AD&D - Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium, Vol 3 (2e)

Annis delight in the early stages of Those pathetic farmers never had a
the Change. As implied above, they are
very proud of their fighting skills and chance. When they attempted to
their physical prowess in general challenge me, I chopped their
(including their increased height), so as ringleader in half with a single blow.
the immature hag who has no
knowledge of her true nature He screamed briefly before he expired.
approaches the time of her Change, age Eleven others died by m y blade, before
must begin to weigh heavily on her
mind. When she finds herself growing the courage ofthe rest faltered and their
physically more powerful, it must be a will to survive took ouer, and they fled
source of euphoria and elation. This back to their village.
was certainly the case for Balihnda, the
annis I fought in Richemulot. However, I have never felt so alive and strong
a s the annis’s monstrous features assert before in my life. I defeated a dozen
themselves, her elation swiftly comes to
an end. Immature annis are concerned men without even breaking a sweat.
with their physical appearance, and There is no longer any question in my
when that starts to change in ways they mind. lam not going to settle down into
would never have been able to predict,
their increased strength suddenly does a life of easy comfort like some warrior
not seem like such a gift from
providence after all. who is ouer the hill. I will leave Castle
Skyrania as soon as m y contract is up.
Istill have many more years ahead of
me during which I can grow my legend
and my fortune!

-From the personal journal of
Balihnda the annis

With each passing day, m y strength An annis typically completes her Change
s e e m to increase! For the last several within weeks of her 50th birthday. At that
years, I have feared that I would soon time, she have completed her physical
have to hang up m y sword, and when I transformation, and she now appears as
she will for the rest of her life. Her skin
noticed a certain rough quality begin to has darkened into a deep black or
midnight blue, as determined by the
appear on my skin, I feared that age complexion possessed before the
had finally started to catch up with me. Change. Darker-skinnedannis become
There are after all not many warriors solid black, while the rest become a dark
blue color. Their hands mutate into
who manage to survive past their 40th weapons more effective than swords,
year, and there are even fewer who their fingers growing into talons that can
punch through armor. Their teeth
continue to wield the sword. elongate into fangs and turn a glossy
But age does not appear to be slowing black, with hair and nails turning a
similar color. Their eyes turn a dull
me down. Instead, it s e e m to be making yellow and seem to glow softly in the
dark. The powers enjoyed by annis who
me stronger! Yesterday, the baron asked have completed the Change are
us to disperse the peasants who have described later, combining to make them
been camping outside the curtain wall in surprisingly fearsome opponents. One
should never engage annis in melee
the hopes ofseeing the return oftheir combat if this can possibly be avoided!

daughters. I commanded my fellow Greenhags: The Change of greenhags
Swords to allow me to deal with them is perhaps the most visible of all and
alone, hoping that when a single quite possibly the most traumatic on a
woman-and an “old”one at that!-in personal level. For many greenhags, their
physical appearance is the single most
the lord’s employ could dispatch the
likes of them, then they would neuer 6important thing in their lives; they admire
have any hope ofstanding against him.
Although Dehrikk feared for m y safety,
he agreed to allow me to attempt the
action. He said he would send in the rest
of the mercenaries as soon as he felt I

~ 1 3was being overwhelmed

%pdll

their own beauty as much as those whatever city she has called home.
around them do, and as they approach Less fortunate hags, those who have
their later years, they worry about losing
those looks to the ravages of time. spent their early lives in prostitution or
other degrading occupations, will also
Some immature greenhags will eventually answer the call of isolation
begin to retreat from the public where they can complete the Change.
limelight they have so enjoyed at the Before they do, they will undoubtedly
first sign of wrinkles on their perfect kill several clients and associates. Such
skin-well before the Change actually a hag may be more dangerous to hunt
starts-while others will seek magical than the affluent hag described above;
means to preserve their exceptional where she lacked ambition early in life,
looks. When the Change starts a hag may suddenly may display great
manifesting itself, the apparent cunning as the Change starts in her.
acceleration creates a great shock.
Several years ago, my friend Alanik
The earliest sign that a greenhag is Ray, the great detective, traveled to
going through the Change is actually Chateaufaux at the request of a woman
not changes in her appearance but who operated a brothel in that city.
rather complaints about headaches, Some of her clients had been slain in a
most brutal fashion, as had one of her
sleeplessness, and blurred vision. prostitutes. In the course of his
Greenhags have senses that are far investigation, he discovered that a
superior to those of normal persons, but number of other streetwalkers had been
these senses are at first unfocused. slain as well. He eventually tracked the
killer, who claimed five more lives before
Although greenhags will have been Ray could deal final justice to her. By
Arthur Sedgwick’s written account and
temperamental their whole lives, their from Ray’s verbal description of the
fits of temper and pique become confrontation when I interviewed him
particularly dangerous to those around about the matter, I am certain that the
them. Those who have climbed to the monstrous female who was responsible
top of the performing arts or who have for the killings was actually a greenhag.
lived as kept women may accidentally
beat servants or understudies to death Without warning, a monstrous creature
with their increased strength. Those who leapt from the alley onto the couple. The
are living as prostitutes may use their thing seemed to be an old woman
great strength as an opportunity to vent dressed in a tattered gown that revealed
their hatred of society by going on more of her curiously wrinkled and
killing sprees. These events may give
observant hunters an opportunity to creased flesh than it hid. Her hair was a
identify a greenhag who is in the early great tangle of dark strands. Her a r m
stages of the Change.
were like tree limbs, and her hands
If a famous performer or socialite
commits a murder, she will most appeared Iike spIintered ends of
assuredly be able to rely on powerful
friends to avoid justice and possibly snapped branches.
even to have the scandal minimized. In an act ofstrength certainly beyond
Those who wish to hunt hags and other
cunning creatures of darkness, however, her seemingly frail form, perhaps
must have enough allies in all layers of beyond any human, she shooed one of
society that they will hear of the foul
crime. If she is truly in the process of her clawed hands through the chest of
the Change, she will shortly withdraw the prostitute Ray and I had been
completely from public life, and she will
suddenly seem to age very rapidly. following, and the other hand through
Within a few months, she will g o from the man who hadjust propositioned
being a ravishing beauty to a withered her. As w e watched in horror, the
monster bent her taloned fingers and
f3 crone, and she will undoubtedly flee duo them into the backs of her still-
twiLtching uictim, lifting them aboue her
LA

r‘ -* 8 E C X l N , TFiE T€iED:

head so that their blood rained down on lanterns and candles held by the curious,

her. She let out a mad laugh, as i f she I saw bloody footprints lead from the
hadjust fled an asylum.
alley to a doorway where a young

Her laughter only deepened my wornan stood in a dressing gown,

terror,but it startled Alanik Ray into blinkingsleepily at us.Ray drew his
action. “Sedgwick!”he shouted. “Your sword. “Wehaue you, monster!’’he cried.
pistol! Slay the monster!”
The shape of the young woman

With that, Ray’s snaplock roared, wavered and changed as Ray strode

sending its deadly lead ball directly at toward her. Abruptly she stood reuealed

the creature’s heart. She staggered as It as the cackling, gore-soaked old woman

hit, then turned to look on us, a startled we had confronted in the alley!

expression on her twisted features. “Thegame is over!“Ray shouted
&&gods aboue!-she did not fall! boldly as the citizens of the town fled

My paralysis of fear finally broken, I screaming from the battle to come. “No

raised m y pistol to fire as well. At that more innocent liues will be taken b y

moment, howeuer, the monster threw your claws!“ -Arthur Sedgwick

her uictims at Ray and me. My comrade

was struck squarely by one of the Y

bodies, and I barely managed to duck

aside. The monster fled down the alley.
I ran forward and flred m y pistol at her, While the wanton brutality of this
creature would be bad enough on its
but missed. She turned a corner and own, it also serves to illustrate that not

was gone. all hags retreat into the wilderness. A far
“nnnnt Id .hmmJ-=-fa--r-am.r8l”R‘a-a8, more disturbing element to this tale,
shouted as he struggled to his feet, fully however, is the apparent command this

splashed with gore. lgaue chase, but
when I turned the corner where she hac hag had over her ability to hide her form
in illusion, even before the Change was
been moments before,all I could see
were the citizens of Chateaufauxstartins complete. Another anomaly appears to
be the lack of a tutor. According to
to appear in the their doorways and
Semine, hags do not usually master their
windows, curious to see what all the
! noise and shouting had been about. She more subtle abilities unless other hags
tutor them in their use, yet Ray
had seemingly uanished into thin air!
uncovered no evidence of a second hag
Ray appeared at my side and cursed
in his natiue language. “Howdid we losi being active in Chateaufaux,nor did I
find any during my follow-up
her? How-” He paused, then pointed
down at the street. In the light thrown b! investigation while working on this book.
This is noteworthy because it might

indicate that rare hags may well discover
their powers on their own, making them
immune to certain methods of detection
that I will divulge later in this text.
Greenhags typically complete their

Change as they enter their fifth decade of
life. By that time they have, like the

annis, gained the appearance that will be

with them for the rest of their lives. Their
? smooth skin becomes as wrinkled and
hard as tree bark and turns a sickly
green color. Their delicate fingers mutate

into gnarly talons sharper than even the
most finely honed blade. Hags who were

fair-hairedbefore the Change see their
locks assume an olive-green color, while

'3 those who had dark tresses end up with -As with the other haas. the Chanae in
hair of the darkest black. Their eyes
range in color from amber to orange, a sea hag starts some time in her fourth
and they glow even brighter than those decade of life. While she enjoys an
of the annis. She does not grow in height increase in strength, her appearance
or physical bulk as the annis, but retains degrades more rapidly than that of other
the build she had in life. Her body does hags, causing them to seem to age
not become withered and bent like the decades within the space of three or four
annis and the sea hag, but she is years. Those who see the Changing hag
nonetheless hideous to look upon. occasionally will notice tremendous
differences in her appearance from one
time to the next. Her body grows withered
and bent, and incurable rashes seem to
break out across her skin. She also finds
it increasingly difficult to breathe and
starb to find herself increasingly parched.

As if her shortness of breath, rashes,
and unquenchable thirst were not
enough, she soon finds the company of
others intolerable, even those few she
may have loved before the change.
Eventually, the sea hag is drawn to a
desolate region that either features
shallow warm seas or vegetation-choked
lakes. Here she finds a way to alleviate
the discomfort that has been plaguing
her, by plunging into the waters. Semine
told me of a sea hag who attempted to
commit suicide and thusly discovered
the effects the Change were having on
her; rather than drowning, she found that
she could breathe water as easily as she
once could breathe air.

While the Change all but strips hags
of their human nature, none of the
others become as alien a s the sea hag.
After the Change, a sea hag's native
environment is the water. Semine even
claimed that sea hags grow weak and
eventually die if kept from water, much
in the same way sirines do. Although I
have no evidence of this, I also see no
reason to doubt the claim.

As the Change is completed, typically
in her fifth decade of life, a sea has
become so hideous that even the merest
glimpse of her true form may cause the
heart of the stoutest warrior to stop
beating from fright. Some may believe
such accounts are mere exaggerations,
as some scholars of the unnatural have
classified sea hags as the weakest and
least dangerous of hags. My research
and personal experience has shown
otherwise, however.

,.

Roughly a decade ago, I was searching thank the gods that those monsters did
for a fabled body of water that is not have the fighting prowess of an
alternatively named the Sea of Saragossa annis or even a greenhag. Surely, we
or Saragoss. I had joined in an effort to would have been slain if they did.

track a vessel called the Sea Tramp, so After driving off the remaining sea

named by a dying man who had washed hags, we discovered that fully half the
ashore below the steep cliffs of Mordent. crew had died of fright when the visions
He claimed the ship was crewed entirely of mermaids were replaced with the
hideous sight of hags. The captain and
by werebeasts who had murdered
everyone aboard his own ship for a chart our navigator were both among the
that led to the Sea of Saragossa. This dead, and we decided that our hope of
mysterious sea was located somewhere finding the Sea of Saragossa had died
beyond the fog banks that eternally cover
much of the Sea of Sorrows. with them. Once enough sailors had
recovered from their faints-it took
Although the dying man attempted to some of them as much as three days to
replicate his charts, the captain of our recover!-we turned our ship around
vessel was confident that we were and headed back toward the familiar
sailing blind as we entered the mists. waters of the Sea of Sorrows.

For days we kept what we believed to be The hideous visages of sea hags
a straight course-and eventually the
fog parted to reveal the rocky coast of The sea hags Van Richten
an island. Moments after our ship
emerged, several voluptuous mermaids encountered were using their change
pulled themselves from the vegetation- seifability to lure the ship close SO
choked water to watch us as they they could attack it; this is a standard
lounged on the rocks in the warm sun. ability that all sea hags develop as a
The captain had dealt with merfolk off result of the Change. Van Richten and
the coast of the distant land of Vechor the crew were affected partially by the
and believed them to be a generally sheer impact that the sea hag’s
harmless race. tie drew the ship near. In hideousness has on humans and
response to the friendly beckoning of the partially by special powers that are
mermaids, the crewmen let their guard described in the MONSTROUMSANUAL
down an,d clustered along the starboard tome and ones that are only
side of ttie ship to gaze on exotic possessed by the most powerful of sea
females iand to express their hags. All these abilities are described
appreciation for what they saw. Then the in the section titled “Mature Hags.”
mermaicIs suddenly revealed themselves
for what they were: sea hags who had cannot accurately be described in any
cloaked their true, hideous appearances language that I am familiar with. While
behind alluring images! they are indeed the weakest physically
of the hags, they do not need physical
In all Imy years I have never seen
such a hideous sight. I was so filled with might when their warts, bony
horror aiid revulsion that even as I protrusions, and patches of slimy
reeled biickward I fainted. When I came
to, three sailors were desperately trying green scales dot their sickly yellow
to fend ciff a hag; the rest of the crew skin. Long hair like seaweed hangs
lay sensi?less or dead on the deck, and
three ottier sea hags were in the limply from their heads, covering their
process of devouring the fallen. I slew
one with a surprise attack from behind, withered bodies. Their eyes appear
then joinled the remaining sailors in hellishly red, with irises and pupils that
fighting 3ff the rest of the foul beasts.
The ver)r sight of them was so repulsive seem as though they are windows into

:emed to drain our strength. I the deepest, darkest abyss. While sea
hags develop superhuman strength

like other hags, the Change does not
grant them the formidable natural
weapons that their more powerful
6

. - _ . _.- . -

.s WITCIIEs 5;

cousins possess. From what Semine ooeratina theorv was that the knowledge
told me and I myself witnessed during 0; what ;he hagtruly was and what
the attack in Saragossa, however, sea powers she wielded was imbedded
hags become quite adept with knives somewhere in the hag's makeup, much
and daggers to compensate for their like the butterfly's ability to fly. It was not
relative defenselessness. something that she needed to be taught,
but rather an inborn knowledge and
8tmMngfheCh4nge understanding that emerged as the hag
passed through the Change; there was
As any student of human nature knows, no mention of such knowledge suddenly
we are basically social creatures. While coming to Balihnda the annis, but I
we certainly value privacy, we also crave assumed that we had come upon her at
the company of others. As an example, a point in her Change before this
the mental state of men and women who knowledge emerged from her
spend long periods in isolation invariably subconscious.
deteriorates. In fact, this seems to be
trait of humanoids in general, as the When I brought this puzzle up with
only race I can think of who seems to Semine and explained my thoughts to
thrive on isolation are the sirines, who her, she informed me I was about as
may indeed be some sort of elemental wrong as I could be. She agreed there
creature rather than the natural beings was some value to thinking of the
many scholars believe them to be. All Change as a kind of pupal stage,
others, even werebeasts and other although I must admit that Semine's
cunning shapeshifters, seem to require description of it as a second puberty is
at least minimal contact with their kind. far more accurate. Then, she stated in
no uncertain terms that hags must
How is it then that hags, despite their either be taught or somehow
inhuman natures, appear to have many accidentally discover the new abilities
of the basic psychological traits and they develop. Some are obviously
needs of humans, yet can bear the easier for the hag to notice-such as
Change? Immature hags are vain her enhanced senses and increased
creatures for whom personal beauty is strength-but her ability to create
vital; it is in many cases the sole reason illusions is something far less easy to
an immature greenhag has for living. stumble on.
Further, with the exception of annis, I
would venture that few immature hags The truth would never have occurred
ever learn any of the kind of skills they to me. It serves as another example of
need to survive in the wilderness the lesson I learned while researching
habitats they adopt. How can they the plague that is the werebeast: When
survive in isolation, cut off from
humanity both by urges they do not
quite understand and by the bizarre
mutations that ravage their bodies? HOW
do these women, who are not skilled at
surviving in the wilderness, struggle on
while their will to live is being sapped
by depression over the strange
developments in their lives?

