Night Hag 5e: A Dungeon Master’s Guide to Fiendish Fear and Nightmare Fuel

In the sprawling multiverse of Dungeons & Dragons 5e, where dragons soar and mind flayers plot, there are few creatures as haunting, manipulative, and sinister as the Night Hag. A fiend with a mortal past and a terrifying future, the Night Hag is more than just a monster to fight—she’s a campaign-level schemer, a dream-invading tormentor, and a walking embodiment of dread.

Whether you’re a DM looking to spice up your campaign with something far darker than a typical fiend, or a player curious about what that strange, dream-warping creature was that showed up last session, this guide is for you.

What Is a Night Hag in 5e?

Let’s start with the basics. The Night Hag 5e Hag is a creature found in the Monster Manual, and she’s a unique mix of fiend and fey, originally born a mortal hag who has made a full transition into something much more demonic.

Lore Overview

According to D&D 5e lore, Night Hag 5e hags come from the lower planes and once had fey origins. They were hags who embraced evil so completely that they transcended their mortal form and became fiends, now dwelling in places like Hades, the Gray Wastes, or even the Nine Hells. Despite their fiendish nature, they maintain the selfish, cunning personality that defines all hags.

Unlike demons who destroy, or devils who conquer, Night Hag 5e hags corrupt. They don’t just kill—they twist souls, invade dreams, and sow nightmares. Their goal isn’t simply destruction; it’s domination through subtlety, manipulation, and fear. They’re slow-burn villains with long-term plans.

Stat Block Snapshot

Here’s a quick overview of the Night Hag 5e Hag’s key 5e stats:

• CR (Challenge Rating): 5
  
• AC: 17 (natural armor)
  
• HP: 112 (15d8 + 45)
  
• Speed: 30 ft.
  
• Damage Resistances: Cold, fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons
  
• Damage Immunities: Poison
  
• Condition Immunities: Charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
  
• Spellcasting: Innate Spellcasting, including ray of enfeeblement, magic missile, polymorph, and plane shift
  

And of course, there’s the Etherealness, which allows her to slip in and out of the Ethereal Plane—perfect for dream invasion and avoiding pesky sword-wielders.

Nightmare Haunting: The Night Hag’s Signature Ability

Now, here’s where things get juicy—and terrifying. The Night Hag 5e Hag’s most memorable and narrative-driving feature in 5e is Nightmare Haunting.

How It Works

While on the Ethereal Plane, the Night Hag 5e hag can magically enter the dreams of a creature on the Material Plane. The target must be on the same plane of existence and asleep. Over the course of a long rest, the hag torments the sleeper with horrible visions.

At the end of that rest, the creature:

• Gains no benefit from the rest (yes, even if they technically slept 8 hours)
  
• Suffers 3d10 psychic damage
  
• Has its maximum HP reduced by an amount equal to the psychic damage taken
  

That HP reduction lasts until the next long rest. If this reduces the creature’s max HP to 0, the soul is trapped in the hag’s soul bag, and the character dies permanently unless their soul is retrieved.

This is absolutely brutal if used right by a DM. The hag doesn’t have to confront the party directly. She can wear them down over days or weeks, turning their own rest into a liability. Imagine how a party would react once they realize that someone—or something—is stealing their strength every time they sleep.

Narrative Potential

This ability turns a CR 5 creature into a campaign villain. A Night Hag 5e Hag doesn’t need to show her face until much later in the story. Her influence can be felt through dreams, through madness, through fear. Think of her like Freddy Krueger meets Hades.

The Soul Bag and Coven Magic

Night Hag 5e Hags aren’t just dream-haunters—they’re soul collectors and team players, too.

The Soul Bag

The soul bag is a grotesque item that the Night Hag 5ehag carries. It’s a stitched flesh sack that can hold a creature’s soul, assuming they’ve been slain by Nightmare Haunting. The soul stays trapped until:

• The bag is destroyed
  
• The hag willingly releases it
  
• A wish spell or true resurrection is cast
  

That makes her one of the few creatures in 5e who can steal a soul permanently without needing to be a god or lich. Great way to up the stakes.

Hag Covens

If you want to go big, pair your Night Hag 5e Hag with two other hags and form a coven. When hags are in a coven, they:

• Share spell slots
  
• Gain access to powerful coven spells (like bestow curse, eyebite, geas, and phantasmal killer)
  
• Can use ritual magic together
  

Coven Night Hags are horrifying not just because they’re stronger, but because their goals shift from individual schemes to multi-planar manipulation, cult-building, or soul-farming operations.

Roleplaying a Night Hag: Make Her More Than a Monster

One of the best things about the Night Hag 5e Hag is her potential as a story villain, not just a stat block.

Motivation Over Murder

Your average Night Hag 5e Hag doesn’t care about gold, glory, or mindless death. She wants power, yes—but more importantly, she wants souls, influence, and chaos. Her motivation might be to:

• Corrupt a chosen hero and turn them into a weapon
  
• Collect a noble family’s lineage one soul at a time
  
• Use the party’s dreams to uncover ancient secrets or forbidden magic
  
• Torment a PC because they remind her of her own cursed mortal life
  

This makes the hag perfect for long-term storytelling. Let the players think they’ve won when they slay her emissary or cleanse a haunted town… only to realize she’s been targeting them in their sleep all along.

Personality Traits

Give her a twisted sense of humor. Make her charming in conversation but deeply cruel. Give her memories of a lost humanity—maybe even remorse hidden behind layers of bitterness and evil.

Some DMs even create hags who believe they’re doing the right thing: “I offer freedom from pain… eternal rest in my bag.” Creepy, philosophical hags can elevate your story in big ways.

How to Use a Night Hag in Your Campaign

You don’t need to throw her into combat right away. In fact, it’s better if you don’t.

Campaign Starter

Maybe your party hears stories about people in a village dying in their sleep. When they arrive, everything seems normal—except for the growing number of graves, and the fact that everyone avoids sleep like the plague.

Mid-Level Arc

The hag could be pulling strings behind a cult, or influencing a noble through their dreams. She’s collecting souls but hiding behind political figures, sending nightmares that cause psychological damage over time.

Final Boss

Even at CR 5, a Night Hag 5e Hag coven with strong magical artifacts or home-field advantage (say, her lair in Hades or the Ethereal Plane) could serve as an epic and climactic boss battle.

Final Thoughts: Why the Night Hag Deserves More Attention in 5e

The Night Hag 5e Hag is one of the most underrated villains in 5e. Her stat block might not look like much compared to dragons or demons, but her narrative potential is off the charts. She’s a creature of dreams, manipulation, and long-term corruption. She’s a tormentor, a soul stealer, and a master of nightmares.

Whether you use her to stalk your party through dreamscapes, build a multi-planar coven, or run a horror-themed campaign, the Night Hag is a gift to creative DMs who want to go beyond “roll initiative.”

So, next time you need a villain who’s smarter, creepier, and infinitely more patient than your average monster—send in the Night Hag.