Umbral Hag
Medium • Fey (Shapechanger) • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 17
Hit Points 84 (13d8 + 26)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +1 (11)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 12 (+1) | 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) |
Saving Throws Cha +6
Skills Deception +6, Insight +4, Medicine +4, Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 120 ft. (unimpeded by magical darkness), passive Perception 12
Languages Common, Sylvan, plus two others languages
CR 4 (XP 1,100; PB +2)
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Claw attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Force Feed Darkness or Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6, reach 5 ft. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the hag can grapple the target (escape DC 14).
Force Feed Darkness. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 14, one creature grappled by the hag. Failure: 18 (4d8) psychic damage, and the target suffers from a short-term madness until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Shape-Shift. The hag shape-shifts into a Medium or Small female Humanoid, or it returns to her true form. Its game statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies.
Spellcasting. The hag casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14):
At will: pass without trace, thaumaturgy
1/day: bestow curse, black tentacles, geas, hypnotic pattern, sleep
BONUS ACTIONS
Inky Darkness (3/Day). The hag magically creates a blob of magical darkness in her hands. She then uses it for one of the following effects:
- The hag eats it and gains 10 (3d6) temporary hit points for 1 minute.
- Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 14, one creature within 20 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is blinded, suffocating, and can't cast spells requiring verbal components. As an action, the target can end the effect with a successful DC 14 Strength check.
- The hag creates a 10-foot radius sphere of magical darkness originating from a point within 20 feet that the hag can see. The darkness lasts until the end of the hag's next turn.
Umbral Hag
Medium • Fey (Shapechanger) • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +0 (10)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 (+3) | 10 (+0) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) |
Skills Deception +5, Insight +3, Medicine +3, Stealth +4
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Common, Sylvan, plus two others languages
CR 1 (XP 200; PB +2)
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Claw attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Force Feed Darkness or Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5, reach 5 ft. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the hag can grapple the target (escape DC 13).
Force Feed Darkness. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 13, one creature grappled by the hag. Failure: 10 (3d6) psychic damage, and the target suffers from a short-term madness until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Shape-Shift. The hag shape-shifts into a Medium or Small female Humanoid, or it returns to her true form. Its game statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies.
Spellcasting. The hag casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14):
At will: pass without trace, thaumaturgy
1/day: bestow curse, hypnotic pattern, sleep
BONUS ACTIONS
Inky Darkness (2/Day). The hag magically creates a blob of magical darkness in her hands. She then uses it for one of the following effects:
- The hag eats it and gains 7 (2d6) temporary hit points for 1 minute.
- Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 13, one creature within 20 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is blinded, suffocating, and can't cast spells requiring verbal components. As an action, the target can end the effect with a successful DC 13 Strength check.
- The hag creates a 5-foot radius sphere of magical darkness originating from a point within 20 feet that the hag can see. The darkness lasts until the end of the hag's next turn.
Umbral Hag
Medium • Fey (Shapechanger) • Neutral Evil
Armor Class 18
Hit Points 135 (18d8 + 54)
Speed 30 ft.
Initiative +2 (12)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 (+5) | 14 (+2) | 17 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) |
Saving Throws Cha +8
Skills Deception +8, Insight +6, Medicine +6, Stealth +8
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Sylvan, plus two others languages
CR 7 (XP 2,900; PB +3)
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The hag makes two Claw attacks. She can replace one of these attacks with a use of Force Feed Darkness or Spellcasting.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8, reach 5 ft. Hit: 23 (4d8 + 5) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the hag can grapple the target (escape DC 16).
Force Feed Darkness. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 16, one creature grappled by the hag. Failure: 22 (4d10) psychic damage, and the target suffers from a short-term madness until the end of its next turn. Success: Half damage.
Shape-Shift. The hag shape-shifts into a Medium or Small female Humanoid, or it returns to her true form. Its game statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. She reverts to her true form if she dies.
Spellcasting. The hag casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 16):
At will: pass without trace, thaumaturgy
2/day: bestow curse, black tentacles, geas, hypnotic pattern, sleep
BONUS ACTIONS
Inky Darkness (4/Day). The hag magically creates a blob of magical darkness in her hands. She then uses it for one of the following effects:
- The hag eats it and gains 14 (4d6) temporary hit points for 1 minute.
- Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 16, one creature within 30 feet of the hag that she can see. Failure: The target is blinded, suffocating, and can't cast spells requiring verbal components. As an action, the target can end the effect with a successful DC 16 Strength check.
- The hag creates a 15-foot radius sphere of magical darkness originating from a point within 30 feet that the hag can see. The darkness lasts until the end of the hag's next turn.
QUICK REFERENCE
Habitat
- Shadowed forests, swamps, or moorlands
- Slums and shady city districts
- Feywild
Behavior
- Disguises herself as a kind healer, grieving widow, or harmless hermit to earn a victim's trust
- Collects secrets, nightmares, and regrets, using them as bargaining tools or leverage against others
- As any hag enjoys inflicting misery on their victims with carefully worded deals
Information (Intelligence Check)
- DC 13 History: Like other hags, known for the deals that always have a catch
- DC 15 Insight: Able to shapeshift into a female humanoid form
- DC 17 Arcana: Can control darkness almost like an inky liquid, even force-feeding it to grappled creatures
Combat
- Prefers negotiations over combat, fights very defensively, using cursed or blackmailed victims as minions
- Opens combat by casting black tentacles or hypnotic pattern if foes are clustered
- Uses Claw to grapple a victim before following up with Force Feed Darkness to inflict psychic damage and debuffing madness
- Casts sleep or uses Inky Darkness (second option) against spellcasters
- Casts bestow curse against the highest damage dealer
- Considers retreating once bloodied, keeping Inky Darkness (first and third option) ready for that
Loot Ideas
- A vial of liquid darkness be shattered to cast darkness (requiring no concentration)
- Hag trinkets which can be used for weird effects
- Cursed magical items
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.