Hydra

Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra, Gustave Moreau, c. 1876 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Hydra

Harper Field Dossier
Combat reference
Type	Many-headed reptilian horror; a writhing knot of necks and teeth
Vulnerabilities	Fire — only flame will keep a severed neck from sprouting anew
Resistances
Immunities
Condition Immunities
Strong Saves	A brute of flesh and stamina more than mind
Senses	Watches every quarter at once; near impossible to take unawares
Movement	Lumbers on land and swims well; will board a ship or wade ashore after prey
Notable Abilities	Strikes with every head at once, each a biting maw on a long neck, and snaps at any foe who slips past its guard. Cut off a head and two more may take its place unless the stump is seared shut
Provenance
Knowledge	Partial
First Encountered	Session 50, boarding a longship in the Sea of Moving Ice
Filed by	Agent Wren, of the Tellstone circle

The Harpers' Read

The hydra's terror is its heads — count them, for each one bites on its own, and woe to the warrior who tries to walk past that thicket of necks, for every head will snap at him as he goes. Hacking them off feels like progress and is a trap: a severed neck regrows, and worse, sprouts double, so that a careless butcher only makes the monster deadlier. The only honest way to take a head for good is to burn the stump shut — a torch, a flask of oil, a pixie of hellfire, anything that cauterises. Better still, forget the heads entirely and pour fire and raw destructive magic into the body until the whole thrashing mass goes still. Keep it off your decks if you can; in close quarters it will chew through your crew before you fell it.

Encounters of Record

• Session 50 — A six-headed hydra heaved itself aboard Deez Nuts' longship and killed a sailor before the company learned to cauterise its stumps with hellfire; Shade finished it with a chromatic orb.

Harvest Profile

CR 8 — Rare ceiling. Rules: Monster Harvesting. Because the tissue regenerates, more than one viable sample of the restorative parts can be cut from a single corpse. Search all components by effect: Find Components.

Component	Tool	Rarity	Effect	Primary for	Contributor to
Regrowing Hydra Flesh (signature)	Cook's / Herbalism / Poisoner's (toxic tissue)	Rare	Regeneration & healing Restore: Healing • Restore: Regeneration	Potion	Wondrous
Regenerative Marrow	Herbalism	Rare	Regeneration & healing Restore: Healing • Restore: Regeneration	Potion	Wondrous
Neck-Sinew Bundles	Leatherworker's	Rare	Regenerative sinew — mending cords & straps Boost: Armor Class • Restore: Regeneration	Armor	Weapon, Wondrous
Hydra Heart-Cluster	Alchemist's	Rare	Many-hearted stamina — endurance & vitality Boost: Constitution • Boost: Hit Points	Potion	Wondrous
Hydra Bile	Alchemist's / Poisoner's	Uncommon	Acid — corrodes & burns Damage: Acid	Potion, Bomb	Poison, Weapon
Many-layered Hide	Leatherworker's	Uncommon	Resilient hide; protection Boost: Armor Class	Armor	Wondrous
Regrowth Nodules	Herbalism	Uncommon	Budding regenerative tissue Restore: Healing	Potion	—
Swamp-Oil Glands	Alchemist's	Uncommon	Water-shedding oil — proofing & slick Utility: Environmental Adaptation	Potion	Bomb, Wondrous
Skull-Plates	Smith's	Uncommon	Dense skull-bone plating Boost: Armor Class	Armor	Weapon
Vital Ichor	Alchemist's	Common	Structure only	—	Potion, Poison, Bomb
Hydra Blood	Alchemist's / Poisoner's	Common	Structure only	—	Potion, Poison, Bomb
Hydra Fangs	Smith's	Common	Structure only	—	Weapon, Armor, Bomb
Neck Vertebrae	Smith's	Common	Structure only	—	Armor, Weapon
Hydra Hide Scraps	Leatherworker's	Common	Structure only	—	Armor, Wondrous
Hydra Meat	Cook's	Common	Structure only	—	Rations

Harvest Record

Harvested in Session 50; quantities include margin bonuses. Banked totals: Harvested Materials.

Component	Qty	Outcome	Recovered by (roll)
Regrowing Hydra Flesh	2	Recovered	Shade(26)
Regenerative Marrow	1	Recovered	Karma(19)
Neck-Sinew Bundles	1	Recovered	Keyleth(15)
Hydra Bile	5	Recovered	Shade · Xanphina (10)
Many-layered Hide	2	Recovered	Keyleth
Regrowth Nodules	2	Recovered	Karma
Swamp-Oil Glands	1	Recovered	Xanphina
Vital Ichor	2	Recovered	Xanphina
Hydra Blood	6	Recovered	Shade · Gootcha (7)
Hydra Fangs	1	Recovered	Baelgrum(7)
Neck Vertebrae	1	Recovered	Baelgrum(7)
Hydra Hide Scraps	3	Recovered	Keyleth
Hydra Heart-Cluster	—	Left	—
Skull-Plates	—	Left	—
Hydra Meat	—	Left	—

See also

• Bestiary — the company's field bestiary
• Monster Harvesting · Harvested Materials · Find Components