When I sought to answer those
questions, I was put in mind of butterflies
and other creatures who begin life in one
form but are transformed into beings so
'different one would never realize they
were even of the same race unless one
had witnessed the transformation.My

3

"A

way to gain an understanding of their slaying random travelers to use as G
psychology, life cycle, and social meals, “I only treat those as meat who
relationships is to simply ask questions treat me as such,” she said, which
of one of them. Such a course is, of brought to the fore her personal notion
that her murderous activities were
course, exceedingly risky, and it is an somehow furthering a greater good. (I
opportunity that presents itself more as return to this reasoning later.)
fortuitous happenstance than by design.
In both cases where I had the Semine’s tutor stayed with her for six
opportunity to gain insight directly from
months, long enough for her to help
members of a race that preys on Semine adjust to the enhanced senses
humanity, a creature came forth on its that all greenhags gain during the
Change. She taught her to take
own accord, and we arrived at a advantage of her illusion of beauty, and
temporary truce. I suppose the the basics of a language that hags use
to communicate among themselves.
information might also have been Then the two of them realized that they
gained if I had trapped one or more of could not stand each other’s company.
the beasts, but I would have considered “If she had not left when she did,”
the information more suspect than that Semine said, “one of us would surely
gleaned from a being who still has its have killed the other.”
freedom. After all, humans will say just
I was fascinated by the way the
about anything if they think it means mature hag appeared to tutor Semine in
they will continue to live, so there is no her time of need. I mentioned that the
reason to believe werebeasts, hags, red situation echoed one described in the
diary of an annis that had come into my
widows, and other living creatures of possession; she, too, had a tutor who
appeared to help her through the
the night are any different. Change and show her the basics of her
Hags going through the Change are new abilities. I had once read a text that
speculated that twins share a psychic
invariably sought out by one or more bond-that their spirits are somehow
linked-and I ventured the opinion that
older hags who have already mastered perhaps hags shared a similar bond
some or all of their abilities. Through with their offspring. Perhaps, I said, the
hag who revealed herself to the
means that are not clearly understood fledgling was her real mother. Semine
even by the hags themselves, other dismissed this theory immediately,
hags can sense when one of their explaining that she had herself felt the
number is undergoing the Change. inexplicable draw to seek out a sea hag
They tutor their “sister” in the use of going through the Change. Clearly, she
was no mother of a sea hag. In fact, she
the initial powers that result from the seemed quite offended by the
Change, the primary among these suggestion, so I chose not to press the
issue further with her. As she reminded
._being an ability that allows the hag to me several times during our tense time
together, she could kill me as easily as
ciIoaKI 1ne.r.s.e.i,rc in hT~ I e illusion of her she drew breath.

! former attractive appearance. They I later consulted with Sister Marena

d also tell her of other powers she may on the matter, and she told me of the
develop as she grows older. “Weave.”A s she explained it, in a gross
The tutors eduicate the changing hag oversimplification of the philosophy
in the proper wa)i to conduct her new involved, the Weave is a collection of
life, working to h’eighten the sense that magical energy strands. They combine
to form all realities real and imagined.
I she is no longer I>art of humanity and
that she should hlate the rest of the
world for it. Semi[nesaid that the hag
who came to tut()r her used her own
illusion-casting powers to hunt-she
viewed humanity as nothing more than

, . a source of food, and she had a
ravenous appetit’e. Semine said that she

f a ioined her tutor iin several qory meals,

4 but that she doe:i not mak; ahabit of

Marena speculated perhaps the Change and a hated curse. a s it allows them to
in hags affected the Weave a s an insect temporarily reclaim something of their
or a human finger might affecta former lives, but it is fleeting and
spider’s web: when the web is touched, somewhat unreliable. The hag is never
it trembles with vibrations and the certain exactly how long she will be
spider, if alert, is drawn to their source. able to maintain the illusion. She can
count on it for only about 20 minutes.
The analogy is not entirely accurate,
but if the basic premise is true-that the In some ways, this ability to cloak
Change can be sensed somehow due to themselves in illusion probably makes
its impact on a mystical field that them even more bitter and hateful
permeates everything-then others toward humanity. Men run in fear when
might be able to use supernatural the hag appears in her natural form, but
means to hone in on hags in they may well be filled with lust for the
metamorphosis. I cannot count the illusion. As Semine explained it, she
number of times an ally skilled in the had always known that men cared little
arcane arts has turned what may have for what she was like at her heart-her
been a disastrous defeat into victory body was all they wanted-but until the
through the use of divinatory magic. I Change, she had harbored hope that
have seen undead creatures attempt to she would eventually meet the one man
pass themselves off as living, and I who would love her instead of lust for
have witnessed both Vistani and other her. That her beauty had become
diviners foretell the future with unerring nothing but an illusion now drove the
accuracy, and find objects that were lost point home even stronger, she felt,and
to all knowledge and sight save that she claimed she was doing the world a
provided by their magic. It might be service bv slaving those men who were
possible to do the same with hags. inflamed kith desire by her illusion.
None of the experts I consulted in this “What of their wives or betrothed?” she
matter believed such a thing was
possible at the present time. However, When a hag goes through her
mages are constantly developing new Change, l d 3 other hags within 100
and creative ways to apply their magic. miles of her location will sense it and
Perhaps, on reading these words, one of be drawn to her location. The hags
them will decide to take up the are usually annis (70%)although
challenge of developing a spell that can occasional greenhags (20%)and even
sense hags undergoing the Change. more rarely sea hags (5%)may show
up. There is a 5%chance that no hag
Certainly, it should be clear to all will come to educate the fledgling a s
who read this that a hag who does not to her true nature.
fully understand her nature or
completely control her powers cannot The older hag spends 2d4 months
effectively hide herself or control her with the fledgling, instructing her in
powers. If a hag can be reached before the use of her developing powers and
she masters her ability to hide her true preparing her for the new existence
form in illusion, it is immeasurably she will lead.
more easy to identify and destroy her. I
go into more detail about this in The hag language that Van Richten
Chapter Five. refers to is a tongue that is an offshoot
of the language of ogres. It appears to
In further discussion of the hags’ have originated with the annis, and
ability to cloak their hideous visages in scholars within various ADGD game
the illusion of something fairer, Semine worlds refer to it a s “annis.” All hags
said it is the power she uses most have adopted it. A character who
frequently. In fact, she felt that all hags understands the ogre language can
use that ability more than any others roll an Intelligence check with a -3
they possess. She said, however, that penalty to understand what two hags
are saying to each other.
T3 they regard it at once as a cherished gifl

to but a few hunts, a s these creatures

are thankfully rare in our lands. The

section discusses both the psychology
and the powers of mature hags.

asked. “How can they betra!{them so AppeeFances, Abilities, &ndPowe~s
easily? And, if they can secr.etly betray
those they claim to love, mi!3ht they not As hags are quite rare, my personal
betray their nation or sovereign, experience with these monster is not a s
bringing doom to thousands of people wide as that with werebeasts and the
for personal gain or glory?” undead. Much as I did when 1 delved into
the dark secrets of liches and demons, I
Needless to say, 1 found ,ques- found myself relying extensively on the
experiences of others and the stores of
tionable Semine’s assertion that she knowledge collected in universities and
was somehow working tow?trd a other places of learning.
greater good by slaughtering these
men. S h e was the one who presented I believe the information in the
them with temptation, thus causing following sections is accurate, and the
their low character to becorn e a factor sources from which I drew it are the
where it might not have 0therwise. She finest anywhere, with the possible
admitted that she did indeed flaunt exception of the knowledge I gained
herself at them, but defendi:d herself from Semine. Still, every assertion she
by saying that she did not force them uttered was carefully checked against
to take advantage of the OFbportunity. as many sources as I could find, as well
“Yet, I never go hungry,” she concluded a s measured by what personal
with a grin. experience I have had facing hags in
combat. As with earlier portions of this
While I cannot say wheth’er this is a chapter, the description of hags here is
general trait for hags or not, Semine divided up by the various hag types.
was blind to her own evil weiys, a trait Some of it has already been touched on
that I found to be the case \Iiith many earlier. If something is repeated here, it
werebeasts a s well. is because I view it as critical to keep in
mind when confronting these hags.
Once a hag reaches the age! of fifty, she
has completed the Change iand settles One thing that can be said about
into a monstrous life that wi11 last for hags is that they come by their
centuries. Much of the inforination in arrogance honestly. Almost without fail,
this chapter is based on my hags continue to learn about their
conversation with Semine, the records capabilities as they grow older. While
of Sister Marena’s convent, and the
Early in the Change; all hags
f i notes of other hag hunters. My personal develop the spell-like ability to
experiences with hags has tieen limited change selfthree times per day. This
ability function like the 1st-level
wizard spell by the same name,
except that the hag can use it to
cloak herself in an illusion of how she
appeared before the Change. (This is,
however, the only exception to the
limitation on not being able to copy
specific individuals.)

The duration of the hag’s change
self ability functions as though cast by
an 8th-level spellcaster (2d6+16
rounds).

-11-L’lIZhtily, as was her wont when things
did not go her way, but later she
originate from a natural process that
takes place in their bodies as they age, adnnitted that she should not have
the majority of powers grow out of a been so shocked many powerful evil
mastery of inborn magical talents that crei3tures are surrounded by an aura of
manifest after the Change. As arrogant
as they become, hags never seem to whz2t she called “null magic.”
stop testing the limits of their powers as 1Uthough her terminology is not quite
they grow older. They also continue to
improve their abilities in physical whi%tothers might use, her observation
combat, although this mostly applies to is accurate. In earlier works, I discussed
annis and greenhags. hov$ undead creatures are immune to all
ma!nner of magic that affects the minds
One thing all hags continue to delve of rnortals, and I demonstrated how
into throughout their lives, and in some vannpires develop an immunity to all
cases even beyond the end of their lives, ma,gical spells as they grow older. Annis
is magical arts of the darkest kind. aPF,ear to possess a similar immunity.
Sernine augmented my own experience
Annis: As mentioned previously, witt1 anecdotal evidence of the annis’s
immature annis without fail gravitate to resistance to magic, and the collective
the life of a warrior or adventurer. After exFieriences of witches and warlocks
the Change, they continue to be the thtit are recorded in the Hospice of the
fiercest of the hags when it comes to He?ding Hands further confirmed it. It is
combat, and the wise adventurer should my estimation that annis possess a
never face an annis in melee if it can be resi[stance to magic roughly equal to
avoided. Despite the fact that many thtit of vampires, and that it becomes
annis might well be swordswomen of greater as each annis ages. The
legendary stature before the Change, resistance also seems to increase at
they frequently abandon all weapons roughly the same pace as the
afterward. They develop a perverse love vannpire’s, with the oldest of annis being
for the feeling of flesh and tendons being abl(e to ignore roughly one-quarter to
ripped apart by their taloned fingers, and
they want to be as close to their victims one!-third of magical attacks launched
as possible so as to more fully enjoy the ageiinst them. One positive note here is
smell of free-flowing blood with their thtit annis do not appear to have the
enhanced senses. More so than any cornplete immunity to certain spells
other of the hags, the annis revels in her
increased strength and senses. that vampires do.
I4s easy as it might be to draw a
The annis’s skin hardens during the parallel between the annis’s resistance
change, making her shockingly difficult to Inagic and that possessed by
to injure with weapons, enchanted or varnpires-as I just did for the sake of
not. By all accounts, this hardening cornparison-I want to make it clear
continues as the hags age. Their skin that I do not believe they originate from
also continues to darken. Semine’s rule the same source. Current prevailing
of thumb is as follows, “The darker the theo’ ries hold that undead draw their
skin, the tougher the annis.” resiistance to magical effects from the
sanne source they draw the very energy
Annis are also resistant to offensive
magical spells. The elf wizard I men- that allows them to maintain their
tioned earlier, Fiori, stood with me one exi:stences-the much rumored
day in battle against an annis. She fired Ne!3ative Material Plane. As Negative
off a volley of darts of pure magic during
the first moments of battle. Rather than Malterial Plane energy is unlikely to be
bursting painfully against the creatures an1rthing but harmful to living beings, I
skin, the magical darts instead merely
winked away as if they had never been fincI it hard to imagine that hags could
por;sibly enjoy a connection to the
52 summoned into existence. Fiori cursed Ne!~ a t i v eMaterial Plane. For all their
monstrousness, thev are undeniably
rA very much alive. It is my opinion that a:I

c

the partial immunities to certain magic -maaic weaker than that of annis. but it
enjoyed by both types of creatures is
merely coincidence. However, I also grows stronger as the centuries pass
have to admit that there is further and eventually outstrips that of annis. I
evidence to support the notion that estimate that fully one-half of all spells
hags might well somehow be connected cast against the most powerful of
to the Negative Material Plane, despite
its theoretical impossibility. I will touch greenhags fail. In other words, if
on this evidence later in this chapter, someone is seeking to battle a
when I discuss the bizarre spectral hags.
greenhag, it would be inadvisable to
Certain other widely available texts assume that combat magic will be the
on unnatural beings tend to categorize key to victory.
annis as the most fearsome of hags.
Their savagery in combat and lack of Sea hags: While these creatures
subtlety makes this an understandable develop the massive strength of annis
conclusion for some to reach. However, and greenhags, they remain almost as
frail as they were before the Change,
research has led me to a different developing no natural armor or
conclusion. weaponry. Instead, they must rely on
their intellects and dedicate
Greenhags: These monsters are themselves to becoming experts with
clever manipulators who act in both weapons. The relative physical

subtle and overt ways to spread strife weakness of sea hags makes them
and chaos. They cloak themselves in perhaps the easiest to face in melee
illusion for as long as possible, and they combat. However, they are
exceedingly difficult to approach.
manipulate their enemies into achieving Their true visages are so hideous that
the goals that the hags wished to reach they may literally paralyze a person
all along, or into destroying each other.
with fright, and perhaps even cause
Although greenhags achieve neither the onlooker to die! Further, there is
no getting use to the true appearances
the height or bulk of annis, they develop of sea hags, even if one manages to
a strength so fantastic that one would survive an encounter with one. Each
not think their slender, bent frames one seems to be more hideous than
the one that came before.
could possibly contain it. Their hands
are reshaped into talons that are so Sea hags possess other defenses,
too. Even more potent than their
gnarled they are barely recognizable as
hands. Their skin develops a greenish hideous appearance is their ability to
tint and becomes as tough and coarse shrug off most spells that might be
as the bark of an oak tree. Although not cast at them. The records at the
as durable as the skin of the annis, a
Hospice of the Healing Hands indicate
greenhag's hide is nonetheless able to that even the weakest of sea hags
withstand blows that would pierce the displays a resistance to magic that
body or shatter the bones of a normal rivals that of the strongest annis, and
person. Her senses of vision, smell, and the elders among these water-dwelling
hearing increase to the point where it is
virtually impossible to catch her crones are immune to virtually all
unawares, even if a would-be attacker spells that may be cast at them.
planned to launch arrows or spells at Further, they have an innate ability to
her from a distance. breathe water, so if they realize they
are facing a superior foe, they can
Like annis, greenhags have an always flee into the water. Few of their
innate resistance to magical attacks, opponents will be able to pursue them
one that seems to grow stronger as to the bottom of the sea, so they can
typically hide there in safety-and
they grow older. Based on the from there either dispatch minions or
anecdotal evidence 1 have been able to
gather and the personal observation of use magic to strike at their foes.
the greenhag Semine, I believe that

"3 young greenhags have a resistance to

ldvanced Rules for Hags -hearina and smell cause op. p. onents to
rhese rules are provided to allow
h n g e o n Masters to customize hags take a -2 penalty to surprise rolls
iccording the needs of the campaign against them.
m d the levels of the heroes involved.
The format in which these rules are Their skin is iron hard, so edged
>resented will be familiar to many
.eaders, as the life spans of these weapons cause 1 point less per die
ireatures are sorted into age of damage when striking them.
iategories (six for the annis and sea Conversely, blunt weapons (including
lag, twelve for the longer-lived morning stars) cause 1 point more per
?reenhag). Dungeon Masters can die of damage against annis. Their skin
?ither roll randomly on the tables becomes harder as they age, hence the
iere or purposefully construct hags progressively better Armor Class.
>f the appropriate power levels for
:he heroes against which they are An annis rarely carries weapons,
9itted. Mechanics for randomly
3enerating the ages of hags is relying instead on her steel-hard,
‘ncluded. talonlike fingernails and razor-sharp
teeth to tear opponents to shreds. In
Annis melee, an annis tends to close and
k n i s gain one additional ability for grapple. She makes three attacks per
each century of life, gaining their first round, and if all three hit in the same
ability at the 50-year mark. Annis have round, the annis has successfully
a maximum life span of 500+ld100 grappled her opponent. In the
years. They remain relatively healthy following rounds, all attacks are
and active until greatly aged, when automatic hits unless the opponent is
they suddenly undergo a sh . ” the stronger, the annis is slain, or the
and die within weeks. victim uses magical means to escape.
Otherwise, the annis continues to hold
Annis are physically powr her victim in her grasp, delivering
creatures, with Strength scor automatic damage with her raking
They gain all the damage an talons and ripping fangs until the
bonuses that are standard fo victim is slain.
who possess exceptional Strt
To determine the basic statistics of
Annis have infravision to a 60-foot an annis, the Dungeon Master should
range, and their superior senses of roll 2d4 and compare the result to the
following table, which can also be used
by Dungeon Masters to gauge how
common hags are within certain age
ranges.

Anpi6 &e Table Age Range Hit Armor Ma-qic
50-143
2d4 Category Dice Class Resistance
2I 150-249 5+5 2 0%
250-343 6+6 1 10%
~ 350443 7+7 0 20%
45..0-549. 7+? 0 25%
3 If 8+8 -1 30%
550+
4-5 Ill 8+8 -2 35%
6 IV
7V
8 VI

Special Powers by Age: All spell-like the power works at the minimum level
powers, whether specially defined by required to cast it. The spell-like
age or gained at random, work a s if powers can each be used three t.imes i
they were cast by an 8th-level caster. day, and they are cumulative; the
If the effect is similar to a spell of a annis keeps each ability gained a s she
level requiring a higher-level caster,
ages.

Age 50: Change self to take a -2 penalty to surprise rolls
Age 150: Fog cloud
Age 250: Random Ability (see against them^.

