Hag

Hag

(Creature)

2E1E

Common

Hag

Humanoid

Level

Varies

Images of hags

Source: Monster Core, pg(s). 188–191

Hags had chaotic evil and neutral evil alignments and traits in Bestiary.

Type

Monstrous humanoid or outsider

CR

Varies

Environment

Varies

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

Haggish

Images of hags

Source: Various

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Hags are malevolent and horrible crones.

Types

See also: Category:Hag

There are several types of hag, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. However, they also have many features in common.

• Annis hag, the most physically powerful
• Ash hag
• Blood hag, or soucouyant
• Dreamthief hag
• Green hag, the most stealthy and devious
• Moon hag
• Mute hag, a bitter and hateful hag
• Night hag, extraplanar hag
• Pit hag
• Sea hag, the most hideous of all the hags
• Storm hag
• Winter hag

Origin

Hags have been around for a very long time. Some sages speculate that they moved to Golarion from the First World. It has even been suggested that they may once have been fey, cursed for their vanity and turned into crones. The fey fable of the Three sisters of Simarron tells a similar story.

Ecology

Hag offspring, known as changelings, are typically born when a hag tricks a male of another species into coupling with her. The hag normally murders and eats the changeling's father before he can ever see his child. After giving birth, the hag then abandons the child with a family or organisation of the father's ancestry that she believes will care for the child, such as a temple. Changelings can also be born when a hag coven performs ritual magic near a settlement, and such babies are often soon abandoned or orphaned. They can be of any gender,✝ and often possess an aura of oddness that prevents them being fully accepted into their birth-father's society.

Changelings resemble a member of their father's ancestry but are exceptionally slight, pale, and dark-haired, and are often distinguished by having mismatched, differently coloured eyes, with one bearing their father's eye color and the other being a supernatural shade, such as violet or bright green.

Habitat and society

Hags lair in wild areas on the edge of civilisation far enough away for security, but close enough to enable them to manipulate, corrupt, and maybe eat townsfolk. They prefer sites that were once attractive but have since succumbed to decay.

They are normally solitary and attempt to drive away any other hags who enter their territory. However, they sometimes gather together in covens of three hags of any type that often employ ogres and other giants as minions.

Religion

Hags are not known for their piety, but some follow the demon lord Mestama. Hags in the River Kingdoms might revere Gyronna and are often accorded leadership positions in Gyronna's cults. Some worship Calistria, Lamashtu, Zon-Kuthon, or Haggakal.

Abilities

The different types of hags all have unique abilities. When they gather together as a coven, the hags gain additional magical abilities that vary between covens. All covens can create hag eyes.

On Golarion

See also: Category:Hag/Inhabitants

There are a number of infamous hags in Golarion, including:

• Aggys, operator of the Witchmarket
• Aslynn, a night hag and foe of the Pathfinder Society and Hao Jin
• Mother of Flies, green hag of Cheliax's Hagwood
• Peg o' Ness, a Varisian sea hag
• The Stroud Sisters, a coven of green hags living in the River Kingdoms
• Traxyla, a hag who briefly seized control of Galt's Red Revolution
• Ulla Jarnrygg, an annis hag who lives in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings
• Wilendithas the Eternal Hag, a green hag lich in Mivon

References

Paizo published a major work about hags and their culture entitled Blood of the Coven.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.