Water hag

Water hags, like the drowners and swamp bints with whom they often share hunting grounds, dwell near shallow streams, rivers, and wetlands. Though bulky, they are excellent swimmers. They can even swim through thick mud with astonishing agility, surfacing beside their victims to attack them with their sickle-shaped claws.

They are also able to form this mud into balls, which they toss to temporarily blind opponents. Water hags are particularly active and dangerous during rainstorms, conditions which furthermore hinder the use of the Igni Sign, usually the most effective weapon against all moisture-loving creatures.

"Water hags are naiads who fell in love with mortal men, and thus lost their eternal youth. It does not happen often, for water nymphs are fickle creatures that rarely have any concern for the young men they seduce. Still, sometimes a nymph will truly feel for a man and then, in accordance with the ancient, mystical laws of her people, she becomes . . subject to the flow of time. Because she is a magical being, she cannot die- but she does age, growing more and more decrepit until she finally becomes a water hag. Then, on moonlit nights, she comes to the lakeside and weeps for her lost youth. Though her body is wizened and ancient, she still likes to dance naked in the moonlight and make immoral proposals to any passing youth she meets."

- A folktale

Bestiary entry

 * Folk say water hags are drowner's wives. If that be true, 'tain't no wonder why they're such ornery bitches.
 * — Shemhel of Dregsdon


 * Some tales mention water hags and swamp bints masquerading as lost old women to lure travelers back to the rickety shacks they build in the wetlands. In truth, only a blind man, or a sighted man blinded with drink, could mistake the rank sludge and rotting carrion of a water hag's den for a cozy cottage, and the hideous hag herself for an innocent grandmother. Their wrinkled, wart-covered bodies stand nearly two yards tall, with skin the color of a long-dead cadaver and stinking of muck and fish. Bony growths two spans long stick out from their backs, with hair like a tangle of seaweed and claws that would make a werewolf proud completing the picture.

Combat Tactics
Water hags can ‘swim’ through mud as swiftly as they can through water, and they can use this to ambush their prey. Slow the water hag down with Yrden. A clever witcher can catch a hag with Yrden just as it bursts from the ground, allowing plenty of time to savage it with their silver swords. The brutal power of a water hag may be familiar to those who have faced a grave hag, but possibly more threatening is their ability to throw balls of mud at the faces of their opponents in order to blind them, and they do this with frightening accuracy. Witchers must keep their eyes focused on a water hag attempting this maneuver so they can evade it with time to spare.

Water hags have been known to work alongside drowners, making these ancient hags some of the most dangerous monsters. In these situations, it may help to carry Dragon’s Dream bombs. Combining them with a shot of Igni may set the hag and the drowners on fire. Northern Wind bombs are another way to contain a water hag, freezing them and making them more susceptible to physical harm. Axii also works quite well on the Water Hag to stun it, letting you land multiple attacks on them.