Buy me a coffeeFen Witch, “Mistweaver of the Drowned Hollow”
Lurking in mist-shrouded fens, the Fen Witch bends the swamp’s dark magic to curse, deceive, and drown unwary trespassers in endless nightmares.
The Fen Witch is a gaunt figure draped in tattered reeds and moss, her skin mottled with patches of bark and pale green algae. Her hair flows like dark, tangled water plants, often dotted with insects and small amphibians. Her eyes gleam with eerie, phosphorescent light, and a faint mist swirls constantly around her form.
Behaviour
Elusive and enigmatic, the Fen Witch speaks in riddles and moves silently through her domain. She is capricious—sometimes aiding lost travelers with cryptic guidance, other times luring them deeper into the swamp to become trapped or cursed. She shows respect for those who honor the wild, but punishes arrogance and desecration with subtle but deadly magic.
Habitat
Fen Witches haunt remote, fog-filled wetlands—bogs, marshes, and fens that teem with decay and half-hidden dangers. Their lairs are often ancient, moss-covered huts built upon stilts, or hollowed trees enshrouded by thick vines and mist.
Modus Operandi
Preferring trickery over brute force, the Fen Witch uses illusions, poisonous spores, and summoned swamp creatures to confuse and weaken foes. She manipulates the very terrain, creating shifting mists and hidden sinkholes. When threatened, she vanishes into the fog, striking again only when her prey is disoriented or isolated.
Motivation
Bound to the swamp’s cycle of life and death, the Fen Witch guards the balance between growth and decay. She seeks to protect her domain from intrusion, punish those who harm the land, and sometimes reclaim lost knowledge or ancient artifacts buried beneath the mire. Her loyalty lies with the fen itself, not with mortal laws or morals.
Fen Witch 5e
Fen Witch, Pathfinder
Fen Witch
Medium fey, chaotic neutral
Armor Class: 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 110 (13d8 + 52)
Speed: 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) | 16 (+3) |
Saving Throws: Wis +7, Cha +6
Skills: Arcana +5, Nature +5, Stealth +6, Survival +7
Damage Resistances: necrotic, poison, psychic
Damage Immunities: poison
Condition Immunities: poisoned, charmed
Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages: Common, Druidic, Sylvan; understands whispers of the drowned
Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)
Traits
Swamp Stride. The Fen Witch ignores difficult terrain caused by marshes, mud, and water.
Mistcloak (Recharge 5–6). As a bonus action, she surrounds herself with swirling mist in a 10-foot radius until the start of her next turn. While within the mist, she has advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and attack rolls against her have disadvantage.
Whispers of the Drowned. Once per round, she can utter a haunting phrase carried on the swamp winds. One creature she can hear within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened until the end of its next turn. If the save fails by 5 or more, the target is also paralyzed until the end of its next turn.
Bogbound Servants. She can animate up to 3 drowned corpses as Bog Servants (use zombie stats, modified with 10 ft. swim speed and blindsight 30 ft.). They remain under her control for 1 hour or until destroyed.
Crone Aspect (1/Day)
As a bonus action, the Fen Witch transforms into her true, ancient crone form for 1 minute. While transformed:
- Swamp Horrors Made Flesh. Creatures starting their turn within 10 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the start of their next turn. Creatures already frightened by her take 2d6 psychic damage at the start of their turn.
- Corrupting Presence. Enemies within 15 feet have disadvantage on saving throws against frightened or charmed conditions from her spells or abilities.
- Claws of the Mire. Her Slick Claw attack deals an extra 1d6 necrotic damage. Targets failing their Constitution save against Swamp Blight are also poisoned until the end of their next turn.
- Revealed Horror. Upon assuming this form, creatures within 30 feet who see her must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. Success grants immunity to this effect for 24 hours.
Actions
Slick Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. Target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be afflicted with Swamp Blight.
Swamp Blight (Magical Disease). At the start of each of the afflicted creature’s turns, its hit point maximum is reduced by 1d6. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each turn, ending the blight on a success. Lesser restoration or stronger magic also ends it.
Hex of Sinking Heart (Recharge 4–6). Targets one creature within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be cursed for 1 minute. While cursed, it has disadvantage on saving throws against frightened or charmed conditions and must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw whenever it takes damage or falls prone. The target repeats this save at the end of each of its turns.
Spellcasting
The Fen Witch is a 9th-level spellcaster (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). She requires no material components.
