Vilkacis — The Undead Wolf-Spirit
The werewolf dies. The thing that wore its hunger does not.
When a savage werewolf dies with its hatred unresolved, a vilkacis may rise from the body as an incorporeal undead predator. Its claws draw warmth from the living, but its true weapon is bestial possession: it seizes a hunter’s body, twists that body into wolfish shape and makes the victim attack companions. Silver can drive the spirit out. Only the destruction of its canopic stone can end its return.
Vilkacis at a Glance
Creature: Undead wolf-spirit born from a dead werewolf
Size and type: Medium Undead, incorporeal or spectral
Temperament: Chaotic evil; bloodthirsty, opportunistic, vengeful
Combat role: Possessing ambusher and mobile spectral skirmisher
Signature threat: Possession, lycanthropy, silver weakness and rejuvenation
Habitat: Pine woods, forest-edge settlements, old hunting roads and ruined homesteads
Campaign range: Baltic woodland frontiers, especially the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and nearby northern forests; also the northern bestiary
Challenge: CR 7 (5.5e, 5e, PF1e, 3.5e)
Vilkacis Statistics — Four Editions
A spectral predator in every edition: possession, silver and the binding stone shape the encounter. Select the ruleset used at your table.
Vilkacis
Medium Undead, Chaotic Evil
AC 15 (spectral ward) ·
Initiative +4 (14)
HP 120 (16d8 + 48)
Speed 0 ft., Fly 50 ft. (hover)
6 (−2)
18 (+4)
16 (+3)
8 (−1)
14 (+2)
18 (+4)
Saving Throws
Dex +7, Wis +5, Cha +7
Skills
Intimidation +7, Perception +5, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances
Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from
nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered
Damage Immunities
Cold, Poison
Condition Immunities
Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Poisoned,
Prone, Restrained
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 15
Languages
understands Common and the languages it spoke in life;
speaks in a whisper
Challenge
7 (2,900 XP); PB +3
Traits
Incorporeal Movement. The vilkacis moves through creatures and objects as difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Lycanthropic Empathy. The vilkacis can communicate simple feelings and intentions to wolves, dire wolves and werewolves. It has Advantage on Charisma checks to influence wolves and dire wolves.
Silver Vulnerability. Whenever a silvered weapon hits the vilkacis, it takes an extra 7 (2d6) Force damage. A silvered weapon also bypasses its resistance to that weapon’s physical damage.
Rejuvenation. A vilkacis destroyed while its canopic stone survives reforms in 2d4 days within 30 feet of the stone. To end this return, the stone must be destroyed in the presence of the remains of the vilkacis’s original body. Once the stone is destroyed this way, the creature can be permanently killed.
Actions
Multiattack. The vilkacis makes two Spectral Claw attacks when it is not possessing a creature.
Spectral Claw. Melee Attack Roll: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) Necrotic damage plus 7 (2d6) Cold damage.
Bestial Possession (Recharge 5–6). The vilkacis targets one Humanoid it can see within 5 feet. The target makes a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the vilkacis enters the target’s body for up to 3 hours. Its spectral body disappears and the victim retains awareness but loses control of its actions. The vilkacis directs the host’s movement, speech and actions. The host keeps its Armor Class, hit points and other statistics but sprouts claws, fangs and a wolfish muzzle. The vilkacis cannot cast the host’s spells or use the host’s class features. On its turn it can use the host’s action to make two Bestial Attacks, at most one of them a bite. The host’s movement uses its normal speed.
The possession ends after 3 hours, when the host drops to 0 hit points, or when the spirit is expelled by Remove Curse or magic that ends possession. A hit with a silvered weapon against the host deals an additional 7 (2d6) Force damage to the host and permits a new DC 15 Charisma save to end the possession. When expelled, the vilkacis reappears in the nearest unoccupied space within 5 feet, and the target is immune to that vilkacis’s possession for 24 hours. A target that succeeds on the initial save is also immune for 24 hours. The victim cannot be possessed by more than one vilkacis at once.
