This entry in Epic Monsters is headed beneath the waves for a tentacled antagonist: the Sea Witch!
Most people only know the animated rendition of the Little Mermaid done by the Haus of Maus, but like many of their other popular films that’s based on an old fairy tale, this one by a Danish fellow: Hans Christian Andersen. The stories are pretty similar so here we’ll consider the big differences:
Design Notes: You could just use a sea hag but that’s no fun so we’re going to find a comfortable space between the Maus-version and Hans Christian Andersen’s original Sea Witch, starting off with the simple statistics for a merfolk. Next we’ll give her some Magic Resistance and darkvision, a smattering of skills to cover her knowledge, and tentacles—which she’s going to keep when she uses Change Shape. Past that the Sea Witch is getting some solid spellcasting, making her a formidable underwater foe. Let’s do the numbers! The DMG came in just a snip under 6, the Blog of Holding at 6.4166, averaging out to an easy CR of 6.
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 71 (11d8+22)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
Skills Arcana +9, Nature +9, Perception +6, Persuasion +5
Damage Resistances cold, necrotic, psychic
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Aquan, Common
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Amphibious. The Sea Witch can breathe air and water.
Magic Resistance. The Sea Witch has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
Spellcasting. The Sea Witch is an 8th level spellcaster that uses Wisdom as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14; +6 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared:
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The Sea Witch casts a spell and attacks once with her tentacles.
Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the Sea Witch can only use her tentacles to attack the grappled creature and has advantage on attack rolls to do so.
Change Shape. The Sea Witch magically polymorphs into a humanoid or beast that has a challenge rating equal to or less than her own, or back into her true form. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (the Sea Witch’s choice).
In a new form, the Sea Witch retains her game statistics, tentacles, and ability to speak, but her AC, movement modes, Strength, Dexterity, and special senses are replaced by those of the new form, and she gains any statistics and capabilities (except class features, legendary actions, and lair actions) that the new form has but that she lacks.
REACTIONS
Ink Cloud (1/Short Rest). A 5-foot-radius cloud of ink extends all around the Sea Witch if she is underwater. The area is heavily obscured for 1 minute, although a significant current can disperse the ink. After releasing the ink, the Sea Witch can use the Dash action as a bonus action.
Most people only know the animated rendition of the Little Mermaid done by the Haus of Maus, but like many of their other popular films that’s based on an old fairy tale, this one by a Danish fellow: Hans Christian Andersen. The stories are pretty similar so here we’ll consider the big differences:
- The Little Mermaid has five sisters and when each is old enough they get a single visit to the water’s surface every year.
- The prince has no idea at all that he was saved by the Little Mermaid.
- Mermaids are soulless, live for three centuries, and turn into seafoam when they die.
- No eels are required to get the Little Mermaid to visit the Sea Witch seeking a solution to her plight.
- There’s no amulet! The Sea Witch gives the Little Mermaid a potion that gives her legs but takes away her voice, warning that she’ll never be able to return to the sea—plus she’ll be the best at dancing, albeit while she does it feels like she’s walking on knives. Finally, if she wants a soul the Little Mermaid has to win the prince’s love and marry him, and should he wed anyone else the next dawn her heart will break and she’ll turn into seafoam.
- The prince is really into the Little Mermaid’s dancing and despite how it makes her suffer she dances for him aplenty, becoming a close companion, yet he doesn’t fall in love with her. Instead his parents set him up with an arranged marriage to a neighboring kingdom’s princess. The prince isn’t interested because he doesn’t love this princess, saving his heart for the woman from the temple that he thinks saved him from drowning—and the woman from the temple is the princess in question, sent there for her education!
- It looks pretty bad as the wedding date nears and in the final hours the Little Mermaid’s sisters swim up to deliver a dagger they traded from the Sea Witch in exchange for their long beautiful locks. Should she use the blade to murder the prince and drip the blood on her feet she’ll become a mermaid again, but she can’t kill him in his sleep beside his new wife and instead flings herself into the sea as the sun rises, transforming into seafoam—though not as a mermaid usually dies, instead becoming an air spirit. Soon after she meets others like her, mermaids changed into daughters of the air instead of the sea because of their struggle to attain souls. With three centuries of good deeds, some day in the future she and her air-reborn brethren ascend to Heaven.
Design Notes: You could just use a sea hag but that’s no fun so we’re going to find a comfortable space between the Maus-version and Hans Christian Andersen’s original Sea Witch, starting off with the simple statistics for a merfolk. Next we’ll give her some Magic Resistance and darkvision, a smattering of skills to cover her knowledge, and tentacles—which she’s going to keep when she uses Change Shape. Past that the Sea Witch is getting some solid spellcasting, making her a formidable underwater foe. Let’s do the numbers! The DMG came in just a snip under 6, the Blog of Holding at 6.4166, averaging out to an easy CR of 6.
Sea Witch
Medium humanoid (merfolk), neutral evilArmor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 71 (11d8+22)
Speed 10 ft., swim 40 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | 15 (+2) | 16 (+3) | 17 (+3) | 15 (+2) |
Damage Resistances cold, necrotic, psychic
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Aquan, Common
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Amphibious. The Sea Witch can breathe air and water.
Magic Resistance. The Sea Witch has advantage on saving throws made against spells and other magical effects.
Spellcasting. The Sea Witch is an 8th level spellcaster that uses Wisdom as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 14; +6 to hit with spell attacks). She has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips: dancing lights, druidcraft, eldritch blast, mage hand, sacred flame
1st-level (4 slots): charm person, command, magic missile, thunderwave
2nd-level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, mirror image, misty step, suggestion
3rd-level (3 slots): counterspell, dispel magic, lightning bolt
4th-level (2 slots): blight, control water, dimension door
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The Sea Witch casts a spell and attacks once with her tentacles.
Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 12). Until this grapple ends, the Sea Witch can only use her tentacles to attack the grappled creature and has advantage on attack rolls to do so.
Change Shape. The Sea Witch magically polymorphs into a humanoid or beast that has a challenge rating equal to or less than her own, or back into her true form. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (the Sea Witch’s choice).
In a new form, the Sea Witch retains her game statistics, tentacles, and ability to speak, but her AC, movement modes, Strength, Dexterity, and special senses are replaced by those of the new form, and she gains any statistics and capabilities (except class features, legendary actions, and lair actions) that the new form has but that she lacks.
REACTIONS
Ink Cloud (1/Short Rest). A 5-foot-radius cloud of ink extends all around the Sea Witch if she is underwater. The area is heavily obscured for 1 minute, although a significant current can disperse the ink. After releasing the ink, the Sea Witch can use the Dash action as a bonus action.
) nonetheless, I would refer to a pop-culture representation. Maybe Alanis Morisette in Dogma or Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty. Heck, you could also go old-school and go with the demiurge from Gnosticism. The idea in all of these being a degree of separation from present-day religious material. We can riff on Morgan Freeman as the ultimate divine power without making theological claims!