Random Ability Table) Greenhags are natural mimics;
Age 350: Protection from normal
even before their true nature
missiles
Age 450: Cloudkill manifests itself, they are highly
Age 550: Random Ability (see
talented at imitating the voices of
-Random Ability ' ' '
others and the sounds of animals.
b d o m p.bilii Teble (roll 242
T h ey t.ypicaaclltyr spen d their youth s as
2: Inoisibllity, three time esses a nd singers. Onc
3: Magic missile, three ti I. e
4: Bind, three times per
5: Darkness 15[fm] radius, thr'ee rgo the Change, their skills

times per day .ing enable them to imitate
6: Charm person, three times per day
7: Death ray, three times per day of any mature or immature
8: S:uggestion,twice per day
9: Delude, twice per day :male human, dernihuman,
10: Meif's minute meteors, once
lLuLLLaLrTohiedy. are also able to
per day
11: Firebail, once per day mimic most animals perfectly.
12: Power word, blind, once per day
13: Power word, kill, once per 'clay Throughout their lives, greenhags
14: Power word, stun, once per day
15: Curse or remoue curse. once are graceful creatures who possess an

per day uncanny ability to move quietly in
16: Summon swarm, once per {day
17: Dispel magic, twice per day virtually any surrounding. Once their
18: F/y, twice per day
19: Ray ofenfeeblement. three Itimes true nature asserts itself, this talent is

per day heightened. In a forest or swamp, this
20: No additional pow
21: Inoisible stalker, tl movement and the greenhags'

per day coloration impose a -5 penalty on
22: Forget, three time:
23-24: Irritation, three times per day opponents' surprise rolls. In other

Greenhags surroundings, the penalty is -2.
The greenhag gains one additional
ability for each century of life, gaining Rock-hard talons grow from the
the first ability at the 50-year mark.
A greenhag has a maximum life span long, slender fingers of greenhags.

of I ,0@0+2dlOOyears. An aged Although more delicate in appearance

greenhag dies swiftly, a s does ,an than either annis or sea hags,
annis. While a young greenhag, is
generally weaker than an annis, a s greenhags nonetheless have Strengths
she gets older she actually bec:omes
far more powerful than her wicked o. f ,1.8. /00id, and they receive a + 3 bonus
a +6 bonus to damage
cousin.
Greenhags have infravision to a 90- ey slash their opponents.

foot r,ange and superior senses (of ;kin of greenhags appears
hearing and smell, causing opponents
,ed and is hard and rough like

c of trees. A s they age, their

,,comes even tougher, hence

their progressively better Armor

Class.

A bruja (a type of hag that is good-

aligned, described in the RAVENLOFT

MONSTROUCSOMPENDIUAMppendiv Ill)

follows the same general progression

as the greenhag. Her magic resistance

is 10%less than the greenhag's, and

her Armor Class is always 1 worse

than the greenhag's (thus, a 260-year-

old bruja has a magic resistance of 5%

and AC 0).

To determine the basic statistics

of a greenhag, the Dungeon Master

should roll 2d8 and refer to the

following table.

*beg&e Ta Hit Armor Magic

2d4 Category )ice Class Resistance
6 1 0%
2I 7 0 5%
8 -1 15%
3 II 9 -2 25%

4 111 9 -2
9 -2
5-6 IV 350449 10 -2
10 -3
7-8 V 450-549 10+1 -3
550-649 10+1 -3
9-10 VI 650-749 10+1 4
750-849 10+1
11 VI1 850-949 -4
12 Vlll 950-1,049
1 3 IX 1,050-1,149
14 X
1,150+
15 XI
16 XI1

Special Powers by Age: .All spell-like die within weeks. Sea hags never
,ewers work a s if cast by an 8th-level reach the level of power of annis or
:aster. If the effect is similar to a spell greenhags, but they make up for that
, f a level that requires a higher-level
:aster, the power works at the with cunning.
minimum level required to cast it. Like other hags, sea hags are
rhey can each be used three times a
iay. The powers are cumulative; the physically powerful, with Strength scores
?reenhag keeps each ability gained of 18/00. They gain all the damage and
3 s she ages. The Random Ability attack bonuses standard for creatures
rable is given in the section on who possess exceptional Strength.
:he annis.
The true appearance of a sea hag
4ge 50: Change seit pass without trace
4ge 150: Audible glamer, dancing lights is so ghastly that anyone who gazes
on her true visage will grow weak
4ge 250: Inoisibiiity, water breathing from fright unless a saving throw vs.
4ge 350: Speak with monsters, spell is rolled. (Additionally, if the
campaign is using the rules from
weakness Domains ofDread, players who fail to
4ge 450: Use Random Ability Table roleplay the experience of the
4ge 550: Use Random Ability Table character properly may have to make
a fear check the first time they
4ge 650: Speak with animals encounter a sea hag.) Beings who fail
4ge 750: Creeping doom their saving throws lose half their
Age 850: Hold person, transport oia Strength scores (round fractions
down) for Id6 turns.
plant
Age 950: Spike growth, transmute Worse still, three times a day sea

water to dust hags can focus their hatred for beauty
Age 1,050: Monster summoning IV into a gaze attack similar to-but far
Age 1,150: Use Random Ability Table more powerful than-the eoil eye of
the Vistani. The gaze targets one
Sea Hags creature of the sea hag's choosing
The sea hag gains her first special within 30 feet. To negate any ill effect
ability at the age of 50, with each from this baleful glance, the target
additional one following for each 150 must roll a saving throw vs. poison. If
years of life. Sea hags have a the saving throw is failed, the victim
maximum life span of 800+ld40 either dies immediately from fright
years, remaining active until they (25% chance) or is paralyzed with
undergo a sharp decline in health and fright for three days (75% chance).

d? combat, receiving a +3 attack bonus
Sea hags always use their deadly and +6 to damage rolls.
?lance a s their primary form of
ittack. They will melee only if they To determine the basic statistics of
%resupported by powerful minions, a sea hag, the Dungeon Master should

equired to cast it. They can each be Age 500: Use Random Ability Table
s e d three times a day, and they are Age 650: Fog cloud
:umulative; the hag keeps each ability Age 800: Use Random Ability Table
jained as she ages. The Random

Wychology mdH&i others through gossip. After the
Change, a deep resentment is added to
In past creature studies, I have been their already unpleasant nature. Hags,
able to draw neat parallels between the particularly greenhags, have long life
psychology of the creatures and their spans, and a s they age their hatred of
biological or “necrological” the world around them grows stronger.
development stages. Unfortunately,
such parallels seem to be a s difficult to It does not matter to the hag that her
draw with hags a s they are with human transformation was dictated by her race,
beings. Just like humans mature nor do her abilities to hide her
mentally at different rates, so do hags. hideousness do anything to lessen her
Behavior and abilities do not always resentment, She has the appearance of
match up, and those who would hunt a monster, and she throws herself into
these foul creatures should remain ever the role of monster with relish. A hag
aware that each hag is an individual. attempts to subsist on a diet composed
entirely of sentient beings. There is no
Inherent Viciousness physiological need for this diet-it is
Hags are cruel and spite-filled beings at adopted out of pure viciousness.
their core. Annis enjoy visiting death
and destruction on their surroundings, For their first few centuries, hags are
greenhags are vain and self-centered content by themselves, stewing in their
creatures who cannot stand other resentment and hatred of other living
persons getting attention, and sea hags things while they vent their anger and
unnatural uraes on hapless travelers
T3 go out of their way to ruin the lives of

'5 pastime of trapping the unwary (as she
explores her newfound powers) and
-wilderness lairs. The ma,ioritv"of haas further convinced of her superiority. This
swiftly evolves into an arrogance
exist in solitude once their tutors depart. unmatched by few creatures I have
A rare young hag might be invited to studied. Even the mighty lich recognizes
join a covey immediately, but will even that someone out there may be its better.
more rarely accept. Such hags are The hag, however, eventually becomes
exceptionally vile and probably engaged incapable of even conceiving of such a
in evil acts even before the Change possibility. The wise and well-prepared
came on them. hunter can take advantage of this
conceit, as I will show in Chapter Five.
Annis and greenhags tend to select
fairly desolate areas in which to live and Minions
rarely have an impact on their vicinity,
except for their desire to trap and As hags grow more arrogant, they
consume intelligent beings. Sea hags, develop a corresponding contempt for
however, are highly obsessive in their the abilities and achievements of all
desire to obliterate beauty. They do their races save their own. The only
utmost to destroy wildlife, plants, and achievement that hags live for
I anything else they find aesthetically themselves is the spreading of suffering
d "pleasing" within several miles of their and the destruction of life and beauty.
lair, making the presence of sea hags Eventually, they reach a point where
fairly obvious for those who wish to they are no longer content to merely
humiliate and murder their victims.
hunt or avoid them. In all cases, as They want to have someone admire
their "works." They also feel a growing
hags age, their homes become easier to need to extend dominion over the
find, as they soon cease any attempt to territory around their immediate homes.
conceal the remains of their victims but To sate these desires, hags need
instead allow them to litter the glens or minions. Annis and greenhags almost
coves they inhabit. (I discuss ways to always gather minions around
identify whether a region serves as a themselves at some point. Sea hags
home to hags in depth in Chapter Five.) seem to do so only rarely, although it is
not entirely unheard of.
Superiority Complex
Regardless of type, hags spend much of In the records I studied in the
their time constructing elaborate traps Hospice of the Healing Hands, I learned
around their lairs. They occupy their that in certain faraway lands, hags
minds for weeks on end concocting the recruit various evil humanoids to serve
perfect ruse to lure victims into them. as their guards and agents. Several
Sometimes they venture into nearby such beings appear in our lands, but
communities and spread false rumors only rarely. George Weathermay, my
about wise women, generous druids, or good friend and ally in the fight against
friendly dryads or sirines living in the darkness, once came into conflict with a
greenhag in the heavily forested region
area they call home. As years pass and where the Gundar River flows into the
adventurers and locals continue to be Lake of Red Tears. She had recruited a
drawn in by their lures and fall victim to number of disaffected members of the
their traps, the hags start to view nearby goblyn clans. Then, she went on
themselves as more intelligent and to extract tribute from nearby logging
cunning than others. They come to communities, even demanding that
believe that although their appearance young women should be offered up to
may be hideous and twisted, their her in sacrifice. This Foul beast and her
minds are far superior to all others. servants rarely killed the poor maidens,

As they age, this viewpoint is (3
reinforced by the fact that they develop
an ever-growing suite of supernatural
powers. As the hag discovers she has
more natural abilities than she first
believed, she is both distracted from her

,@

i minions and forced to take a new home
and hunting grounds. Capturing one of
instead returning them to their villages these creatures would offer valuable
with their faces and bodies horribly information. The choice of minions
scarred. It was this practice that caused seems to be tied to the general
Weathermay to g o after the monsters personality of the hag types. Such a
with a vengeance. relationship is not surprising. They are,
after all, intelligent beings, and like all
Rumors of hags abound in Tepest, and intelligent beings they gravitate to
supposedly the creatures there rely beings of like mindsets and interests.
mostly on goblyns and evil fairies for Even hags who force minions into
their minions. Given the superstitious servitude must be able to stand the
nature of the people in Tepest, I have to nature and habits of their helpers.
say that it is uncertain whether hags
even dwell in forests there beyond Annis in faraway countries are said to
Semine. Hunters may wish to investigate, rely heavily on evil breeds of giants and
but they must take every precaution to ogres as their servants. The reader
be sure they are truly on the trail of a probably is already aware that such
hag. There is no reliable information to humanoid titans are in short supply in
be had from any residents of Tepest, as our domains, so it is not unheard of for
they are the very archetypes of hags to turn to evil treants or large
superstitious and simple country folk. groups of lesser humanoids such as
goblyns and hobgoblins. Annis choose
It stands to reason that hags who have their minions for their physical strength.
reached the stage in their lives where they They care little about their minions’
require minions will move their homes intelligence, instead selecting minions
and lairs to a region where minions are in who can inflict the greatest amount of
abundance. Semine certainly felt that this carnage in the shortest amount of time.
would be the most reasonable thing to do, Annis rule their minions by fear, through
although she pointed out that some hags threats of death and destruction.
may want to further illustrate their power
and superiority by forcing communitiesof The only exception to this seems to
evil beings to move to the hags’ homes be a little-known race of feline
instead. A sudden migration of humanoids shapeshifters known as the paka, who,
or increased humanoid aggression toward according to records at the Hospice of
surrounding communities may be a sign the Healing Hands, have some sort of
that a hag has forced the creatures into relationship with the annis and
roles as servants. The same is true if there supposedly offer their services to any
is a sudden increase or decrease in annis who asks for them. Known as “cat
banditry in a particular region: hags people” to the Vistani, the paka are an
sometimes force evil humans into ancient and sinister race that dwells in
servitude,particularly when the hags insolated villages in the most distant
dwell near civilized territories where corners of our realm, and it is not
goblyns and other such night spawn have uncommon to find annis living near
been driven off. them. The paka are generally pleasing
to the eye in either human or hybrid
Each hag type has different preferred (humanoid cat) forms, so what
minions. While it is by no means an common ground has brought paka and
absolute method of determining which annis together remains a mystery.
kind of hag is active in a given area,
would-be hunters can use reports of Compilers’ Note: I once had the
certain types of monsters as potential misfortune of traveling with a small
warning signs. For example, if a tribe of band ofpaka. I met them on the road,
goblyns suddenly appears where few and they invited me into their midst,
humanoids have been active before, it ostensibly so we might have strength in
might be a sign that a hag has moved numbers. When we camped that night,
in, bringing her minions with her. The
goblyns could be either the hag’s

3 minions or a clan displaced by those

I - - :~EiL'rroruT', HET ~ i m :

4 theu assumed their true ulsaqes and appreciating the brilliance of their

attacked me. Thankfuiy,I had been on schemes and traps. Greenhags mostly

m y guard, and was also quite lucky secure their minions by promising them

during the ensuing battle, or I would wealth and the protection of their great

certainly haue died. powers. Since greenhags are capable of

It was difficult to conuince the one delivering on both (with the wealth
suruiuing paka to talk to me, but once primarily coming from attacks on

I had treated her wounds (keeping her travelers and nearby communities),

bound), she opened up to me a little. such minions usually serve out of a
She had been certain that I was going sense of loyalty as well as fear of the
to slaughter her in cold blood, and she
greenhags' rage.

was left somewhat rattled when I did Sea hags once again seem to be the

not. The paka are apparently raised to most pathetic of the breed when it

fear and hate those who are not of comes to their choice of minions.

their own kind. Apparently, they They employ undead beings that are

believe that some gross injustice was barely aware of their own existence,

committed against their breed in the such as zombies. Such unnatural

distant past, and they are now monstrosities do nothing to sate the

dedicated to auenging themseiues sea hags' need to be acknowledged for

upon the world. What this injustice their superior intellect, which probably
makes these hags grow even more
was the paka would not tell me-part

o f me suspects she did not euen spiteful toward the world. If they must

know-but she was quite vehement in answer the need to have someone

her insistence that we humans were recognize their brilliance, sea hags
all going to get what was coming to probably turn to evil water-dwelling

us. I suspect that the annis and the creatures such as sahuagin and

paka haue found their common reavers. (Some readers will scoff at
my mention of those last creatures. I
ground in their shared hatred of the

world around them and their desire to am aware that they are widely

spread pain and suffering. considered myths and wild tales told

A n interesting note about the paka, by sailors and fishermen to scare the

howeuer, is that the one /spared and cabin boys and passengers onboard

subsequently nursed back to health their vessels, but believe me that

promised me that m y kindness would reavers indeed exist. Someday, I might

not go unrewarded should our paths turn my attention to the dangers that

cross again. Although consumed with exist beneath the placid surfaces of

some bizarre need for revenge, the the lakes and seas of our world.)

paka do not appear to be without Compilers'Note: My sister and I haue in

gratitude when kindness and mercy is our possession a wide uariety of
shown to them.
research conducted by Dr. Van Richten
-LWF
that did not make it into any of his

Greenhags rely on evil forest creatures guides. There exists among these papers
for their minions, or else lead large and notes a substantial body of material
hordes of bandits or humanoids. While
on reauers, bowiyns, sea spawn, and

greenhags are attracted to minions with other water-dwelling creatures terrible

great battle prowess and potential for and fantastic. Perhaps we will be able
spreading chaos and destruction, they to complete Dr. Van Richten's research

tend to look for intelligence and the into them and publish them for the
ability to take the initiative as well. world to see. For now such materials
Greenhags are as hateful as their annis remain disorganized. They will require

and sea hag cousins, but they are still considerable editinq before makin-q any.
quite vain at their core. They want to be
surrounded by minions capable of public appearance. -GWF

G*

In all cases, a hag who has gathered sighted, she passes herself offa s a

minions makes them dwell no more than maiden who has been captured by the
a quarter-mile from her home. In most evil humanoids. She reveals her true
cases, a greenhag actually dwells among nature and attacks her would-be rescuers
before they have the opportunity to do
her minions, keeping a close eye on serious harm to her followers.
them. Occasionally, if adventurers are

-lag Minions the Demiplane of Dread campaign, at
4s hags gather minions, small villages least one annis is known to have
,f assorted monstrous inhabitants tend either formed an alliance with or
:o spring up near the lairs. Even in forced into servitude a renegade
lases where these creatures might be doppelganger clan from the domain
:nemies, they tend to get along out of of Paridon. Driven out by their
.espect and fear for their evil mistress. brethren for deeds so foul that even
The following table can be used to doppelgangers could not countenance
.andomly generate the minions of them, these doppelgangers and their
ndividual hags. Dungeon Masters annis leader now roam the land,
ihould feel free to replace any
:reatures listed with ones that ! x i n g a s Vistani and murdering
nore appropriate to their persc lose they manage to lull into a false
zampaigns. mse of security.

