Hagkin (Hagspawn)
A hagkin (sometimes called a hagspawn) is a half-breed race that, like many others, finds themselves stranded between two worlds. Often seen as only failures or tools by hags and as little better than their progenitors by fearful other races. Though typically the product of a hag and a human, they can be incorporate of the blood of other races, such as orcs, elves, and even tieflings. There are also darker rumors abounding about how Hags can produce children through dark monstrous rites in a horrifying ritual involving consuming human children.
How this blood expresses itself would usually only result in cosmetic quirks that make their lineage apparent to those that see them.
Born of Hags
A hagkin is the result of a lineage with strong hag bloodlines. Often these are the direct children of hags, though the blood can be expressed for several generations.
Typically speaking, a direct male descendent of a hag is hagkin (a hagspawn), as may be their children. While typically a female descendent of a hag becomes a hag herself, the process is not infaillable, and sometimes may result in her becoming a hagkin, though most female hagkin will be further removed from their hag ancenstor, and often the child of another hagkin.
Cast off Failures
Many hagkin that result from the direct origin of a hag will find them a failure for their inability to become a proper hag. There are many reasons, but the most often simply being of the wrong gender.
If they have any exposure to their hag parent, it is often one not a good one, being valued as, at best, henchmen and pawns for their schemes, though should their hag parent be an exception to the rule in the general behavior of hags, this can be vary considerably.
Treatment by other Races
Hagkin are treated with deep suspecion by the majority of other races. Hags have a well earned reputation for being trouble, and their offspring are often thought not to fall far from the three. Some hagkin have a particularly warped and brutish appearance that makes integration with other races more challenging, but even the most human looking of them can face prejudice from those that know their origin.
They often find themselves in outcast roles, be it taking to the wilderness or as mercanaries and thugs-for-hire, putting the power of the lineage to good use, but further confirming their dangerous nature in the minds of many common village folk.
Hagkin Names
A hagkin may have a name given to them by their human parents, in which case their name can follow human naming conventions or standards. They may pick up less favorable nicknames as their nature manifests. Alternatively, they may be named by hags, and the following are some examples of what such names might be.
Hags rarely have true surnames, treating their name as more akin to a title, with certain dark whimsy. Male children with no hope of becoming a hag will rarely be given a proper last name, though may keep or adopt that of their human father in some cases, or craft one of their own in time.
Male Names: Aidan, Anje, Balder, Bram, Cade, Daegal, Gannayev, Ulrich, Rehan, Ruebus, Seji, Yavo, Zufem
Femle Names: Amber Grimsbane, Cassandra Crow, Elenwen Blackood, Maev Frost, Maria Ash, Winter Willow, Vanessa Whitetree.
Subrace
Though hagkin share some common traits in the nature of the intermingled lineage of hags and humans, there are five subraces that result in the blood of the different hag linages: Annis, Beheur, Green, Night, and Sea. Choose one of the subraces presented below.
Hagkin Traits
Your hagkin character has a variety of natural abilities, the results of the magical bloodline within you.
Ability Score Increase
Your Charisma score increase by 1.
Age
Hagkin mature at the same rate humans do and reach adulthood around the age of 20. They live much longer than humans, however, often exceeding 180 years.
Alignment
A combination of their fey blood and their outcast status from society give them a chaotic bent. More exposure to a hag parent or progenitor often sets them on an evil path, but it is not inherent to their blood.
Size
Hagkin most hagkin tend to be roughly human size though how their blood expresses itself can vary, with some - particularly those of Annis Hag descent - being notable larger and brutish, towering well over 6 feet tall.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision
Thanks to your hag blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shadow of gray.
Languages
You know Common and Giant.
Deceptive Nature
Lies come easily to you. You have proficiency in the Deception skill.
Lineage Mutation
Your hag blood manifest itself in one hag-like mutation. Select one of the following features
Clawed Nails
Your nails are unnaturally sharp and strong, serving as a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Hag Hide
Your hide is thick and unnaturally resilient. Your AC becomes 16 while not wearing any armor.
Lesser Magical Resistance
When you make a saving throw against a spell or other magical effect, you can gain advantage on the roll. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Annis
Physical larger and more prone to the grotesque and twisted mutations of their kind, these tend to be hardest to mistake for anything but a foul spawn of evil, though they outward appearance may not inflict their personality, some choose to embrace becoming the monster others view them as.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Brutish Endurance
Your flesh is hard and resilient. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to hunker down and harden your flesh enduring damage more easily. You can subtract 1d4 + your Constitution modifier from bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage you take until the start of your next turn.
Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Crushing Arms
You gain proficiency in the Athletics skill.
Bheur
With pale blue skin, often described as the pallor of someone that has frozen to death, these hagkin often unsettle others easily, particularly when seeing into the cold, often bright blue, eyes. Beheur hagkin have a reputation for beeing unfeeling and unflinching, often calculating and methodical. Tempered by the extreme grotesque horrors of their progenitors, it is exceedling difficult to unsettle them.
Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Blizzard Born
You have resistance to cold damage. You're also naturally adapted to cold climates.
Icy Veins
The blood running your veins is cold. As a reaction to making a saving throw against becoming frightened, you can choose to succeed instead. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Ice Walk.
You can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn't cost you extra moment.
Green
Green tinted skin marks this bloodline, it is often considered the most of purely fey, though that makes the nature of their hag progenitor no more pleasant. Due to a Green Hags twisted obsession with failure and tragedy, they are most likely to negatively intervene in the spawns life just to see them suffer.
Ability Score Increase
Your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Mimicry
You are adept at mimicking animal sounds and humanoid voices. You gain advantage on any Charisma (Deception) or Charisma (Performance) check to mimic animal sounds or humanoid voices.
Illusion Magic
You know the minor illusion cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the disguise self spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the invisibility spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Forest Tongue
You know the Sylvan language
Night
The least prone to the brutish disfigurement, hagkin with the a Nighthags fiendish blood have a skin ton from light purple to deep blackish blue, they can often be mistaken for a tiefling without horns. The blood running through veins calls them to cruelty and horror, and it consequently they find it the easiest to turn to evil of the hagkin.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 1 and you Charisma increases by 1.
Dreameater
As an action, you can touch a sleeping creature and attempt to consume it's dreams. The target creature must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a failure, the creature regains no hit dice from their long rest, and you regain hit dice equal up to your proficiency modifier. You can interact with creatures on the material plane for the purpose of this action while on the ethereal plane.
Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Ethereal Step
As a bonus action you can enter the ethereal plane. During this time, you can move in any direction. If you move up or down, every foot of movement costs an extra foot. You can see and hear the plane you originated from, but everything there looks gray, and you can't see anything more than 60 feet away. While in the ethereal plane in this way, you ignore difficult terrain and can move through creatures on the material plan, but not objects or structures. You can exit it at any time until the end of your turn, at which point you automatically exit the ethereal realm.
Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Inferal Heirtage
You know the Infernal language.
Sea
Tending toward ugly and misshapen, they have sickly blue skin and scraggled hair, this tend be reviled and outcast from society, often looked down on as much as feared. They scavange and salvage from the outskirts of society, often resenting their lot.
Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Aquatic Adaption
You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can breathe air and water.
Horrifying Glare
As an action, you can unleash your full loathsome true nature in vicious glare at a target that can see you within 30 feet. Unless it succeeds on a Wisdom saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier, it becomes frightened of you for 1 minute. If a creature fails this save by 5 or more, they become stunned as well.
A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a stunned creature fails again by less than 5, it is no longer stunned (but remains frightened)
Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Scavenger of the Sea
You gain advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks in coastal regions or in the sea. You know the Aquan language.
Hagkin Feats
Mother's Magic
For some hagkin, the magic of a hag expresses itself in their bloodline. You gain innate magic, granting you the ability to cast disguise self, and two additional spells based on your subrace.
| Subrace | Spell |
|---|---|
| Annis | fog cloud, enlarge/reduce |
| Beheur | ice knife, hold person |
| Night | sleep, ray of enfeeblement |
| Green | faerie fire, mirror image |
| Sea | fog cloud, blindness/deafness |
You can cast each once without expending a spell slot. You regain the ability to cast these spells in this way when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for all three spells.
Pure Lineage
The blood that runs within you expresses itself particularly strongly. You gain the two lineage mutations you didn't select, and each of them gains a further boost:
- Your claws become a d6 and gain the finesse property. Addtionally, you gain the ability to cast primal savagery. When you cast it in this way, it can only effect your claws and your casting modifier for it is Charisma.
- Your AC becomes 17 while not wearing any armor.
- You can use your Magical Resistance one additional time per short or long rest.
Becoming a Hag
Within the race of hagkin lies are dark secret. Though they have failed to become a hag, the blood that lies within them opens a dark path in which they can ascend to a true hag, unlocking a certain kind of dark immortality.
Many hagkin fear this path, though some actively seek it. The exact route is unknown, but many hagkin believe it lies with consuming the heartstone of a hag, or some dark ritual involving collecting them.