
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Rust Hag

Rust hags have a knack for technology. They make their homes in hollowedout factories, abandoned tenements, and other sites of urban decay.

Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 26
Unspecific Lore: DC 24
Specific Lore: DC 21

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite Rust HagCreature 9

Legacy Content

Uncommon CE Medium Hag Humanoid 
Source Pathfinder #182: Graveclaw pg. 84
Perception +18; darkvision
Languages Aklo, Common, Jotun, Terran
Skills Athletics +20, Crafting +18, Intimidation +18, Occultism +18, Survival +18
Str +6, Dex +5, Con +4, Int +3, Wis +4, Cha +4
Coven A rust hag adds curse of lost time, rusting grasp, and summon construct to her coven's spells.
Items arquebus (10 rounds), flintlock pistol (20 rounds)
AC 28; Fort +18, Ref +17, Will +20; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 155; Weaknesses cold iron 10
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +22 [+18/+14] (agile, magical), Damage 2d6+2+10 slashing plus rusting touchRanged [one-action] ghost touch arquebus +22 [+17/+12] (concussive, fatal d12, kickback, magical, range increment 150 feet, reload 1), Damage 2d8+2+11 piercing plus hagshotRanged [one-action] ghost touch flintlock pistol +22 [+17/+12] (concussive, fatal d8, magical, range increment 40 feet, reload 1), Damage 2d4+2+11 piercing plus hagshotChange Shape [one-action] (concentrate, occult, polymorph, transmutation) The rust hag can take on the appearance of any Medium female humanoid. This doesn't change her Speed or her Strikes, but might change the damage type her Strikes deal (typically to bludgeoning).Hagshot Any firearm wielded by a rust hag gains the benefits of +1 striking and ghost touch runes, and it functions properly no matter how rusty it gets. In addition, when a rust hag critically hits a target with a firearm, the target must succeed at a DC 28 Fortitude save or be stunned 1.Rusting Touch A rust hag's touch causes metal to rapidly rust and corrode. If the hag succeeds at a Strike with her claw, she deals 2d6 damage (doubled on a critical hit) to a metal item the target is wearing or holding, ignoring its Hardness. If the hag hits an unattended metal item, the item takes this damage automatically. If a creature uses the Shield Block reaction with a metal shield against the hag's claw attack, the shield is automatically broken, but no other item is rusted on that attack. Objects made of skymetal, such as adamantine and orichalcum, are immune to rusting touch.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Rust Hag Guns

Rust hags use guns presented in Pathfinder Guns & Gears. The concussive and kickback weapon traits appear on page 150 of that book. If you don't want to use firearms in your campaign, then a rust hag's guns are so corroded they're valueless.

All Monsters in "Hag"

NameLevel
Annis Hag6
Blood Hag8
Cuckoo Hag9
Grave Hag9
Green Hag4
Iron Hag6
Moon Hag10
Night Hag9
Rust Hag8
Sea Hag3
Storm Hag5
Sweet Hag4
Winter Hag7

Hag

Source Bestiary pg. 200
Malevolent crones who lurk at the edges of civilization, hags use their deceptive, magical abilities to prey upon humanoids, manipulating and corrupting them. Some say hags arose from fey that became twisted by their inner selfishness. Hags gather together in covens for greater power, craft unique magical items known as hag eyes, and are known to replace infant humanoids with their own offspring—these children are changelings who have the potential to become hags themselves.

Foul creatures who appear as wizened old women, hags share little in common with the humanoids they terrorize. They are hateful entities whose greatest joy lies in the corruption and ultimate destruction of anything good and virtuous. Whatever power created the first hags is lost to time, but numerous hag varieties have arisen over the ages, each with their own powers and abilities to spread pain and suffering.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Hag Covens

Hags are dangerous enough on their own, but when they gather in threes to form covens, they grow much more powerful.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Haters of Humanity

Hags loathe all humanoid races, but not equally—the brunt of their wrath is leveled against humans. Hags prey on human society the most, adding human flesh to their cauldron and snatching newborn children before replacing the babes with their own progeny as changelings.

Sidebar - Related Creatures One-Sided Rivalries

The hateful creatures known as skelm have much in common with hags, and evidence suggests that they might have some ancient or metaphysical connection to one another. Skelms maintain that they have been unfairly cursed or betrayed by hags and use it as an excuse to antagonize hags. More often than not, hags pay no more attention to skelms than they do any other creature.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Hags

The four types of hags presented here are but the most notorious of their kind. Others—such as the blood hag, moon hag, storm hag, and winter hag—plague society in other regions of the world.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Supporting Characters

Hags don't have to be the main threat of an adventure. Heroes must sometimes seek out knowledge or power from someone known to be dangerous or treacherous, a role that hags can fill quite well. When not terrorizing humanoids, hags explore forbidden magic from sources that decent folk would never consider.

Sidebar - Additional Lore The Nature of Hags

Some believe that hags possess no true form or body of their own, but instead manifest from society’s fear of aging. That no known male hags exist has also puzzled scholars, but perhaps this is but another way in which hags mock society—by presenting themselves as awful stereotypes of elderly women.