Bestial Claw (Possessed Host Only). Melee Attack Roll: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) Slashing damage.
Bestial Bite (Possessed Host Only). Melee Attack Roll: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) Piercing damage. A Humanoid hit must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution save or contract the werewolf’s curse, which first manifests at the next full moon unless cured. This curse is separate from the temporary possession.
Howl of the Empty Skin (Recharge 6). Each enemy of the vilkacis within 30 feet that can hear it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or have the Frightened condition until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions
Moonshadow Drift. The vilkacis moves up to half its Fly speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. It cannot do so while possessing a creature.
Vilkacis
Medium undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 15 (spectral ward)
Hit Points 120 (16d8 + 48)
Speed 0 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)
6 (−2)
18 (+4)
16 (+3)
8 (−1)
14 (+2)
18 (+4)
Saving Throws
Dex +7, Wis +5, Cha +7
Skills
Intimidation +7, Perception +5, Stealth +10
Damage Resistances
Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing from
nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered
Damage Immunities
Cold, Poison
Condition Immunities
Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Poisoned,
Prone, Restrained
Senses
Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 15
Languages
understands Common and the languages it spoke in life;
speaks in a whisper
Challenge
7 (2,900 XP); PB +3
Traits
Incorporeal Movement. The vilkacis moves through creatures and objects as difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Lycanthropic Empathy. The vilkacis can communicate simple feelings and intentions to wolves, dire wolves and werewolves. It has advantage on Charisma checks to influence wolves and dire wolves.
Silver Vulnerability. Whenever a silvered weapon hits the vilkacis, it takes an extra 7 (2d6) force damage. A silvered weapon also bypasses its resistance to that weapon’s physical damage.
Rejuvenation. A vilkacis destroyed while its canopic stone survives reforms in 2d4 days within 30 feet of the stone. To end this return, the stone must be destroyed in the presence of the remains of the vilkacis’s original body. Once the stone is destroyed this way, the creature can be permanently killed.
Actions
Multiattack. The vilkacis makes two spectral claw attacks while not possessing a creature.
Spectral Claw. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) necrotic damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage.
Bestial Possession (Recharge 5–6). The vilkacis targets one humanoid it can see within 5 feet. The target makes a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the vilkacis enters the target’s body for up to 3 hours. Its spectral body disappears and the victim retains awareness but loses control of its actions. The vilkacis directs the host’s movement, speech and actions. The host keeps its Armor Class, hit points and other statistics but sprouts claws, fangs and a wolfish muzzle. The vilkacis cannot cast the host’s spells or use the host’s class features. On its turn it can use the host’s action to make two Bestial Attacks, at most one of them a bite. The host’s movement uses its normal speed.
The possession ends after 3 hours, when the host drops to 0 hit points, or when the spirit is expelled by Remove Curse or magic that ends possession. A hit with a silvered weapon against the host deals an additional 7 (2d6) force damage to the host and permits a new DC 15 Charisma save to end the possession. When expelled, the vilkacis reappears in the nearest unoccupied space within 5 feet, and the target is immune to that vilkacis’s possession for 24 hours. A target that succeeds on the initial save is also immune for 24 hours. The victim cannot be possessed by more than one vilkacis at once.
Bestial Claw (Possessed Host Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Bestial Bite (Possessed Host Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage. A humanoid hit must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution save or contract the werewolf’s curse, which first manifests at the next full moon unless cured. This curse is separate from temporary possession.
Howl of the Empty Skin (Recharge 6). Each hostile creature that hears the vilkacis within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its next turn.
Bonus Actions
Moonshadow Drift. The vilkacis moves up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks. It cannot do so while possessing a creature.
