The Hags Apprentice

A Halloween Encounter

Introduction: In the Wyrd Wood, a very strange group of friends get together for
a monster mashup of frightening proportions as they try to recreate a hag coven
with dangerous results.

A kooky, spooky encounter for 5th-12th level characters

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 The Hag’s Apprentice
A Halloween Encounter

A kooky, spooky encounter for 5th-12th level characters

Writing: David Friant

Cartography: Nelson Vieira
Editing: Doug Vehovec
Layout and Design: Doug Vehovec

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Halloween Encounter
We wanted to create a fun, Halloween encounter that
spun out of a discussion while planning a Mon-
ster BFF video. The idea of several creatures with
clothing-like qualities mashed together to make a
monstrous witch came about, and we wound up with
a cyclops wearing a cloaker as a cape and a dark-
mantle for a witch’s hat. Is it a trick, or a treat? You
decide.
— Nerdarchy
Introduction
The adventurers hear rumors while passing through
a quaint little hamlet named Tond. The village is run
by an old woman named Frayne Tond, a descendant
of the village founder. She is bent with age, yet her
hair is still lush and nearly touches the ground. Her
green eyes are still bright and full of life. Frayne has
a granddaughter, Jayzna, who acts as an ambas-
sador from the village to the adventuring party. She
is young and full of energy, with a shock of red hair
and green eyes like her grandmother.
Most of the villagers exhibit a range of emotions
towards the newcomers — fear, suspicion, curios-
ity, excitement, and happiness. The villagers will try
to steer the characters away from the forest for fear
of harm coming to them or fear they will bring the
wrath of evil spirits down upon the village.
The village is small, with one large building in the
center of town that serves as the Tond’s tavern, coun-
cil hall, and church on holy days. It’s run by a portly,
dour man by the name of Dunkin. His greying hair is
thinning and greasy looking. The townsfolk affection-
ately refer to the building as the Town House.
In honor of visitors to their small village, an invita-
tion from Frayne is extended to the adventurers as
well as lodgings for the night.
In the morning, a frantic Jayzna arrives to seek
out the adventurers. Her mother, Glayznil has gone
missing last night. She swears it was Hagatha from
the Wyrd Wood.
Tond is about two miles from the Wyrd Wood where
these rumors come from. Characters can make
Intelligence (Investigation) or Charisma (Persua-
sion) checks to uncover rumors among the vil-
lagers about the goings-on in the region. Success
uncovers all the rumors with easier DCs up to and
including the successful check.
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Rumors
DC Rumor
5 “Beware old one-eyed witch Hagatha”
10 “Watch out for the rattling hunchback on the hill”
15 “The Moaning Bat of the Wyrd Wood”
20 “In the Wyrd Wood look out for the Eye Gorger
it’ll feast upon one of your eyes”
A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence
(Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check to investigate
within the Wyrd Wood itself will find wildlife that
is missing one eye. They either have a single eye in
the center or are missing an eye. These seem to be
birth defects or mutations that can be confirmed
with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.
Environment
Forest — The Wyrd Wood
Suggested level
Your mileage might vary depending on the particu-
lar party. There are also variables in the encounter
that could put certain characters at a significant
disadvantage.
4 characters of 8th-12th level
5 characters of 7th-12th level
6 characters of 5th-9th level
Monsters
Flappy (cloaker) (1) Challenge 8
* Hagatha (cyclops) (1) Challenge 6
* Spots, (darkmantle) (1) Challenge 1/2
*Immune to the cloaker’s Moan.
Treasure
Stashed about the hut in hidden nooks and cran-
nies characters will find 100 sp, 90 gp, a fine cloth
pennant trimmed with leopard fur worth 25 gp, a
pair of leather boots with bronze buckles worth 25
gp, a set of feathered bracers worth 25 gp, a carved
wooden staff worth 25 gp, a polished stone ring
worth 25 gp, a pewter belt worth 25 gp, a carved
wooden mask worth 25 gp, an iron signet ring
worth 25 gp,a spell scroll (awaken), a spell scroll
(pass without trace), and a potion of healing.
THE HAG’S APPRENTICE
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 Hagatha’s Hut

