Hydra

Hydra

The Hydra is a large, four-headed serpentine creature that lives exclusively in swamps and bogs.

Hit Dice: 4d10+23 (45 hp)

Initiative: +1

Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 20 ft.

Armor Class: 15 (–2 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 14

Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+16

Attack: 4 bites +6 melee (1d10+3)

Full Attack: 4 bites +6 melee (1d10+3)

Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.

Special Attacks: —

Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 15, low-light vision, scent

Saves: Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +3

Abilities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 2, Wis 10, Cha 9

Skills: Listen +6, Spot +6, Swim +11

Feats: Combat ReflexesB, Iron Will, Toughness

Environment: Temperate marshes (Pyro: Warm marshes) (Cryo: Cold marshes)

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating: 5 (normal); 7 (pyro- or cryo-)

Treasure: 1/10 coins; 50% goods; 50% items

Alignment: Usually neutral

Advancement: —

Hydra

Huge Magical Beast

Element:

Fatigue: d+ ()

Speed: squares

Physical Base Bonus: +

Mental Base Bonus: +

Attack: Melee + ()

Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks:

Defenses: Fort , Ref , Will , Wit

Physical Threshold: , Social Threshold:

Abilities: Str 10 (+0), Dex 10 (+0), Con 10 (+0), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 10 (+0)

Skills:

Racial Features:

Feats:

Talents:

Maneuvers:

Languages:

Environment:

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating:

Level Adjustment:

Reward:

Special Abilities

• Fast Healing (Ex): Each round, a hydra heals damage equal to 10 + the number of its original heads.

• Skills: Hydras have a +2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks, thanks to their multiple heads. A hydra has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

• Feats: A hydra’s Combat Reflexes feat allows it to use all its heads for attacks of opportunity.

• Discordant Heads (Ex): At the beginning of each turn roll a d% for the hydra and compare the result to the following table: 01–10, some of the hydra's heads attack each other, attack self with melee or ranged weapon; 11–20, some of the hydra's heads are at odds with each other, hydra does not act; 21–70, act normally; 71–100, attack nearest creature (for this purpose, a familiar counts as part of the subject’s self).

Appearance

Hydras are some of the largest of all pseudodragons, standing at a maximum height of nearly 30 feet. These creatures are coated in slimy, orange-ish brown scales with red fins on their heads, pointed chins, green eyes, two thick reptilian legs, and spiked dragon-like tails. The presence of these creatures are often signaled by a unique foul-smelling odor.

A hydra is gray-brown to dark brown, with a light yellow or tan underbelly. The eyes are amber and the teeth are yellow-white. It is about 20 feet long and weighs about 4,000 pounds.

Hydras do not speak.

Behavior

These creatures are solitary, actively agressive creatures that will leap at the chance to consume defenseless members of sentient races, ponies being especially delectable to their palletes. However, if they find their prey to be too difficult to catch, they will abandon the chase to find easier prey such as catfish, giant rats, and filth birds.

Each of their four heads has their own personality, and it is not uncommon to see a Hydra arguing with itself over food (even though all four throats lead to the same stomach).

Hydras can attack with all their heads at no penalty, even if they move or charge during the round.

Hydras are most notable for their remarkable self-healing abilities that make them very difficult to kill. If something was ever able to cut off one of the hydra's heads, the creature is capable of reattaching the decapatated head onto the neck and completely heal the wound as if nothing ever happened. The only way to successully slay a hydra is to cut off each head and then burn the stumps with fire before they can fix themselves.

A hydra can be killed either by severing all its heads or by slaying its body. To sever a head, an opponent must make a successful sunder attempt with a slashing weapon. (The player should declare where the attack is aimed before making the attack roll.) Making a sunder attempt provokes an attack of opportunity unless the foe has the Improved Sunder feat. An opponent can strike at a hydra’s heads from any position in which he could strike at the hydra itself, because the hydra’s head writhe and whip about in combat. An opponent can ready an action to attempt to sunder a hydra’s head when the creature bites at him. Each of a hydra’s heads has hit points equal to the creature’s full normal hit point total, divided by its original number of heads. Losing a head deals damage to the body equal to half the head’s full normal hit points. A natural reflex seals the neck shut to prevent further blood loss. A hydra can no longer attack with a severed head but takes no other penalties.

Each time a head is severed, two new heads spring from the stump in 1d4 rounds. A hydra can never have more than twice its original number of heads at any one time, and any extra heads it gains beyond its original number wither and die within a day. To prevent a severed head from growing back into two heads, at least 5 points of fire or acid damage must be dealt to the stump (a touch attack to hit) before the new heads appear. A flaming weapon (or similar effect) deals its energy damage to the stump in the same blow in which a head is severed. Fire or acid damage from an area effect may burn multiple stumps in addition to dealing damage to the hydra’s body. A hydra does not die from losing its heads until all its heads have been cut off and the stumps seared by fire or acid.

A hydra’s body can be slain just like any other creature’s, but hydras possess fast healing (see below) and are difficult to defeat in this fashion. Any attack that is not (or cannot be) an attempt to sunder a head affects the body.

Targeted magical effects cannot sever a hydra’s heads (and thus must be directed at the body) unless they deal slashing damage and could be used to make sunder attempts.

Trivia

• Unlike most creatures who require a mate in order to reproduce, hydras are hermaphrodites capable of asexual reproduction. This means that each hydra is both male and female, capable of laying a single fertized egg at a time all by themselves, whenever they feel it is necessary.

Pyrohydra

Huge Magical Beast (Fire)

These reddish hydras can breathe jets of fire 10 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 20 feet long. All heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds. Each jet deals 3d6 points of fire damage per head. A successful Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is 10 + 1/2 hydra’s original number of heads + hydra’s Con modifier.

Fire attacks cannot prevent a pyrohydra’s stump from growing new heads (since a pyrohydra has immunity to fire), but 5 points of cold damage does.

Cryohydra

Huge Magical Beast (Cold)

These purplish hydras can breathe jets of frost 10 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 20 feet long. All heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds. Each jet deals 3d6 points of cold damage per head. A successful Reflex save halves the damage. The save DC is 10 + 1/2 hydra’s original number of heads + hydra’s Con modifier.

Cold attacks cannot prevent a cryohydra’s stump from growing new heads (since a cryohydra has immunity to cold), but 5 points of fire damage does.