Vilkacis — CR 7
XP 9,600 · CE Medium undead (incorporeal) · Pathfinder 1e
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +15
Defense
AC
19, touch 19, flat-footed 13
(+3 deflection, +6 Dex)
hp
85 (10d8+40, including Toughness)
Fort +6,
Ref +11,
Will +9
Defensive Abilities
channel resistance +2, incorporeal, rejuvenation;
DR 10/silver;
Immune cold, undead traits;
Weakness vulnerability to silver
Offense
Speed
fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Melee
2 incorporeal touches +15
(1d8 plus 2d6 cold)
Special Attacks
bestial possession, curse of lycanthropy (DC 18)
Statistics
Str —,
Dex 23,
Con —,
Int 8,
Wis 14,
Cha 17
Base Atk +7;
CMB +13;
CMD 26 (30 vs. trip)
Feats
Blind-Fight,
Combat Reflexes,
Improved Initiative,
Lightning Reflexes,
Toughness
Skills
Fly +14, Intimidate +16,
Perception +15, Stealth +19
Languages
Common;
SQ lycanthropic empathy
Ecology
Environment any land; Organization solitary; Treasure none
Special Abilities
Bestial Possession (Su). Once per round, from an adjacent square, the vilkacis merges into a creature on the Material Plane; a DC 18 Will save negates. The ability functions like magic jar (CL 10th) without a receptacle, lasting up to 3 hours or the vilkacis’s Charisma modifier in hours, whichever is greater. A successful saving throw grants immunity to this vilkacis for 24 hours. The save is Charisma-based. A possessed victim grows two claws (1d4 each for Medium), a bite (1d6 for Medium), low-light vision and scent, and gains the barbarian greater rage ability for the duration. These gains end with possession; the host is then fatigued for twice the possession’s duration.
Curse of Lycanthropy (Su). A humanoid bitten by a possessed creature must succeed on a DC 18 Fortitude save or contract werewolf lycanthropy, provided the victim’s size is within one category of the host’s. This DC is Charisma-based.
Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex). The spirit or its possessed host communicates and empathises with wolves and dire wolves, gaining a +4 racial bonus on Diplomacy checks to influence their attitudes.
Rejuvenation (Su). A destroyed vilkacis returns in 2d4 days. To prevent future rejuvenation, destroy its canopic stone in the presence of its original mortal remains; only then can the spirit be killed permanently.
Vulnerability to Silver (Su). Silver weapons inflict an additional 2d6 damage. A silver hit on a possessed host causes the same additional damage and gives that host another DC 18 Will save. Success expels the spirit to an adjacent square and prevents it from using possession again until the following day.
Vilkacis — CR 7
Medium Undead (Incorporeal); D&D 3.5e rules adaptation
Hit Dice
10d12 (65 hp)
Initiative
+10
Speed
Fly 50 ft. (perfect) (10 squares)
Armor Class
19 (+6 Dex, +3 deflection),
touch 19, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple
+5/—
Attack
Incorporeal touch +11 melee
(1d8 plus 2d6 cold)
Full Attack
2 incorporeal touches +11 melee
(1d8 plus 2d6 cold each)
Space/Reach
5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks
Bestial possession, curse of lycanthropy
Special Qualities
Undead traits, incorporeal traits,
darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision,
scent, damage reduction 10/silver,
immunity to cold, lycanthropic empathy,
rejuvenation, silver vulnerability
Saves
Fort +3, Ref +11, Will +9
Abilities
Str —, Dex 23, Con —,
Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 17
Skills
Hide +19, Intimidate +16, Spot +15
Feats
Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative,
Lightning Reflexes, Weapon Finesse
Environment
Any land, especially Baltic border forests
Organization
Solitary
Challenge Rating
7
Treasure
None
Alignment
Always chaotic evil
Advancement
11–15 HD (Medium); 16–20 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment
—
Combat
The spirit tries to possess an armed hunter before attacking openly. An expelled vilkacis immediately seeks cover in walls or earth. Silver can free a host and defeat the spirit, but the canopic stone must be destroyed beside its remains to stop rejuvenation.
