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Poludnica

Don't go into the fields—so say the village elders—when the sun is highest and the sky is the blue of a robin's egg. That's when the poludnica, the noonday demon, walks the furrows, and to meet them is death.

Of course, some don't listen. At planting and at harvest, those few extra hours in the middle of the day can mean the difference between making it through the winter and starving to death. Desperation is a powerful force, and while it's just possible some old fireside legend might kill you, hunger most assuredly will. When need isn't at play, greed does a good impression, and pride too. Just a little more work, a little bigger harvest, that little bit extra to impress—who? Yourself? Your spouse? Parents, neighbors, or even your landlord?

So, some harvesters enter the fields while the sun beats down like a hammer: the desperate, the greedy, and the foolish alike, and if they're lucky, all they have to fear is heat exhaustion, sunstroke, and dehydration. If they're unlucky, they come across a lone stranger in the fields: a young woman dressed in a kaftan of purest white, so bright it hurts to look upon, with eyes blue as cornflowers. Sometimes it's a young man instead, sometimes their clothing is pale blue, sometimes they might appear as a young child or wizened elder. Always they hold a scythe, a sickle, or a pair of old pruning shears.

The poludnica asks questions—they're fond of riddles and trick questions, confusing nonsense—all while the sun glares and the fey twists in your sight like a mirage. Answer wrongly, or stay silent, and she'll clout you on the head, causing headaches or madness. Or perhaps they'll simply bring that sickle down and slice your head clean off. They'll bury the body then, right there in the fields, and the harvest that rises from that land will be the richest in a hundred years. The people will nod, and the village elders will have a new story to tell, and perhaps in a decade or two, some new fool will die in the fields. And in exchange for their presence, the harvest grows rich and ripe, and hunger stays at bay.

Poludnicas are proud and territorial fey—a deadly threat, but a manageable one on the whole, if you're wise and listen to those who know better. They guard their fields and their time closely, and view outsiders as trespassers to be dealt with. At the same time, poludnicas don't actually hate their mortal neighbors. A poludnica's relationship with “their” village has a parental bent, that of a shepherd to their sheep (including taking the occasional meal of mutton). A poludnica ensures the harvest is good and locals don't starve, which sometimes means culling the occasional fool who fails to show respect. No one's entirely sure what poludnicas get in the exchange, though. Mortals say that poludnicas dally with mortals, ensuring their line is continued onward. Given that, like all fey, poludnicas are immortal, this is likely just some farmhand's wishful thinking. Other fey simply think that poludnicas are all stuck-up and enjoy having someone in mortal terror of them. This is more plausible.

There's an old story that says that Poludnica—just a single fey in the story—was one of four sisters: the midday star. Beside her was the youngest, Zarya, the dawn star, the evening star, Vechernitsa, and the midnight star, Nochnitsa. Together, they oversaw the proper course of the hours and the transition from darkness to light and back. They rarely quarreled, though rarely saw eye to eye, either. Supposedly, a mortal caught out by a poludnica should suggest they're on an errand for one of their sisters, especially Nochnitsa, whom Poludnica never sees. The fey might suspect a ruse, but they're likelier to let the mortal go on their way than risk aggravating their sisters.

Another story claims that the noonday demons love dancing and are better at it than any mortal. When the sun is highest and the fields are empty, they dance, alone or in great gatherings. If they meet a mortal during this time, perhaps some farmer dozing the day away, they'll wake them and implore them to dance—on pain of death. A poludnica will dance from noon till dusk, but if the mortal can keep up with them through heat and exhaustion, the impressed fey will reward them richly, with blessings of good fortune, protection, and a purse of gold for good measure.

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Print Stat Block

Weak PoludnicaCreature 9

Uncommon Medium Fey 
Source Feybound pg. 141
Weak Changes are marked. The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.
Recall Knowledge DC 28 (includes +2 from Uncommon) • Fey (Nature)
Perception +17
Languages Common, Fey
Skills Acrobatics +17, Athletics +18, Deception +17, Intimidation +19, Nature +17, Performance +19, Riddle Lore +20, Stealth +19, Survival +20
Str +6, Dex +5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +6, Cha +7
Master of the Fields Where poludnicas walk, the crops grows rich and tall, and where the poludnicas bury their victims, the corn never suffers from blight or weevils. A field (usually a few square miles) where a poludnica is in residence never suffers from random accidents such as vermin or disease, and any checks to Earn Income or Subsist off the field gain a +2 circumstance bonus. A poludnica must spend a week in a place before these benefits occur.
Riddle Lover A creature can Make an Impression on a poludnica by using Nature, Society, or a suitable Lore skill to pose a riddle or answer the poludnica's riddles. In addition to the usual effects of Make an Impression, a creature that succeeds at this check receives a +1 status bonus to saves against the poludnica's spells and sunstroke haze aura (+2 on a critical success). On a failure, they take a –1 status penalty instead (–2 on a critical failure).
Items +1 striking scythe
AC 27; Fort +14, Ref +17, Will +20
HP 155; Immunities fire; Weaknesses cold iron 10, noonday demon
Noonday Demon A poludnica loses their sunstroke haze aura while in dim light or darker and is also slowed 1 while in complete darkness.Sunstroke Haze (aura, fire) 10 feet. A poludnica is surrounded by a shimmering haze of light and heat. Any creature that enters or begins its turn in the emanation must attempt a DC 24 Fortitude save. Regardless of the result, the creature doesn't need to make further saves against sunstroke haze for 1 minute. During the hour when the sun is at its zenith, even if the poludnica can't see it, the emanation increases to 30 feet.
Critical SuccessThe creature is unaffected.
SuccessThe creature is enfeebled 1 for 1 round.
FailureThe creature becomes fatigued and is enfeebled 1 for as long as it's fatigued.
Critical FailureAs failure, but enfeebled 2.
Speed 30 feet; cornfield passage
Melee [one-action] scythe +21 [+16/+11] (deadly d10, magical, trip), Damage 2d10-2+12 slashingPrimal Innate Spells DC 24 (-4 dmg); 5th nature’s pathway (fields of grain instead of trees), wall of fire; 4th confusion, invisibility; 2nd blur (at will), revealing light (at will); Cantrips (5th) light
Cornfield Passage The poludnica ignores difficult terrain due to vegetation.Harvest Dance [two-actions] The poludnica raises their scythe in a whirling dance. The poludnica Strides twice. At any point during the movement, they make a scythe Strike against up to two different targets; if either of these attacks is a critical hit, that target is also drained 1.
Load Spell Descriptions

Sidebar - Additional Lore I Have Many Names

Poludnica is just one name for the cruel fey that haunt the fields when the sun is at its highest. In other lands, they are called Polenitsa, the Noonday Demon, Lady Midday, the noonwraith, or the noonwitch. Calling a poludnica by one of their many titles is generally a wise way to get on their good side, for poludnicas are duly proud of their many names.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Noonwraith

In some tellings, a poludnica is not a fey, but a ghost, the spirit of some lost soul that perished in the fields and now wants only to take out their ghastly frustrations on any who come after them. This isn't true, but it's not entirely false either—poludnicas certainly have a ghostly aspect to them, and they're capable of vanishing or fading from view rather like a ghost. They're also not above impersonating someone who has died, though they do it far more poorly than other fey.
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