Chromatic Hydra
Huge monstrosity, unaligned
- Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 172 (15d12 + 75)
- Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 20 (+5) 10 (+0) 20 (+5) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)
- Skills Perception +6
- Damage Immunities acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
- Languages —
- Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Hold Breath. The hydra can hold its breath for 1 hour.
Multiple Heads. The hydra has five heads. While it has more than one head, the hydra has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious.
Whenever the hydra takes 25 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads dies, select which one at random. While a the hydra is missing a head, it loses immunity to that damage type. If all its heads die, the hydra dies.
At the end of its turn, it grows any missing heads, unless it has taken fire damage since its last turn. The hydra regains 20 hit points for each head regrown in this way.
Reactive Heads. For each head the hydra has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.
Wakeful. While the hydra sleeps, at least one of its heads is awake.
Actions
Multiattack. The hydra makes as many bite attacks as it has heads.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage (black hydra head), lightning damage (blue hydra head), poison damage (green hydra head), fire damage (red hydra head), or cold damage (white hydra head).
A Mad Man's Marvel
It is not sure how the chromatic hydra came to be. However, the common consensus is the same as all bizarre creatures that roam the wilderness: A wizard did it.
Suspected to be the creation of some servant of the dragon queen, this terrifying creature boasts five differently colored heads. This misguided attempt to create an avatar of the goddess ended as anyone thought it might, it ate him.
A Colorful Creature
In the time since the first chromatic hydra's creation, it has gone out into the world and procreated with a number of others of its unaltered kind. Unfortunately for us all, while uncommon, the elemental nature of the beast does carry on into its children, keeping the species alive.
Although fortunately, not a dragon, this rare creature is still coveted and often sought out by cultists following the dragon queen, as an object of either worship or at the very least, highly thematic defence. These cults are all the more dangerous for it, on account of the fact that their revernce is tempered by the fact that it hasn't eaten them.
A Paradoxical Predator
This beast is a curious one, such an unusual specimin that even renowned adventurers ready to face off with a hydra
met with a grizzly fate.
Why? Because it is immune to fire, the famous weakness
of every hydra.
The creator of this beast was very specific in its design, he did not care much for its weakness to fire, possibly thinking that its immunity would resolve that.
Instead, he was very focused on the heads.
The hydra would always have five heads, no more, no less. To this end, the hydra does not grow two heads for each that is felled, however every missing head will grow back instead.
That is what caught the adventuerers unawares, even if they could manage to burn it, if they failed to do so constantly, all of their progress would be lost.
Credits
Designed by d'Artagnan on DMs Guild, /u/dArtagnanDnD on reddit, or dArtagnanDnD on patreon and dArtagnanDnD on Twitter.
- Made with "GM Binder".
- Made with reference and for use with Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, created by Wizards of the Coast.
- Hydra, by Zack Stella