Bestial Possession (Su). Once per round, the vilkacis may enter a creature in an adjacent square as a standard action. A DC 18 Will save resists. This resembles magic jar (caster level 10th), except it requires no receptacle and lasts up to 3 hours. A successful save grants 24-hour immunity. The possessed creature grows claws (1d4 each for Medium), a bite (1d6 for Medium), gains scent and low-light vision and enters a frenzy equivalent to greater rage (+6 Str, +6 Con, +3 Will, −2 AC), with the standard restrictions of rage. The possession, not a voluntary rage, determines its duration. The host is fatigued afterward for twice the possession’s duration.
Curse of Lycanthropy (Su). A bite from a possessed host forces a DC 18 Fortitude save or afflicts a humanoid within one size category of the host with werewolf lycanthropy.
Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex). The spirit and its host can communicate simple feelings to wolves and dire wolves, with a +4 racial bonus on checks to improve their attitudes.
Rejuvenation (Su). Destroyed in combat, the spirit returns after 2d4 days while its canopic stone survives. Destroy the stone alongside the original corpse, then defeat the ghost again to end its existence.
Silver Vulnerability (Su). A silver weapon that can strike an incorporeal creature inflicts an additional 2d6 damage. When a possessed host is hit by silver, it suffers this extra damage and gets another DC 18 Will save to expel the spirit. If expelled this way, it cannot possess again until the next day.
Appearance
Cold air pours from between the trees before the creature is seen. The vilkacis has the hunched proportions of a wolf-headed corpse, its long fingers ending in smoke-dark claws. The flesh is only a memory: moonlight passes through its ribs, and the ground beneath its feet bears no weight. Its eyes burn with the fierce attention of a hunter still choosing prey.
Possession is uglier than a simple change of shape. A living person’s back arches, joints swell, fingers lengthen into claws and the jaws force themselves forward. For several hours the stolen body serves the dead werewolf’s hunger, then collapses trembling and exhausted when the spirit leaves.
Where Vilkacis Are Found
Most haunt the border between occupied land and old woodland: charcoal burners’ tracks, ruined hunting lodges, abandoned farmsteads and lonely passes used by foresters and fur traders. The creature rarely travels far from the ground holding its original remains or the canopic stone binding it to the world. A spellcaster who carries that stone may call it forth, but carrying the talisman does not make the spirit obedient.
In the Baltic provinces a vilkacis may be mistaken for a living werewolf. The difference matters. A living werewolf leaves tracks and suffers mortal wounds. A vilkacis passes through doors, steals another person’s shape and eventually returns even after its spectral body is dispersed.
Behaviour
The creature is not a wilderness guardian. It is the malign remainder of a life consumed by predation. It watches hunters, armed escorts and packs of wolves, assessing which body would let it kill most effectively. It may haunt the same strong victim repeatedly, returning to possess them after they believe the danger has passed.
It can mimic a mournful wolf-howl to draw a party away from fire or companions. It ignores most ordinary goods, but recognises the smell of silver and the presence of its own canopic stone. It will bargain only to recover that stone or to lure a foe within reach; promises made in its dead voice last no longer than the next hunt.
If Violence Starts
The vilkacis approaches through trees or walls, then tries to possess the strongest armed humanoid, especially anyone carrying a silver weapon. If possession succeeds, it uses the host to attack isolated companions and attempts to spread the werewolf curse by biting. If it fails, it attacks with freezing incorporeal claws while moving between solid obstacles. Silver strikes may force it to abandon a useful host. It flees toward the canopic stone when badly wounded, but if that stone is threatened it fights with frantic savagery.
Signs of a Vilkacis
Visible clue. A shadow shaped like a wolf moves across the wall even when nothing casts it.
Tracks. Wolf prints end suddenly at an unbroken stone wall; a human trail begins farther away.
Witnesses. A respected hunter claims to remember everything about a killing, yet has no memory of making the wounds.
Material sign. Frost forms on silver talismans near the spirit’s hiding place.
Hidden answer. A sealed canopic stone, a werewolf skull or the silver weapon that ended the beast’s mortal life marks the spirit’s anchor.
Using a Vilkacis in Play
The stolen hunter. Begin with a missing-person search, not an immediate monster attack. The most capable tracker has been found alive, bloodied and unable to account for several hours. A second disappearance coincides with a wolf-howl. A supernatural clue identifies the hunter as a host rather than the murderer.
