Fen Witch

Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12 (padded armor)
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
15 (+2)	12 (+1)	13 (+1)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)

Saving Throws Con +3
Skills Deception +4, Insight +4, Perception +4, Stealth +3
Languages Common, Deep Speech, Sylvan, telepathy 100 ft.
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Horrific Appearance. The sight of a fen witch is so revolting that anyone who sets eyes on one within 60 feet must make a successful DC 11 Constitution saving throw or be sickened, with effects identical to the poisoned condition, for one minute. Characters fighting a fen witch can avert their eyes at the start of their turn and take disadvantage on attack rolls. Anyone surprised by a fen witch must attempt this saving throw immediately at the beginning of combat unless they can’t see her for some other reason. This saving throw never needs to be attempted more than once per 24 hours. Fen witches and hags of all kinds are immune to this effect.
• Swamp Stride. A fen witch can move through any sort of natural difficult terrain at its normal speed while within a swamp. Magically altered terrain affects a fen witch normally.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. A fen witch makes two Claw attacks.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft.; one creature. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
• Death Speak. A fen witch who knows the secret vibrations of an individual’s name can speak that name as an attack. If the individual hears the fen witch speak its name, that creature must make a successful DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or immediately drop to 0 hit points. If the save succeeds, that creature can’t be affected again by the same fen witch’s death speak for 24 hours. Note that the fen witch does not need to speak a language the creature understands in order to affect it; she only needs to speak its name with its secret vibrations. Other fen witches who hear the name spoken this way can’t use it for their own death speak attacks (if the target’s saving throw succeeds, other fen witches assume the name was vibrated incorrectly and won’t copy it). Each fen witch must learn the vibrations independently by using her mind probe successfully on the target.
• Mind Probe. A fen witch peers into the mind of a living creature within 60 feet in an attempt to extract the secret vibrations of the creature’s name. The target resists the mental trespassing (and becomes immune to further mind probes by the same fen witch until after a long rest) with a successful DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If the saving throw fails, the fen witch finds the information she sought and can use her Death Speak ability on a later turn. Creatures with an Intelligence score of 2 or less are immune to this ability, as are creatures that are immune to psychic damage.

ABOUT

A fen witch is a female humanoid with one nostril, webbed feet and hands, and fiery red eyes. Her body is cloaked in tattered robes of gray or brown. Her hands have razor-sharp claws and her hair is long and unkempt.

The fen witch is a creature of legend that is found only in the most remote of places. It is almost always a solitary creature – they despise others of their own kind almost as much as they hate strangers in their swamps -but they sometimes band together in larger groups for mysterious, evil rituals. Occasionally, spellcasting fen witches are encountered. These tend to be the leaders of their small covens by virtue of their greater ability to inflict suffering on their cohorts.

A fen witch is thoroughly evil and malign, speaking to those she encounters only to learn the “secret vibrations” of their true names in order to use that secret against them. It is not uncommon for a fen witch to train or charm swamp creatures such as giant crocodiles to come to her aid when needed.