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Description
Hagatha’s hut was grown up out of a grove of trees
deep in the Wyrd Wood. The wood is a pale dead
color, almost white. It glows in the moonlight.
There are no visible windows, only a curtain for
a door made of strips of leather with bone beads
strung up along the strips. Light streams through
the walls and roof where the trees have grown
together. There is a hole in the center of the roof
where smoke rises out of it.
The inside of the hut is a simple space 40 ft. x 40
ft. It looks and smells like a primitive apothecary
or perhaps the sacred holy grounds of a witchdoc-
tor or shaman. Maybe a mix of all those things.
The truth is, its former residents were a coven of hags
who were driven off or slain by adventurers over a de-
cade ago. The hags had been raising a female cyclops.
They had special plans for her single eye.
They were very affectionate and caring in their
raising of Hagatha, perhaps in order to savor the
betrayal all the more.
Hagatha was left alone with only a darkmantle,
Spots, a pet of the hags to keep her company. She
didn’t realize all the circles up and down its conical
shaped head were eyes — her inspiration for the
name. As Hagatha grew bigger and bigger, Spots,
has taken to resting upon a her head looking very
much like a hennin style hat with a wide brim.
Soon after, a new being entered Hagatha’s life — a
cloaker the cyclops girl refers to as Flappy. Flappy
spends its days and nights draped over Hagatha’s
shoulders, whispering into her ear.
She spends her time mimicking the actions she’d
seen the hags doing. This can be either a horrific
or comical sight to see. Spots sits upon her head,
its tentacles flailing about and oftentimes fouling
up Hagatha’s endeavors. All the while Flappy rests
upon her shoulders, whispering to her and gaining
her confidence. Hagatha wishes to create her own
coven. That is why she’s kidknapped Glayznil — to
start with her coven of hags.
When the adventurers come upon Hagatha’s hut,
Glayznil is currently bound, gagged, and terrified in
the corner behind the cauldron. Hagatha is in front
of her, stirring away at the cauldron and spouting
gibberish. Spots occasionally knocks things into the
pot, creating random effects that last a round.
Hagatha keeps a sack of rocks at her side and will
toss them at adventurers while threatening to turn
them all into newts if they don’t leave her and her
sister alone. Anyone that gets to close she whacks
with her oversized ladle (use the stats of the cy-
clops’ great club).
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Complications
Hazard
The cauldron has one effect that takes place each
round at the end of Hagatha’s turn. Roll a d10 and
consult the table below to determine the effect.
Each effect last for a single round unless the same
effect is rolled again.
d10 Roll Effect
1-2 Darkness — as per the spell except in a 10 ft.
radius at a spot you choose within the hut.
3-4 Wall of Confusion — a wall of fog springs
forth, cutting a line across the hut in front
of the cauldron that makes the area lightly
obscured while trying to see through the
wall of fog. Anyone who passes through it
must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving
throw or be affected by a confusion spell.
5-6 Whirlpool — Hagatha tilts the cauldron
forward and a whirlpool begins to form in the
center of the cauldron. The whirlpool forms
a vortex that is 5 feet wide at the base, up
to 15 feet wide at the top, and 10 feet tall.
Any creature or object in front of the
cauldron and within 5 feet of the vortex is
pulled 10 feet toward it. A creature can pull
away from the vortex by succeeding on a
DC 13 a Strength (Athletics) check. When
a creature enters the vortex for the first time
on a turn or starts its turn there, it must
make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a
failed save, the creature takes 2d8
bludgeoning damage and is caught in
the vortex until the spell ends. On a
successful save, the creature takes half
damage, and isn’t caught in the vortex. A
creature caught in the vortex can use its
action to try to pull away from the vortex
as described above, but has disadvantage on
the Strength (Athletics) check to do so. The
first time each turn that an object enters the
vortex, the object takes 2d8 bludgeoning
damage. This damage occurs each round it
remains in the vortex.
7-8 Fear — Humanoids must succeed on a
DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be affected
as the fear spell.
9-10 Skeletal and zombie arms reach from the
cauldron and batter all creatures within
10 feet of it. Each creature in that area
must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw.
On a failed save, a target takes 1d6
necrotic and 1d6 slashing or bludgeoning
damage (50 percent chance of either), and
can’t take reactions until its next turn. On
a successful save, the creature takes half
damage, but suffers no other effect.
THE HAG’S APPRENTICE
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 Hagatha
In addition to the normal cyclops abilities, Hagatha has
the following ability that becomes available when she has
half her total hit points or less.
Cauldron Flip (1/day). As a reaction Hagatha targets
one creature within 15 ft. and tips the cauldron over the
top of the target creature, covering the creature in the
cauldron’s caustic contents and trapping it underneath.
The creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw
or take 9 (2d8) acid damage and become trapped beneath
the overturned cauldron. Dex save DC 15 reduce damage
to half and doesn’t trap the target under the cauldron. A
creature trapped under the cauldron is restrained, un-
aware of what is outside, and must succeed on a DC 13
Strength (Athletics) check to escape.
Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from the
target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On
a failed save, a creature takes 9 (2d8) acid damage and is
pushed 10 feet away. On a successful save, the creature
takes half as much damage and isn’t pushed. In addition,
unsecured objects that are completely within the area of
effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away.

More online
Check out the Nerdarchy YouTube channel for a
video where we discuss the origins of this Hallow-
een monster mashup here.
Nerdarchy also has a series of Adventurers League
Character Guides that include level breakdowns
from 1st-20th level, plus a bonus for Dungeon
Masters — a brand new creature stat block in-
spired by the character build for use as an ally,
NPC or antagonist in your D&D games.
• Mind Breaker Paladin
• Zen Archery Master
• Sewer Ninja Tortle
• Nature Possessed Warforged
• Scaled Skald
• Quick Strike
• Night Parade

• Combat Medic

• The Roper Wrangler Encounter

Thank you to the Nerdarchy and D&D community

for continued support and until next time, stay
nerdy!

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