[I guess this ended up as a theme week anyway. On the other side of the power scale of haggishness, here's the arch-hag from D&D 5.5e. There are a number of monsters new to that book that exist to expand high level foes beyond dragons and fiends, which I appreciate. The 5.5e arch-hag seems to have some logical inconsistencies that weren't hammered out in the editorial process. They have coven magic, like other hags do, and are depicted as three of them around a cauldron, but the flavor text stresses their self-interest and each one of them has a unique anathema. The one named arch-hag is Baba Yaga, but she works alone, not with a coven. The flavor text talks about them altering fate and changing reality... but their strongest ability is mass suggestion. So this version is rather more able to serve as a campaign villain in a game like Pathfinder, where there's less separation between mechanics and story. @abominationimperatrix suggested that arch-hags could correspond to other folkloric entities, which inspired me to make this one Pesta specifically.]
Arch-Hag
CR 21 NE Monstrous Humanoid
This monstrous old woman towers almost twice human height. Her teeth are crooked and far too sharp, and her fingers are gnarled into claws. She is rail-thin and her skin is mottled and lumpy, with the appearance of boils and decay. Despite her appearance of great age, her movements are fluid and eyes keen.
The arch-hags are schemers and manipulators of the highest order, and their plots often span multiple planets and planes. Every arch-hag was once a hag of an ordinary variety, and over the course of centuries was able to advance themselves through rituals and strange secrets. The exact nature of these rituals varies from arch-hag to arch-hag, and may include supplicating to a deity, harnessing some source of planar power or absorbing the life essence of the other hags in her coven. No matter the route taken, arch-hags elevate beyond the need to draw on other hags for magical power and can cast all of the spells of a typical hag coven on their own. In addition, they serve as arcane patrons themselves for many witches, often through aliases and false identities. Even good witches might call on an arch-hag for magical power, advancing the hag’s strange and tangled goals in some minor way.
No two arch-hags have quite the same combat tactics, as they can all use different spells and hexes. That said, there are some similarities. Arch-hags prefer to use magic to battle rather than hand to hand combat. Almost every offensive action an arch-hag takes, from firing waves of lightning from its fingertips to countering spells to critical blows from their teeth and claws carries with it the threat of being cursed. An arch-hag can blink, twitch or snap its fingers in order to electrocute cursed targets in an instant, and often time this to disrupt spellcasting. And if an arch-hag is thwarted in combat, it not only leaves a spiteful curse on the victors, but is transported to a demiplane to rest, recover and plot revenge.
That being said, arch-hags are not exactly immortal. Each arch-hag has some anathema, an object that represents a personal flaw, nemesis or the antithesis of its patronage. These items do not directly harm the hag, but do allow it to be slain, and all arch-hags keep the exact nature of their anathema a deeply guarded secret. Some examples of anathemas might include the bones of the arch-hag’s first love, snow from the peaks of Heaven, or even the universe’s worst pun.
Sample Arch-Hag
The statistics below represent Pesta, an arch-hag of disease and plague. Pesta uses diseases as weapons to alter the course of history, especially to kill likely heroes before they reach their full potential. She rarely deigns to visit the sites of her plagues herself, instead sending a charmed or loyal proxy in her place, disguised as a black-shawled old woman and infected with some manner of contagious illness. Legend has it that when she (or one of these proxies) carries a rake, some will be left alive in the plague’s wake, but if she carries a broom, all will be swept away to their final resting place. Pesta can use and grant spells from the Deception, Plague and Portents witch patrons. Pesta’s anathema is the branch of life.
