Wight (Dungeons & Dragons)

Infobox D&D creature
name=Wight
alignment=lawful evil
type=Undead
subtype=
source=
first=
mythical=Wight
based=
wizards_image_URL=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG255a.jpg
OGL_stats_URL=http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monstersTtoZ.html#wight

A wight is an undead creature in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

Publication history

The wight takes its inspiration from the historical fantasy representation of the term "wight".Fact|date=July 2008

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

The wight was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974), where they were described as being able to drain away energy levels on a touch. [Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. "Dungeons & Dragons" (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

The wight appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), [Gygax, Gary. "Monster Manual" (TSR, 1977)] where it is described as an undead human that inhabits barrow mounds or catacombs, evil and hateful, seeking to destroy all life it encounters.

Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)

This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the wight, in the "Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set" (1977, 1981, 1983). [Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974] , edited by J. Eric Holmes. "Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set" (TSR, 1977)] [Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974] , edited by Tom Moldvay. "Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set" (TSR, 1981)] [Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974] , edited by Frank Mentzer. "Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules" (TSR, 1983)] The wight was also later featured in the "Dungeons & Dragons Game" set (1991), the "Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia" (1991), [Schend, Steven E., Jon Pickens, and Dori Warty (Editors). "Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia" (TSR, 1991)] the "Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game" set (1994), and the "Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game" set (1999).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

The wight appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), [Cook, David, et al. "Monstrous Compendium Volume One" (TSR, 1989)] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). [Stewart, Doug, ed. "Monstrous Manual" (TSR, 1993)]

The wight undead dragon appears in "Dragon" #234 (October 1996).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

The wight appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000). [Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)]

The lavawight appears in the "Epic Level Handbook" (2002). The vilewight appeared in the "Book of Vile Darkness" (2002). [Cook, Monte. "Book of Vile Darkness" (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)]

The wight template appeared in "Dragon" #300 (October 2002), and included the troglodyte wight as a sample creature.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

The wight appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The wight was presented as a player character class in ' (2004). [Collins, Andy and Bruce R Cordell. "Libris Mortis" (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)] The slaughter wight"' also appeared in this book.

The dust wight appears in "Monster Manual III" (2004). [Burlew, Rich, et al. "Monster Manual III" (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)]

The wight was detailed in "Dragon" #348 (October 2006), in the "Ecology of the Wight". [Davis, Graeme. "The Ecology of the Wight." "Dragon" #348 (Paizo Publishing, 2006)]

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

The wight appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008). [Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)]

Description

A wight is given a semblance of life through sheer violence and hatred. A wight can drain the life energy out of victims by touch, turning them into new wights upon death. A wight appears as a weird and twisted reflection of the form it had in life. Wights are always lawful evil.

Variant Wights

*Dust Wights - Undead formed by a conjunction of elemental earth and negative energy. They destroy all creations of stone and metal. Dust Wights are always chaotic evil.

*Vilewight - Has exposed innards which flail out like serpents, each ending in a bile-dripping mouth. Vilewights are always neutral evil.

D&D Miniatures

The wight appears in the D&D Miniatures: Harbinger set #52 (2003).

References