You are on page 1of 10

PLAYTEST CONTENT

Hello! This is Playtest Content! As such, it might change in time, this is not a final release.
There’ll be channels to give feedback on this article and future articles soon!

DISCLAIMER: This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of
America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
prohibited without the express written permission of its author.
This product is a work of fiction.
Gentle Hag
GENTLE HAG
Medium Fey, Typically Chaotic Neutral

Armor Class 16 (Natural Armor)


Hit Points 102 (12d8 + 48)
Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA


14 (+2) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 17 (+3) 15 (+2) 19 (+4)

Saving Throws Cha +7


Skills Deception +7, Insight +5, Perception +5, Persuasion +7
Damage Resistances necrotic, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and
slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Halfling, Sylvan
Challenge 7 (2,900 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3

Innate Spellcasting. The gentle hag's innate spellcasting ability is


Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately
cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

● At will: command, guiding bolt, sleep


● 3/day each: blur, hold person, misty step, suggestion
● 2/day each: counterspell, slow

Fey Clarity. The gentle hag is immune to spells from the school of
Enchantment.

Persistent Charm. If a creature is charmed by the gentle hag for at least


24 hours, it can no longer repeat its saving throw to end the effect. The
charmed effect lasts until the gentle hag dies, or until it is removed by
the greater restoration spell or similar magic.

Joyous Loyalty. When a creature attacks the gentle hag, any creature
charmed by her that is within 5 feet of either the gentle hag or the
creature attacking her can use their reaction to become the target of the
attack, instead of the gentle hag.

Magic Resistance. The gentle hag has advantage on saving throws


against spells and other magical effects.

ACTIONS
Painful Glamor. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit:
11 (2d6 + 4) psychic damage. This spell attack does one additional point
of damage for each creature charmed by the gentle hag that is within
120 feet of her when she makes the attack.

Gentle Charm. The gentle hag brings forth a sense of simple and pure
happiness in a creature of her choice within 30 feet of the hag. The
creature must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the
gentle hag. This effect lasts until the creature’s hit points are reduced to
0 or the gentle hag dies. The creature can repeat their saving throw at
the end of each of their turns, ending the effect on a success. For each
saving throw the creature fails, the save DC for the effect increases by
one unless the creature has taken any damage since their last turn.

Gentle Push. The gentle hag chooses a creature that is charmed by her.
That creature gains 5 (1d10) temporary hit points, and during its next
turn, the creature can make one additional weapon attack if it takes the
Attack action.

Summon Happiness (1/Day). The gentle hag chooses 1d6+1 creatures of


her choice that are charmed by her. If the chosen creatures are on the
same plane of existence, regardless of distance, they teleport and
appear in unoccupied spaces that she can see within 60 feet of her.

COVEN ACTIONS
These actions can only be taken if the gentle hag is part of a hag coven. A
hag coven consists of three hags working together.

Shared Spellcasting (Coven Only). While all three members of a hag


coven are within 30 feet of one another, they can each cast the following
spells in addition to those spells granted to them by their Innate
Spellcasting, but must share these spell slots among themselves:

● 3/day each: alarm, bless, calm emotions, charm person


● 2/day each: beacon of hope, counterspell, hallucinatory terrain,
haste
● 1/day each: dominate person, heroes’ feast, mass cure wounds,
word of recall

Siphon Joy (Coven Only). The hag coven sacrifices the life force of one of
their charmed thralls to heal their wounds. As an action, a hag of the
coven siphons the joy from one of the creatures charmed by any of the
coven’s hags. The other two hags must immediately use their reaction
for this ability to work. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution
saving throw or take force damage equal to half of their maximum hit
points, and the three hags are each healed by a third of that number,
rounded down. If the creature has been charmed by any of the hags for
more than 24 hours, they have disadvantage on the saving throw.

