Hag

Hag
(Creature)
Common Hag Humanoid Level Varies Alignment LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE Images of hags Source: Bestiary, pg(s). 200–203 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

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

All hags are female. They are able to breed with males of most humanoid and monstrous humanoid races, and even some fey. Some degenerate races willingly breed with hags, but in most cases hags must resort to trickery, illusion, or force in order to mate.

Hag babies are usually female. Any male children are normally sterile and are normal members of the father's race, apart from possibly appearing "wrong" in some subtle way. However, in most cases this is a moot point, as hags generally eat their male offspring.

A hag secretly swaps its newborn female child for another baby of its father's race. The changeling grows up as a normal child, whilst the stolen baby is usually eaten by the hag. The changeling may have strange physical features, or traits of cruelty, or both. When it reaches adulthood, it develops into its hag heritage.

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 the civilised races. They prefer sites that were once attractive, but have now succumbed to decay.

They are normally solitary, attempting to drive away any other hags who enter their territory. However, sometimes, they gather together in covens of three hags of any type (including, on rare occasions, night hags). These covens 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 may revere Gyronna and are often accorded leadership positions in Gyronna's cults. Some worship Calistria, Lamashtu, Zon-Kuthon, or Haggakal. Night hags venerate Alazhra.

Abilities

The different types of hags all have their individual abilities. When they gather together as a coven, the hags gain additional spell-like abilities which vary from coven to coven. All covens have the ability to 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.