The Gobbler Hydra
How the Gobbler Hydra Hunts
Round 1: Position yourself to have as many party members as possible within 20ft of you-- then use your Incessant Chattering to do some damage (not much) to each of them and make them frightened. We don't really care about that though. What we want is to force them to burn their reaction to move away from you-- provoking not one attack of opportunity, but one per player that leaves your threat range, up to the number of heads you have (due to instinctive Pecks). If done to max effect, that means you effectively get to do the AoE and your multiattack all in one turn!
Round 2. Time to get down with the Thiccness-- fly up about 5ft to use your Gargantuan Gale to knock the people around you to the ground, then land again and peck-- I mean Peck-- the prone players. Make sure you stay within 5ft of your prone target so you get advantage (and not disadvantage).
Round 3+. At this point, you should have plenty of heads (since you're expecting to gain +1 a round, minimum). Even if Incessant chattering recharges, it may be better to simply take the multiattack and get more attacks off. A good rule of thumb would be if you have more heads than there are players in attack range, go ahead and multiattack a single target. Don't just down them either-- peck them to death with your insane number of attacks. Describe this Lovecraftian nightmare pecking their flesh apart as each head chatters on about how "Sharing is Caring", counting "One bit of flesh... two bits of flesh...."
Cooking the Gobbler Heads
Round 1 Simple and sweet, these things don't have much to do on their turn-- just Peck, same as they did while attached. But the head mechanic is super flavorful (who wouldn't remember the time they got bit by a head that they just cut off?), and it serves as a distraction. Foolish Players will waste time killing the severed heads, rather than keeping their eyes on the prize while the heads die off themselves.
Gobbler Head
Medium Monstrosity, Chaotic Beheaded
- Armor Class 19 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 20
- Speed Uses its neck to worm around at 10ft/turn.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 14 (+2) 28 (+9) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)
- Skills Giving literal head +4
- Damage Immunities Fire because fuck metagamers
- Challenge - Proficiency Bonus +6
Chicken with its Head Cut off. While the Gobbler Head can survive a surprisingly long time while completely severed, it is dying. At the end of each turn, it loses 5hp.
Actions
Peck. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage.
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Gobbler Hydra
Gargantuan monstrosity, unaligned
- Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 253 (13d20 + 117)
- Speed Waddle 20ft, Fly 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 14 (+2) 28 (+9) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 7 (-2)
- Skills Perception +12
- Damage Immunities Fire because fuck metagamers
- Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 22
- Languages —
- Challenge 18 (20,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +6
Multiple Heads. The hydra has as many heads as you decided to give it. While it has more than one head, the hydra has advantage on Initiative Checks & Saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, or stunned.
Whenever the hydra takes 35 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads is lopped off. It becomes a Gobbler Head.If all its heads die, the hydra dies. At the end of its turn, it grows two heads for each of its heads that died since its last turn, unless it has taken Cold damage since its last turn (because no one likes cold nuggies). The hydra regains 10 hit points for each head regrown in this way.
Clumsy Flier. Gobbler cannot end its turn in the air. If it does, it falls prone. Any creature it falls onto takes an equal amount of fall damage.
Instinctive Pecks. For each head the hydra has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.
Gargantuan Gale This birdy boi so thicc that any medium creature within 10ft of it when it takes flight must make a DC 20 Strength Save or be knocked 10ft away & becomes Prone.
Actions
Multiattack. The hydra makes as many Peck attacks as it has heads.
Peck. Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (3d10 + 6) piercing damage.
Incessant Gobbling (Recharge 5-6). Each of the heads begins to GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. Each creature in 300ft must make a DC 16 Wisdom Save or take 3d6 psychic damage, become frightened, and immediately must use their reaction to move away from the Gobbler. The frightened creatures may make an additional save at the end of each of their turns to stop being a little bitch.