Bavlorna Blightstraw

Younger than Skabatha and older than Endelyn, Bavlorna is called Slack-jawed Lorna because her wide mouth is prone to hang agape. Flies flit in and out of it. She is the hag of the present, the here and now, the moment to moment. Those desperate individuals who seek her out do so to find a remedy for a nagging problem or anxiety. Though she despises unannounced visitors, a tragic tale of woe and misery puts her in a bargaining mood. If these visitors enter into an agreement with Bavlorna, she'll use her powers to resolve their pressing problem in exchange for something of use to her.

 

Alignment. Neutral evil.

Personality Trait. "I detest chores and would rather have other creatures do them for me."

Ideal. "I don't care about the past or the future. I live in the present. What I do now, this very moment, is all that matters."

Bond. "I'm safe in my cottage. Why should I leave it when I can make others come to me?"

Flaw. "Watching someone run widdershins makes me sneeze uncontrollably."

 

Bavlorna's Appearance

 

Bavlorna has a toad-like face with a mouth that magically widens and elongates, enabling her to swallow creatures whole. Her bulging eyes move independently, constantly scanning her surroundings. Stained and moldering patchwork garments hide much of the leathery, mummified flesh that stretches over Bavlorna's compact frame and extraordinarily long, spindly limbs. She must submerge herself in a briny concoction for an hour each day, or her body will dry out until it locks up in a kind of living rictus, and she remains that way until submerged. As the hours pass between each immersion, her movements become more ponderous and her skin audibly cracks as she moves.

 

Bavlorna lives like a hermit. She is frazzled, impatient, paranoid, and vindictive, lashing out at anyone she thinks is trying to deprive her of the treasures she has tucked away in her cottage. She trusts no one, so she creates tiny duplicates of herself, called lornlings, to serve as her attendants. When she travels away from her lair, she does so on her bobbing lily pad, accompanied by lornlings.

 

Bavlorna is considerd an Auntie Hag

 

According to Volo's Guide to Monsters (Chapter 1), the powers of auntie and grandmother hags include lair actions and regional effects.

 

Lair Actions. Grandmother hags always have access to lair actions, while powerful aunties or covens with aunties in their membership may also utilize lair actions.

 

*Aunties usually have access to one Lair Action, but if they are in a coven, they may have access to 3-5 Lair Actions, but only during certain times of the year, or after performing incredibly powerful, difficult rituals.

*A grandmother hag has access to 3-5 Lair Actions, and her coven may also access these abilities, but the grandmother's will always prevails in the case of conflicting actions.

 

Regional Effects. Not all hags' lairs affect the surrounding area in any measurable way, but most of them do; this is not unique to aunties and grandmothers. That said, a normal hag's influence creates 3-5 regional effects, while covens, aunties, and grandmothers usually create more.

 

*An auntie or a grandmother usually has an additional, more powerful regional effect or two that can cause more direct harm to intruders. Aunties might have one or two of these, while grandmothers could have as many four.

*A coven that shares territory usually has the upper range of regional effects (4 or 5). If at least one of them is an auntie or grandmother, then they may be able to access additional, more dangerous ones, but remember that these effects will tend to only exist closer to the territory specifically claimed by the most powerful hag in the coven.

 

Additional Abilities

 

Aunties and grandmothers are more than just a way to add lair actions and regional effects, although using them for that purpose is fine. Instead, you should feel emboldened to really make these creatures stand out in terms of power level and abilities. Here are several ideas.

 

Aunties. An auntie hag might have the maximum number of hit points for their hit dice. They may also have at least one major magic item or an equivalent item that can perform the same function; see Magic Item Tables F through I in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It may be a version of the item that is useless in the hands of anyone but the hag, or it may have a very limited number of uses, so that it doesn't fall into the hands of the adventurers (although they may appreciate the item as a reward for such a beefed up enemy!).

 

Aunties may also be able to cast coven spells without having the other members close by; the distance could be line of sight or 1 mile instead of 30 feet. Finally, you might give an auntie access to an additional ability beyond the lair actions and regional effects, often in the form of a more utilitarian power. Examples include many of the monster features you can find in the section on building new monsters (DMG Chapter 9), though many of these (marked with an asterisk) would increase the hag's challenge by at least 1.

 

*Amphibious (see kuo-toa)

*Avoidance* (see demilich)

*Breath weapon* (see dragon)

*Etherealness (already an ability of night hags)

*Frightful presence (see dragon)

*Incorporeal movement (see ghost)

*Legendary resistance* 3/day (see ancient black dragon)

*Life drain (see wight)

*Parry (see hobgoblin warlord)

*Reactive* (see marilith)

*Regeneration* (see troll)

*Spider climb (see ettercap)

*Swallow* (see behir; the creature must be medium or smaller, and is actually in a pocket dimension within the hag)

Mother and child


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