain such unfortunates of their blood over a course of days or even weeks to sate their sanguinary appetites.
A typical soucouyant is 6 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. The most powerful soucouyants take it upon themselves to further their spellcasting abilities, and usually possess levels as witches.
Soucouyant CR 8 |
XP 4,800 NE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +10; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., detect good, detect magic; Perception +18 |
DEFENSE |
AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+6 Dexterity, +1 dodge, +6 natural) hp 102 (12d10+36) Fort +7, Ref +14, Will +11 DR 5/cold iron and magic; Immune fire, charm, disease, fear, sleep; SR 19 |
OFFENSE |
Speed 30 ft. Melee bite +16 (2d6+4), 2 claws +17 (1d6+4 plus grab) Special Attacks blood drain (1d2 Constitution) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; Concentration +12) Constant – detect good, detect magic At will – chill touch (DC 15), deep slumber (DC 16), scorching ray (DC 16), Spider Climb |
STATISTICS |
Strength 18, Dexterity 22, Constitution 17, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 17, Charisma 19 Base Atk +12; CMB +18 (+22 grapple); CMD 33 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Weapon Focus (claw) Skills Acrobatics +18, Bluff +16, Disguise +16, Intimidate +19, Perception +18, Stealth +21 Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal SQ fiery form, mask evil |
SPECIAL ABILITIES |
Detonate (Su) As a standard action, a soucouyant in her fiery form can choose to explode in a 30-foot-radius burst of fire that deals 8d6 points of damage (DC 19 Reflex save for half damage) to all creatures in the area. Using this ability returns a soucouyant to her humanoid form. Fiery Form (Su) As a standard action, a soucouyant who has removed her skin can assume the form of a flying ball of fire similar to that created by a flaming sphere spell (CL 8th) for up to 8 rounds. Upon returning to humanoid form, a soucouyant must wait 1d4 rounds before she can assume fiery form again. A soucouyant who enters the same space as a creature stops moving for that round and deals 3d6 points of fire damage to the creature unless it succeeds at a DC 18 Reflex save. A soucouyant in fiery form retains her usual AC, but is immune to non-magical attacks and effects. A successful targeted dispel magic spell or dealing 20 points of cold damage to a soucouyant in fiery form forces her to return to her humanoid form. A soucouyant can assume fiery form a number of times per day equal to her Charisma modifier (6 for most soucouyants). The save DC is Charisma-based. Mask Evil (Su) During the day, a it has the appearance of an old woman, an illusion created by an effect like alter self; at night the illusion fades, revealing her monstrous nature. While she is ‘wearing’ her skin, a soucouyant’s evil nature is masked as though by a constant undetectable alignment spell. |
ECOLOGY |
Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure standard |
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isle of the Shackles
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Mike Shel.