(Monster Week) - Hearts Crone

Hearts Crone

NO. ENCOUNTERED: 1
SIZE: Medium
HD: 6d8+12 (39 hp)
MOVE: 30 ft.
AC: 18
ATTACKS: 2 Daggers +6 (1d4+2), or Dagger +6 (1d4+2) and Bite +6 (1d6+2)
SPECIAL: Darkvision 60 ft., Beguiling Form, Spell-Like Abilities, Blood-Drinking Bite, Withering Kiss, Improved Grab, SR 6, Immunity to Charm and Fear
SAVES: M
INT: High
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
TYPE: Humanoid (Hag, Shapechanger)
TREASURE: 6
XP: 650 + 6/hp

Beguiling Form

The Hearts Crone may alter her appearance three times per day, assuming the form of an attractive or otherwise appealing Medium humanoid.

Her clothing and carried equipment alter with her appearance, though their actual properties do not change.

A creature suspicious of the disguise may make a Wisdom check, CL 6, to notice subtle signs that something is wrong: a reflection that smiles too slowly, eyes that briefly appear black, teeth just slightly too sharp, or a heartbeat that cannot be heard.

This is stronger than simply giving her disguise self, and it reinforces the original Shapechanger identity. C&C already has shapechangers whose disguises require Wisdom checks to penetrate, so this is well within the native design language.

Spell-Like Abilities

The Hearts Crone possesses innate magical powers requiring no material components.

At Will:
Chill touch, minor illusion, prestidigitation

2/day:
Fog cloud, change self

1/day:
Charm person, charm monster, ray of enfeeblement

Treat these abilities as though cast by a 6th-level caster.

I would replace witch bolt. It is distinctly 5e in structure, while ray of enfeeblement gives her essentially the same “witch drains your vigor” feel and is already at home in C&C.

Spell Resistance

The Hearts Crone possesses SR 6.

That is much cleaner than translating the original five-per-day reaction. The Green Hag already establishes SR 6 as an entirely appropriate hag defense.

Immunity to Charm and Fear

The Hearts Crone is immune to magical charm and fear effects.

Her own heart has long since hardened beyond ordinary mortal affection or terror.

I would not preserve broad weapon resistance. The official Green Hag does not need it, and once we already have AC 18, SR 6, charm/fear immunity, and strong control magic, half damage from mundane weapons becomes unnecessary.

Blood-Drinking Bite

When the Hearts Crone successfully bites a living humanoid, the victim must make a Constitution save, CL 4.

Failure inflicts an additional 2d6 points of damage as the Crone drains blood and vitality from the wound.

A successful save negates this additional damage.

The Hearts Crone regains half the additional damage inflicted as hit points, up to her normal maximum.

I like adding that last piece. If she's literally drinking life-blood, the stolen vitality should go somewhere.

Improved Grab

If the Hearts Crone successfully strikes a Medium or smaller creature with a melee attack, she may attempt to seize the victim.

The target must make a Strength or Dexterity save, CL 4.

On a failure, the victim is held and cannot move away. The victim may attempt a Strength or Dexterity check against CL 4 each round to escape.

While holding a victim, the Crone gains a +4 bonus on Bite attacks against that creature and may use her Withering Kiss upon it.

I would make the grab somewhat easier to escape than the King Crab's CL 8 grip. Physical overpowering is not this hag's defining strength; the grab exists principally to set up something worse.

Withering Kiss

Once every 1d4 rounds, the Hearts Crone may kiss a creature that is:

• charmed by her,
• willingly permitting the contact,
• or presently held by her Improved Grab.

The victim suffers 3d6 points of negative energy damage and must make a Constitution save, CL 6.

On a failed save, the victim also loses 1d4 points of Constitution.

Lost Constitution returns at the rate of 1 point per full night's rest. Restoration or similarly powerful magic restores it immediately.

A creature reduced to 0 Constitution by the Withering Kiss dies as its heart shrivels into a blackened husk.

This is where I would deliberately move away from “maximum hit-point reduction.” C&C handles old-school horror particularly well through attribute loss, and Constitution is exactly the right resource for a supernatural kiss that physically withers the heart.

Because the Kiss requires setup, CL 6 is justified.

Dagger

Attack: +6
Damage: 1d4+2
Range: Melee or 20 ft.

The Hearts Crone may make two Dagger attacks each round.

Bite

Attack: +6
Damage: 1d6+2
Range: Melee

A successful Bite may trigger Blood-Drinking Bite.

The Hearts Crone may attack once with a Dagger and once with her Bite in the same round.

Notes 

• Strakird's foe is one of the Heartscrones. These witches who haunt the woods around Colwyn, preying on travelers or the innocent who stray too close to the border between farmland and dark forest that surrounds the region. Heartscrones are said to be able to change self, appearing as normal, harmless old women or beautiful strangers in the forest, but their form is sickly green and dark lipped as they drain the life out of their targets.
• Heartsbane are able to attack quick with multiple slashes of their ritual knives and bite with their fanged teeth. If they can grapple a target, they will plant a life stealing kiss causing 2d6 damage of necrotic energy. A target reduced to 0 HP via this kiss adds to the toll of sacrifices a Heartscrone needs to ascend to a higher rank and become a full hag.
• A Heartscrone has the ability to Charm Monster. They often like to charm bestial trolls or beasts, causing such a creature to fall into total corruption under the thrall of a crone.