Gentle Gaze (Coven Only). A coven of gentle hags can craft a magic item
called a Gentle Gaze, which is made from beautiful gemstones fashioned
into the shape of a translucent eye and often fitted to jewelry, such as a
necklace or ring. Anyone in possession of a Gentle Gaze can use an
action and touch the magical item to see through it. The Gentle Gaze
reveals the deepest desire of whatever creature it is currently pointing
towards, provided it has one.
A gentle hag coven can make as many Gentle Gazes as they please,
provided they have the material components and can perform the ritual
needed in its creation. The ritual takes 1 hour and consumes gemstones,
perfumes, incense, and aromatic herbs worth a total of 10,000 gold
pieces. During the ritual, if the hags take any action other than
performing the ritual, they lose the materials involved in the ritual and
must start over.

Gentle Hag Tactics:


● The Gentle Hag will try to stay out of melee range as much as possible, using Misty Step
to move around the battlefield if needed.
● The Gentle Hag will debuff the party with her spells as long as there are enough
creatures charmed around her to protect her. If there aren’t, she’ll focus on charming one
of the party members to make them fight against their own allies.
● The Gentle Hag will only use Painful Glamor when she doesn’t believe she needs to
further debuff the party, or she has enough charmed creatures around her to make the
damage of the spell attack significantly high.
● The Gentle Hag is intelligent, and will try to charm those she believes have more of a
chance to fail their saving throw.
● She’s also smart enough to use Gentle Push on the biggest damage-dealer on her side.
● The Gentle Hag will always try to keep a charmed creature close to her so it can take
attacks aimed towards her.
● If she hasn’t used Summon Happiness at the very beginning of the encounter, she will
do so when there are only one or two charmed creatures left, to extend the battle and
lower the morale of the party.
● Coven Variant: The gentle coven will only use Siphon Joy as a last resort, or to kill a
particularly dangerous party member they have managed to charm. This is a very costly
move that uses one action and two reactions to be executed, and will therefore only be
used very sparingly.
● Coven Variant: The Gentle Gaze is a variant of the hag eye, and can be used against
the players in a roleplay encounter or for the players as payment for working with the
coven.
Encounter Tips:
The Gentle Hag is a hard encounter for your players. Because of her focus on debuffing
enemies through her spells and charms, the encounter can very quickly turn into a death spiral if
enough characters are charmed by the gentle hag. Be mindful of this when planning this
encounter.

In order for this encounter to work, the hag needs minions that she has previously charmed; the
gentle hag is not made to be run as a solo monster. We strongly suggest you select a stat block
for the gentle hag’s charmed thralls in advance, for example, the stat block of a guard could do
the trick. You can further customize the difficulty of this encounter when choosing the CR of the
thralls.

The difficulty of this battle can change a lot depending on the party. A party with many elves or
half-elves, who are resistant to charm, or clerics or other classes proficient in wisdom saving
throws, will have an easier time not falling for the charm of the hag. Be mindful of party
composition when planning this encounter.

You can also influence the difficulty and the length of the battle by choosing when to make the
gentle hag use her Summon Happiness action. For an easier, shorter fight, the players may find
her alone and she can use it during the first turn of battle, making it impossible to use again later
on during the fight. Conversely, for a harder and longer battle, the players may confront her
when she’s already surrounded with her charmed followers, allowing her to summon even more
allies later on in the fight.

Lastly, additional coven actions have been added in case you wish to make your players fight a
coven of gentle hags. This encounter’s difficulty would be much higher, since a hag coven
consists of three hags working together to take down the party.
Haunt Hag
HAUNT HAG
Medium Fey, Typically Neutral Evil

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)


Hit Points 75 (10d8 + 30)
Speed 30 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA


9 (-1) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) 10 (+0)

Skills Insight +7, Perception +7, Performance +3, Stealth +5


Damage Resistances necrotic
Condition Immunities frightened
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Infernal, Sylvan
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3

Innate Spellcasting. The haunt hag's innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom


(spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the
following spells, requiring no material components:

● At will: dancing lights, hideous laughter, mage hand, silent image


● 3/day each: darkness, invisibility, moonbeam

Darkness Affinity. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the haunt hag’s


darkvision.

