Hyakumonogatari Ameonna by Utagawa Yoshiiku, accessed here
[Hags are one of those monsters that have been in D&D since the beginning, and it’s not hard to see why. Hags let you have your cake and eat it too, by making a type of monstrous creatures that fill the folkloric witch niche in a game where player characters have access to magic. Despite the presence of monstrous old women as antagonists in folklore and fairy tales around the world, D&D draws almost entirely on Western European versions for its hags, when it doesn’t just make them up from whole cloth. This is part of my attempt to change that]
Ame-Onna (Storm Hag)
This gaunt woman appears soaking wet, her long black hair clinging
to her bony face and neck. Her skin has a slight bluish sheen to it and
her hands are twisted into claws.
Ame-onna are a race of hags dedicated to spreading gloom and misery
wherever they go. Unlike other hags, they rarely revel in their
wickedness, but rather a pall of depression tinges their cruel actions.
In lands where the ame-onna ply their cruel trade, superstition dictates
that they were originally mortal women who were transformed by grief
and madness, such as that caused by the loss of a child. Ame-onna do
share a fixation for children, although they typically view them as a
source of food. Occasionally an ame-onna may kidnap a child to raise as
her own, and these poor foundlings typically end up murderous maniacs.
The physically weakest of the hags, ame-onna compensate for this
deficiency with superior magical prowess. They have fantastic control
over weather and electricity, and can call down bolts of lightning to
sear their opponents. Ame-onna never venture from their aquatic lairs
unless it is raining, whether by a natural storm or by their own magical
manipulations. An ame-onna’s skin is always moist, like that of a frog,
and drinks in moisture like a sponge. During downpours, they wander the
streets and alleys of towns, trusting to their magical gaze to keep
guards or citizens from interfering with their bloody work. The mere
sight of an ame-onna strikes a deep chord of despair into the hearts of
their victims, causing them to neglect even basic self-defense as the
hag rends them apart with claws and spells.
Due to their magical gifts, ame-onna often assume leadership
positions within any hag covens they join. These covens are rarely as
subtle as those commanded by green hags, preferring destructive acts of
nihilism.
Storm hags are commonly associated with Aenma, said to embody that goddess’ wickedest impulses. They are known to worship her on rare occasions, preferring to marshal minions that can manipulate the weather to complement their own gifts. Good-aligned priests of Aenma despise them and seek to destroy them whenever possible.
Shores of Swords 