Plague Hag
Large • Monstrosity • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 195 (17d10 + 102)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +4 (14)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 (+4) | 9 (−1) | 22 (+6) | 15 (+2) | 17 (+3) | 17 (+3) |
Saving Throws Con +11, Wis +8
Skills Investigation +7, Medicine +13, Nature +7
Damage Resistances acid
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Sylvan, Undercommon
CR 16 (XP 15,000 or 18,000 in lair; PB +5)
Distracting Stench. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 19, any creature (except an Ooze) that starts its turn in a 15-foot emanation originating from the hag. Failure: The target loses concentration it is maintaining on a spell or ability.
Poison Eater. Whenever the hag is subjected to poison damage, it regains a number of hit points equal to the poison damage dealt.
Speak with Oozes. The hag can communicate with Oozes as if they shared a language.
Strain Resistance (3/Day, 4/Day in Lair). If the hag fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, she loses a randomly determined strain she is affected by and can't get that strain again until she finishes a long rest.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Putrid Fist attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Poisonous Creep. If Inject New Strain is available to use, she can use it before or after these attacks.
Putrid Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +9, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage.
Inject New Strain. The hag injects herself with a virulent strain and starts to mutate. Roll a d12 on the Strain Table to determine the effect. The hag can have no more than three active strains. Injecting a fourth strain immediately removes the first injected strain. The hag can have multiple strains of the same effect. These effects last for 10 minutes.
Poisonous Creep (Recharge 4–6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 17, one creature within 30 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is knocked prone. Failure or Success: The ground below the target becomes covered in a 5-foot-diameter fleshy creep. The creep lasts for 1 minute, and its diameter increases by 5 feet at the start of each of the hag's turns, up to a maximum of 20 feet. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 19, any creature starting its turn inside the area of the creep. Failure: 10 (4d4) poison damage.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the hag can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The hag regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Belch. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 19, one creature within 10 feet of the hag. Failure: 9 (2d8) poison damage. Success: Half damage.
Eat Ooze. The hag grabs a Medium or smaller ooze within 5 feet of her and eats it. The ooze dies, and the hag regains 18 (4d8) hit points.
Form Ooze. The hag magically creates a grey ooze, which she then throws to an unoccupied space within 20 feet of her. The ooze follows the hag’s verbal commands to the best of its ability.
Plague Hag
Large • Monstrosity • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +4 (14)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 (+3) | 9 (−1) | 20 (+5) | 13 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 15 (+2) |
Saving Throws Con +11, Wis +8
Skills Investigation +6, Medicine +12, Nature +6
Damage Resistances acid
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Sylvan, Undercommon
CR 13 (XP 10,000 or 11,500 in lair; PB +5)
Distracting Stench. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 18, any creature (except an Ooze) that starts its turn in a 15-foot emanation originating from the hag. Failure: The target loses concentration it is maintaining on a spell or ability.
Poison Eater. Whenever the hag is subjected to poison damage, it regains a number of hit points equal to the poison damage dealt.
Speak with Oozes. The hag can communicate with Oozes as if they shared a language.
Strain Resistance (2/Day, 3/Day in Lair). If the hag fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, she loses a randomly determined strain she is affected by and can't get that strain again until she finishes a long rest.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Putrid Fist attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Poisonous Creep. If Inject New Strain is available to use, she can use it before or after these attacks.
Putrid Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +8, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage.
Inject New Strain. The hag injects herself with a virulent strain and starts to mutate. Roll a d12 on the Strain Table to determine the effect. The hag can have no more than three active strains. Injecting a fourth strain immediately removes the first injected strain. The hag can have multiple strains of the same effect. These effects last for 10 minutes.
Poisonous Creep (Recharge 4–6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 16, one creature within 30 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is knocked prone. Failure or Success: The ground below the target becomes covered in a 5-foot-diameter fleshy creep. The creep lasts for 1 minute, and its diameter increases by 5 feet at the start of each of the hag's turns, up to a maximum of 20 feet. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 18, any creature starting its turn inside the area of the creep. Failure: 10 (4d4) poison damage.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the hag can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The hag regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Belch. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 18, one creature within 10 feet of the hag. Failure: 7 (2d6) poison damage. Success: Half damage.
Eat Ooze. The hag grabs a Medium or smaller ooze within 5 feet of her and eats it. The ooze dies, and the hag regains 14 (4d6) hit points.
Form Ooze. The hag magically creates a grey ooze, which she then throws to an unoccupied space within 20 feet of her. The ooze follows the hag’s verbal commands to the best of its ability.
Plague Hag
Large • Monstrosity • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 300 (24d10 + 168)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +5 (15)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 (+5) | 9 (−1) | 24 (+7) | 17 (+3) | 19 (+4) | 19 (+4) |
Saving Throws Con +11, Wis +8
Skills Investigation +9, Medicine +16, Nature +9
Damage Resistances acid
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Sylvan, Undercommon
CR 19 (XP 22,000 or 25,000 in lair; PB +6)
Distracting Stench. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21, any creature (except an Ooze) that starts its turn in a 15-foot emanation originating from the hag. Failure: The target loses concentration it is maintaining on a spell or ability.
