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I anticipate that in the next session my players are going to encounter and interact with a Hag Eye. It is possible that they will ask whether or not they can, upon dispatching the coven it belongs to, attune to the eye to themselves.

Hag Eye. A hag coven can craft a magic item called a hag eye, which is made from a real eye coated in varnish and often fitted to a pendant or other wearable item. The hag eye is usually entrusted to a minion for safekeeping and transport. A hag in the coven can take an action to see what the hag eye sees if the hag eye is on the same plane of existence. A hag eye has AC 10, 1 hit point, and darkvision with a radius of 60 feet. If it is destroyed, each coven member takes 3d10 psychic damage and is blinded for 24 hours.

A hag coven can have only one hag eye at a time, and creating a new one requires all three members of the coven to perform a ritual. The ritual takes 1 hour, and the hags can't perform it while blinded. During the ritual, if the hags take any action other than performing the ritual, they must start over.

I was just wondering if there was any RAW answer to this? If not I expect that I will rule they cannot. The description makes no mention of other creatures using the eye, or attunement being involved - only its creation.

What about similar items such as the Night Hag's Heartstone or Soul Bag?

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    \$\begingroup\$ As an aside, I will also comment that the negative aspects of this item should make it pretty undesirable to my players if they could attune to it - being blinded for 24 hours upon an enemy discovering the eye is no joke - but then 1. I've kind of made magical items pretty hard to come by, and 2. I have made a lack of light a recurring theme, and the darkvision aspect would greatly help the humans in the group. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dovetailed
    Mar 2, 2016 at 16:08

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The descriptions of the hag eye and soul bag in the MM specifically reference the hags that created the items when talking about who uses the items.

Hag eye:

A hag in the coven can take an action to see what the hag eye sees if the hag eye is on the same plane of existence.

Soul bag:

A soul bag can hold only one evil soul at a time, and only the night hag who crafted the bag can catch a soul with it.

So those items are clearly limited to the hags. But the heartstone, I think, is somewhat open to interpretation.

Heartstone:

This lustrous black gem allows a night hag to become ethereal while it is in her possession. The touch of a heartstone also cures any disease.

From this, it looks like etherealness is only usable by hags, but curing diseases could theoretically work for all.

Jeremy Crawford has commented on this saying it's meant to work only for hags, but DMs can rule otherwise.

If you're looking for a way to use the stone for curing diseases, I'd refer to the 3.5e Wiki, where a heartstone is described as follows:

All night hags carry a periapt known as a heartstone, which instantly cures any disease contracted by the holder. In addition, a heartstone provides a +2 resistance bonus on all saving throws (this bonus is included in the statistics block). A night hag that loses this charm can no longer use etherealness until it can manufacture another (which takes one month). Creatures other than the hag can benefit from the heartstone’s powers, but the periapt shatters after ten uses (any disease cured or saving throw affected counts as a use) and it does not bestow etherealness to a bearer that is not a night hag. If sold, an intact heartstone brings 1,800 gp.

This would be fairly reasonable to use in 5e as well. Naturally, the specifics are down to you as DM. For example, since the saving throws buff is not an official function of the 5e heartstone (according to the MM), you might want to remove that ability from it and adjust the sale price accordingly.

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    \$\begingroup\$ You had my upvote right up until you suggest that looking at previous edition mechanics is useful on a question with the rules as written tag. \$\endgroup\$
    – Derek Stucki
    Jun 16, 2018 at 18:35
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No, your players cannot use the Hag Eye.

A hag coven can craft a magic item called a hag eye, which is made from a real eye coated in varnish and often fitted to a pendant or other wearable item. The hag eye is usually entrusted to a minion for safekeeping and transport. A hag in the coven can take an action to see what the hag eye sees if the hag eye is on the same plane of existence.

Unless your players are hags in the same coven, they cannot use the item.

Attunement is not an option, because any magic item that requires attunement says so in the description.

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    \$\begingroup\$ +1 for first stating that Attunement is not something mandatory for ALL magical items and is not a choice. Plenty of magical items can be used without attunement. Second, for pointing out that if they acquire the Hag Eye in tact, no one but the creating Hag's can use it anyway. \$\endgroup\$
    – Airatome
    Mar 2, 2016 at 16:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ There are also some spells which operate via "enchanting" items, but with restricted use, which the Hag Eye effect appears similar to (in terms of the description being somewhere in-between a "magical item" and the effects of a spell). I think Arcane Lock, Clone, Cordon of Arrows, Drawmij's Instant Summons, Leomond's Secret Chest are in that category - I've given up looking further . . . \$\endgroup\$
    – Neil Slater
    Mar 2, 2016 at 17:23
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for this answer. Just to clarify a little further - how about the other items? The Soul Bag is fairly obviously completely hag-centric, but am I right in assuming that there is no reason the disease curing properties of the night hag's Heartstone wouldn't be applicable to any creature encountering it? \$\endgroup\$
    – Dovetailed
    Mar 2, 2016 at 22:21
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As written, the touch of a heartstone cures any disease. There is no limitation given in the description specifying who might be holding the heartstone, nor on how many prior times it has been used in this way.

The lead developer on rules has commented that this is open to a DM ruling. Rule on this in a way that's fun for your table.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Greg, Welcome to RPG.SE. Please take the tour and visit the help to see how a Q&A site differs from a discussion forum. Also, take a look at some other Questions and Answers on role playing games on topics of interest. There are bound to be a few that you'll find useful. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – KorvinStarmast
    Jun 16, 2018 at 16:34

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