Monster: Pale Hag

Pale Hag

A pale skinned lady that is beautiful and yet monstrous, with razor sharp claws, red eyes, and a pair of ghostly crones floating beside her.

CR 10; XP 9,600

NE Medium Monstrous Humanoid

Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., deathwatch; Perception +22

Defense

AC 24, touch 15, flat-footed 19 (+5 Dex, +9 natural)

hp 126 (12d10+60)

Fort +9, Ref +13, Will +13

Defensive Abilities death mantle; DR 5/cold iron and magic; SR 21

Weakness turning vulnerability

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee 2 claws +18 (1d6+5) and 2 spectral thrall +12 touch (4d6)

Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (30 ft. with spectral thrall attacks)

Special Attacks spectral swarm, spectral thrall

Spell-like Abilities (CL 12th, concentration +15)

Constant—deathwatch

At will—animate dead, baleful polymorph (DC 18), blight (DC 17), bestow curse (DC 17), clairaudience/clairvoyance, charm monster (DC 17), commune, control weather, dream, forcecage, mind blank, mirage arcana (DC 18), reincarnate, speak with dead, veil (DC 19), vision

1/day—command undead (DC 15), create undead, desecrate

Statistics

Str 21, Dex 20, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 16

Base Atk +12; CMB +17; CMD 32

Feats Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Bluff), Weapon Focus (claws)

Skills Bluff +21, Fly +24, Perception +22, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +14, Stealth +20

Languages Abyssal, Common, Giant, Infernal

SQ change shape (any hag, disguise self), coven lore, gift of undeath

Ecology

Environment any land

Organization solitary

Treasure standard

Special Abilities

Coven Lore (Su): Hag spirits accompanying the pale hag are bound to serve her as repositories of lore and magic. A pale hag gains bonus equal to half her caster level to all Knowledge checks, can attempt any Knowledge check untrained, and can use all the spell-like abilities of a hag coven on her own. After using any of her at will spell-like abilities, a pale hag cannot use the same spell-like ability for two rounds. A pale hag loses access to her at will spell-like abilities (but not other spell-like abilities) when her coven lore ability is suppressed by her turning vulnerability.

Death Mantle (Su): A pale hag can call upon her bond with her enthralled spirits to attune oneself to death for a short time. As an immediate action, a pale hag can gain benefits of negative energy affinity for 1 round. While her death mantle is in effect she is immune to death effects, ignores penalties bestowed by negative levels, and gains flight speed of 60 feet with good maneuverability (maneuverability bonus to Fly checks already included in her stat block). Pale hag can use this ability for a total number of rounds per day equal to her HD. If any hag dies within 30 feet of a pale hag, the later regains a number of extra rounds of use of her death mantle ability equal to the killed hag’s HD.

Gift Of Undeath (Su): A pale hag can use her create undead spell-like ability to raise one dead creature as a ju ju zombie. A pale hag can have single animate ju ju zombie at a time and is unable to create a new one as long as the previous one exist; she can destroy the ju ju zombie she created with a short ritual that takes one whole round while the ju ju zombie is within 100 feet. Unlike the regular spell, a pale hag’s create undead spell-like ability gives her has no direct control over undeads created.

Spectral Swarm (Su): Once per day a pale hag can call upon spirits of hags she killed or whose deaths she caused indirectly to swarm around her in 30 feet whirling vortex of vicious ghosts for 1 round. Any living creature entering the area or beginning its turn within the spectral swarm suffers 4d6 points of negative energy damage while the undead gain 4d6 temporary hit points that last for one hour. The spectral swarm is considered a difficult terrain (even for flying creatures) and provides concealment. If any hag dies within 30 feet of a pale hag, the later regains the use of this ability.

Spectral Thralls (Su): A pale hag is constantly accompanied by spirits of her murdered coven members. While they usually remain unseen, they appear besides her when she is angered, scared or in combat. When a pale hag makes a full attack, in addition to her claw attacks, each spirit can strike once as a secondary natural melee touch attack with 30 feet reach dealing 4d6 points of negative energy damage (granting equal amount of temporary hit points to undead and creatures with negative energy affinity).

Turning Vulnerability: Pale hag’s powers rely on bound spirits of deceased hags. A hag that is exposed to Turn Undead, Rebuke Undead or Lure Undead, or another effect that banishes, destroys, or incapacitates undead beings loses her Coven Lore, Death Mantle, Spectral Swarm, and Spectral Thralls abilities for 1d4 rounds unless the hag succeeds a Will saving throw (even if the effect does not normally allow one). When suffering from her turning vulnerability, a pale hag facade of beauty fall apart revealing her to be a vile monstrosity. Anger of such revelation grants her +2 morale bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks, and allows her to make four claw attacks each round.

Sometimes, a hag can discover a secret ritual that allow her to gain more power for herself by sacrificing her coven sisters. The ritual takes years to prepare, and has to be done in secret lest the other hags of the coven learn of it and try to divert it for their own benefit. The ritual culminates in destruction of the other two hags, which must be done by outside party, manipulated into killing them by any member of the coven. This betrayal binds the spirit of the killed hags to the last surviving coven member granting her all the powers of the coven and transforming her into a new, superficially beautiful and potentially immortal form.

To maintain her beauty and her immortality a pale hag has to lead to death by betrayal of at least one hag every century or so, however. Failure to do so causes her body and her control over bound spirits to slowly erode bestowing one permanent negative energy level per month until she dies and is confronted by spirits of hags whose demise she orchestrated.