Sunamura no Onryo 砂村の怨霊

Medium undead (plant), chaotic evil

Armor Class 13 (withered vines)

Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)

Speed 0 ft., glide 30 ft. (hover)

STR 16 (+3) · DEX 14 (+2) · CON 14 (+2) · INT 9 (−1) · WIS 15 (+2) · CHA 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Wis +4, Cha +5

Skills Stealth +4, Survival +4

Damage Vulnerabilities fire, radiant

Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical attacks

Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, poisoned, prone, restrained

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12

Languages understands Common but speaks only telepathically (60 ft.)

Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Traits

Haunting Harvest. Non-magical pumpkins and gourds within 60 feet of the onryo rot to mush after 1 minute of exposure. A creature that eats the tainted produce must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour.

Form of Vines. The onryo can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. It can’t be grappled or knocked prone.

Chill of Grudge. A creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of the onryo must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on its first attack roll that turn. On a success, the creature is immune to this aura for 24 hours.

Actions

Multiattack. The onryo makes two Vine Coil attacks, or one Vine Coil and one Pumpkin Hurl attack.

Vine Coil. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 5 (1d10) necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns as its life-force is drained. The onryo can grapple only one creature at a time.

Pumpkin Hurl. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/90 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The hurled pumpkin reforms in the onryo’s hands at the start of its next turn.

Reactions

Withering Touch. When a creature within 5 feet hits the onryo with a melee attack, the attacker takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage as dead vines lash out.

LEGENDARY RESISTANCE (1/Day)

If the onryo fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Legendary Resistance

If the onryo fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Lore

A wandering pumpkin monster.

Sunamura no Onryo, literally “the vengeful spirit of Sunamura,” is a rare example of a hybrid yokai—a malevolent ghost fused with a pumpkin. It is tied to the former village of Sunamura, once on the outskirts of Edo (now absorbed into Tokyo’s Koto Ward), an area famous for its plentiful pumpkin fields. In Japanese tradition an onryo is one of the most dangerous kinds of yurei (vengeful ghosts): spirits born of a curse or deep resentment, capable of unleashing epidemics and natural disasters. Classical sources describe onryo as the souls of people, but in Sunamura’s case the curse latched onto a pumpkin itself, making this spirit truly unique.

The creature’s body is a tangle of pumpkin vines and withering leaves, and in its frail vine-hands it cradles a heavy, bright-orange pumpkin where a head ought to be. Thanks to its plant-like nature, Sunamura no Onryo blends easily into pumpkin patches and is most active in autumn, during harvest time. At night it drifts toward the village outskirts to stalk the locals. The pursuit is said to be silent and barely visible, marked only by a sudden rush of cold air and the stench of rotting vegetables. Escape is thought to be impossible. When the spirit attacks, its vines coil around the victim, strangling them and slowly draining their ki, or life energy; the target also feels a crushing weight on the shoulders that leaves them unable to move. Prolonged exposure to the spirit hastens crop spoilage and spreads illness among people and livestock—classic signs of a high-ranking onryo that can harm not just individuals but the entire surroundings.

From Yokai Bestiary 5E, Book Two, p. 90 · Fern Flower Press