Not all hags have minions. W As mentioned above, annis tend to
preparing an adventure or stagir., ]le their minions through force and
tncounter, the Dungeon Master should .-at, so they are not the most loyal of
decide whether the hag that is to appear minions. If heroes can show that they
has minions. Assume a 25% chance pose a greater threat to the future
that a hag has gathered minions,. well-being of the minions than their
annis mistress does, the minions may
The following sections describe well try save their own lives by
those specific minions and can be helping the heroes defeat the hag.
used to build detailed encounters with (The exception to this are the paka. If
hags, as well a s providing ways to call serving an annis, they remain loyal to
a party's attention to hag activity in an the death.)
area,.As Van Richten mentions,
changes in behavior or migration To randomly determine an annis's
patterns of local monsters may be minions, make two separate ld12
evidence of a hag gathering minions rolls on the following table. The
around her. The monster activities can resulting creatures work together for
foreshadow a much greater menace their annis leader. The minions should
when the Dungeon Master plans be used in whatever way seems to
adventures and encounters carefully. make the best use of their particular
talents to aid the
Annis
Annis tend to draw their minions from Amis MinimTab11
the ranks of ogre communities and
evil (giants.However, within the ld12 Resul
confines of the RAVENLOFTsetting, the 3d6~
annis appear to have formed some 1-2 3d6 h
sort of alliance with the paka. Laurie 34 3d4 d
Weathermay-Foxgrove's speculation is 5 2d10
correct: Hags and the cat people have 6-8
found common ground in their hatred
for tile world. 11 1d4 ettins
12 Id2 hill giants
Annis may also have formed
alliances with rare doppelgangers. In * See RAVENLOFMJONSTROUS

COMPENOiUM Appendix I//,or use 3d6
hobgoblins.

;reenhags * * * See MONSTROUCSOMPENDIUW
3reenhags prefer to dwell in isolated
brest glens, and they ten(i to rely on Annual, Voiurne Four (TSR#2173), or
:vi1 humanoids, forest creatures,
landits, and outcasts for rninions. use one sirine.
3eenhags are vain creati.ires, and
Sea Hags
:hey want minions who aclmire them Sea hags rely almost exclusively on
.ather than serve them OLIt of fear. undead creatures a s minions. Some
draw comfort from the fact that they
Therefore. greenhags lure minions can watch the appearance of the
with the promise of wealtk1 and shared undead creatures degrade and grow
more hideous as time passes, just a s
3ower. Particularly insightful the sea hags’ appearance did during
t h e Change. What few living minions
3reenhags play off the prc:judices of they recruit are usually quite
:heir minions in order to nlake them monstrous, and these creatures are
sven more loyal. She maiLes them typically forced into servitude
3elieve that she shares thieir causes. through the use of terror tactics or
-lowever, in truth the greenhag has a s (rarely) offersfor the opportunity to
spread carnage.
much contempt for those who serve
In the Demiplane of Dread
ier a s she does for her en‘emies.
campaign, a sea hag dwells in the
To randomly determine: a coastal caves on Darkon’s Sea of
Sorrows coast; she is closely allied
yeenhag’s minions, makc:three with a nearby tribe of reavers. Whether
jeparate ld12 rolls on the: following sea hags share a relationship with the
:able. The resulting creatLires make up reavers similar to that shared between
the hag’s minions and willI attempt to the paka and the annis is unknown,
work together despite thei‘r differences. since no one has yet been able to
A greenhag is usually even more communicate effectively with the
clever in deploying her foirces than an bizarre and violent reptilian humanoids.
annis, and creativity on ti-ie part of the
A single ld12 roll is made on the
Dungeon Master is encouraged. followingtable for a sea hag’s minions.
These minions are only loosely allied
m h a g Minions Teble with or controlled by the sea hag,
doing their own raiding a s well as that
ld12 Result which the sea hag commands.
1-3
4-5 Id2 ettercaps Sea Vag MinionsT&le
3d6 1st-level f‘ighters
6-7 (bandits) led t’Y a ld12 Result
8-9 darkling* 1-7 ld6+2 sea zombies
10-11 ld8+2 sahuagin
3d6 hobgoblin S 8-9 2d6 reavers*
12 ld10+2 ogres 10-1 1 l d 6 scrags (aquatic trolls)
ld10+2 7-HD evil
treants** 12
l d 2 unseelie rlymphs”**

* See the first RAVENLOIFVTONSTROUS * See the first RAVENLOVMONSTROUS

COMPENDIAUpMpendix, or use a 2nd- COMPENDIAUpMpendix. (If not

level wizard. available, replace with 3d6 sahuagin.)

* * See the first RAVENLOFMI ONSJROUS

COMPENDIUAMppendix, or use 2d4

fomorian giants.

Once a hag has reached this stage in “covey”-a pooling of magical
her psychological developrnent and has resources and abilities that allows the
secured power over her milnions, she hags to weave spells more powerful and
destructive than any one of them could
moves in one of two directiions. She
6hope to do alone-or she succumbs to
# either seeks to band togethter with other
hags in what they refer to zis a an almost irresistible urge to bear

-

offspring. The former decision is strictly WITCHES
related to the hag's free will, while the
latter is almost assuredly driven by the follow in my footsteps and become an
natural instinct in all species, no matter even greater medical man than myself,
how unnatural, to perpetuate wishing for him an education at the
themselves. finest university in Darkon. It is not
surprising to me that hags might view
Hag coveys are treated in detail in their offspring a s the way to carry
the next chapter; they pose far too great forward their evil agendas into eternity.
a threat to be treated a s part of this
general survey of the hags. Further, There does not appear to be any
many adventurers may mistake a hag particular differences from one hag type
covey for a witches' coven, an error to to the other when it comes to
be avoided at all costs. As will be procreation, except for a single
explained later in this section, witches horrendous ability reportedly possessed
and warlocks of all stripes-from the by certain annis: the ability to magically
staunchest supporter of goodness to the transfer their unborn child into the
vilest practitioners of destructive womb of a pregnant human female. No
magic-are the committed enemies of evidence exists to prove this vile idea,
all types of hags. but it should be kept in mind.

FroqaEdion It should be noted that younger hags
who join coveys often manage to
For hags, the urge to procreate is both suppress the urge to bear children when
physical and psychological. Semine told it comes over them. Once a covey is
me that when she first felt the urge to formed, the hags become too jealous of
have a child, it was almost as strong a s any child that one of their number bears
her urge to leave civilization behind when for the infant to survive, unless they can
she was entering the Change. Semine also somehow arrive at an agreement which
said that the notion of bearing a child was leads to all three of them bearing
an appealing one, because she suspected children at the same time. However,
it would be a creature just like herself, and there might be those hags who never
that this daughter would continue to feel the need to join a covey because
wreak havoc on the world long after they continue to have a child every few
Semine herself was gone. Semine said years. This allows them to increase their
that this urge comes over greenhags once ability to spread chaos and pain by the
a century after the age of 400. She has very act of procreation, first by the
borne two daughters herself. suffering they undoubtedly visit on the

Considering the bizarre nature of The rumored ability of certain hags
hags a s a species, 1 do not find it
surprising that they would have a to transfer their unborn children into
biological compulsion to bear young: if
they did not, their foul race would have the wombs of human women is
died out long ago. Of the three hag
types, the greenhag seems to be the exactly that: a rumor, albeit a nasty
one most concerned with long-range
planning: this was true of Semine, who one that has made the rounds in
hoped her daughter would carry on her
legacy of destroying other hags. What many a domain. Though Dr. Van
parents have not thought of their child
a s a small piece of immortality, the one Richten makes much of this concept,
lasting effect they will have on the world
once they have passed from it? I know I and Semine the greenhag toys with
would occasionally dream about how
my own son Erasmus would someday him on this point later, it is still

untru-ot that some peasants will

believe otherwise. An interesting

encounter might be set up with a

hermit woman (perhaps a witch) who

was cast out of her village a s a child,

because her behavior led her mother

and others to believe she was a

"changeling," an infant hag

exchanged at or before birth for an

actual human infant. lG\

poor unfortunate who fathers their father, much a s a black widow spider
children, and second by foisting yet does with her mate. One exception to
another hag on the unsuspecting this general rule was brought to me by
peoples of our domains. my friend Dr. Gregorian Illhousen, a
pioneer in the treatment of insanity and
Admittedly, hag procreation is more a brain fevers. He wrote to me of a case
topic of morbid scholarly interest than of where a young man appears to have
any particular use in combating hags. been driven insane by being lured into
There are few things about the way hags mating with a hag. The shock of having
procreate that make them vulnerable to his lover suddenly transform from an elf
those who would destroy them. As maiden into a hideous crone left him
mentioned earlier, immature hags are with a psychotic hatred of all elven
indistinguishable from unpleasant women. The experience was driving him
humans, so is there is little that can be
used to identify hags before the Change. to become a murderer. Sadly, Dr.
At best, a hunter might use the
uncertain lineage of a suspect female to lllhousen was not able to heal the young
see whether she may be in the early man's mind. A few months after he
stages of the Change, but otherwise this escaped from the Clinic for the Mentally
information is of little value. Distressed in Nova Vaasa, he killed two
women and was stoned to death by
Con*on angry citizens of the elven community
of Nevuchar Springs. I cannot help but
As there is no male counterpart to hags, wonder if the hag spared his life
they must be impregnated by males of
other species. Evidence indicates that because she knew this would be the
hags can only mate with humans or result of her mistreatment.
half-elves. According to Semine and the
documents from the Hospice of the Gestslionmdv i
Healing Hands, the most common
method used by hags to secure mates According to Semine and the records at
is to lure an unsuspecting traveler into
her embrace using her ability to take on the Hospice of the Healing Hands, the
a pleasing appearance. Particularly gestation period for an infant hag is
powerful and sadistic hags may use
certain abilities that they develop later roughly nine months, identical with that
in their lives in order to cloud the minds
of men and lure them to their arms of a human infant. Shortly after the
without even cloaking their form.
child is born, most hags perform the
According to Semine, the hag knows
the moment she is with child. Once she switch described at the beginning of
has been impregnated, she slays the
this chapter, although a few may take
Van Richten and other scholars
of his world are incorrect in their steps that are a little more elaborate
conclusion that hags can only mate
with elves and half-elves. Any male than that.
of humanoid stock who is no smaller
Sister Marena gave me a chilling
-t.h. an. a h..a-l.f.l.i..n.g b-u-t .n~~~ o ~larg.e~r t~ha~~ n~an
account of an annis taking revenge on
oqgrre is a suitable biological father
f'oorr a hag child. The world of the the leader of a witches' coven. The
RRAAVVEENNLOLFOTFTsetting, however, is
djominated primarily by humans, so witch, named Suzeen, had successfully
hl a gs originating from different stock
awre extremely rare. destroyed a hag covey, but the annis

had escaped death through unknown

means. The annis became pregnant,

then left her infant daughter a s a

foundling to be raised by the unknowing

coven. Suzeen's coven was destroyed

when the adult daughter (now a witch)

went through the Change, then later

returned to her true mother to share her

full knowledge of the coven's secrets. A

single member of the coven escaped,

and her written account is what Sister

Marena showed me. G

I once asked Semine if there was any Unknown to anyone but haq-s and
truth to the old tale that hags could perhaps a few very trusted minions,
transfer a fetus from their womb and when hags become pregnant, they
into the womb of another. The greenhag enter a state of near hibernation,
refused to give me a straight answer. being active only for a few hours a
With a vicious smile, she said, “It does day just before sunrise. If they are
sound rather fantastic-but so does the forced into activity during any other
notion of a wizard instantly transporting period, they receive a -4 penalty to
himself halfway around the world with all attack rolls and there is a 25%
but a single word, or displacing a chance that any spell-like abilities will
person’s soul with his own. If it is true, fail if used.
then human mothers have a convenient
excuse when their daughters do not turn Typically, pregnant hags retreat
out the way they would have liked. ‘A even farther from inhabited areas
hag switched her at birth!’ they can say. during this time, annis finding remote
No, my dear doctor, I do not think I will mountain caves, greenhags vanishing
satisfy your curiosity on that matter. Let into overgrown swamps, and sea hags
the mothers of our land keep their remaining on the bottom of their
comforting thoughts-or are we letting shallows. Still, a few rare hags trust
them keep their fears that the child they their minions enough to be around
carry may not truly be theirs? That the them when in their more vulnerable
children they nurse are really monsters state, and these hags remain fairly
in disguise?” Semine then laughed in a active, continuing to prey on early-
way that gives me chills even now. morning travelers until their pregnant
state inihibits movement.
Despite their biological need to bear
young, most hags do not appear to Once the hag gives birth, one of
have much of a maternal instinct. Most two events typically happens: She
hags abandon their children soon after either kills her child, consuming it in a
birth, usually switching them with fit of hunger a s she emerges from her
normal infants, as mentioned stupor, or she starts the process of
previously. The mother then typically finding a human mother with whom to
never sees her child again, nor does she place it. Once a suitable mother has
give it a second thought. Thus does this been located, the hag uses her
evil girl-monster grow up ignorant of her various abilities to steal into the poor
true nature until the Change comes on woman’s home and switch the
her and a hag eventually arrives to tutor newborn hag for the human infant
her. This invariably causes the new hag (who is disposed of later). Hag babies
to develop a hateful outlook. By always appear fully human, and it is
abandoning the child to suffer the not until the Change occurs that they
bizarre ravages of the Change, the hag seem at all unusual. A baby
ends up nurturing the attitude that is a suspected of being switched in this
defining quality of her race. way is called a changeling. Switching
babies in this manner has led to the
While I believe firmly that it is rumor that hags exchange unborn
possible for a creature to be born evil- infants with pregnant women.
werebeasts and hags are ample proof of
that-I also cannot help but wonder if a and endeavors to counteract the evil
hag would be less monstrous in spirit if undertaken by her foul cousins.
she was properly prepared for the According to the tale, this hag was the
Change by a mother who understood granddaughter of a greenhag who did
what was coming. This thought may not want to visit on her daughter the
have some relation to reality, however
slight. In the archives of the Hospice of -mental anauish that she had suffered
Healing Hands, I found the tale of a hag
during the Change. The greenhag raised
a who supposedly wanders our domains her daughter personally, and this

3 daughter in turn raised her own them by showing them the future none
of us can escape: the moment of our
daughter. This third hag eventually left death. This terrible and inescapable
her home and soon encountered some
of her diabolical cousins. She was foreknowledge drove the three hags
appalled by their savage, destructive apart and filled them with a
ways and swore that she and all her
descendants would oppose them disconsolate compassion for all things
wherever she might encounter them. mortal. They now work to ease pain
and suffering where they can, moving
Whether there is any truth to this through the domains cloaked by their
tale, I cannot say. Semine comes to shapechanging abilities.
mind immediately, but s h e is evil to the
core despite her hatred of her own I am tempted to dismiss these tales as
kind. I have been unable to determine
this tale’s exact point of origin, as the flights of fantasy, but, as my experience
supposed land of origin of this “good“ with thepaka showed me, it is very
hag is the distant domain of Nidala (or difficult to be accurate when painting
Nidalia, a s the domain is referred to in all creatures of a given race with the
widely read, yet shoddily researched, same brush. Nonetheless, personal
texts penned by the late Sir Stefan Mills experience has also shown that is
of Ludendorf). The author of the indeed safer to assume that nonhumans
account in the archives is anonymous. and strangers encountered are intent on
It is likely that the account is merely a causing harm until proof to the contrary
bard‘s tale, as it shares several
similarities to the creations of such has been evidenced. Even then, it is
spinners of “legends.” The fact that the better to always be on one’s guard-.LWF
“good”hag is from a faraway land and
the recorder had not himself met the Van Richten and the Weathermay
hag but had instead been told by a
“coven brother” might be evidence of Twins are unknowingly commenting

its falsehood. 3n creatures known as bruja. These
My experiences tell me that hags are
haglike beings are indeed traveling
evil, and their daughters are born evil.
They are monsters, and even if there are secretly throughout the domains of
one or two aberrations among them, 1
believe it is an unacceptable risk for the game world (and possibly ot.her
those who fight hags to assume that any
of their number might be of good heart. worlds), working in small ways lo

Compilers’Note: Genniferand / counteract evil and ease suffering
attempted to track down the source of
the legend of the “good” hags, but we wherever they find it. Van Richten’s

were no more successful than Dr Van description of their appearance is

Richten. We did, however, come upon correct, a s is the legend that they are
another variant of the story, told to us
by a reclusive Vistana who dwells deep all cursed with the foreknowledge of
in the forests of Tepest. According to her
version, the three “good”hags were all their own deaths.
part of a covey that turned its magical
A full description of bruja is
powers to the task of predicting the provided in the RAVENLOITMONSTROUS
COMPENDIUAMppendix I//. but Dungeon
future and using this knowledge to
grow in power. Eventually, the Masters without access to it should
members of the covey attracted the
attention of powers greater and darker consider their basic abilities to be
than they, and these powers cursed
those of greenhags. Although they are

neither sadistic nor bent on

destruction, bruja share the tendency

toward arrogance of other hags. This

sometimes endangers their disguises,

as they may be prone to impukive

displays of powers when faced with

cocky characters. They are, generally

speaking, kindhearted and gentle

beings who want to keep their true

natures concealed. Bruja are without

fail chaotic good in alignment. G

.,,

,. ' .9 that the document does not even rise
to the point of being the earliest
a Astute readers may have noticed that developmental stage of a workable
so far I have made references to hags spell, being purely superstition and
bearing only daughters. Some may be bunk.
wondering if hags ever give birth to
male children, as I did when Semine Dreams
was explaining the ways of her kind. I Who Drains Our Life through Cries
assumed that the lack of male
counterparts to hags was a and Screams
manifestation of some sort of hag Gods Bless This Ward to Keep Me
culture, and that hags murder any male
infants to whom they give birth, as Whole
many parents in faraway lands are
rumored to do with female children And Keep the Night Hag from Mu
(considered by culture to be a burden
rather than a boon). When I asked Soul
Semine, however, she told me that she Sprinkle the sleeping area with the dust
had been told that hags only birthed ofground rose petals and dried spider
other hags, and that she herself had not carcasses. Hang one strand of hair giuen
given birth to any males. freely from the head o f a woman of pure
heart and strong devotion to the gods
ouer the doors and windows leading to
the sleeping area. Speak the incantation
before nightfall a n d pray with great
dedication to whateuer god you giue
sacrifice to on holy days. You will then
be safe from night hags and other
demons from the Abyss Beyond who
wish to prey upon your spirit.

