Innate Spellcasting. The hag’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 22). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect magic, disguise self, tongues, scrying, magic missile (8d4+8)
3/day each: dream, hypnotic pattern, sleep (12d8)
2/day each: phantasmal killer shadow of moil, eyebite, maze, power word stun, weird
1/day each: legend lore
Magic Resistance. The hag has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Multiattack. The hag makes two Nightmare Touch attacks, and casts a spell.
Nightmare Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 4) psychic damage. If the target is unconscious, it takes an extra 10 (3d6) psychic damage and is cursed until the hag dies or the curse is removed. The cursed creature’s hit point maximum decreases by 5 (1d10) whenever it finishes a long rest.
Dream Eater. When a creature is unconscious and the hag can see them within 30 feet of her, the hag can force the creature to make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. Unless the save succeeds, the creature takes 22 (4d10) psychic damage, and the hag regains hit points equal to the amount of damage taken.
The monster can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The monster regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Shadowy Escape (Costs 1 Action). The Arch Hag envelops herself in a shroud of darkness and disappears, reappearing up to 30 feet away. This movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks.
Curse (Costs 3 Actions). The Arch Hag casts a powerful curse on a target within 60 feet. The target must make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the target becomes cursed and suffers disadvantage on all attacks and saving throws until the curse is removed. Additionally, the target takes 39 (7d10) psychic damage at the start of each of its turns as the curse gnaws away at its mind.
Description
Arch Dusk Hag
Arch Dusk Hags are nightmares given form—ancient crones with withered, ember-hued skin, tangled ashen hair, and eyes that flicker like dying stars. Cloaked in shifting shadows, they walk the veil between dreams and waking, their every whisper carrying a prophecy that can unmake empires or drive rulers to madness. Unlike their lesser kin, these hags do not merely glimpse the future—they weave it, guiding fate itself with unseen hands.
They do not simply haunt the edges of civilization; they rule from the heart of their twisted covens. An Arch Dusk Hag may serve as the Matron of a powerful gathering of lesser hags, directing their sinister schemes with an all-seeing gaze. Some Arch Hags, however, refuse to share power with lesser creatures, forming covens of their own kind, where multiple Arch Hags weave fate together, creating storms of calamity that shape entire worlds.
Immortal Curse: The Anathema
The Arch Dusk Hag is cursed—and blessed—with an unnatural resilience. If slain, she will always return with the next sundown, her body stitching itself back together in the void between dreams. However, she has one singular weakness: her Anathema, a secret vulnerability woven into her fate. If she is struck down by this specific weapon, condition, or ritual, her immortality is severed, and her soul is finally dragged into the darkness she so often speaks of.
Discovering the Anathema
Unraveling the Arch Dusk Hag’s Anathema is no easy task. The party must piece together cryptic riddles, delve into lost histories, or extract knowledge from her own twisted dreams. Possible sources of information could include:
- The Whispers of the Forgotten: A tormented spirit who once bargained with her may know the truth.
- An Etched Prophecy: A broken tablet in an abandoned temple describes how she may finally be undone.
- Her Own Nightmares: If the party can somehow invade her dreams, she may unknowingly reveal the one thing she fears or hates most.
Possible Anathemas for the Arch Dusk Hag
Each Arch Dusk Hag has a different Anathema, unique to her fate and story. Here are a few ideas for Dungeon Masters:
- A Blade of Waking Light: A weapon that can cut through illusions and sever nightmares from reality.
- A Lost Name: If the party can speak the true name she abandoned long ago, she will be bound in helpless silence, vulnerable to death.
- The First Dawn: The hag cannot survive if she is slain at the precise moment of sunrise, when the last vestiges of her twilight fade.
- The Tears of a Forgotten God: A vial of divine sorrow, once lost to time, that can unravel her existence.
- The Mirror of Truth: If she sees her true reflection—what she has become—her power collapses, making her mortal once more.
- Bones of a Hated or Loved Creature: Be they monster or humanoid, living or dead, the connections made can hold great power.
The key to defeating an Arch Dusk Hag is not just strength, but understanding her fate and turning it against her.
Masters of Prophecy and Deception
Mortal kings, ambitious sorcerers, and desperate heroes have all knelt before an Arch Dusk Hag, seeking the secrets of tomorrow. Yet the knowledge she bestows is never given freely, and her words—twisted with malice and hidden meanings—warp the very fate of those who listen. Even when the prophecy proves true, it often leads to ruin, for her pleasure is found not in granting wisdom, but in watching the unwary fall victim to their own flawed understanding.
Arch Dusk Hag Prophecies
An Arch Dusk Hag’s visions reach beyond the simple omens of her lesser kin. Her words unravel the grand tapestry of destiny, her cryptic warnings shaping the course of fate itself.
| d10 | Prophecy |
|---|---|
| 1 | "A crown of gold will weigh heavier than iron when the moon bleeds." |
| 2 | "The blade that slays you has already tasted your blood." |
| 3 | "A child yet unborn will be your salvation—or your doom." |
| 4 | "The eye of the storm does not weep, but it sees all." |
| 5 | "When the last star fades, the eldest will rise again." |
| 6 | "Beneath the silver tide, the old king still waits." |
| 7 | "Three betrayals, three graves, and one hand to dig them all." |
| 8 | "A beast of stone will bow before the one who does not run." |
| 9 | "The song of the dead will open the door of the forgotten." |
| 10 | "A sister’s blade will strike truer than any enemy’s spear." |
To stand before an Arch Dusk Hag is to risk one’s very soul—for her words do not simply foretell the future. They may become it.
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