Hag

When fear of death or hunger for power grips a mortal spellcaster, often a druid or a witch, they might forge a pact with an evil archfey. The mortal becomes a hag—aged, clawed, and cruel. A ruthlessly powerful fey in their own right, a hag uses their magic to bring about the misery their archfey wills.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Though hags typically appear as older humanoids, their true form is as vicious and nasty as their nature. They prefer to show the world a charitable face, but the general wisdom concerning hags is that the more beautiful their appearance, the deeper the rot within. This theory has never been confirmed, however, as few who see a hag's true form live to tell the tale.

Dealmakers and Heartbreakers

As old age can't kill them, the oldest hags accumulate swathes of knowledge, magic, and repute over time. They are happy to share their wares... for the right price. Rather than ask for paltry coin, a hag usually bargains for something dear to the customer—perhaps their ability to love, the sound of their child's laugh, or their left pinky toe.

Adding insult to injury, those who deal with hags almost always discover the product is worse than advertised. Mortals should pay close attention to the precise wording of their agreements, lest they end up with a hex they thought would be a gift. Such curses often lead to the corruption of good but desperate folk, with some getting so twisted up in fey deals that they become hags themselves.

What's in a Name?

Hags give themselves whimsical names, and older hags often select monikers such as Auntie, Uncle, or Nanny. Such relatable names help entice their favorite prey: the innocent. Who would fear Granny Gumdrops or Uncle Twothumbs?

Loyal Underlings

Hags are treacherous by nature, and they only recruit creatures they can trust to be loyal underlings. Most of these creatures lack sapience (such as animals, constructs, and undead), though hags sometimes command weaker fey who are too scared to betray them.

Hag Languages

Most hags speak Anjali, Caelian, Khelt, and Yllyric, with older hags often knowing several more languages.

Hag Malice (Malice Features)

At the start of a hag's turn, you can spend Malice to activate one of the following features.

❇️ Casting Curses and Bodies (3 Malice)

The hag utters terrible words that push each enemy within 2 squares of them up to 3 squares.

🔳 Hag Wyrd (5 Malice)

Area, Magic	Main action
📏 10 x 1 line within 1	🎯 Each enemy in the area

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 5 fire damage; R < 1 frightened (save ends)
• 12-16: 8 fire damage; R < 2 frightened (save ends)
• 17+: 11 fire damage; R < 3 frightened (save ends)

Effect: After making the power roll, the hag can choose to replace the damage type and condition with lightning damage and dazed, or cold damage and slowed.

☠️ Solo Action (5 Malice)

The hag takes an additional main action on their turn. They can use this feature even if they are dazed.

🌀 House Call (10 Malice)

The hag's hut springs to life. It enters the encounter map within 10 squares of the hag if it isn't already there and takes its turn. The hut is size 4, has 75 Stamina and damage immunity 3, and has speed 8 from its powerful set of animal legs. This feature can't be used if the hut is reduced to 0 Stamina. In addition to its move action, the house can take only the following main action.

🔳 Kick (Signature Ability)

Area, Ranged, Weapon	Main action
📏 2 cube within 2	🎯 Each enemy in the area

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 6 damage; push 3; M < 1 prone
• 12-16: 10 damage; push 4; M < 2 prone
• 17+: 13 damage; push 5; M < 3 prone

Wode Hag

☠️ Solo Monster

End Effect: At the end of each of their turns, the hag can take 5 damage to end one effect on them that can be ended by a saving throw. This damage can't be reduced in any way.

Solo Turns: The hag can take two turns each round. They can't take turns consecutively.

⭐️ Supernatural Resistance

Magic and psionic abilities used against the hag take a bane.