-Anon., from the archives of the
Hospice of the Healing Hands

Sister Marena was uncertain exactly what
night hags are, as the only reference she
has ever seen to them is in that brief,
bizarre document. Semine dismissed
them as legend, but admitted that among
her foul cousins, there are stories of hags
with personal power that puts hag coveys
to shame, having the ability to stride from
one world to the next as easily as other
hags step from one room of their huts to
another. Marena and Semine both
dismissed such creatures as the products
of rampant imaginations. Nonetheless, I
have come to fear that night hags may
indeed be very, very real.

I recently inherited the personal
library of Aimon Davidovich, a fellow
researcher into the macabre. The many
tomes and scrolls were being delivered
to my home in Mordentshire as I was
putting the finishing touches on an early

-p SECTIONT, HE TIIRD: I suspect that if certain hags live long

oerused a volume at random. and enough, they go through a Second
Change that transforms them into night
imagine my shock when in one of the hags. In this new state, they gain the
very first chapters I saw a reference to ability to freely travel to other worlds,
night hags! The book bore no title, but it perhaps even into the realms of the
dealt with creatures who supposedly afterlife, where they gather the souls of
used human souls as currency in a the dead.
faraway land, possibly even an entirely
different world. Night hags serve as a In my travels, I have occasionally
form of moneychangers in this land, met men and women who claimed to be
taking souls gathered by others and from worlds other than the one we call
transforming them back into the home. I know there are scholars who
physical forms of large bloated worms. dispute the existence of realities beyond
These hags are also attributed with the this one, but my personal experience
ability to stride between worlds a s they says otherwise. Several of these
please, often collecting souls of their “visitors”from other places were as
own. The text provides a range of sane as you, my reader, and there was
disgusting descriptions of what the no reason to doubt their stories of
creatures that dwell in this place then having been drawn to our land through
do with these worms. incomprehensible magical means.

The text also provides a graphic What are the powers of night hags? I
description of two night hags battling can only speculate. They appear to
over a batch of souls. If the author is at have the ability to cast wizard spells,
all accurate in his writings, night hags and they seem to feed off the
possess physical strength equal to that nightmares of their victims. I can find
of annis, greenhags, and sea hags. no more information on them. I include
They also have the ability to cast this brief treatment of them only to alert
magical spells; the author described the others to their existence. Perhaps other
two hags attempting to harm one scholars will be able to uncover more.
another with magic. They fired volleys
of what sounds like the spell known a s Compilers’ Note: Alanik Ray, a onetime G
magic missile at one another before associate of Dr. Van Richten, told Laurie
closing to claw at one another with and me of a death that occurred while .
their talonlike hands. Yet, they also he was chief constable of Martira Bay in
have the ability to cancel these spells, Darkon. A sailor had been found
a s the author also describes how one horribly mutilated a n d out of his mind
hag was unaffected by the spell, yet the in a little-visited section ofthe
other shrunk back in pain. Finally, the waterfront. His dying words indicated
night hags are described as appearing that he a n d a friend had been lured to
like withered crones, with stringy black the isolated spot by a particularly
hair and skin the color of a fresh bruise, beautiful “lady ofthe night” who
with claws and fangs, and eyes that shockingly transformed into a hideous
glow like hot coals. crone with blue-black skin and fiery
eyes. Mr. Ray investigated the incident,
If not for the scrap of paper in the but could pnd no sign ofthe missing
Healing Hands archive and Semine’s saiior or the creature who had
tale of the legends that exist among apparently abducted him. Ray’s
hags of their more powerful cousins, I investigation was cut short, however,
would write off the account in Airnon’s when the disappearance of Lord Azalin
papers a s a work of fiction with true resulted in an upheaval in city
hags serving a s its flimsy basis in reality. government that cost him hisjob and
However, other papers in Airnon’s library left him an unwanted presence.
make references to creatures who cross
many different worlds with ease, and Could this being have been one of
even this “Abvss”that is mentioned in these night hags? Laurie and I made a
the false incantation.
n

brief uisit to Martira Bay and conducted WITCHES

our own investigation. We found no whose propositions he had refused, or
evidence of a creature, but residents of even someone who knew who she might
Martira Bay’s waterfront did regale us haue been, we gaue up the search. The
with stories of similar disappearances.
The only one of these that appeared similaritiesbetween MERay’s case and
related to what we were investigating
the strange disappearanceof Hans
was the disappearance of Hans Brodspicerare marked. The occurrence
of nightmaresmight also be a symptom
Brodspicer Hans was a dockworker who of night hag actiuity, if anything at all
had nightmares about a creature he can be read into the “incantation” that
caUedStyriu,shortly after he Dr. Van Richten found in the Healing
demonstratiuely rebuked the advances of Hands hospice.
a prostitute by telling her that he was
Regardless, this mystery in Martira
devoted to his wife. Within days offirst Bay bears more inuestigating. Alanik
Ray and Laurie have discussed
reporting these nightmares, he began to returning to Martira Bay once spring
arrives. lf this comes to pass, we shall
grow ill. He uanished without a trace undoubtedly learn if Styrix is real or
not, for nothing remains hidden once
shortly after that. After spending a few the great detectiue turns his mind to
days attempting to identify the prostitute unueiling it.

Dr. Van Richten’s conclusion that -GWF
night hags are a more evolved state of
hag is inaccurate. These creatures are, In most cases, death marks the end of a
in fact, natives of the most evil Lower being’s evil, even for a powerful
Planes. They rarely venture to the creature such as a hag. Still, it is not
Prime Material Plane, and they would unheard of for people of great strength
never voluntarily enter the RAVENLOFT of will to cling to this existence even
setting. Among educated Outer Planes beyond the end of their natural lives,
beings (such as the night hags), it is especially if they die in a particularly
thought of as a “realm of emotional state or with the feeling that
imprisonment.” Planewalkers go in, they have left a critical task unfinished.
but they do not come out. Hags are no different.

Gennifer speculates that Hans In their long battle against hags, the
Brodspicer fell victim to a night hag. witches of Sister Marena’s coven have
One of these foul creatures may have faced several hags who returned from
become trapped within the confines of the dead to avenge their slayings. Sister
the RAVENLOFsTetting. The nighi: hag, Marena herself only narrowly escaped a
Styrix, lajrs on the outskirts of Martira confrontation with one. Although I have
Bay, prowling that city’s Waterfront myself not faced one of these beings in
District. Her victims feed her ravenous combat, I believe I have enough reliable
hunger for the flesh of sentient beings, accounts of them to accurately describe
and she uses their souls to power a the nature of these beings. They display
magiical device she has created. Called the qualities of many other ghosts and
the Rift Spanner, the device is intended
to transport her across the dimensions, phantoms that haunt our land, a topic
from the campaign world back to her that I treated in great length in my
home on the Lower Planes.
Guide to Ghosts [found in Van Richten’s
Styrix, her night hag abilities, and Monster Hunter’s Compendium, Volume
the Rift Spanner are described in the Tw+G Wfl ,
RAVENLOFM~ONSTROUCSOMPE,YDIUM
Appendk /I (TSR #2139), whil,e The annis held me firmly against the
generic night hags, their native wall, her talons cutting into my arms as
environment, and overall goals,are
described in the PLANESCAPE

m MONS7ROUS COMPENDIUMAppendix.

) she ianored mu feeble kicks to her torso. guarding stance and urged me to e

She cackied and said, “As ended the follow. My legs would not obey. All I

mother, so ends the daughter. As the could do was stare at Hasiaph’s

day draws to an end, so does the proud transparent form and weep hysterically.

history of the Benarden witches come to He then grabbed me and threw me over

a close. Ishall enjoy watching the blood his shoulder, fleeing the ruined castle

pump from your body, Marena as swiftly as possible.

Benarden!” -From the private journal of

Hasiaph bared her fangs and leaned Sister Marena of the

close, her fetid breath oddly cool on m y

face. She was about to rip m y throat

out when she suddenly jerked

backward. She released me from her

grip, a startied look on her face. Iadmit and basic level of combat skills they

that even through m y pain, I too felt a enjoyed in life, although they appear to

surge of surprise, forprotruding from have lost the ability to mask their

her chest was Gondegal’s rune- hideous appearance behind more

engraved blade. pleasing visages. They are also very

The monstrous crone let out a clearly incorporeal. As with most other

coughing moan and slipped to the floor. ghosts, they can only be hit by weapons
Even as she fell, Gondegal withdrew
that are enchanted, and they are

his sword and severed her head from immune to all spells that affect the

her shoulders with a mighty blow. My mind or living biological processes of

legs gave out also, and a battered and the body.
bloody Gondegal rushed to help me to Every touch from a spectral hag,

m y feet. A question formed on m y lips, from a caress to a savage blow, drains

but before I could ask how he had life energy from the victim with an

survived the fall from the parapet, I intensity that mirrors that of the average

spotted movement behind Gondegal. vampire. As I demonstrated in my

He noticed the shift in m y ocpression, Guide to Ghosts, this ability is not
because he whirled about, ready to
unremarkable among evil spirits by

face the new threat. itself. There is an additional twist to this

A fine mist rose from the blood power as it is displayed in the spectral

spilling from Hasiaph’s body. I t slowly hag, however: The souls of those so

coalesced into a large, humanoid shape. slain become trapped in an undead

Gondegal and I recognized the form, state as spectres under the undead

uttering shocked gasps in unison: We hag’s command, serving her in death as

were watching the formation of a her minions served her in life.

spectral hag! Hasiaph’s hatred of my Although I have already dismissed a

lineage was so strong that even death link between vampires and hags in

would not stop her from slaging me and relation to their magical resistance, when

wiping it out! I discovered the nature of their powers a s

Even before her shape was fully undead, I had to revisit that dismissal.

defined, she threw back her head and Their life-drainingpowers and resistance

issued the hideous cackle with which to magic is close to that of vampires.

she had revealed her true nature earlier. Is it possible for a living being and

Once again, I felt the blood freeze in m y undead creatures to somehow be

veins. Pain and fear overwhelmed me. drawing from the same source, the

I burst into tears and shrieked like a theoretical Negative Material Plane to

baby. which many philosophers believe that

Gondegal uttered a string of oaths so undead creatures are linked? Or is

intense that I blush even while recalling there a hidden link between hags and
them as I write this. He started to
the undead that has escaped the notice

retreat, holding his magical sword in a of the witches and warlocks who have

J in the followinq chapter. Nonetheless, all

been standing against them since spectral hags p o s s e s knowledge of this
before recorded history? I would not be
surprised if scholars following me vile talent and can perform it whether or
discover that there is a link between not they were part of a covey in life.
this resistance to magic and the evil Because of this, spectral hags can
nature of the creatures we battle, nor
would I be surprised if they show that spread even more pain and suffering
link has nothing whatsoever to do with
the Negative Material Plane. There is than they did in life, visiting more than
much we still have to learn about the just death on the beautiful maidens they
forces that both direct and hold
together the universe. hate with such passion, turning them
into instruments of destruction and evil.
But, I digress. Let it be said that there As with all undead creatures, the
are many mysteries surrounding the
spectral hag, and that the greatest of spectral hag also has its weaknesses.
those mysteries is perhaps the origin of Priests and some holy warriors can
their most monstrous power-their
ability to turn an innocent maiden into a drive her off by confronting her
twisted monster as she was in life. Each forcefully and putting their faith in the
spectral hag has this ability, a ritual that
she seems to gain an instinctive power of their gods. The spectral hag
understanding of after her death. The also burns when holy water is sprayed
ritual is normally only known by, and on her insubstantial form. Finally, a
can only be performed by, hags who are spectral hag is utterly powerless if
part of a hag covey, as described in full
exposed to sunlight. The rays of that
Spectral Hags
Spectral hags are described in the blessed orb do not destroy her, but they
do render her utterly powerless: she
RAVENLOFTMONSTROUCSOMPENDIUM does not become invisible, so if a group
Appendix I//. The following notes allow of hunters can prevent her from
Dungeon Masters without access to that escaping, killing her should be easy.
resource to roughly approximate
spectral hags in their campaigns. of ghosts, spectres, and other 1
incorporeal undead.
Spectral hags retain all abilities, The most powerful new ability gained
powers, and defenses they possessed
in life, including their hit points and by spectral hags is the ability to trans-
their massive physical strength (:and form innocent females into living hags
resulting combat bonuses), despite the by performing a ritual at certain times oi
fact that they no longer possess the month. This ability is normally
physical bodies.
reserved only for hag coveys, but indi-
Spectral hags no longer use vidual spectral hags can perform it as
weapons. Instead, they rely on their well. Rules for this twisted ability are pro-
deadly, icy touch, which inflicts l d 8 vided in Chapter Two. Victims so trans-
points of damage and drains two life formed are treated as though they were
energy levels from the victim of the under the influenceof a permanent charm
attack. Any being totally drained of life person spell cast by the spectral hag.
energ:y becomes a full-strength spectre Being undead, spectral hags can be
under the control of the foul hag. A turned by priests and paladins. Holy
spectral hag is usually encountered
with 3d6 spectres who were once her water inflicts 2d4 points of damage
enemies. when splashed on them. A raise dead
spell instantly destroys a spectral hag if
Spectral hags can be hit only Iby
weapons of +1 or better enchantment. her magic resistance is overcome and
They enjoy all the standard immunities she fails a saving throw vs. spell.
Further, spectral hags are completely
powerless while exposed to sunlight. It
does not harm them, but their tie to the

Negative Material Plane is sufficiently
weakened that they cannot affect

anything around them. They may still #

be attacked, however.

IThree LWitches:R d e e d withouf a name.

-William Shakespeare
Macbeth

ne statement that holds true the scope of what they can do with the
for nearly all endeavors is magic widens. This is clearly not the
this: There is strength in case with hags, and it is something the
numbers. It is a truth that world should be grateful for.
has kept alive many of
ticsir y l ' x have taken up arms against The base covey is always composed
t.he evil creatures that plague our lands.
I t is also a truth from which those very of three hags, although they can be in
evil creatures gain strength. any combination (two greenhags, one
Undead of all types enslave lesser annis; one sea hag, one annis, one
undead, werebeasts hunt in packs, and greenhag; and so on). The specific
even bandits and Vistani travel in bands. powers and abilities of individual coveys
However, few of them draw a s much vary, reflecting the interests and goals
strength from their numbers as do hags. of the hags that comprise them.
Although mostly solitary creatures,
hags occasionally band together in what Like solitary hags, coveys dwell in
are termed coueys. With their combined
evil genius and minions thus pooled, it relatively isolated places, typically glens
is clear that together they can form a deep within forests. Here, the hags
great threat. Furthermore, a hag inhabit a small cave or shack, while
covey's members gain powers they do their minions live in hovels or caves
not possess a s individuals. These nearby. Each covey is guarded by a
powers are often deadlier than can be large number of hag minions. It is
believed. virtually impossible to predict who or
what these might be, or how many
Hag coveys creatures might be in the service of the
hags, but there does not seem to be a
The basic hag covey consists of three covey in existence that does not have at
hags. Semine is familiar with at least least a few minions.
one covey that consists of four hags, but
there is little benefit to be gained for the A covery has more use for minions
members beyond the first three. As far than individual hags do. Hag coveys
as she knows, there is theoretically no not only tend to take more prisoners
limit to the number of hags that can be than solitary hags, but they also
part of a covey. However, only three are engage in activities that may open
required to execute the mightiest of the them up to attack by cunning foes.
covey's abilities-the casting of covey They research unique magical forms,
rituals. Several members of the Healing covey spells, and covey rituals.
Hands coven confirmed Semine's Prisoners are frequently used a s raw
observations, commenting that if there's materials to further their magical
anything that proves hag coveys have researches. More often than not, those
no relation to witch and warlock covens, poor souls who are imprisoned by hags
it is that a s the number of witches or would be better off dead.
I warlocks who band together increases,
Telltale signs allow travelers and hag

hunters to recognize whether they have
stumbled onto the dwelling place of a
hag covey. First, near every hag covey
is a clearing strewn with the bones of
dozens or hundreds of humanoids, the
remains of countless hag meals.
Although this clearing need not
necessarily be adjacent to the glade
where the covey lives, it is a certainty

P Dunqeon Master can use the following
table-to determine the nature of the
U Hag Coveys prisoner.

