Monster: Scorched Hag (Template)

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Scorched Green Hag
A half-burned, twisted crone. Her long, messy hairs are miraculously untouched by the fire that consumed her body.

CR 7; XP 1,200
CE Medium Undead (augmented monstrous humanoid)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 90 ft.; Perception +16

Defense
AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 20 (+3 Dex, +10 natural)
hp 85 (9d8+45); fast healing 5
Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +8
Defensive Abilities ashes to ashes, channel resistance +4; DR 10/cold iron; Immune undead traits; Resist cold 20, fire 20

Offense
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +15 (1d6+6 plus 1d6 fire plus weakness)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 9th, concentration +13)
Constant—pass without trace, tongues
At will—alter self, dancing lights, gaseous form, ghost sound (DC 14), invisibility, pyrotechnics (DC 16), scorching ray (+12, 2 rays), whispering wind

Statistics
Str 23, Dex 16, Con —, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 18
Base Atk +9; CMB +15; CMD 28
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes^B, Deceitful, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative^B, Iron Will^B, Toughness^B
Skills Bluff +15, Disguise +18, Knowledge (arcana) +15, Knowledge (religion) +15, Perception +16, Sense Motive +13, Stealth +15, Swim +20
Languages Aklo, Common, Giant
SQ mimicry

Ecology
Environment temperate marshes, graveyards
Organization solitary or coven
Treasure standard

Mimicry (Su) As a regular green hag.

Weakness (Su) As a regular green hag.


Scorched hags are undead forms of hags and witches that died to flames but where not completely incinerated and returned to stalk the living. 


Creating a Scorched Hag
Scorched hag is an acquired template that can be applied to a hag or a witch (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A scorched hag uses the base creature's stats and abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +2.

Alignment: Any evil. Death in fires burns vestiges of goodness from the victim.

Type: The creature's type changes to undead (augmented). Do not recalculate class Hit Dice, BAB, or saves.

Senses: Scorched hag gains darkvision 60 feet.

Armor Class: Natural armor improves by 2.

Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8. Class Hit Dice are unchanged. As undead, scorched hags use their Charisma to determine their hit point totals instead of Constitution.

Defensive Abilities: A scorched hag gains ashes to ashes, channel resistance +4, fast healing 5, resist cold and resist fire 20. A scorched hag also gains DR 5/cold iron or 10/cold iron if her HD is 5 or more.

Ashes To Ashes (Su) A scorched hag that is destroyed instantly incinerates into a pile of ashes, rolling her hit dice as a fire damage to anyone within 10 feet burst (a successful Reflex saving throw with DC of 10 + 1/2 Hit Dice + Charisma modifier halves the damage). Unless the ashes are mixed with holy water or scattered over a river or a sea, or the scorched hag was destroyed with an effect or weapon that destroys undead permanently, the scorched hag reforms after 2d6 days. Gathering the ashes and storing them in sealed urn in a consecrated or hallowed area, or burying them under the roots of a sapling prevents the hag from reforming as long as they are kept safe.

Melee: A scorched hag gains 2 claw attacks if the base creature didn't have them, or increase damage die of existing claw attacks by 1 step. Each natural attack inflict additional 1d6 points of fire damage.

Spells And Spell-Like Abilities: A scorched hag can replace some of her old spells and spell-like abilities with new ones selected from: burning hands (1st), delayed blast fireball (7th), fire seeds (6th), fire shield (4th), fire storm (8th), fire trap (4th), fireball (3rd), flame strike (5th), flaming sphere (2nd), gaseous form (3rd, self only, a cloud of ash), meteor storm (9th), pyrotechnics (2nd), scorching ray (2nd), summon monster II or higher (2nd, fire elementals only), wall of fire (4th). A replaced spell has to be of the same or higher level than the spell taken in its place, and if it is a spell-like ability, it gains the same number of uses per day as the ability replaced (though they may replace constant effects with at will ones). A coven that includes a scorched hag can use flame strike (DC 18 or more) as one of their combined spell-like abilities.

Ability Scores: Str +4, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As an undead creature, scorched hag has no Constitution score.

Feats: Scorched hags gain Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, an Toughness as bonus feats.


New Occult Ritual: Unburned Witch

School necromancy [fire]; Level 4
Casting Time 4 hours
Components V, S, M (fragrant herbs and incenses worth 5000 gp), F (a bonfire), SC (up to two other coven members)
Skill Checks Knowledge (arcana) DC 24, 1 success; Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (religion) DC 24, 1 success; Perform (dance) or Perform (sing) DC 24, 1 success; Spellcraft DC 24, 1 success
Range personal
Target hag or a witch casting the ritual
Duration until discharged, maximum 1 year
Saving Throw none; SR no
Backlash all casters are exhausted
Failure the casters believes the ritual succeeded, and the primary caster feels suicidal attraction to fire for the next year. This is an insanity enchantment effect that can be removed with break enchantment or heal, though the caster is unaware of being insane
EFFECT
A hag or a witch can perform this ritual by dancing and singing while making offering of fragrant herbs and incenses to the fires themselves. If the caster successfully performs the ritual, she has placated the flames to grant her a boon of undeath, turning her into a scorched hag if she dies in fire afterwards (including suffocation while being burned on stake, but not merely being burned after death) as per ashes to ashes conditions.