🗡 Corrosive Claws (Signature Ability)

Melee, Strike, Weapon	Main action
📏 Melee 1	🎯 Two creatures or objects

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 9 corruption damage; A < 1 weakened (save ends)
• 12-16: 13 corruption damage; A < 2 weakened (save ends)
• 17+: 16 corruption damage; A < 3 weakened (save ends)

🔳 Soul Steal

Area, Magic	Main action
📏 4 cube within 1	🎯 Each enemy in the area

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 5 corruption damage; P < 1 4 corruption damage
• 12-16: 8 corruption damage; P < 2 5 corruption damage
• 17+: 10 corruption damage; P < 3 6 corruption damage

Effect: This ability gains an edge against a target who has a soul.

3 Malice: The hag regains Stamina equal to half the damage dealt.

👤 Shapeshifter

Magic	Maneuver
📏 Self	🎯 Self

Effect: The hag alters their body to become any size 1 creature, from a house cat to a humanoid. If the hag uses this ability while outside of any enemy's line of effect, they can choose to be automatically hidden. The hag can return to their original form as a free maneuver.

5 Malice: The hag becomes a size 2 creature instead, from a bear to an ogre. While in this form, the hag's melee abilities gain a +1 bonus to distance and deal an extra 4 damage.

❗️ Turned Upside Down (2 Malice)

Area, Magic	Triggered action
📏 1 burst	🎯 Each enemy in the area

Trigger: A creature targets the hag with a melee strike.

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: Slide 2; R < 1 the slide is vertical
• 12-16: Slide 3; R < 2 the slide is vertical, and the target is restrained (EoT)
• 17+: Vertical slide 5; R < 3 restrained (EoT)

Effect: While restrained this way, a creature who is vertical force moved is suspended in midair. The creature falls when the condition ends.

☠️ Snackies for Sweeties (Villain Action 1)

Area, Magic	-
📏 5 burst	🎯 Each creature in the area

Effect: The hag attaches an ornate explosive pastry to each target who has A < 2. At the end of the round, the hag makes one power roll against each creature with a pastry attached to them.

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 6 poison damage
• 12-16: 10 poison damage
• 17+: 13 poison damage

Special: A creature wearing a pastry or adjacent to a creature wearing a pastry can attempt an Agility test to remove the pastry as a maneuver.

• ≤11: The hag makes the power roll for all pastries.
• 12-16: The pastry is not removed.
• 17+: The pastry is removed and can no longer explode.

☠️ Predator's Alacrity (Villain Action 2)

Area, Weapon	-
📏 1 burst	🎯 Each enemy in the area

Effect: Before using this villain action, the hag shifts up to their speed. They then use Corrosive Claws against each target, push each target up to 2 squares, and shift up to their speed again.

☠️ Open the Oven (Villain Action 3)

Area, Weapon	-
📏 5 cube within 1	🎯 Each creature in the area

Power Roll + 3:

• ≤11: 6 fire damage; A < 1 weakened (save ends)
• 12-16: 10 fire damage; A < 2 weakened (save ends)
• 17+: 13 fire damage; A < 3 weakened (save ends)

Effect: The hag turns the area into a roiling oven until the end of the encounter. Any creature in area takes an extra 5 damage from the hag's damage-dealing abilities.

Hag Goodies

Hag Goodies

Hags collect, craft, and trade a variety of trinkets and talismans over the course of their lifetimes. Most of a hag's prized possessions—a stove with living human feet, a porcelain doll that cries real tears, a book that details the reader's most humiliating memories—are of no apparent use to anyone except perhaps for a museum of the macabre, but a few of a hag's baubles are more generally useful.

The following are sample treasures from a hag's hut. A hag might have two or three of these goodies on hand and know how to obtain the others. These items can be found in Draw Steel: Heroes.

• Treasures: Evilest Eye, Imp's Tongue, Float Powder, Buzz Balm
• Components: Rare or extinct cooking ingredients, hairpins, gecko tails, roses, werewolf blood
• Project Sources: Notes in Khelt for the Awe armor enhancement or the Displacing I implement enhancement, notes in Anjali for Stygian Liquor or a Color Cloak (any color)