The elder witch of the winds and winters leans on a twisted, bird-headed staff. A monstrous, emaciated fey, it wanders mountain heights and craggy highland moors, reveling in the appetites and agonies of frost and famine. The Blue Hag’s gaunt yet towering frame is draped in rough, woolen shawls and tattered plaids. Its frostbitten skin is the frozen blue of drowned men under the ice, and its single, milky eye glares balefully through a tangle of frost-white hair.

Northern Nomad. Often at odds with the Snow Queen and other fey lords and ladies of the North, the Cailleach Bhéara makes no lair but instead hungrily prowls lonely highlands and forbidding coastlines, withering fields, murdering travelers, and devouring cattle. Followed always by the two monstrous herons Sioc (frost) and Gorta (famine), the Blue Hag wanders the wilderness smiting the earth with her staff, summoning tempests, blizzards, and pestilences and hardening the land with frost.

Seasonal Gifts. From winter’s eve (Allhallows) to the spring equinox, the Cailleach Bhéara’s icy tyranny reigns unchecked in the wilder, fringelands where other great fey care little to tread. But by the first frostmelt, the Blue Hag must locate a sacred holly tree under which to secretly transform itself into a stone and thereby safely wait out the summer.

Winter Gales Usurped. Some lesser (bheur) hags are said to be offspring, “fosterlings” of the Cailleach Bhéara. These are the kidnapped children and changelings delivered to cults and covens that revere the Blue Hag, there to be reared into witches, hags, or worse. Northern lore claims that if any of these is daring or cunning enough to discover the hidden, magic stone before Allhallows and swallow it, they’d absorb and assume the Blue Hag’s form and nature, usurping its powers and position.

The Cailleach Bhéara (The Blue Hag)

Huge fey, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17
Hit Points 242 (21d12 +105)
Speed 40 ft.

Saving Throws Con +10, Wis +8, Cha +7
Skills Athletics +11, Intimidate +7, Perception +8, Survival +8
Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from weapons that aren’t silvered or magical, fire
Damage Immunities cold (see below), necrotic (see below), poison
Condition Immunities diseased, charmed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 18, truesight (see below)
Languages Giant, Primordial, Sylvan
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

Cold Absorption. Whenever the Blue Hag is subjected to cold damage, it takes no damage and instead receives a number of hit points equal to the cold damage dealt.

Fearsome Features. Each creature of the hag’s choice that is within 60 feet of the hag and aware of it must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 3 (1d6) turns. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself with a success; anytime this effect is ended on a creature it becomes immune to the hag’s Fearsome Features for 72 hours.

Innate Spellcasting. The innate spellcasting ability score for the Cailleach Bhéara is Wisdom (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It may cast the following spells requiring no material components:

• At will: fog cloud, misty step (40-feet), tongues, wind wall
• 3/day: blight, sleet storm, slow
• 2/day: bestow curse, contagion, ice storm
• 1/day: control weather, insect plague, wall of ice

Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the hag fails a saving throw, it may choose to succeed instead.

Monocular Vision. The Blue Hag has disadvantage on Perception rolls that rely on sight, but has advantage on Perception rolls that rely on hearing or smell.

Winter Walker. The Blue Hag ignores difficult terrain or effects caused by ice, snow or mountainous conditions. The Cailleach Bhéara cannot physically cross through running fresh-water and is affected by holy-water as if it were undead.

ACTIONS

Frost or Famine. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 +3) cold damage (70% chance), or the target acquires 1 level of exhaustion (30% chance).

Gales of November (Recharge 5-6). The Blue Hag exhales a swirling blast of sleet, storm-winds and autumnal debris in a 60-foot cone. All creatures in the area take 11 (3d4 +3) slashing damage and must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be forced back 10 feet, falling prone and acquiring the blinded condition until the end of its next turn.

Permafrost (see below). Striking the earth with the butt of its stave, the Cailleac Bheur causes a sheet of magical ice to form and swiftly radiate outward to a distance 90 feet and a depth of 2 feett, instantly killing all non-magical plant-lifeit contacts. This effect persists for 2 (1d4) hours during which the area is considered difficult, (magical) icy terrain. Any creature ending its turn in the affected area takes 7 (2d6) cold damage and must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, or lose 10 ft. of movement-speed until the end of its next turn.

Storm Shrike Shillelagh. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d10 +6) bludgeoning damage. The Blue Hag loses the use of the following abilities and actions when not in possession of its staff: Damage Resistance: necrotic, Permafrost, truesight.

REACTIONS

Breath of Boreas. When the Cailleach Bhéara is hit by a melee attack from an attacker it can see, it exhales an icy cloud of ice-crystals and freezing fog, blanketing the attackers head and torso in a thick layer of icy frost and causing 12 (2d8 +3) cold damage to all creatures in a 10-foot radius. The target (attacking) creature, suffers both the blinded and deafened conditions until spending 1 action on its next turn to clear away the ice.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The Cailleach Bhéara can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creatures turn. The Blue Hag regains spent legendary actions at the start of its next turn.

Frost or Famine. The hag casts Frost or Famine.

Withering Glance. Ranged Spell Attack: +8 to hit, range 90 foot cone. Hit: All plant-matter in the area (living or dead) within range that the hag can see, must succeed at a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or disintegrate into snow. This includes wooden items (arrows, axe-hafts, shields, wagon-wheels etc.). For plant-creatures and magical objects, the DC is 16 and the roll is made with advantage.

Permafrost. The hag casts Permafrost

REGIONAL EFFECTS

• Hazy Shade of Winter. Any region (10-mile radius,) through which the Cailleach Bhéara travels (or lingers,) suffers freakish cold-snaps, unseasonable storm-winds and freezing rain and fog. Livestock are born deformed or found mutilated, whole families go missing and crops wither from strange diseases and early frost-burn.