When hags join together in a covey, Hag PTisonersT&le

they keep their individual minions. Id100 Result
Therefore, when generating a covey, 01-05 No prisoner
the Dungeon Master should roll 'on the 06-09 Dead prisoner
appropriate tables in the previous Dead prisoner, now a wight
chapt<erand add the results into a 10
single formidable force of guardians. If 1145 Zero-level, human female,
the lis,t of minions ends up being an 46-60 helpless and afraid
incompatible one-if two or more races
are selected that are enemies of each 61-66 1st-6th-level fighter, driven
other, or if there is another logic insane by torture; might
problem with the creatures being at the 67-70 attack, might do nothing

same place and working together-the 71-90 1st-6th-level attractive female
Dungeon Master can remove one kind thief; will rob party, despite
of creature, assume one group ik 91-00 her gratitude
traitorous to the hags (the creatures 7th-10th-level cleric, whose
are willing to help the party to get rid church rewards the party for
of their enemies and hag enslavers), or the rescue
just assume that the stronger creature
type has sufficiently dominated the Polyrnorphed hag minion
lesser one in order for them to function wearing a hag eye (see later
a s one unit. for hag eye information); the
minion appears to be an
As Van Richten mentioned, hag attractive human female
coveys frequently keep prisoners in
earth,en pits near their lair. Particularly Zero-level human couple,
powerful or dangerous prisoners are female and male, terrified and
sometimes kept in a forcecage. The helpless

that it is nearby. Hags never bury their substantial amount of time in evil-
victims' remains, leaving them exposed natured spell research.
to fate and the elements both as an act
of blasphemy and so that they may Coveys focus much of their attention
have a ready supply of bones for use in on wizard magic, but many mages
powerful necromantic magic. scoffat the quality of hag spellbooks.
Fiori ridiculed the spellbook we
Second, every hag covey will have recovered from the lair of a covey in
one or more pits within which they keep Valachan that we confronted and
their prisoners. While goblyns and other destroyed. However, when she found a
humanoids may keep prisoners in pits wizard adaptation of a priest spell-a
a s well, those pits are rarely as heavily spell the hags referred to as cause fight
guarded as those found near covey w o u n d s h e r scoffing became sub-
lairs. More on the surroundings of hag dued, and the hunger for magic that all
coveys is given in Chapter Five. wizards know took hold in her.

COY037 Spells Apparently, Fiori found a number of
innovations within the spellbook, spells
Least vile among the activities that a she said that she would have thought
covey undertakes is spell research. In impossible if she was not looking at
the claws of hags, magic is only used them. She was particularly fascinated by
for twisted and evil purposes. As the way the hags seemed to constantly
solitary hags devote much of their time improve the spells they researched. After
to devising traps for unsuspecting studying the spellbook for a few days,
she declared that, despite the apparent
GI victims, hag coveys likewise spend a
m 9absence of any organizing principle in the

... . - ..- __ "

_

spellbook or to the spells themselves, she incantations that hags refer to as "covey

was looking at a magical system superior rituals." Semine and Marena both stated

to the one her own people used. Like all that covey rituals are hardly ever

Sithicans, Fiori is an extremely proud employed in combat, nor are most of

(some might say arrogant) woman, so them even suitable for such use. Instead,

the hags' magical system must be truly they are one of the primary tools used

remarkable. Fiori stated that she by hags while weaving their wicked plots

recognized many of the spells described against nearby settlements. A common

in tkLh.Lo. spellbook as reinventions or ploy is to use covey rituals to either

I independent creations of magic widely force or trick victims into performing

availatile to sorcerers in her homeland. If heinous acts that usually result in

she ha d not seen the evil deeds done by leading more victims into their web of

the co\ley with her own eyes, I suspect evil and deception. Some of these

that she would have felt regret over victims are used to further the hags'

having slain them, as I later heard her quest to spread chaos and destruction,

commi?nt that one or more of the hags while other victims are devoured. Any

4 musth,ave been a magical genius. creature who resists the covey is

immediately devoured alive.

Cove Covey rituals have their origins in the
same hazy past that gave birth to the

Covey spellbooks are primarily devoted hag races. Semine said that the hag who
taught her during the Change told her of
-to the recording of powerful magical
Hag (lovey Spellbooks considering the number of spells
Cove.q spellbooks are a collection of indicated to be the ones found in the

notes and bizarre formulas. It is covey spellbook, excluding covey

extrernely rare for any of the spells rituals. Any priest spells indicated are

reconJed in them to resemble the treated as wizard spells that. are two
neatl)r codified format in t:ypical wizard levels above that listed in the Plager's

spellt)oaks; even bardic spellbooks Handbook or other sources. (For

aPPe<3r neat and orderly by compari- example, cause fight wounds is a 3rd-
son Iilthough coveys could probably level wizard spell if it is found in a covey

draw on spellbooks seized from wizards spellbook.) In addition, bizarre variants

they Inurder, they rarely do, with the of established spells are often in their

excep)tion of hags who were trained as repertoire, such as a magic missile spell

wizar<Is before the Change. Coveys that causes a large bee to materialize

never possess more than one covey and sting the target of the spell.
spellt)oak each, although they may, of To preserve game balance and the

course, have seized spellbooks from separation of classes, priest spells

chara cters they slew, or one of the hags found translated into wizard spells in

may Istill be a spellcaster .from her days covey spellbooks cannot be used by

befori? t h e Change. hero wizards except in rare

Covey Spells circumstances and for limited times.
A COTiey spellbook may contain (1 in 6 Though curative spells are properiy in
cham:e) variants on wizard or priest the realm of clerical magic, a wizard
spellsi researched by the covey. If the spell that somewhat duplicates a
spelltlook does not contain wizard curative spell (such as neutralize
poison) might be usable but once with
spellsi, it has the covey's rituals (see a large amount of alchemical
later) described within its pages. equipment, effort, and expense.

If EI covey spellbook contains Each covey member can memorize

nonccwey ritual spells, the Dungeon one of the spells in the covey spellbook
Mastf:r should roll on Table 90 (Scrolls) per day. The spell is treated as if it is
in the! DUIYGEOMNASTERGuide,

- -Haa Cove*v Rituals To determine which rituals a haq
covey knows, the Dungeon Master-
&s mentioned by Van Richten (and can use either the default list in the
Aetailed in the MONSTROUSMANUAL MONSTROUSMANUALor roll once on the
tome), hag coveys can perform rituals Hag Covey Ritual Table that follows.
!hat cause effectssimilar to high-level Naturally, if the Dungeon Master
,vizard spells. The time it takes to already has specific activities in mind
perform these rituals is equal to the that the covey will undertake, then
casting time of the equivalent wizard the rituals to which the covey has
spell. The covey must also possess the access should be defined. (For
ieeded components mentioned, with example, the Dungeon Master may
t,he additional requirement that all decide that a covey has access to a
three hags must be within 10 feet of handful of priest spells as well a s
me another and conscious. (One or wizard spells, so that the hags are
more of them can be paralyzed, able to perform specific acts.) We
5linded, or otherwise disabled, but a s recommend one rule of thumb: No
long a s they are all conscious and at covey should have access to more
least one hag is able to perform any than nine such rituals.
verbal and somatic components to the
ritual, it can be performed.) Orice the Hag b Y 0 Y R W T&b
ritual has been started, all three hags
ldlOO Ritual List
must be disabled in order to stop the Curse, animate dead,
spell effect from taking hold. Each 1 telekinesis, control weather,
covey ritual can be used once per day. 2 death fog, maze, forcecage
They take effect a s though cast by a 3
9th-level wizard. 4 Polymorph other,
5 reincarnation, dream, veil,
A'ithough the MONSTROUSMAIVUAL 6
tome lists a selection of spells t.hat hag forcecage, mind blank, sink
rituals mimic, that list is not complete. Curse, polymorph other,
Differentcoveys perform different animate dead, dream, mass
rituals, depending on what research charm, ueil, forcecage
they have undertaken. The schemes
hatched by the covey and the strategies False uision, control weather,
useci in executing them are frequently uision, forcecage, mass
charm, mind blank
determined by the rituals the covey
possesses. Therefore, the types of Curse, animate dead, conjure
rituals a covey can cast are important elemental, ueil, forcecage,
because they determine to a large maze, mind blank
extent how the hags relate to the story
line of a given adventure or campaign. Polymorph other, animate
dead, false uision, dream, ueil
maze, forcecage

the powers of coveys, but the rituals detailed notes regarding observations of
themselves would have to be discovered effects the ritual has and quickly jotted
through experimentation performed by a notes on how the ritual is performed.
covey, Though Semine had never joined with the other spells, covey rituals
a covey and thus had never cast a appear to be group projects that the
covey ritual, she saw their effects, as did hags constantly modify and test. Fiori
I when my comrades and I stood against was not a s impressed with them a s she
the Valachan covev. Fiori was also verv was with the variations on standard
generous with her insights a s she common spells, but she did find them to
studied the covey spellbook we seized. be interesting versions of powerful magic
that she had rarely seen practiced.
The descriptions of covey rituals vary
greatly in length, ranging anywhere from Covey rituals are not, however, usable
a brief paragraph to several pages of by those who, like Fiori, cast traditional

magic spells. Nor can witches and missions and to be sure of receiving
warlocks use them. Although Fiori was accurate information so long as the
able to draw parallels between the covey minion bearing the hag eye reaches the
rituals and standard magic, she was location of interest to the hag.
unable to successfully create any spell
effects with the rituals. This supports All that is known about the creation
Marena’s notion that hags in a covey of a hag eye is that the ritual requires a
form spiritual bonds similar to those gemstone, worth no less than 10 gp.
between members of covens. However, and the left eye of a humanoid being.
there is also evidence to indicate that The rest of the method of their creation
hag coveys are not similar at all to witch remains an unknown, but the item
covens; hags seem to retain some of clearly yields an effect similar to that of
their covey abilities even after a covey a wizard’s crystal ball or scrying pool.
By focusing their will, the hags who
has lost members or otherwise been
disbanded. Nonetheless, it is clear both created the hag eye can view the area
around the eye by gazing into a
from many field and battle observations cauldron filled with liquid.
that covey rituals can be performed only
if all three covey members are present Hag eyes appear to be gems of fairly
and acting in concert. low value, rarely appraised for more than
10-20 gp. They are usually set in medal-
One of the most remarkable and lions or brooches of steel, impure silver,
disturbing benefits that hags gain from or bronze-a cheap metal that is appro-
banding together in a covey is the ability priate to the seeming value of the gem,
to create magical devices known as hag making the hag eyes inconspicuous.
eyes. These are created by magical
rituals that are a closely guarded secret. While hags typically outfit their minions
Semine refused to reveal any details on with hag eyes, they might also, while
hag eyes, so I had to rely on my own cloaked in illusions, give hag eyes to
experience and the expertise of the their unsuspecting enemies so coveys
members of the Hospice of the Healing
Hands. A hag eye permits the covey will know their every move.
members to view the surroundings of its The stalwart band that joined me in a
bearer, no matter where the bearer of
battle against a greenhag-annis covey in
f 3 the device is. A hag eye also allows the northern Valachan learned how
covey to dispatch its minions on spying dangerous hag eyes can be. A young
warrior, Randall by name, inadvertently
allowed the covey to know our every
move by accepting a gift from someone

who he believed was in love with him,
but who was actually a hag in disguise. I
can hardly fault the young man or any
of my companions for our oversight.
After all, most magical items require
components of the finest quality, yet the
brooch that contains a hag eye will often
barely seem worth stealing to a thief,
and the brooch in question was not

unlike others young lovers give as gifts.
Hag eyes radiate magic and even

possess a curious semblance of life.
Fiori speculated that the covey transfers
a portion of its own life force into the
gemstone as the hags enchant the

eyeball. According to Fiori, the hag eye
is then linked to the covey through the
same Negative Material Plane energy
that permits some vampires to establish

c

.-

psychic and physical links with those brooch she had given him to the '
they have fed on. ground, then smashed it with his sword.
One of the greenhags shrieked as blood
Fiori's theory has its origin in a most suddenly burst forth from her eyes while
curious event that unfolded as we faced the monster that had been taunting
the Valachan covey in final battle. One Randall staggered back as if struck by a
of the hags attempted to taunt young mighty blow. Essentially, an attack on a
Randall by revealing herself to be his hag eye that results in its destruction is
beloved. In a fit of rage, he threw the
valuable informationto a hag
- covey-information might get friends
~~ and loved ones killed, or even make the
hag covey privy to the strategies
Hag Eyes commonly employed by the heroes.
While detect magic will indeed reveal a This will make any battles against the
hag eye as magical, it is not until it is hags far more difficult,since they will be
viewed using true seeing that it is prepared for whatever tricks the heroes
revealed a s a scrying device. Detect rely on, having had a close-up look at
magic yields an inconclusive result their activities, thanks to the hag eye.
stating the item seems to be fluctuating
between Necromantic and Divination The followingtable and descriptions
magic. True seeing reveals a ghostly allow Dungeon Masters to determine
image of an eye at the center of the the nature of any hag eyes claimed
gem. The eye seems to gaze at the from their servants. Dungeon Masters
person examining the gem, while the are, of course, welcome to make up
stone itself appears to be some sort of their own unusual additional effectsfor
gelat.inous substance that pulses slightly, hag eyes in their personal campaigns.
like a beating heart. The Dungeon The trick here is to mask the fact that
Master should attempt to describe the the magical item that the party has
true appearance of a hag eye as found or plundered from a fallen foe is
something repulsive and strangely alive. a hag eye, and portray it a s some other
sort of unii
Van Richten is correct in his
%670T&
statement that destroying a hag eye
2d6 Effe
causes a backlash to strike one of the 2-3 No:
4 Dwarf: Wearer has 90%chance
hags in the covey responsible for its
creation. Specifically,the hag who to detect sloping passages and
harvested the eye used in the magical shifting wails
item's creation is the one who is injured,
immediately suffering ldlO points of 5 Elf: Wearer has 90% immunity to
damage. She is also blinded for 24
hours. (Only a heal spell can ellleviate paralyzation attacks
the blindness before that time.) Further, 6-7 No special effects
any other of the hags who were gazing 8 Halfling:Wearer has 90% chance
through t h e eye at the time of its
destruction must roll a saving throw vs. to spot secret doors when
spell or likewise suffer ld1O points of actively searching
damage. They are not struck blind. 9 Medusa: Wearer has 90%
immunity to petrification attacks
,411 hag eyes function a s described by 10 Minotaur: Wearer has 90%
Van Richten and in the MONSTROUS immunity to maze and
MAriu.u tome, but a few have additional misdirecfion spells
magical effects that are derived from 11 Nereid Wearer has 90%
the raw materials (the eye plucked from immunity to contact poisons
a living being). These side effcxts may 12 Vampire: Wearer has 90%
insure that characters who claim such a immunity to ESP and all charm
piece of jewelry may not recognize it for effects
the insidious spying device that it is.
While the bearer enjoys whatever benefit
the item grants, the bearer also gives

-. SECrIOP.T, 'TrE TIIRD: suitable for transformation by scent,
although I am certain there is some
more devastatinq than most direct form of magic involved as well.
attacks will everbe, particularly against
creatures such as greenhags. Semine later added that using these
rituals is the preferred way to replace a
After Randall destroyed the hag eye covey member should one die or decide
that had been given to him as a gift, to leave the covey. Spawning rituals are
even I was able to bring down one of the only rituals that individual hags can
the greenhags single-handedly. use if apart from a covey. However,
Admittedly, she was stumbling around, according to Semine, the ritual never
blind and shrieking, as blood flowed works unless the hag has been part of a
from her wounded eyes. As I have said covey at some point: something
many times, when fighting creatures of unknown and mysterious continues to
darkness one must take advantage of be part of a hag's makeup even after
any opportunity that presents itself. her covey is gone. Members of the
Healing Hands coven expressed the
After the battle, we found three other opinion that whatever evil forces bless
amulets identical with the one Randall the hags with power when they band
had worn. Apparently, a covey can together in coveys also makes sure that
manufacture any number of hag eyes. individual hags retain the ability to
Safely back in Mordentshire, Fiori studied rebuild a covey, or perhaps even
them, realized they were all indeed fracture a single covey into three. This
magical and, drawing on her findings and theory has some chilling implications.
the information I had collected months
earlier during my stay at the Hospice of Females who are transformed by
Healing Hands, formulated her theory. spawning rituals become slavishly
devoted to the hag who so twisted them,
Sadly, none of the hag eyes remain much like a newly risen vampire is loyal
in our possession. Some of the covey's to the creature who brought the curse of
surviving minions-a group of paka- undeath upon it. Since hags who come
staged a daring raid on my home, into existence through more natural
killing Randall in the process and means are supremely arrogant, a covey
absconding with the hag eyes and a that consists of a single "real" hag and
number of my notebooks and other two that are created through the use of
artifacts from my collection. I consider spawning rituals will be a covey that
those actions a clear indicator of how poses a tremendous threat to all innocent
people unfortunate enough to dwell near
, loyal these cat people are to the annis. it. Such a covey will work toward a single
goal, because it has a clear, undisputed
Undoubtedly,the most obscene ability leader whose decisions and goals are
that a hag covey bestows on its members never called into question. Hags that
is a way to create more members of the come into being through the spawning
foul hag races. According to Semine, ritual remain under the control of their
spawning rituals are among those most creator until the creator is slain. At that
commonly shared by older hags with time, they become their own masters and
hags who are completing the Change, as carry out their own evil schemes.
well as with those whom the older hags
,I>,,,.,.:-t. LL". 5I,ave join a covey. "Spawning While most covey rituals are the
rituals are a way to fulfill the need to have same regardless of which hag performs
offspringwithout exposing ourselves to them, according to Semine, the ritual to
the incorivenience of pregnancy," said transform a maiden into a hag varies
Semine. according to the type of hag. The one
common denominator between the ritual
Once a hag joins a covey, she can is that the females they use are always
transforrn females of humanoid races ones of great beauty. Any woman would
into mature hags, bringing the Change be suitable, but that the hags' great
to them through magical means. They

