4d4 Witch's Hovel
Shunned by most, the witch is the taker of children, bringer of bad harvests and seducer of good men. Living apart from good honest folk, the witch plays on superstitions to create her terrifying reputation. Beware the dark woods…
Use these tables, to add depth and verisimilitude to the witch’s hovels in your campaign.
Outside the Lair
Beautiful flowers and buzzing insects line the path ahead, yet the area seems “off” somehow.
Thick twisted thorns and briars claw at the path.
Stinking toadstools and other fungi rot in the fecund but sickly undergrowth.
Straw dolls with mouse-skull faces top the posts of a rickety fence of sticks and bones.
What’s Going On?
The witch mutters to herself as she tends to the plants and fungus in her rough, overgrown garden.
Sitting in a rocking chair outside her hovel, the witch loudly slumbers. A large toad squats on her lap.
The sound of the witch singing happily come from inside the building. Several croaking crows accompany her deep and gravelly voice.
Muttering incantations to herself, the witch ties an effigy of sticks and rags to a nearby tree.
Major Lair Features
A tall scarecrow of sticks and rags stands propped up against the wall. Its bladed hands comprise razor-sharp knives and are covered in blood and gore.
Drying herbs and other plants hang in great profusion from the ceiling on sharp iron hooks.
Pot, jars and bottles of unidentifiable stuff cover tables and shelves. None are labelled.
Crows peer intently through holes in the rafters watching anyone inside the hut.
Minor Lair Features
Several dirty glass jars bear labels like “Clover, Tarragon and Mummy Ash”. Many other jars—mostly unlabelled—stand on the sagging wooden shelf alongside them.
A plain and severe iron knife is embedded into the wall. A scrap of parchment hanging from the knife reads, “Do Not Touch”.
Wrapped in leather cord and covered with inked sigils, a deer skull is mounted on the wall.
A long leathery stick lies on a dusty shelf. This dried bull’s penis is destined to be crafted into a wand at a later date.
Witch’s Appearance
With bent back, and ragged clothing hanging from her bony body, the witch shuffles slowly about.
Leaning heavily on a thick, twisted hawthorn staff worn smooth through use, the witch moves slowly as if in pain.
The witch looks out through tangled and matted brown hair. She wears a wide-brimmed hat angled downward to obscure her face.
The witch seems to float as she moves around, her bright white dress stained with berry juice and grass.
Treasure
This wand formed from a mummified human forearm grasps the user’s hand when its powers are summoned.
This long triangular metal spike has sharp edges used to cause horrific puncture wounds. It is mainly used to bleed sacrifices.
Topped with a carving of a leering goblin face, this long-handled broom seems to grin evilly at people holding it and may yell insults at random.
Set atop a folding metal stand, this small cauldron somehow heats itself yet doesn’t burn when touched.
Trinkets & Trash
Old fingernails and locks of hair organised in separate compartments fill this small wooden box. Each compartment bears a person’s name.
This pouch holds several finger-bones etched with runes and sigils.
This long sharp stick has been etched with many scratches depicting a river valley between some hills. The stick can be covered in ink or blood and rolled onto paper to reveal the map.
A picture of a bearded man covered with scribbles covers a scrap of dirty parchment. There is nothing to discern the man’s identity.
Want More?
The material in this article appears in Monstrous Lair #17: Witch’s Hovel by Steve Hood. Members of our Patreon campaign got the book free as a thank you for their awesome support. Join today!
Words Steve Hood; Art Rick Hershey
