Leatherhead
Possibly a Idiot.
Bheur Hag (VGtM)
The second Hag in this book is the Hag of Ice and Snow, and given that hags can now be guys, there is really only one way to introduce this monster now:
The Bheur Hag isn’t just about being cold, they are about doing selfish things while being cold, and inspiring others to do them too. Like hoarding food, or chopping down sacred groves for firewood. To help speed this process along, they can cast Control Weather, which has the power to turn even sun-baked desert into an arctic tundra in a few hours. Notably, this spell is granted as a power that isn’t part of their spellcasting stat block, presumably because they do not need their signature Greystaff Focus to cast it.
Their Greystaff is both a spellcasting focus, and a personal Broom of Flying for the Bheur hag. Allowing them to soar the snowy skies, and shoot deadly ice from above, making the Greystaff a prime target for thievery, disarming, and/or sundering. Speaking of spells, like all hags, the Bheur can join a coven to gain access to their shared spellcasting ability, however it is worth noting that this is the first casting statblock we have seen where most of the damaging spells are left intact.
In combat the Hag will go for the quickest kill possible. For an opening move, consider their Wall of Ice spell, using the option to make 10 wall segments, and having said segments plow through the party, dealing a hefty 10d6 AoE damage and setting up the good old divide-and-conquer. Follow up with a couple of Ice Shards to focus down one target while they can’t run away, or maybe even Ice Storm if they can hit three or more targets and possibly get a kill.
As a note to DMs looking for some tips regarding how to use these creatures (because the book unfortunately doesn’t offer much in that department) be prepared to horrify your players and be branded a “Killer DM” Because this next step is a doozy.
Once a creature is killed, the Bheur Hag can swoop down and take a bite out of them, using their Horrific Feast power as an AoE control. Note this power can be powered by freshly killed pets, henchmen, and even random fauna that just happens to be in the area of the fight when everything pops off. Using this power can create a snowball effect, because every creature that fails it saving throw will be stricken with fear and incapacitated for up to 60 seconds, which can easily spiral into a TPK. On the bright side for players, this is a good opportunity to actually attempt a disarm. Furthermore, eating the dead creature means the lower level resurrection spells may not even work on the recently deceased should the players win the fight.
Anyway, once Horrific Feast has been used, the only thing left for the Hag to use is their beefy basic attacks to finish out the rest of the combat. Maybe throwing in a Cone of Cold to satiate their sadistic tendencies and leave some ice sculptures around. If it looks like the Hag can’t win, they will fly away if possible, but without the added mobility of their Greystaff, they might be forced to fight to the death.
In the changeover, the Bheur Hag lost their Ray of Frost Cantrip, but gained a Multiattack. This Multiattck, when combined with a generous damage boost, nearly quintupled their at-will damage output. Maddening Feast was renamed Horrific Feast, and the rest of the statblock was cleaned up for formatting.
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