Wendigo

Wendigos are creatures found in Appalachia in 2102.

Background
Wendigos are humans that were mutated by radiation into deadly cannibalistic creatures with emaciated bodies that reflect their insatiable hunger.

Biology
Wendigos resemble gaunt, emaciated humanoids with ashy gray skin, long bony arms, a pot belly, a skull-like face topped with scant strands of long, stringy hair and mouths filled with long, jagged teeth. They have large claws on the tips of each finger, while glowing variants look charred and glow green. They make a signature breathing sound when alerted, and sound much like the rustling of dry foliage when moving.

They appear to have some sort of relation to feral ghouls, but the extent of such is unknown. They exhibit similar characteristics, such as radiation resistance, and appear to be neutral towards each other.

Gameplay attributes
Wendigos are fast and can deal a large amount of damage in a very short amount of time. They get close and can be hard to hit without V.A.T.S. if using a firearm. Wendigos will not run away if the player character climbs onto objects or furniture, but will continue to screech. During combat, wendigos may let loose a piercing shriek that doesn't damage the player character but will possibly attract a horde of feral ghouls to their location.

Though rare, one can occasionally witness wendigos perched atop high and out-of-sight locations that allow them to ambush prey. One such example can be seen with wendigos that perch on trees overlooking the central roads of the Mire.

At higher levels, wendigos will frequently appear as a boss-type enemy for groups of ghouls. They reliably drop 5 to 7 loose screws.

Progenitor wendigo
This variant is found only inside the wendigo cave.

Wendigo colossus
A three-headed, extremely tall wendigo in the add-on Wastelanders that is unlike any other variant.

Locations

 * A wendigo can appear at the pylon ambush site.
 * A wendigo can appear in Willard Corporate Housing.
 * A wendigo can appear in the Garrahan Estate.
 * A wendigo can appear in Fort Defiance.
 * A wendigo can appear in the solitary confinement block of Eastern Regional Penitentiary.
 * A wendigo can appear in Haven Church.
 * A wendigo can appear in Lewisburg.
 * A wendigo can appear in Freddy Fear's House of Scares.
 * A wendigo can appear in the R&D section of Garrahan Mining Headquarters.
 * A wendigo can appear in Mountainside Bed & Breakfast.
 * A wendigo can appear in Big B's Rest Stop.
 * A wendigo can appear at KMAX Transmission.
 * A wendigo can appear at the Seneca Rocks Visitor Center.
 * A wendigo can appear at Watoga Emergency Services.
 * Groups of wendigos can appear between the Whitespring golf club and a fissure site.
 * There is a possibility for a wendigo to spawn at Hawke's Refuge. It is one of three creatures that can spawn in a small cavern off of the main cave. The other creatures that may be found there are a withered feral ghoul or a putrid glowing one. It will always be one of these three.
 * Reliably found inside the Wendigo cave.

Notable wendigos

 * Morris Stevens - The former leader of the Gourmands raider gang, devolved into a wendigo following his exile from the gang for eating fellow members.
 * Camp counselor Nia - A unique wendigo encountered during the Campfire Tales event.
 * Scott Conroy - A former cryptid hunter turned wendigo, found in the sunken remains of a church.
 * The Nightstalker - The wendigo that killed the Sons of Dane.

Appearances
Wendigos appear only in Fallout 76.

Behind the scenes
In Algonquin folklore, a wendigo is a malevolent spirit that is frequently associated with winter, coldness, famine and starvation. It possesses and transforms human beings who have committed sins such as selfishness, greed, gluttony, murder and especially cannibalism. The spirit then forces them to consume human flesh, turning them into a monster with an insatiable hunger for it. The wendigo are also part of the traditional belief system of many Algonquin-speaking cultures, such as the Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Saulteaux, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi and Innu peoples. Though the folklore among cultures varies somewhat, the wendigo is commonly seen as an evil, cannibalistic, supernatural entity.