Krowljing

Krowljing, Mire-Mother of the Crooked Fen

Female Green Hag, Medium Fey

Hit Dice: 9d6+27 (58 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Armor Class: 19 (+2 Dex, +7 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d4+3)
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d4+3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, horrific insight, corrupting brew
Special Qualities: Amphibious, damage reduction 10/cold iron, darkvision 60 ft., mimicry, resistance to fire 10, spell resistance 18
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +9
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +16, Concentration +15, Disguise +16 (+18 acting), Hide +14, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (nature) +13, Listen +14, Move Silently +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +14, Swim +15
Feats: Alertness, Combat Casting, Deceitful, Iron Will
Environment: Temperate marshes and fens
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 10–15 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

Special Attacks

Spell-Like Abilities: At will - disguise self, ghost sound (DC 14), invisibility, pass without trace; 3/day - charm person (DC 16), deep slumber (DC 17); 1/day - suggestion (DC 18). Caster level 9th. Save DCs are Charisma-based.

Horrific Insight (Su): Krowljing can see into the insecurities and prejudices of those around her. As a standard action, she may target one creature within 30 ft. That creature must succeed on a DC 18 Will save or be overwhelmed with self-loathing and disgust for others, becoming shaken for 1d6 rounds and taking a –2 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks. If the creature already harbors prejudice or disdain for others, it instead becomes frightened for 1 round and shaken thereafter.

Corrupting Brew (Ex): Krowljing carries foul concoctions brewed from swamp rot, blood, and worse. Once per day, she may force-feed or trick a creature into consuming the brew (usually via deception). The target must make a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Constitution damage and become afflicted with a creeping revulsion toward others unlike itself, taking a –4 penalty on Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks for 24 hours. Repeated exposure can cause long-term personality degradation at the DM’s discretion.

Special Qualities
Mimicry (Ex): Krowljing can perfectly imitate voices and sounds she has heard, gaining a +10 bonus on Bluff checks to deceive via auditory means.

Description

Krowljing is not merely cruel - she is fundamentally repulsed by difference. Where most hags delight in suffering, Krowljing fixates on sameness. She despises variation in form, thought, culture, or identity. In her warped worldview, anything that deviates from her own nature is inherently foul, offensive, and deserving of eradication or correction.

To that end, she collects victims not only to torment them, but to “improve” them. She forces captives through degrading rituals meant to strip away individuality - shaving heads, marking skin, drowning personalities beneath fear and repetition. Those who resist are broken. Those who comply are discarded, as their transformation is never truly enough to satisfy her twisted ideals.

Her voice is a constant weapon. She whispers judgments, comparisons, and insidious observations, breaking down her victims psychologically before ever raising a claw. She does not scream or rage - she dissects, critiques, and erodes.

Lore

Krowljing is said to have once been part of a coven that rejected her. Not for her cruelty - that was expected - but for her obsession with uniformity. Where the others reveled in chaos and contradiction, Krowljing sought to impose a singular, suffocating identity upon everything she touched. She viewed even her fellow hags as “impure” for their differences.

After her exile, she retreated into the deepest reaches of a choking fen, where she began shaping her domain into a reflection of her ideals. The swamp itself has grown unnaturally still and repetitive under her influence. Trees grow in unnatural symmetry. Animal calls echo in identical patterns. Even the mist seems to move in uniform waves.

Travelers who stumble into her territory often report an overwhelming sense of being watched - not by something hunting them, but by something judging them. Those who escape speak of hearing their own flaws whispered back at them in the dark, twisted into accusations.

More disturbing still are the remnants of those who did not escape. In the deeper parts of her swamp, one can find figures - silent, unmoving humanoids with blank expressions and identical features crudely forced upon them. Whether these are victims, constructs, or something worse is unclear. What is certain is that Krowljing does not see them as failures… but as progress.