Jigwi 지귀

Medium undead (incorporeal), chaotic neutral

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)

Hit Points 168 (16d8 + 96)

Speed 0 ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)

STR 6 (−2) · DEX 18 (+4) · CON 18 (+4) · INT 13 (+1) · WIS 16 (+3) · CHA 20 (+5)

Saving Throws Dex +9, Wis +8, Cha +10

Skills Insight +7, Perception +7, Persuasion +9

Damage Vulnerabilities cold

Damage Resistances lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities fire, poison

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

Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 17

Languages understands all languages it knew in life but rarely speaks

Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Traits

Incorporeal Movement. Jigwi can move through creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Fiery Form. A creature that touches Jigwi or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage. In addition, any flammable object that isn’t being worn or carried ignites if it is within 5 feet of Jigwi.

Flame of Han. At the start of Jigwi’s turn, each creature within 5 feet of it takes 5 (1d10) fire damage.

Living Conflagration. When Jigwi drops to 0 hit points, it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw. On a success, it regains 40 hit points and its Flame of Han damage increases to 10 (2d10) until the end of its next turn. Jigwi can’t benefit from this trait again until it finishes a short or long rest.

Queen’s Bracelet. A creature holding Queen Seondeok’s gold bracelet can use an action to recite her calming plea. Jigwi must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become charmed for 1 minute. While charmed in this way, Jigwi is incapacitated and can’t move. If the plea is recited on each of three consecutive rounds, Jigwi is laid to rest and can’t reform unless powerful magic (such as true resurrection or wish) is used to call it back.

Actions

Multiattack. Jigwi makes two Fiery Touch attacks.

Fiery Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) fire damage, and the target ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the flames, the target takes 5 (1d10) fire damage at the start of each of its turns.

Blazing Whirl (Recharge 5–6). Jigwi erupts in a cyclone of fire. Each creature of its choice within 20 feet must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Flammable objects in the area ignite.

Bonus Actions

Flicker. Jigwi magically teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.

Reactions

Heat Surge. When Jigwi takes cold damage, it can move up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Lore

Born from a man’s consuming passion for a palace woman; his burning desire could ignite great

Jigwi (지귀) is one of the most tragic—and most unusual—figures in Korean folklore. Unlike the many monsters driven by instinct or outright malice, Jigwi is the embodiment of a single, overpowering human emotion: obsessive love that, with nowhere to go, turns into a literal, all-consuming fire. His story isn’t just another ghost tale; it’s a parable about the disaster that follows when human passion pushes past all limits.

The legend, first recorded in the now-lost collection Sui-jeon, calls him the “Spirit of Desire” or “Spirit of Will,” names that reveal his nature. He isn’t inherently evil or vengeful; he is a ghost born of fierce, almost manic longing for the object of his affection.

From Korean Bestiary 5E, p. 76 · Fern Flower Press