D&D’s 2025 Monster Manual Adds a Terrifying Fey-Fueled Threat For High Level Parties

Dungeons & Dragons‘ updated sourcebooks have added loads of new content for longtime players and newcomers to sink their teeth into, with updated player choices and mechanics that have successfully ironed out many of the issues 5th Edition had when it launched back in 2014. While there’s still plenty of room for growth and a fair amount of criticism to be dealt when reading through the new Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide – one thing that Wizards of the Coast absolutely nailed was the brand-new Monster Manual. With a whopping 504 unique monsters and 75 brand-new entries, the latest Monster Manual reevaluated 5th Edition’s inherently flawed CR system to try and balance different encounters for parties of every level.

In the past, while there were plenty of terrifying beasts for high level adventurers to take on, there weren’t very many fey creatures to throw at parties other than Bheur Hags which were only CR 7 when they were included in Volo’s Guide To Monsters. Now, though, Dungeon Masters who enjoy the tricky, sinister schemes that can be found by running hag storylines finally have the cackling BBEG they’ve always dreamed of with the inclusion of the Arch-Hag. Described in the book as “unpredictable, self-interested, and greedy, with bizarre fascinations and affectations”, Arch-Hags turn a low to mid-level threat into something that could drive the plot of an entire campaign.

Arch-Hags Are the Vicious Crones Dungeones & Dragons Fans Have Been Dreaming Of

Sure, while Dungeons & Dragons has always had the extremely iconic Baba Lysaga from Barovia and Baba Yaga, Mother of Witches to fill this niche in the past, the Arch-Hag provides a blank slate of evil for Dungeon Masters to shape fey-themed campaigns around, which is something that 2014’s 5th Edition was sorely lacking. The Arch-Hag has a CR of 21 and is capable of benefitting from the “Coven Magic” trait like other hags. Additionally, the Arch-Hag has four Legendary Resistances it can use each day, which is buffed up to five if a party chooses to take one on in their lair.

Most interestingly, though, is the Arch-Hag’s unique trait, “Spiteful Escape”, which operates as a fail safe as long as the hag isn’t within 30-feet of its anathema – or “most hated thing”. Spiteful Escape makes the Arch-Hag drop to 1 hit point in circumstances where it would otherwise be killed and teleport to a harmless demiplane. After teleporting, every creature that was within 60-feet of the Arch-Hag is afflicted with a nasty curse, causing it to have disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws. Even worse, the Arch-Hag knows the location of the cursed creature no matter where it is in the multiverse.

Arch-Hags aren’t invincible, though. As mentioned above, every Arch-Hag has an anathema, which can be anything from one of the hag’s teeth to a literal star pulled from the sky. While locating these anathemas can be tricky, it’s the one guaranteed way to make sure these devastatingly powerful crones actually stay dead.