D&D 5E Mythological Figures: Morgan le Fay (5E)

Mythological Figures is back in Britain and more specifically Camelot with today’s entry: the enchantress Morgan le Fay!

There’s a lot you can read about Morgan le Fay as she plays an integral role to much of King Arthur’s story but here are the highlights. She’s one of Arthur’s half-sisters and married to King Urien of Gaul, although she has a love affair with Accolon of Gaul (a Knight of the Round Table), at one point trying to kill her husband and Arthur so that her lover might take the throne. She’s a powerful enchantress that knows witchcraft and is always going about making use of it for intrigue and what have you. Although she steals the sheath of Excalibur, a source of magical healing for Arthur, and she doesn’t return it to him so that he might heal from the Battle of Camlann, she helps guide Arthur to Avalon during his final days. She’s mother to Ywain as well and gets sent to a convent when she’s young, and trains under Merlin and is also Modred’s aunt, and a whole bunch of other things. If nothing else Morgan le Fay was a very busy lady.

Design Notes: It wasn’t long before I realized I was walking into a bit of a hornet’s nest with Morgan le Fay here so I decided on a couple of things to hang her proverbial hat upon. First of all she’s able to heal with her magic and frequently using enchantments so that makes up the bulk of her spellcasting via the divine sorcerer bloodline. Next is the witchcraft—for medieval Britain that strikes me as a very druid thing and I’ve loaded her up with the ritual feat to cover that bit. Finally—and I feel fairly confident that it will be a point of contention—she’s got a scholarly background to represent her youth spent in a formal setting for education (a convent) and tutelage by Merlin Ambrosius. If you’re looking for a solid evil-witchery-court-intrigue I think she’s going to fit the bill nicely! For her Challenge Rating I think the DMG (7) and Blog of Holding (8) rubrics just aren’t going to work right because she’s got little in the way of damaging spells so I’m calling it by ear at 13.

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Morgan le Fay
Medium humanoid (human), neutral sorcerer (holy blood) 16

Armor Class 15 (bracers of defense, ring of protection)
Hit Points 88 (16d6+32)
Speed 30 ft.

STR​	DEX​	CON​	INT​	WIS​	CHA​
9 (-1)​	14 (+2)​	14 (+2)​	14 (+2)​	14 (+2)​	18 (+4)​

Saving Throws Str +0, Dex +3, Con +8, Int +3, Wis +3, Cha +10
Skills Arcana +7, Deception +9, History +7, Insight +7
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Anglo-Saxon/Olde English (Common), Ancient Scandinavian/Proto-Norse, Sylvan
Challenge 13 (10,000 XP)

Background: Scholar. Fate gently nudges Morgan le Fay toward the answers to her questions. When she fails to recollect or discover more about a subject of lore, she knows where or whom can give her that information (usually from an athenaeum, library, institute of higher learning, another scholar, or mystical creature). The lengths to which she must go to acquire this information and the feasibility of doing so is entirely at the GM’s discretion.

Divine Favor (1/Short Rest). Morgan le Fay adds 2d4 to a failed saving throw or missed attack roll, making the saving throw or hitting if the new result beats the DC or AC.

Faerie Wings. Morgan le Fay can use a bonus action to conjure forth upon her back the wings of a great insect, gaining a flying speed of 30 feet until she dismisses them (a bonus action), dies, or becomes incapacitated.

Holy Magic. Morgan le Fay’s spells come from the cleric spell list as well as the sorcerer spell list, and shas cure wounds as a bonus spell known.

Feat: Ranged Spellcaster. Morgan le Fay ignores half cover and three-quarters cover when making a ranged spell attack. In addition, she doubles the range of any spell she casts that has a ranged spell attack.

Feat: Ritual Spellcasting. Morgan le Fay has a ritual book that contains the following spells, all of which she’s able to cast as rituals (using Wisdom as her spellcasting ability): detect magic, detect poison and disease, purify food and drink, speak with animals, animal messenger, locate animals or plants, meld into stone, water breathing, water walk, commune with nature.

Sorcery Points (16/Long Rest). Morgan le Fay can use sorcery points to gain additional spell slots, or sacrifice spell slots to gain additional sorcery points.

• Creating Spell Slots & Sorcery Points. As a bonus action on her turn, Morgan le Fay can expend one spell slot and either gain a number of sorcerer points equal to the slot’s level or create a spell slot by expending sorcery points (1st-level—2 points, 2nd-level—3 points, 3rd-level—5 points, 4th-level—6 points, 5th-level—7 points).
• Metamagic: Extended Spell. When Morgan le Fay casts a spell with a duration of 1 minute or longer, she can spend 1 sorcery point to double its duration, to a maximum duration of 24 hours.
• Metamagic: Quickened Spell. When Morgan le Fay casts a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, she can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting.
• Metamagic: Subtle Spell. When Morgan le Fay casts a spell, she can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.
• Powerful Healing (1/Turn). As long as she’s not incapacitated, Morgan le Fay can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll any number of dice from a spell that restores hit points to herself or an ally within 5 feet.

Spellcasting. Morgan le Fay is a 16th level spellcaster that uses Charisma as her spellcasting ability (spell save DC 17; +9 to hit with spell attacks). Morgan le Fay has the following spells prepared from the cleric and sorcerer spell lists:

Cantrips: eldritch blast, fire bolt, light, mending, minor illusion, sacred flame, spare the dying
1st-level (4 slots): charm person, command, cure wounds, sleep
2nd-level (3 slots): invisibility, suggestion
3rd-level (3 slots): bestow curse
4th-level (3 slots): confusion, dominate beast
5th-level (2 slots): dominate person, geas, hold monster
6th-level (1 slot): mass suggestion
7th-level (1 slot): regenerate
8th-level (1 slot): power word stun​

ACTIONS

Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d4+2) piercing damage.

 

[MattW]

I agree with Paranoyd Style. "Insect Wings" seems odd. But if it works for you....

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Morgan le Fay “knows, too, the art of changing her shape, of flying through the air, like Daedalus, on strange wings.”

The Arthurian myth is set sometime after the Romans left Britain, and before the Saxons (successfully) invaded. Morgan would presumably be able to read/write Latin and perhaps Greek. Her native language would be Brittonic.

Don't forget her "family, friends and contacts". She was the one who arranged for the Green Knight to appear at the Court of King Arthur and she's one of the 9 Sisters of Avalon

 

[Tonguez]

I agree with Paranoyd Style. "Insect Wings" seems odd. But if it works for you....

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Morgan le Fay “knows, too, the art of changing her shape, of flying through the air, like Daedalus, on strange wings.”

The Arthurian myth is set sometime after the Romans left Britain, and before the Saxons (successfully) invaded. Morgan would presumably be able to read/write Latin and perhaps Greek. Her native language would be Brittonic.

Don't forget her "family, friends and contacts". She was the one who arranged for the Green Knight to appear at the Court of King Arthur and she's one of the 9 Sisters of Avalon

Ae, everyone seems to forget that much of the story is based on Welsh myth and that they spoke Old Brythoneg and not Saxon.

Of course Geoffrey of Monmouth created a work of fiction, not a faith retelling of earlier myth and thus its not always possible (or even wise) to try and reconcile the differences in the narratives