Poison Eater. Whenever the hag is subjected to poison damage, it regains a number of hit points equal to the poison damage dealt.
Speak with Oozes. The hag can communicate with Oozes as if they shared a language.
Strain Resistance (3/Day, 4/Day in Lair). If the hag fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. When she does so, she loses a randomly determined strain she is affected by and can't get that strain again until she finishes a long rest.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Putrid Fist attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Poisonous Creep. If Inject New Strain is available to use, she can use it before or after these attacks.
Putrid Fist. Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 5 ft. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 9 (2d8) poison damage.
Inject New Strain. The hag injects herself with a virulent strain and starts to mutate. Roll a d12 on the Strain Table to determine the effect. The hag can have no more than three active strains. Injecting a fourth strain immediately removes the first injected strain. The hag can have multiple strains of the same effect. These effects last for 10 minutes.
Poisonous Creep (Recharge 4–6). Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 19, one creature within 30 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is knocked prone. Failure or Success: The ground below the target becomes covered in a 5-foot-diameter fleshy creep. The creep lasts for 1 minute, and its diameter increases by 5 feet at the start of each of the hag's turns, up to a maximum of 20 feet. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21, any creature starting its turn inside the area of the creep. Failure: 14 (4d6) poison damage.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Legendary Action Uses: 3 (4 in Lair). Immediately after another creature's turn, the hag can expend a use to take one of the following actions. The hag regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Belch. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21, one creature within 10 feet of the hag. Failure: 12 (3d8) poison damage. Success: Half damage.
Eat Ooze. The hag grabs a Medium or smaller ooze within 5 feet of her and eats it. The ooze dies, and the hag regains 22 (4d10) hit points.
Form Ooze. The hag magically creates a grey ooze, which she then throws to an unoccupied space within 20 feet of her. The ooze follows the hag’s verbal commands to the best of its ability.
REMARKS
STRAIN TABLE
- Countless Eyes. The hag gains truesight out to a range of 60 feet.
- Grease Glands. The hag gains the following bonus action: Grease Glands. The hag can cast grease (spell save DC 20).
- Rust Breath. The hag gains the following bonus action: Rust Breath. Each nonmagical metal object—armor or a weapon—worn or carried by a creature within 15 cone. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 20, the creature with the object. Failure: The object takes a -1 penalty to the AC it offers (armor) or to its attack rolls (weapon). Armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10, and a weapon is destroyed if its penalty reaches -5. The penalty can be removed by casting the mending spell on the armor or weapon.
- Ooze Polymorph. The hag gains the following action: Ooze Polymorph (Recharge 6). Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 20, one creature within 5 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target gains 50 temporary hit points. While it has these hit points, it is transformed into a gelatinous cube under the hag’s control for 1 minute or until the hag’s concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell).
- Tentacle. The hag gains the following action she can use as part of Multiattack: Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +10, reach 20 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage and the target is grappled (escape DC 20). While grappled this way, the target is restrained and the hag can’t use her Tentacle on another target.
- Dampening Tissue. The hag gains a damage threshold of 10 against all damage except psychic damage.
- Frog Legs. The hag’s long jump is up to 20 feet, and its high jump is up to 10 feet, with or without a running start.
- Pustules. The first time the hag takes 20 or more damage from a single attack in on a turn, a gray ooze emerges. The ooze follows the hag’s verbal commands to the best of its ability.
- Callus. The hag gains a +2 bonus to her AC.
- Spike Skin. When a creature within 5 feet of the hag hits her with a melee attack, that creature takes 7 (2d6) piercing damage.
- Reactive Sphincters. The hag gains the following reaction: Reactive Sphincters. Trigger: The hag takes damage from a creature within 60 feet of her that she can see. Response – Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 20, the attacker. Failure: 11 (2d10) acid damage. Success: Half damage.
- Ear Wax. The hag becomes deafened and gains the following bonus action: Ear Wax. The hag ends the deafened condition and creates a Medium-sized ochre jelly (HP 20 only, immunity to poison damage) in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of her. The hag then chooses one creature she can see, and the ooze attacks only the target, moving on the most direct route, ignoring attacks of opportunity or dangerous terrain. At the start of the hag’s next turn, she becomes deafened again.
QUICK REFERENCE
USING MONSTER VARIANTS
Monster variants allow the GM to adjust encounters to better match the party’s strength, narrative needs, or world-building logic. A weaker variant may represent a juvenile, wounded, or lesser specimen, while a stronger variant can serve as a leader, champion, ancient creature, or apex predator.
Variants can be used to fine-tune difficulty without changing the core identity of the monster, making them ideal for scaling encounters, reinforcing hierarchy within a faction, or creating memorable boss-style enemies. You can even use the same stat block but different variants in the same encounter if you want.
Design Note. Each monster is primarily balanced around its normal version. Weaker and stronger variants are derived adjustments and may not always preserve every tactical nuance or “feel” of the original creature. GMs are encouraged to review variants carefully and adjust abilities or tactics as needed to best suit their table.