Arch-Hag CR 21
XP 409,600
NE Large monstrous humanoid
Init +17; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect magic, low-light vision, Perception +34, true seeing
Defense
AC 35, touch 22, flat-footed 31 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +9 insight, +13 natural)
hp 391 (29d10+232)
Fort +19, Ref +22, Will +23
DR 15/cold iron and magic; Immune charm, curse effects, fear; SR 32
Defensive Abilities fated,spiteful escape
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +37 (2d6+9 plus trip/19-20), bite +37 (2d8+9)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks crackling wave, cursed critical, hexes (DC 27, cackle, cauldron, cook people, dire prophecy, evil eye, flight, life giver, misfortune, nightmares, waxen image, witch’s brew), tongue twister, witch strike
Spells CL 20th, concentration +27 (+31 casting defensively)
9th—energy drain (DC 27), mass hold monster (DC 27), time stop, wail of the banshee (DC 27)
8th—demand (DC 26), horrid wilting (DC 26), mass charm monster (DC 26), moment of prescience
7th—control undead (DC 25), greater teleport, harm (DC 25), heal (DC 24), waves of exhaustion
6th—epidemic (DC 24), geas/quest, greater heroism, plague storm (DC 24), programmed image (DC 23)
5th—contact other plane, cure critical wounds (DC 22), feeblemind (DC 23), mind fog (DC 23), passwall
4th—confusion (DC 22), death ward, debilitating portent (DC 27), divination, enervation
3rd—blood biography (DC 20), contagion (x2, DC 21), cure serious wounds (DC 20), inflict pain (DC 21), vampiric touch
2nd—blindness/deafness (DC 20), false life, invisibility, paranoia (DC 19), pox pustules (DC 20), touch of idiocy
1st—detect undead, diagnose disease, ill omen, itching curse (DC 19), ray of enfeeblement (DC 19), remove sickness
0th—light, message, putrefy food and drink (DC 17), read magic
Ecology
Environment any land or underground
Organization solitary
Treasure double standard
Special Abilities
Crackling Wave (Su) As a standard action at will, an arch-hag can fire a 60 foot cone of lightning from its fingers. All creatures in the area take 10d12 points of electricity damage (Reflex DC 33 half). A creature that takes damage must succeed a DC 33 Will save or be cursed to be flat-footed for the next 1d4 rounds. Multiple failed saves increase the duration of the curse effect. The save DC is Charisma based.
Cursed Critical (Su) When an arch-hag confirms a critical hit with its natural weapons, the creature struck must succeed a DC 33 Will save or be effected as per a bestow curse spell at CL 21st. The hag chooses the curse inflicted in such a way, but can only select from the options presented in the Core Rulebook. The save DC is Charisma based.
Fated (Su) An arch-hag gains her Charisma modifier as an insight bonus to her Armor Class and initiative rolls.
Hexes (Su/Sp) An arch-hag gains hexes, including major and grand hexes, as a 20th level witch.
Spells An arch-hag gains spells as a 20th level witch. She has a familiar of her choice, and can prepare spells from three patrons due to her threefold patron ability.
Spiteful Escape (Su) When an arch-hag would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, she is automatically transported to a private demiplane and cannot return to the plane she left for 2d6 days. All creatures within 60 feet of the arch-hag must succeed a DC 33 Will save or be cursed with misfortune, rerolling all attack rolls, saving throws, skill and ability checks and taking the lower result until the curse is removed. A creature cursed in such a way is treated as being familiar to the arch-hag and with a body part connection, suffering a -15 on all saving throws to avoid being scryed on. If the arch-hag is under the effects of a dimensional anchor or in the area of a dimension lock or similar effect, the plane shift effect does not function, but the curse does. If the arch-hag is within 30 feet of its anathema (see above), neither effect functions. The save DC is Charisma based.
Threefold Patron (Ex) An arch-hag can grant spells to witches and their familiars from three different witch patrons of her choice. She can also prepare these spells herself.
Tongue Twister (Su) Whenever an arch-hag counterspells or dispels a spell when the caster is within 60 feet of her, the caster must succeed a DC 33 Will save or be cursed for 1 minute. A spellcaster under the tongue twister curse says the opposite of what they mean, and suffers a 50% spell failure chance for casting any spell with a verbal component. The save DC is Charisma based.
Witch Strike (Su) As an immediate action, an arch-hag can deal 4d6 points of electricity damage to all creatures within 30 feet of her suffering from a curse effect (no save). A creature suffering from multiple curse effects takes 4d6 damage per curse, to a maximum of 20d6 if suffering from five or more curses.