f a o be able to identify females
appear t'

hatred of all beautiful things causes heart and of the p~ro.per racial stock. This
them to target only attractive females. is not surprising, I suppose, considering
the limited time frame they have in
An annis performs the spawning ritual which to perform their spawning rituals.
on the night of the new moon, when she However, according to Semine, sea hags
can transform a purehearted female of typically remain in the area where they
any race into an annis. The annis picks performed the spawning ritual for several
the victim very carefully, using not only months after its completion, sending the
great beauty as a criterion but also newly created hag against her former
selecting women who are widely admired friends and loved ones.
and loved by members of their commu-
nity. A noble young woman who is known As I mentioned earlier, spectral hags
for her generosity and who actively can also perform the spawning ritual.
attempts to help the sick and crippled in They use the ritual that is appropriate to
her city is a prime target for an annis. what sort of hags they were in life, and
they are subject to the same kind of
The greenhag spawning ritual must be restrictions as their living counterparts. A
performed on any night during which the living hag, not a spectral one, is the result.
moon is full. However, the greenhag ritual
can transform only elf women. Since Suitable candidates for the
elves are found in large numbers only in spawning ritual are female characters
Sithicus and eastern Darkon, greenhags of good alignment. Any hag that is a
are also more common in those domains. member of a covey can tell whether
Like the annis, the greenhag selects any female she meets fits into this
women who are well loved in their category. This ability is considered
communities, so that they can spread Divination magic, so characters
sorrow while gaining a minion. As readers protected from this kind of magic are
may know, elves are fiercely protective of protected from the hag ability a s well.
their own kind, so greenhags may well
find themselves in a great deal of trouble When a victim is subjected to the
after abducting their victims. spawning ritual, she must make a
saving throw vs. polymorph with a -2
Sea hags perform their spawning penalty. If the save is successful,the
ritual using female halflings, gnomes, or hag's ritual fails. The victim is not safe
dwarves. When the moon slips into full yet, however, a s the angry hags
nighttime eclipse, the sea hags hold invariably try to slay and devour her. A
their foul rituals and condemn the poor successful transformation causes the
captives to an existence ofhorror and victim to become an average hag of
misery. Of the three rituals, the sea the same type that performed the
hag's is clearly the most difficultto per- spawning ritual. She ages according to
form. Halflings, gnomes, and dwarves the standard rules presented in the
are even more rare than elves-being previous chapter, shifts to the
found in few places outside Darkon- alignment of the appropriate hag type,
and their communities are rarely located and is considered to be under the effect
in the areas where sea hags make their of a permanent charm person spell that
homes. The scarcity of needed victims is treated a s if cast by her "creator."
near the sea hag's habitats, and the fact (The transformed woman must make a
that a lunar eclipse occurs only once saving throw against the charm only if
every five or six years, means that sea the master hag orders her into a clearly
hags only rarely perform their spawning dangerous situation, as described in the
ritual. Of course, when a lunar eclipse description of charm person.)
draws near, there is a good chance that
sea hags will travel inland to demihu- The spawning ritual cannot be
man communities in search of victims. undone by any magic other than a
wish spell. Even if changed back, the
Unlike their counterparts. sea hags victim retains her evil alignment until
are not concerned about the beauty of a second wish spell is used.

3 their victims, only that they are pure of 9a7

LWatho af h q t h had her daire, for witches oftenjet what fhey want. . . .

c
--George MacDonald

"The Romance of Photogen a n d Nycteris"

aking up arms against I devote the majority of this text to a
hags brings with it group of women and men who call
challenges unlike any themselves witches and warlocks, and
other. Hags are dangerous, who are mostly associated with the
fearsome, and intelligent Church of Hala. They are perhaps the
more numerous of these rarely seen
lligent and cunning a s "hedge magicians." If approached
vampires and far more powerful than properly, they might prove to be
most werebeasts. Still, death at the valuable allies in your struggle against
claws of hags is not the greatest danger the forces of darkness. They have been
a hunter can face. No, the greatest waging the same struggle for a long
danger is for the hunter to mistake other time and have often kept records that
practitioners of magic for hags, and slay date back generations. This group is
innocent victims. A hunter might also particularly relevant in any struggle
attack innocent outcasts who simply do against hags, as witches and warlocks
not fit in with their communities. Unlike are singularly devoted to sweeping those
vampires and werebeasts, hags are very foul creatures from the face of the earth.
adept at hiding among us, because in
most cases they grew up among us. A frequent subject of study for me is @
Their magical corruption can be as that of the cultures that exist hidden in
subtle a s each hag chooses it to be. our midst, Some are dangerous, such
a s the network of werewolves who
It is human nature to fear that which procure victims for one another from
we do not understand. It is also human Verbrek to Hazlan, while others work
nature to assume that what we fear is toward furthering the cause of good
evil. When we discover that wherever they can, such a s the band of
practitioners of strange magic reside warriors known a s the Knights of the
among us, we invariably assume that Shadows. A variety of other societies
they are agents of destructive forces exist in the middle ground between
that are spreading corruption in our these two, blending in more or less
midst. While I would be the last to effectively with those who live around
encourage anyone to reduce their them. Your best friend might lead a
vigilance, I would ask that such secret life that you could not imagine
vigilance be total, that hag hunters take even in your wildest dreams, and the
it on themselves to verify that their activities he undertakes might be fair or
victims are indeed guilty of wickedness. foul, Only those who are part of his
secret society will ever know the truth.
In this chapter, 1 impart the
knowledge I have of several minor Few peoples who populate the
groups of magic-wielders that exist domains of our land, however, have
among us. Read carefully and weigh sparked greater fascination in me than
this material in your mind before you the witches and warlocks of the Church
assume you have uncovered a hag or a of Hala. Unlike so many of the hidden
hag covey. Hags often attempt to pass power groups that exist in the land, the
themselves offas something they are only agenda held by these people is to
not, and they delight in framing others continue their existence and to further
their magical crafts and religious faith.
f 3' as monsters. Many of them also share a desire to

. ~ ".. . ,.. . .- . . _ ~ i

advance the cause of good where nine qods saw the Chaos, and theg
possible. This is not to say that they are
all righteous and upstanding folk, as resolied to make the World,a place
even they will admit that there are those
among their ranks who are greedy, where those born of flesh would be lee
to their own deuices.
selfish, larcenous, or even evil to the
core. As a whole, though, they are more The nine gods took the Chaos and
etchedpatterns into it. They linked the
likely to be devoted to the same ideals patterns into the Weaue. Upon the
as a person who would take up arms Weaue, the gods built the World. The
against vampires, werebeasts, and other gods then found those born offlesh.and
children of the night. Trusting others in they placed them into the World.
the struggle against evil is always a risk,
but from what I have learned and Their work done, the gods withdrew
experienced, approaching the Church of from the World,belieuing it to be a place
Hala in the hopes of finding allies or where those born offlesh would
information is less risky than many achieue both the greatest and darkest
deeds possible. It would be a World
other courses of action. shaped by the actions of those born of
flesh, and the gods would interfereonly
M* and L%w+ by granting magical powers to their
most loyal seruants and those who gaue
As with virtually every other people in them worship.
existence, the roots of the witches and
warlocks are lost in the mists of time But one of the Nine Gods, she who is
and myth. Different myths are present named Hala, knew more needed to be
in the archives at the Hospice of done. Alone among the gods, she felt the
Healing Hands, and when I visited pain and suffering ofthe mortals that
another center of witch activity-the had been created to populate the World,
Sisters of Grace Hospice in Falkovnia-I and she could not stand idly bg. The
found yet another myth describing the meager powers that the gods agreed to
origins of witches and warlocks. The grant to their most loyal seruants and
collection of material at the Sisters of those who gaue them worship were not
Grace Hospice was nowhere near as sufficient in Hala's mind.
impressive as that at Healing Hands.
Howeuer; the othergods would not
There is a common theme in these permit any interference.The gods had
legends, speaking of gods that create a agreed that beings born of flesh were
the ones who were to shape the course
world, then withdraw, not caring to of the World. The gods agreed that they
involve themselves directly in the lives would minimize their involvement. Hala
of mortals for one reason or another. claimed that none of them had foreseen
The exception is Hala, the goddess of what the World would become if those
healing that most witches and warlocks born offleshwere left to their own
worship, and it is from her that witches deuices. She wanted to do more, so she
and warlock claim to get their powers. took matters into her own hand and
betrayed her promise to her fellow gods.
The most basic version of the
creation myth and origin of the magical Hala reentered the World.She
abilities of witches and warlocks is walked its hills and searched its
found in Tales ofthe Ages, a text widely uillages. She searched for men and
used as a source of inspiration for high- women who shared her desire to do
ranking priests of Hala and all witches more, who wanted to ease the pain and
and warlocks.
sufferingof the mortals who had been
In the beginning there was Chaos, a created to populate the World.
swirlinggray mass without form and
Some of those born offleshbecame
9 with no more substance than air. The her first priests, and to those she gaue
the gifts permitted b y the other gods.
From the ranks of her priests, she chose
the Thirteen, her most devoted priests

239

ijEC UOb?, PIiE; TFURR: "-.' ' -

and priestesses, those who felt the pain eand suffering in the land. They believe
and suffering of the mortals most
strongly and who wanted to ease it. To they have been given access to the
most basic elements of creation, and
these Thirteen, seuen women and six with that power comes a responsibility
to live up to the trust the goddess has
men, she revealed the Weaue and placed in them.
bound them to it. She granted them
abilities like those of the gods. She gaue "We are not priests, and we are not
them the ability to sense the Weaue and interested in converting others to our
the patterns the gods etched in Chaos ways," Marena told me. "The church
when they created the World. She can certainly make the world a better
taught them how to use the Weaue to place if only everyone would lead their
further her goals and desires. Those lives as Hala suggests. Yet we do not
born of flesh could not manipulate the force anything on anyone, except
Weaue as effectiuely as the gods did, destruction on beings who are
irredeemably evil."
and the limitations of the flesh
The history of witches and warlocks
determined how the Weaue would bend is one of secrecy. As mentioned
to their will. The gods had created previously, they exist hidden among us,
males and females to be different, so indistinguishable from our other
their abilities to manipulate the Weaue neighbors. What histories they claim as
were different as well. their own are the chronicles of their
families and those of the covens.
The text goes on to describe how Hala Records of the battles that covens and
taught the first thirteen witches and witch and warlock lineages have waged
warlocks to band together in covens to against hags and dark sorcerers-some
neutralize the differences between the of the latter of whom also call
sexes in drawing on the Weave, and
how to use additional magical powers themselves witches and warlocks, but
that are not available to individual should not be mistaken for those I
warlocks and witches. I discuss covens discuss in this section-are part of the
and their makeup in the next chapter. unique history of their secret society.
True, the history of whatever domain
As for the magical abilities that witches or warlocks call home is also
witches and warlocks have been granted their history. They are very much part of
by Hala, it was explained to me that the society around them, just as virtually
witches primarily cast spells that most all hospices of Hala are, and they do not
closely resemble priests' magic, while wish to be apart from their communities.
warlocks cast spells that are similar to
those cast by wizards. Both witches and "That's the primary reason we keep
warlocks claim that it is the indisputable our talents secret from all but our own
biological difference in the sexes that kind," Marena told me. "Too many
causes the Weave to manifest itself people worship those with power, or at
differently when drawn upon. (This does least treat them differently or attempt to
not explain why both men and women manipulate them. We do not wish to be
can become normal mages or clerics, of anyone's pawns, and we do not wish to
course.) One warlock even went so far be treated any differently from anyone
as stating that he and his wife, who was else of our station. So, with the
a witch, cannot even see the same exception of those who choose to serve
patterns in the Weave when they are Hala directly, we make no effort to set
searching for spells. These differences ourselves apart."
are overcome once several witches or
warlocks band together in covens. Further, Marena added, by keeping a
low profile, witches and warlocks can
The most fundamental belief of more easily help those they consider to
witches and warlocks is that they are be in need. Warlocks and witches are
charged by Hala herself to ease pain often at the forefront of movements to

@fight oppression or ease the suffering of

‘I people. Like the goddess most of them their confidence and sanctioned my
honor, the majority of warlocks and inclusion of a brief overview of them in
witches put helping others as their this volume. They are distrusted by
highest priority. To set themselves apart other churches in the domains, and
from society is wrongful and to be when discovered by independent
avoided. crusaders against evil-such as many of
you reading these very words-they are
As could be expected of a group that often mistaken for sinister forces.
exists hidden and spread out among us, Sometimes they are engaging in sinister
there is virtually no universal culture acts-as I have said, there are evil men
among the witches and warlocks. Their and women among their ranks-but
ranks are as diverse as the citizenry of more often than not, they are
the domains of our world. They do not upstanding individuals. (On speaking
even always agree on how to properly with Marena, I was surprised to look
honor their deity Hala. back and recognize that on four
separate occasions where I thought I
One trait shared by all witches and was being aided by a priest, I was
warlocks, however, is a deep, abiding actually being aided by a witch.)
love of privacy. Perhaps this is also a Sometimes, a village wise woman with
reason for their secrecy, as once
someone has been recognized as es may indeed be a hag
special there is very little in that in disguise, but sometimes she may be
person‘s life that can remain private. a witch who is merely doing her best to
Certainly, I can attest to the fact that my advance the will of her goddess and to
meager fame has brought me more serve her community.
trouble than joy, and I often wonder if I
should have published my works under in this section are not common. There
an assumed name! Incurring the wrath is a 2% chance that a village “wise
of countless creatures-some of them woman” or “sage” is actually a witch
powerful rulers of domains in our land- or warlock, if the Dungeon Master is
has forced me to turn my home into a inclined to determine such things
fortress. If witches and warlocks were to
operate openly, they too would likely be The bond between witches and
besieged by those who believed their warlocks is their unique magical talents,
powers were evil, by those who do not their supposed gifts from Hala. As
understand them and wish to question Marena revealed some of her secrets to
them, or by those who want their help. me, I shared a few of them with the
mage Fiori. She scoffed at the secrecy
Another universal trait among under which warlocks and witches
witches and warlocks is a love of operated, claiming that they were
knowledge. Some witch covens devote merely another stripe of wizards
most of their activities to recording and masking their activities in mystical
storing knowledge, as Marena’s coven jargon to baffle the uninitiated. The
does, while others seek out and gather cynical elf commented that I was falling
magical artifacts of all sorts. They are a victim to their posturing,just as the
highly scholarly and inquisitive people, people in her homeland believe the
and this is why they can be valuable Order of High Sorcery is sanctioned by
allies of those who would battle the gods themselves.
darkness. The light of knowledge is our
primary weapon. “Anyone can learn magic if she puts
her mind to it,” Fiori sniffed. “1’11 wager
The secrecy under which witches and that these people are no different. They
warlocks operate is also a danger to
them, which Marena came to recognize

.3c and is in part why she took me into

c

‘divine sanction’ claptrap, but that’s all.” Some might think that this reticence
Fiori also disputed Marena’s claim
would bolster Fiori’s claim that the
that witches and warlocks were deeply secrecy is just to add mysticism to the
private individuals who did not advertise efforts of witches and warlocks.
their presence. “What good is a magical Nonetheless, there is little doubt in my
society if you do not recruit members? mind that despite the fact that the spells
Fiori asked. “Unless they cannibalize the cast by witches bear similarities to
ranks of their own church’s clergy, how priests’ magic, and those cast by
do they keep their organization going? warlocks bear similarities to wizards’
My good doctor, they may have helped magic, witches and warlocks wield a
us against the hags, but they’ve sold type of magic that is different from
you a false bill of goods in the process!” either two. Unsurprisingly,the witches
and warlocks themselves claim that
I thought about Fiori’s words, and I put their magic resembles priest and wizard
her question to Marena and other people magic because at the most fundamental
at the hospice. The reply was surprising; level, all magic comes from the same
to be honest, I am not entirely sure that I source: the power of creation as
believe it. Apparently, witches and embodied by the Weave.
warlocks can detect one another when
they are within close proximity,without Aside from the claimed hereditary
using their normal five senses. The requirement, two physical components
connection they share with the Weave must be present in order for a witch or
supposedly resonates in such a way that warlock to practice magic.
they can “hear,” “see,” or “feel” it in the
other person. It is in this way that they The first is some sort of object that
recognize each other-and even
recognize someone who has the potential holds personal significance to the caster,
to be a witch or warlock but who is an item that will be used to channel the
unaware of it. According to Marena, the power of the Weave and transform it into
ability to draw on the Weave for magical spell effects. Marena characterized this
power is inherited, and all witches and
warlocks in the land are descended from item as an extension of body and soul
the original thirteen chosen by Hala. that was not as frail as either. Reportedly,

witches and warlocks have to recognize this item is created through solemn
rituals, and some ofthe witch’s or
each other is described in the DUNGEON warlock‘s life force is infused in it.

MASTERAppendix, as part of the rules The second component is the
for hero witches and warlocks. spellbook. As with wizards, the spells of
a witch or warlock are arrived at
Spsllcasfing and tfiswwe through research and study. The
process is very different, however, and
Although witches and warlocks are born the results are unlike anything that a
with magical potential, it takes specific wizard would recognize as a spell.
training for that potential to be realized. Fiori’s reaction upon being permitted to
Marena and the others I spoke with at the gaze into Marena’s spellbook was “My,
hospice, as well as those witches I sought what pretty pictures you’ve drawn.”
out in Falkovnia, refused to provide Fiori also noted that there was no
details on the training of potential witches residual magic in the spellbooks of
and warlocks. They confided that they witches and warlocks as there is in
taught certain meditation techniques; those spellbooks of wizards. Fiori then
claimed that witches are but priests who
fs, what those techniques are is one secret have adopted the trappings of wizards.

