Corrupting Revival. When the hag casts a spell to bring a creature back to life, the target doesn't have to be willing, and unless the soul is in the hag's reaping scythe and she chooses to use it, the spell doesn't return the target's soul, instead creating a dark shadow to replace it: the creature returns to life with its alignment changed to evil, either lawful evil, neutral evil, or chaotic evil (based on its original alignment), and it counts as an undead in addition to its other types. These changes last until it dies again.
Innate Spellcasting. The hag's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: feign death, gentle repose, ray of sickness (as 5th-level), speak with dead
3/day each: animate dead, plane shift (self only), raise dead
1/day each: create undead, resurrection
Reaping Scythe. The hag carries a reaping scythe, a magical scythe that serves as a conduit between the worlds of the living and the dead. She can ride the scythe as if it were a broom of flying, although she cannot attack with it while doing so. While she holds the scythe, other creatures within 30 feet of her can't regain hit points unless she allows it. If the scythe is lost or destroyed, the hag must craft another, which takes a year and a day and can only be done in Hades. Only a death hag can use a reaping scythe.
Multiattack. The hag makes three claw attacks, or one claw attack and one reaping scythe attack.
Claw (Hag Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 3) slashing damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.
Reaping Scythe. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 36 (8d8) necrotic damage. If the target is not an undead or construct, the hag regains hit points equal one-third of the necrotic damage dealt, and if the attack kills such a target, the target's soul is stolen by the scythe. A creature whose soul is stolen can't be brought back to life until the scythe is destroyed, except by a death hag holding the scythe.
Invisible Passage. The hag magically turns invisible until she attacks or casts a spell, or until her concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell). While invisible, she leaves no physical evidence of her passage, so she can be tracked only by magic. Any equipment she wears or carries is invisible with her.
Change Shape. The hag magically polymorphs into a Small or Medium female humanoid, or back into her true form. Her statistics are the same in each form. The only equipment that is transformed is her reaping scythe, which shrinks so that it can be wielded in humanoid form. If she dies, she reverts to her true form, and the reaping scythe reverts to its normal size.
Control Undead (3/Day). One undead that the hag can see within 30 feet of her must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target must obey the hag's commands for the next 24 hours. On a success, the target is immune to the hag's control for the next 24 hours. An undead whose challenge rating or level is greater than 5 is always immune to this effect.
Description
When a night hag gathers over a hundred twisted souls, she can transform into a more powerful kind of fiendish hag known as a death hag. Death hags are much larger than night hags, towering over other kinds of hags at ten to eleven feet tall. They have withered violet skin, fangs, and pointed ears. Some have twisted horns like those of a goat or ram, while others lose their horns in the transformation from night hag to death hag. Each one carries a huge scythe adorned with bones and skulls, enchanted with potent death magic, and can ride the scythe as if it were an enchanted flying broom. They ride their scythes through the dark night, cackling and stealing corpses to use for their foul purposes.
Twisting Good to Evil. Just as night hags often enjoy twisting a living soul from good to evil, death hags revel in their ability to twist the once-noble dead into undead paragons of evil. Instead of returning the creature to life by retrieving their original soul, the hag fashions a dark mirror of their soul to inhabit the body in its place.
This mirror shadow-soul has all the skills, memories, and personality of the original soul, except that any pain, grudges, or unfinished business lingering from their life is twisted into the fuel for anger, hatred, and evil. Once risen, these creatures of good-turned-evil will seek out the ones who wronged them and enact their terrible vengeance. Even their once-loved ones become targets for their hatred, as the hag's magic twists the heartache at missing those loved ones into hatred and indignation.
Tragically, these risen champions will often turn to harming unrelated innocents in a misguided attempt to satisfy the endless pain inside them. The shadow soul believes itself to be the original, and doesn't understand that the hag has twisted its emotions. The hag delights in watching all of this from afar. Her favorite outcome is when the tales of the champion's good deeds are finally replaced by the legends of the twisted, evil villain and their rampage of vengeance.
Torment from Beyond. Death hags take pleasure in any pain caused by bringing the dead back from beyond the grave. The target of their revival doesn't need to be a good-hearted hero for the death hag to be amused. She also enjoys watching other anguishes unravel, such as raising a widow's lost husband after she has happily remarried, or returning a once-beloved parent who does not approve of their child's current life. Death hags will eagerly bargain to resurrect the lost loved ones of their victims without revealing the likely outcome.
Undead Allies. Death hags are capable of seizing control of weaker undead, and they use this power to surround themselves with undead minions such as ghouls, skeletons, specters, zombies, and even other hags (raised as withering hags). For undead that are too powerful to control through magic, such as liches or vampires, some of the more conniving death hags will make deals, arrangements, or even alliances to secure greater power. As with all hags, these bargains are always secretly in the hag's favor.
Covens. A death hag that is part of a coven (see the "Hag Covens" sidebar in the Monster Manual) has a challenge rating of 13 (10,000 XP).
Hags
Hags are fey known for their malevolence more than anything else, even beyond their penchants for alchemy, magic, and eldritch powers. They adore deception and destruction, and they sustain themselves by devouring humanoids. Hags make twisted bargains that sabotage their victims, and steal children away to consume or even transform into new hags.
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