You see Necken's gaunt figure, his pallid skin covered in moss. His glowing eyes fix on you as his twisted fingers pluck at a dark, ominous violin, the strings vibrating with an eerie, malevolent energy.
Origin
Once a humble and passionate violinist, Necken was a man whose love for music was unparalleled. However, his melodies were not appreciated by the villagers who lived nearby. Day after day, Necken played his violin, only to be met with scorn and abuse from those who could not understand his art. The constant mistreatment drove him to the brink of madness, and in his desperation for revenge, he sought the aid of a swamp hag.
The Swamp Hag's Curse
The swamp hag, sensing Necken's desperation, offered him a magical violin with the power to control anyone who heard its music. The violin's enchantment came with a terrible price: the more Necken played, the more he would transform into a creature resembling the hag herself.
Revenge and Transformation
With his newfound power, Necken played his violin incessantly. The villagers, unable to resist the violin's magic, were compelled to dance without rest. Day and night, they danced until their bodies broke and their spirits were drained. Necken's revenge was complete, but the price of his vengeance was steep. As the days passed, his appearance became more monstrous, taking on the features of the swamp hag who had cursed him.
Appearance
Necken's transformation has rendered him a grotesque figure. His once-handsome face is now gaunt and twisted, with features that resemble those of the swamp hag. His skin is pale and sickly, covered in patches of moss and grime. His eyes, once bright with passion, now glow with an eerie light. The violin he wields is an extension of his cursed soul, dark and foreboding, with strings that seem to hum with malevolent energy.
Behavior and Tactics
Necken haunts the swamps where he once sought revenge, playing his violin to lure unsuspecting travelers. His music attracts kelpies, water spirits that drag their prey into the depths. Necken uses his music to guide victims closer to the water's edge, where the kelpies await their next meal.
Hags are grotesque and malevolent creatures, often seen as embodiments of evil and cruelty. These ancient beings with origins in the Feywild are the very essence of wickedness. Their appearance is grotesque, with withered faces framed by long, frayed hair, disfigured skin marked by horrid moles and warts, and long, skinny fingers ending in razor-sharp claws.
The Faces of Wickedness:
Hags are a blight upon the mortal world, their forms reflecting only the darkness in their hearts. Their simple, tattered clothes are always filthy, and they revel in their hideous appearances. They possess a wide array of magical powers and some are skilled spellcasters. These powers allow them to alter their forms, curse their foes, and even challenge the magic of the gods themselves, which they blaspheme at every opportunity.
Monstrous Motherhood:
Hags propagate their kind through the most horrifying means. They snatch human infants from their cradles or even steal them from their mother's womb, consuming the poor children. A week later, a hag gives birth to a daughter who appears human until her thirteenth birthday when she transforms into a spitting image of her hag mother. Some hags raise the daughters they spawn, creating covens, while others return the children to their grieving parents, only to watch from the shadows as the child grows up to become a horror.
Sinister Bargains:
Hags are insufferably arrogant, considering themselves the most cunning of creatures. Despite their contempt for mortals, they are open to making dark bargains with those who show proper respect and deference. Over their long lives, hags accumulate vast knowledge of local lore, dark creatures, and magic, which they are more than willing to sell. However, a bargain with a hag is always dangerous, with terms often involving the compromise of principles or the sacrifice of something dear.
Embrace of the Macabre:
Hags revel in the macabre and festoon themselves with dead things. They adorn their garments with bones, bits of flesh, and filth. They intentionally nurture blemishes and pick at wounds to produce weeping, suppurating flesh. Their love for the gruesome extends to every aspect of their lives, and they often engage in disfiguring or transforming creatures they find attractive. Hags are known to travel in unusual vehicles, such as magical giant skulls, and keep a gruesome menagerie of monsters and slaves in cages, disguised by illusions to lure unsuspecting victims close.
Dark Sisterhood:
Hags maintain contact with one another and share knowledge, forming a sinister sisterhood. They are aware of each other's existence and adhere to an ageless code of conduct among themselves. This code includes announcing their presence before entering another hag's territory, bringing gifts when visiting another hag's dwelling, and honoring oaths given to other hags. Humanoids who mistake these rules as applying to all creatures may find themselves the subject of a hag's sinister amusement.
Cursed Lairs:
Hags dwell in dark and twisted landscapes like bleak moors, storm-lashed seacoasts, gloomy swamps, and twisted woods. Over time, the very land around a hag's lair becomes tainted by their malevolence. Trees twist into monstrous forms, attacking passersby, while vines snake through the undergrowth to snare and drag off creatures one by one. Foul, stinking fogs permeate the air, concealing pools of quicksand and sinkholes that swallow unwary wanderers.
In a campaign, Hags are harbingers of dark and sinister plots. Adventurers may find themselves pitted against these vile creatures, uncovering the horrifying secrets of their propagation, or even seeking dark knowledge from them through perilous bargains. The presence of Hags brings an element of grotesque horror and malevolent magic to the tabletop world, making it a realm of dread and trepidation.