To Kill a Mockinghag
CAMPAIGN CHRONICLE >> The North Revealed is a Living World campaign set in The Northern Hearthlands/Grand Duchy of Rhyl of the [Fantasy] Steel Realms.
** The source of the following material is from this campaign. **
Historical 1 Shots: Night of the Owl | Brother Wolf, Sister Moon | To Kill a Mockinghag | Just Another Macguffin
NOTE: This ADVENTURE will determine the ultimate outcome for the historical event of “Night of the Killing Hag”. This takes place hundreds of years earlier in the world of the North Revealed main campaign. This will have repercussions in that campaign.
@ Start – To Kill a Mockinghag
The PCs are Pinetribe barbarians from The Wyldes, west of the Grand Duchy of Rhyl. At least one of them will be a member of their ‘Hag Hunter’ elite group of warriors. A hag has come from deep in the Great Forest of Rhyl and is preying on the small Faerie folk for blood sacrifice and stealing infants of the clan. The elders have read the omens, and tracked her down to an area where she will be, your group is sent in to kill her.
The Black Nail of Rhyl
This is known only to the Pine Tribe Folk of The Wyldes of the Northern Heartlands currently…
YEAR OF ADVENTURE = CY 8948
In CY 8913 the Elves of Ostravelaugh Weald tracked a scream from deep in the Great Forest of Rhyl – a scream of pain of the forest giving birth to a particularly evil hag, who tore through the veil of The Faeywyld. Within a year, small folk faeries started to be preyed on by her. The elves were not able to capture her, but drove her from the deep reaches of the forest, into the borders of civilized lands.
She began her real reign of terror in CY 8919. She would steal an infant every few months, and get tracked down and chased over The Giants Steps. Months would go by and the thefts would begin there. Back and forth from the Grand Duchy of Rhyl and The Wyldes. She began to leave an offering in the place of the child she had stolen from its crib or bed – a long black fingernail – this is how she earned her name. Perhaps she thought it was a fair trade. Eventually it was discerned that the fingernails would grow into a homonculus in enough time – a sad parody of life to replace that which was stolen.
No one knew what she was doing with the children, none would turn up elsewhere – normally they sought a new generation of hags and returned them to human society after ‘turning’ them to be raised by those they would eventually be inflicted on. Eventually it was assumed she was either sacrificing them to some dark entity and/or eating them. She was young, barely had she become a hag when she started her horrific spree. By the end, only the early signs of age were beginning to show, she was still young and beautiful (though quickly fading) and this also allowed her to hide from authorities.
Over 29 years, she got more prolific, even for one of her kind. In one year, she stole 20 children total from both sides of The Giants Steps. Finally, the tribesfolk of The Wyldes put together a hunting party to put an end to her in CY 8948. In the previous month, 4 little girls had been stolen. The Pipes of the Kur-Authba were played – the next hunter was born and the hag they were hunting was given notice to depart or be hunted to death (few ever chose the former!).
Blacknail’s Blood-Soaked Home
She was only as capable as she was, because she had decided to make a permanent home in The Giants Steps – though this increased the chance of her being found over time. She was evil, and felt no kinship to life, only death, scoffing at the notion of her own demise. In the valley of the hills she chose to make her home in, she made sure its animals forgot where and who she was. This conspicuous forgetfulness was the thing that brought about her end. She knew that her fate was likely sealed, though her inner demons compelled her to keep stealing and sacrificing babies. The entire valley area was littered with traps and deadly encounters, and none knew which cave, hole, or hidden grotto she made her home in – exploring it or assaulting it would result in potentially the death of dozens or even hundreds.
Terminology
| Disastrous = 1 | Dire <= Target -5 | Failure | Simple >= Target # | Significant >= Target +5 | Exceptional = “Critical Range” |
MAKING CHARACTERS
PLEASE MAKE YOUR OWN CHARACTER AND HAVE IT READY FOR THE DAY OF THE GAME. D&D Beyond, Google Doc, etc. = All OK. > Plan on printing it out, the table will mostly be used for a battle map!!!! The Wylden Hag Hunters background IS available.
All characters are PHB 2014 human, non variant, POINT BUY for Attributes. Your Essence Pool is locked at the start; it cannot be changed for the duration.
All characters are PHB 2014 options ONLY Barbarian 5th