Find the stone. The party can drive the spirit away with silver, but it returns in 2d4 days. The true victory requires finding its original remains and destroying the stone beside them. Possession may end before the stone is found, preserving an innocent life without ending the threat.
The summoner’s mistake. A sorcerer who uncovered the canopic stone believes the spirit is a controllable assassin. The first murder succeeds; subsequent killings do not follow orders. The summoner becomes another frightened witness.
Challenge and Encounter Scale
A lone CR 7 vilkacis is an appropriately serious enemy for mid-level characters with magical or silvered weapons, protection against possession and ways to investigate its anchor. It is far more dangerous in tight corridors with vulnerable allied NPCs than in an open field. Do not surprise a party with permanent character loss: establish the risk of possession, provide an intelligible saving throw and permit allies to exploit the silver weakness or cleansing magic.
At lower levels, use the creature as a mystery or roaming danger to be avoided until the means of banishment are discovered. At higher levels, pair it with lycanthropes or enthralled hunters rather than increasing its damage arbitrarily.
Adventure Hooks
The Silver Knife. A dead trapper’s knife begins to frost whenever the village’s new watch-captain walks past. The blade killed a werewolf years ago and now marks the missing canopic stone.
Three Hours Missing. A forester begs the party to lock them up before moonrise. They have blood on their sleeves, broken nails and the uneasy conviction that someone else has been walking inside their skin.
Wolf at the Gate. A noble hunt takes place beside a burial ground where a lycanthrope was secretly interred. The vilkacis chooses the leader of the hunting party, making any rescue a struggle to save both the host and the prey.
The Canopic Stone and What Remains
The binding object is rarely a costly jewel. It may be a thumb-sized ceramic effigy bound in silver wire, a wolf skull or the weapon that killed the former werewolf. A bearer can call the creature, but cannot truly command it; ordinary summoning gives protection to the bearer rather than mastery over the spirit. Using it invites deliberate bloodshed. The stone can be concealed separately from the corpse to keep the spirit impossible to finish.
When the monster is dispersed, its mist leaves no body or ordinary treasure. Victims may be saved and the original remains identified; the most valuable discovery is the evidence that locates the stone. The ability to return until the anchor is destroyed is central to the encounter, not an optional reward for winning combat.
Mythology and Historical Context
Vilkacis belongs to Latvian and neighbouring Baltic werewolf traditions. Folklore includes people changing into wolves and accounts in which the person’s soul ranges abroad while their body lies elsewhere. These beings are not uniformly wicked in traditional stories; some tales allow helpful acts. The incorporeal, vengeful, stone-bound vilkacis described in the game rules is a distinct fantasy-monster interpretation rather than a universal historical belief.
For the difference between a living wolf-shifter and an undead possessor, compare the lycanthrope tradition and the undead bestiary. A study of regional storytelling appears in Jana Skrivļa-Čevere’s examination of the werewolf in Latgalian folklore.
Related Creatures, Magic and Locations
Undead · Werewolf · Lycanthropes · Northern Bestiary · Grand Duchy of Lithuania · Magic Jar · Remove Curse · Curse of Lycanthropy
Sources and Licensing
Pathfinder 1e source: Vilkacis at d20PFSRD, based on Paizo Publishing’s published monster statistics. The Pathfinder rules text is presented under the applicable Open Game License and source notices. The original source notice is preserved: This content was created by Paizo Publishing LLC for the Pathfinder rules but is not from the Pathfinder RPG product line. Its published 85 hp total is retained; the displayed hit-dice bonus resolves the arithmetic of the source’s abbreviated die expression. The printed attack bonus is reproduced without speculative modification.
Edition distinction: The 5.5e/2024, 5e/2014 and D&D 3.5e treatments are original, unofficial playable adaptations; they are not official monster entries for those rulesets. Historical and mythological context is supported by the Latgalian folklore study and Baltic folklore reference. Existing monster illustrations are preserved; the separate historical painting is credited above.
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