, none would share. My observations lead me to believe
there is far more to witches and warlocks
than that. One of the rituals I was
permitted to see was the method through
which witches and warlocks gain their

Gspells. They do so by entering a trance

..., ... .

and gazing on the Weave with their A favorite topic in many temples in our *
“mind’s eye,” hoping to locate and realm is the lure of power. Another is
record a pattern of magical force that the existence of hidden, corrupting
lets them create a particular magical influences. Believers can find protection
effect. As they do so, they scribe the through faithful devotion to the proper
magical pattern in sand or another gods and their churches. It should be
equally manipulable material. The caster clear then that witches and warlocks are
must then perform experiments to verify at risk of being obvious targets of
that the pattern found is indeed the spell priests of all stripes, even, at times, the
sought. Apparently, gazing on the Weave Church of Hala itself.
in this fashion is a hit-or-miss affair.
Once the witch or warlock has deter- In fact,one of the reasons that Marena
mined that the pattern recorded is a gave for her desire to draw back the
workable spell-ven if it is not the spell curtain from her kind at this date, and for
initially sought-the pattern is recorded choosing me as the medium through
in the spellbook in a permanent fashion, which she could communicate the facts
looking like a randomly drawn collection about her people, was because there has
of colors and lines. The witch or warlock been increasing pressure from the other
then memorizes the spell from the book churches of the land on the Church of
as a wizard would, though without the Hala and witches and warlocks alike.
use of words.
“The Great Upheaval struck terror in
Clearly, on the surface, the witch and the hearts of many,” she said, “and they
warlock appear to be crosses between a are looking for scapegoats. Some
priest and a wizard. The spell focus is priests of Hala have received visions
similar in function to a priest’s holy from the goddess that even darker
symbol, while the spellbook is like that of times are ahead for all of the people of
a wizard. They memorize their spells as the world. It is time for all of us to join
do wizards, but they cannot cast spells together to resist such danger, and I am
without their spell foci. A spell focus is taking the first step.”
the only required material component for
the majority of witch and warlock spells. As I have found witches and warlocks
to be valuable allies, I want to dispel
Although most witches and warlocks any misconceptions and ill will directed
I met were very devoted to Hala, none toward them that I can. Therefore, I now
were able to wield the full powers of a
priest or priestess. In fact, it appears -present witches and warlocks as they
that they practice their unique magical
abilities to the exclusion of other forms are Derceived throuah the eves of the
of magic. One warlock 1 spoke to said various clergymen of the land. As I
that there was no need to learn other
forms of magic, and that all the power
a witch or warlock needs can be
obtained by joining a coven. Whether
they can master other forms of magic
is unclear. Marena said that she
believed they could not, but she also
admitted that she was not aware of any
witch or warlocks who had felt the
inclination to try.

defined and detailed in the DUNGEON
MASTERAppendix of this section. They
cannot cast any magic other than

3 their own peculiar sort.

w

i

have mentioned in other works, they are devotion to their gods and their church.

often powerful and valuable allies in the When dealing with a shadowy group

struggle against evil, but their counsel is like witches and warlocks, it is

one that is invariable colored by their important to recognize that fact.

Churches in Van Richten‘s World the sick, to empower the weak and
In the RAVENLOFTsetting of the downtrodden, and to help those in need.
Demiplane of Dread, three major These goals are primarjly pursued
religions exist: the Church of Hala, the through the hospices that can be found
Church of Ezra, and the Church of Bane. in virtually every domain. The Church of
All three are monotheistic in orientation, Hala does not actively proselytize its
although their tenets acknowledge the religion, and the hospices are always
existence of other gods and powers. The
open to anyone in need. If someone
three churches are not uniform across expresses an interest in learning more
about Hala. priests are always happy to
the domains, but instead feature dogma talk about their goddess, but they do not
and beliefs that vary greatly from region do so uninvited. Generally speaking, the
to region. For example, in some areas, Church of Hala is of neutral good
the Church of Ezra preaches that Hala alignment.
and Bane are merely differentnames or
aspects of Ezra, while in ot.her places a Priestesses of Hala tend to wear
priest might label Hala and Bane a s false
simple robes and veils, while priests
or inferiorgods. wear robes with large hoods. The color
Another unusual facet of religions in of the robes vary depending on the
order, but they are mostly white or
t h e Demiplane of Dread setting is that powder blue. Priests do not typically
they are not quite so focused on carry weapons, although they might or
alignment as is typical of religions in rare occasions if part of an adventurinc
other ADED worlds. The three major party, When they do, they are limited
churches encompass a wide range of to using blunt weapons.
alignments, from lawful good to
The Church of Ezra: Followers should
chaotic evil, under each umbrella of
faith. This is why churches of the same emulate the example set by Ezra before
her ascension to godhood by combating
faith might have widely differing beliefs corruption and destructive forces
from place to place. Nonetheless, each wherever they may be found. Of course,
church has certain basic beliefs that the definitionof “corruption”is in the
are adhered to, regardless o fregional eye of the beholder. The Church of Ezra
differences. shares with Hala a desire to help the
sick and injured, but attention is
All three faiths have standard ADGD typically Focused on those devoted to
game clerics in their ranks, with Bane the faith of Ezra, with other individuals

and Ezra also featuring priests unique taking second place.
to their faiths. These are described in Priests of Ezra actively proselytize
Domains ofDread, with Ezra’s
anchorites receiving the greatest their faith at almost every opportunity,
attempting constantly to win converts.
amount of detail (see Chapter Five and However, they rarely insist that those
Appendix Three). Hala also has a who convert to the worship of Ezra
brand of “specialty priests,” but these swear off honoring the gods they
are warlocks and witches, which are previously worship, although this is no1
never of the priest class proper. true of certain evil sects within the
faith. Ultimately, the Church of Ezra is
Note: If this material is used in a devoted to absorbing all other faiths
and religions into the kind arms of its
campaign setting other than the patron goddess. Generally speaking,
the Church of Ezra is of lawful neutral
Demiplane of Dread, the Dungeon
Master can replace these churches with
suitable counterparts.

The Church of Hala: The most noble
goals in life are to ease the sufferingof

. ...- .-. . ._.. _

." outside the confines of their hospices and ?
monastic orders, and actively oppose
vG any solitary warlock who comes to the L
clergy's attention. Priests of Hala are
or lawful good alignment. More than greatly concerned about rogue warlocks, t
any other major faith in the RAVEN LO^ fearing that the destructive capabilities
setting, Ezra's clergy and adherents given to them by the Weave (or Hala, in
represent all alignments. Priests and the mind of many priests) will cause
priestesses of Ezra favor dark clothing more suffering in the world than it will
of any appropriate sort. ease. According to Marena, several
priests of Hala have cooperated with
The Church of Bane: Banites believe priests of Ezra or Bane in order to see a
that everyone is predestined to a rogue warlock eliminated from an area.
certain lot in life, and those who rule or
otherwise grow powerful do so because Although my opinion is entirely
Bane permits it. Bane punishes those irrelevant in this matter, I find myself in
who would attempt to rise above their agreement with the priests of Hala,
station. The Church of Bane believes although I have to wonder if they should
that Bane is the highest and most not be concerned about solitary witches
powerful of all gods in the world, and as well. Far too often have I seen men
there are many whispered tales that and women who started out good at
Ezra is a concubine of Bane rather than heart become corrupted by their own
a full goddess in her own right. H.da is power because they became enamored
treated either a s a servant of Bane or with what they could do with it. Even
as a false goddess. Banites do not without the ability to practice highly
spread their faith so much as they subtle magic, such people can do great
attempt to drive off all other orgaiiized harm to many innocents before stopped.
religions in the vicinity of their temples.
The Church of Bane is generally of Considering the destructive potential
lawful neutral alignment, although of warlocks-a potential that is not even
strong streaks of lawful evil run through necessarily arrived at through years of
its teachings as well. (Players familiar study and devotion to the arcane art
with the FORCOTE?REALMS.setting forms, so it is power gained without
jhoulcl be aware that the Church ,cf experience or concerted effort-I worry
Bane in the RAVENLOFTsetting differs that an individual warlock would put his
?om tlie one on Toril.) Priests of 13ane desires ahead of anything else and draw
wear red and black robes. on the Weave to fulfill those desires in
the quickest way possible. Such a
Relstionswifhib C MOP Wlieli\ person might cause a great deal of harm
to anyone unfortunate enough to cross
Obviously, relations here are mostly his path. Solitary witches are cause for
good, as the Church of Hala and the concern because they, too, have the
witches and warlocks of our land are ability to use the Weave to bend people
almost entirely synonymous. However, to their will, although they are far more
until recently many low-ranking members likely to do it in a subtle fashion, using
of the priesthood did not understand that their magic to charm and beguile their
the majority of those staffing the faiths way to success. Like the warlock, their
hospices and centers of learning were not powers are not always earned through
priests at all, in the traditional sense. hard work, and therefore solitary witches
While the majority of Hala's clergy is might not have the wisdom to resist the
favorably disposed toward witches and temptation to abuse those powers.
warlocks, as the clergy is granted at least
the same degree of insight into their ways As will become clear in the next
as I was, there are exceptions. chapter, covens can help prevent
warlocks and witches from falling to the
The clergy of the Church of Hala is temptation of pursuing power for its
supportive of warlock and witch covens, own sake. While covens give individual
assuming they are not devoted to

3 furthering evil goals. The priests frown
strongly on solitary witches existing

4 245

a-

i

warlocks and witches more power, they attempted to quell the fears of the Great
also make them part of a whole and Cathedral by giving them insight into the
place their responsibility to that whole truth about witches and warlocks, but so
far they have been unable to set things
foremost in their minds. Priests of Hala right. As is often the case when politics
want witches and warlocks to be and religion mix (for, make no mistake,
possessed with a sense of community the Church of Ezra is one of the most
so that they can effectively further the powerful emerging political forces in our
church's goals through the powers of domains), reaching an understanding is
the Weave-which, as you recall, were
given to them by Hala for the purpose oftentimes very difficult.
of improving the lot of mortals in this It is not all politics, however. In my
home town of Mordentshire, an
tortured world. otherwise reasonable and levelheaded

priest of Ezra followed me back to my
home. He had overheard me discussing

my research into witches and warlocks
and the Church of Hala with my good
friend Daniel Foxgrove, in a pub we all
frequent. He proceeded to warn me that
I had imperiled my mortal soul by just
speaking with witches and warlocks. He
followed up his claims with a number of
half-truthsand distorted legends of how
witches stole babies as they slept and
replaced them with demon-spawn. He
also explained to me how it was
necessary for him to bless me to

guarantee that my mind was not being
affected by dark magic. In the interest of
keeping good relations between myself
and the local clergy, I permitted him to
give me the blessing of his goddess-
there was no harm in accepting it, and
at the time I could not deny the

possibility that my mind had somehow

been subverted by Marena and the other
witches and warlocks at the Hospice of
the Healing Hands. However, no fog
lifted from my mind following the
blessing, nor did I suddenly realize that

my thoughts were not my own.
I mention this encounter with the priest

in Mordentshire to illustrate how much
superstition and myth might be presented
to would-be hunters as fact. As I have

said, there are evil warlocks and witches,

and they do have the power to cloud
human minds. As a whole would they
would no more do so than all sorcerers
would suddenly begin using their magic to
subvert the will of others. It is important

-that hunters take steps to confirm any a8

information aathered to avoid launchin-g I

attacks against potential innocents!

The importance of confirmingthat a enforcers of the Church of Bane, who
target is not innocent applies strongly to would kill them for their blasphemy.
dealings with priests of Bane, or even These covens were even at risk from
that church's hierarchy. The Church of adventurers and monster hunters in
Bane is the most outspoken critic of the Hazlan, for they hid in exactly the places
Church of Hala, and the former actively where one expects to find hags: the
persecutes the latter's clergy and barren wilderness in the western and
worshipers. Banites have always believed northern parts of the domain. These
Hala's ranks to contain many warlocks covens have since moved elsewhere, SO
and witches. Banites believe all witches my mention of them here in no way
imperils them now!
and warlocks are engaged in a grand
conspiracy devoted to undermining the Still, Church of Hala hospices fre-
authority of the legitimate rulers of our quently serve as havens for the perse-
land's domains. As such, the Church of cuted, and Hala's clergy often works
Bane and its priests view the Church Of closely with opposition groups. For
Hala as actively working against them example, in the eastern part of the
and the goals of their god, one of which domain of lnvidia was once a hospice
is the strengthening rightful rulers of our reportedly offering solace to those Gunda-
lands. There are virtually no hospices rakites who were weary of Barovian
operated by Church of Hala in regions oppression and eventually fled in search
where the Church of Bane is strong. of better lives. This hospice, too, has had
However, that does not mean that to move elsewhere to save itself.
witches, warlocks, and covens of Hala
are not active in such areas. According AqorFnmw
to Marena, a number of covens operate
secretly in the countryside of Hazlan, While witches and warlocks often have a
where Bane's worship is strongest, less than ideal relationship with the other
opposing that domain's tyrannical organized religions in the land, and they
wizard-lord at every turn. are not well-liked by tyrants who
recognize what they stand for, neither
Marena stated that witches, warlocks, side seems necessarily devoted to the
and the Church of Hala itself have never out-and-out destruction of the other. In
made any bones about the fact that they fact, Drakov of Falkovnia does not send
will always take steps to ease the pain agents against witches in other domains,
and suffering of people everywhere. If nor would a warlock pursue unto death
the source of the suffering is the ruler Of a leader who showed improvement in
the land in which they dwell, the doctrine his treatment of his people or was driven
of Hala can be interpreted to mean that from power. The same, however, cannot
those faithful to her must oppose such be said of the select few parties that
rulers in all things. This does not witches and warlocks have declared as
necessarily mean taking up arms against their eternal enemies.
the ruler; if a worshiper of Hala is dead,
how can he or she help those in need? IQgs
For example, Marena stated that at one
time there were two small witch covens I have already mentioned that witches
operating secretly in the domain of and warlocks are sworn enemies of
Hazlan, where they subtly worked to hags, While part of the animosity grows
undermine the notion among the out of a perceived shared heritage-the
populace that the racial group known as witches and warlocks being deeply
the Mulan rule because of divine offended by the notion put forth by hags
sanction. These witches were in grave that they, too, were created by Hala-
danger from Hazlik the Red Wizard, the primary hatred grows from the
Hazlan's undisputed tyrant, as well as unflinching devotion that hags have to
spreading death and destruction. The

8 annis are the most dedicated foes of Complete Wizard's Handbook (TSR
witches and warlocks, but all hags are #2115) or specializes in the witch
marked for death, according to Marena. spells presented in the four volumes of
"They ask no quarter of us, we ask the Wizard's Spell Compendium (TSR
none of them," she said. "Hags are a
blight on the creation of the gods." - -#2165, 2168,2175, and 2177).

Rarely seen and quite distant from the Although widely discriminated against,
lands we know well is a different stripe not all sorcerous witches are evil.
of "witch," with whom our local witches However, 80% of them are of evil
and warlocks have a never-ending war.
Sorcerous witches (as I term these -",.."'.,..--alignment in RAVENLOFcTampaigns,
beings, in order to keep them distinct
from the other witches discussed in this a^..n-Id i:cft.-h--"e" roes a..&L.-..t'&-tempt to g--+et assistance
text) are reportedly an evil force in the from one, they will often regret it. (If
lands they call home, typically as bent there is a hag in a region, there is a
on spreading pain and suffering as are 15%chance that a sorcerous witch is
hags. They are a subgroup of wizards, in league with the hag, at the Dungeon
although they are shunned by normal Master's discretion.)
mages; Fiori spat on the ground when I
mentioned them to her, saying that the the hands of overzealous adventurers
Order of High Sorcery in Sithicus kills and monster hunters.
such spellcasters on sight.
TheYi%ni
Sorcerous witches are known for a
suite of spells that only they can cast. I Out of all the human races that exist in
know very little about these spells, and our land, the Vistani are the one group
very little facts can be had. Fiori and that I would caution readers against
Marena both did little but defame these trusting under most circumstances. These
sorcerers, for what little they knew of nomads wander the domains, free of any
the latter. Sorcerous witches apparently ties or any loyalties save those to their
enjoy controlling the minds of others own kind. They may on occasion appear
and commanding the elements. to share the same goals and desires as
heroes, but they often attempt to twist a
Marena and Fiori did agree that situation to their advantage and ollen
sorcerous witches frequently live in the have hidden agendas. You must always
same isolated regions as hags, and they guard yourself if you find it necessary to
might even be mistaken for these beings. deal with the Vistani, and under few
Marena claimed the root cause for the circumstances should you ever offer to
animosity between witches and warlocks deal with them, for certain ones among
and the sorcerous witches is the fact that them will take your words and use them
the latter tend to ally themselves with against you as they did with me.
hags whenever possible, though I have
yet to encounter such a spellcaster Although the Vistani as a whole are
personally. difficult to trust, I have encountered
solitary Vistani who were kindhearted if
tragic figures, as they often feel isolated
because of their separation from their kin.
However, as they frequently continue to
practice the magical rites of their people,
they warrant discussion in this section, as
the females among them may be
mistaken for hags. Two rough groupings
of solitary Vistani are at particular risk.

Sedentary Vistani: These Vistani