Cantrips (at will): Druidcraft, Chill Touch, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy
1st level (4 slots): Entangle, Hex, Detect Magic
2nd level (3 slots): Misty Step, Hold Person, Mirror Image
3rd level (3 slots): Counterspell, Bestow Curse, Fear
4th level (2 slots): Greater Invisibility, Blight
5th level (1 slot): Cloudkill
Innate Spellcasting
Wisdom is her innate spellcasting ability (spell save DC 15). She can innately cast the following spells without material components:
- At will: Druidcraft, Minor Illusion, Thaumaturgy
- 3/day each: Entangle, Misty Step, Hold Person, Detect Magic, Mirror Image
- 1/day each: Insect Plague, Greater Invisibility, Geas, Phantasmal Killer, Plane Shift (self only, to or from the Feywild)
Lair Actions (Initiative Count 20, losing initiative ties)
- Choking Mire. Creatures of her choice within 20 feet must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.
- Will-o’-Wisps. Summons 1d4 will-o’-wisp lights. One grants advantage on the next attack roll against a creature within 30 feet.
- Drownwalker’s Grasp. A spectral hand grasps at one creature within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be restrained until the end of its next turn.
Fen Witch
This creature appears as a female crone with webbed feet and hands, and fiery red eyes. Her body is cloaked in tattered robes of gray or brown. Her hands end in razor-sharp claws and her hair is usually long and unkempt.
TACTICS
Fen witches rarely engage in combat, relying on their death speak ability to slay a creature almost instantaneously (and hopefully drive off the victim’s comrades by instilling fear in any remaining creatures). Failing this, the fen witch prefers direct combat to subterfuge and attacks relentlessly.
The fen witch is a creature of legend, found only in the most remote of places. It is a solitary creature and disdains all that invade its realm. A fen witch is thoroughly evil and malign, speaking to those she encounters only to learn the true name of one of the trespassers in her realm so she may utilize her power to slay that individual. Fen witches who take class levels usually advance as clerics, druids, sorcerers, or witches.
| Fen Witch CR 5 |
| XP 1,600 CE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11 Aura horrific appearance (60 ft., DC 15, 1d8 Strength) |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+1 Dexterity, +3 natural) hp 39 (6d10+6) Fort +5; Ref +6; Will +7 SR 15 |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +9 (1d4+1) Special Attacks death speak (DC 15), mind probe (Will DC 15) |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 17, Dexterity 12, Constitution 13, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 14, Charisma 15 Base Atk +6; CMB +9; CMD 20 Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Great Fortitude Skills Climb +12, Intimidate +11, Perception +11, Stealth +10, Survival +10, Swim +12 Languages Aklo, Common; telepathy 100 ft. SQ hag, swamp stride |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Death Speak (Su) A fen witch who knows an individual’s true name can speak that name as a swift action. If the individual hears the fen witch speak its name, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or perish. If the save succeeds, that creature cannot be affected again by the same fen witchs death speak for 24 hours. Note that the fen witch does not need to speak a language the creature understands in order to affect it; she only needs to speak its true name. Other fen witches or creatures who hear the target’s true name cannot use this ability; it only functions for the fen witch after she has used her mind probe ability on the target. The save DC is Charisma-based. Whether the fen witch’s Death Speak ability is successful or not, the target’s name remains fresh in her mind for 24 hours. After that, she must use her mind probe ability again to retrieve a creature’s true name. Hag (Ex) A fen witch counts as a hag for the purpose of joining a hag’s coven. Horrific Appearance (Su) The sight of a fen witch is so revolting that anyone within 60 feet (other than another fen witch or hag) who sets eyes upon one must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or instantly be weakened, taking 1d8 points of Strength damage. Creatures that are affected by this power or that successfully save against it cannot be affected again by the same fen witch’s horrific appearance for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based. Mind Probe (Su) As a full-round action, a fen witch can peer into the mind of a living creature within 60 feet in an attempt to extract the creature’s true name. The target can resist the mental trespassing by succeeding on a DC 15 Will save. If the save fails, the fen witch has learned the creature’s true name and can use her death speak ability. Creatures with an Intelligence score of 2 or less and creatures with no Intelligence score are immune to this ability. Psionic creatures can use defense modes or other psionic abilities to counter this probe. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same fen witch’s mind probe for one day. The save DC is Wisdom based. Swamp Stride (Ex) A fen witch can move through any sort of natural difficult terrain at its normal speed while within a swamp. Magically altered terrain affects a fen witch normally. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment temperate swamp Organization solitary Treasure standard |
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Tome of Horrors Complete
Fen Witch from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.