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View Full Version : Best Tactics for a Covey of Hags



Skjaldbakka
2007-12-05, 01:40 AM
Due to one of my players not being able to attend my next session, I am sending the party on a side-quest before fighting the BBEG of the semester (a lich with the hand and eye of Vecna).

I was going to have the high level wizard that is sending them to fight the lich scy on the lich's haven, and then teleport the PCs there. However, in the interest of putting this off a session, I am having the PCs gather components for a "better scry spell", in order for the NPC to be able to break some kind of scry-blocking spell on the area.

The components I had in mind are:

The hide of a beholder, to form the bowl for the scying pool.
A Hag's Eye, a power focus for the spell.
The blood of a ??? (haven't decided yet, something with True Seeing, probably), to fill the pool.

Now, a covey of Hags is only CR 7 or 8, but the party is 4 Level 10s, plus a cohort that is level 7. Which means I want to use the best possible tactics for the encounter, to make it challenging. I suppose I could also throw in some ogres or hill giants as well, to up the CR.

Suggestions?


Edit- Anyone know what CR a beholder is off-hand? I don't have my MM handy.

streakster
2007-12-05, 01:53 AM
Give the hags class levels - Warlock is great, so is Sorc, - name one Nanny Ogg, name one Magrat, one Tiffany, one Agnes, etc. Then, when you introduce the hag named Granny, any Pratchett readers in your party (Hopefully all of them) will flee as though all the outsiders of Hell were after them.

Actually, the class levels idea is my only serious contribution....

deadseashoals
2007-12-05, 02:01 AM
I dunno, clever tactics will only get you so far when it's an EL 8 encounter vs a level 10 party. But here goes...

The covey is always invisible, thanks to the green hag's invisibility SLA at will. They and their minions should be veiled as well, probably as some sort of nice looking fey folk. They need to use mirage arcana on their lair to set up imaginary vegetation for them to hide in, and more importantly, to route the PCs in a particular direction, where they can be ambushed. If they're setting an outdoors ambush, they should absolutely use control weather to create the most dire weather conditions possible. When they finally do open up and attack, they should use forcecage on the greatest threats (probably the cleric, as the wizard will teleport themselves out).

Individually, the annis hag, as the bruiser of the bunch, should be grappling the squishier characters in the party. The green hag should try to incapacitate the characters with low Fort saves with her weakness ability, and the sea hag should use evil eye, though she'll probably fail and be useless.

Even with all this, the encounter will probably be fairly easy. Add the giants, or consider making them vampire hags. Vampire hags are pretty sweet.

Lady Tialait
2007-12-05, 02:03 AM
CR 13 for the Beholder

I always Always made Hags charm children..or atleast make them involve them in some way. High level Wizards are very mad at me about this. No Fireball..then Give them Treasure for the Encounter. Let them have a Scroll of Spell Immunity. Hags often times scry..so you want them to know an awful lot about the party. They will know they are comeing. They will take unfair preperations. I once killed a level 15 party with a Coven of Hags...there was three..around CR 9 each..they were very prepared.