Eye for Horror. When a creature enters the haunt hag’s lair, the haunt
hag instantly knows their deepest fears.

ACTIONS
Multiaction. The haunt hag uses any two of her actions.

Touch of Horror. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:
13 (2d8 + 4) necrotic damage. If the haunt hag makes this attack while
unseen by the target, it does an additional 4 (1d8) damage.

Hands of Horror. Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, range 60 ft., one target.
Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) necrotic damage.

See Fear. The hag reaches into the mind of a creature to find out what
they fear most. The target must make a Charisma (Deception) check
against the haunt hag’s Wisdom (Insight) check. On a failure, the hag
learns that creature’s darkest fears.
Embody Fear. The haunt hag selects one creature she can see and
transforms herself into what it fears most. She must already know that
creature’s darkest fears for this ability to work. While in this form, she
has advantage on all attacks against the creature and the creature is
frightened of the haunt hag. The haunt hag reverts to her original form
at the end of her next turn.

LAIR ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the haunt hag takes a lair action
to cause one of the following effects; the haunt hag can’t use the same effect
two rounds in a row:

House of Horrors. The haunt hag’s lair takes on the illusory appearance
of a location that embodies the fears of one of the creatures currently
present in the lair. The haunt hag must already know that creature’s
darkest fears for this ability to work. The creature is frightened of the
haunt hag, their speed is reduced to 0, and attacks against that creature
have advantage. The lair reverts to its original appearance when the
haunt hag uses another lair action.

Hide and Seek. The haunt hag teleports to an unoccupied space within
60 feet of her that is within the lair. This movement does not trigger
attacks of opportunity, and the haunt hag can immediately take the Hide
action.

Lights Out. The lair is completely filled with magical darkness. The
magical darkness dissipates once the haunt hag uses another lair action.

Haunt Hag Tactics:


● It’s best to think of this entire encounter like a horror movie, alternating between build-up
phases and sudden scares during the fight. Have fun spooking your players!
● Since this battle deals with fears, it’s important to check on boundaries, lines, and veils
beforehand, and consider warning your players that their characters’ fears are likely to
come up during the session. Use safety tools to make sure that everyone’s having a
good, spooky time.
● In the build-up phase, the Haunt Hag acts similarly to a rogue. She hides through spells
like darkness or invisibility, and then attacks, dealing extra damage if she’s successfully
hidden.
● In the scare phase, the Haunt Hag can transform into one of the party member’s deepest
fears. This not only makes for a visually interesting battle, but can also lead to roleplay
moments and the party getting to know each other on a deeper level! Don’t hesitate to
ask your players how their characters feel when confronted with their fears.
● In the Lair: The Haunt Hag is a much more powerful foe in her lair. She does not need
to waste one of her actions on See Fear, since she instantly knows the fear of everyone
entering her lair thanks to her Eye of Horror trait.
● In the Lair: Hide and Seek and Lights Out are lair actions that help the haunt hag set up
for devastating attacks (and get her out of trouble by keeping her mobile), but are also
opportunities for you to build up the tension that leads to a big scare. Be aware of your
party members’ ACs, so you can reveal who the Haunt Hag is targeting right at the
moment of the attack to maximize tension.

Haunt Hag Encounter Tips:


The Haunt Hag is meant to be a battle full of flavor and tension. As the tactics say, it’s meant to
be played as a horror movie scene, with build-up and scares built into the Haunt Hag’s design.

We strongly recommend going over safety tools prior to this encounter so that all players can
have a good time at the table.

This encounter is also perfect to deepen the party members’ bonds, as they learn about each
other’s fears and help each other overcome them. Be sure to allow space during the battle for
the players to explore and describe how their characters are reacting to the Haunt Hag’s tricks.

The addition of Lair Actions increases the difficulty of this encounter because of simple action
economy. Be mindful of this when planning for encounter design and balance.
The Haunt Hag has several ways to keep mobile on the battlefield and avoid enemy attacks, but
if you feel like your party might make quick work of her, you can add some minions to keep the
action economy more balanced.

You might also like