Hydra - snake body or dinosaur body?
Thunderfoot
Hero
The original depiction had many forms (though I am unable to pull them up at the moment due to time) and even different traits depending upon which version you heard. Remember that Greek mythology was passed around orally, not written (at least not until several years after the original stories had traveled around the countryside.)
So the comparison is somewhat unfair...however, you could take this a step further and rule that either version could be encountered and that the snakelike version is poisonous (which btw is in fact one of the versions of the story, specifically the picture you have included if memory serves me correctly.) One reason that Greek and Roman mythoi give us so many monsters is because they are diverse and varied, sometimes even when describing the same creature.
As for my personal pick - the dinosaur/dragon body - as to the size, it was always described in the huge or gargantuan range by D&D sizing standards, frankly if it were smaller I couldn't see it being all that threatening, besides the Chimera (its sibling - literaly aloang with the Nemean Lion) fills that role already. For additional directions go here. I find this site most helpful - but you must poke around a bit.
Hope this helps - Happy Gaming - TF
So the comparison is somewhat unfair...however, you could take this a step further and rule that either version could be encountered and that the snakelike version is poisonous (which btw is in fact one of the versions of the story, specifically the picture you have included if memory serves me correctly.) One reason that Greek and Roman mythoi give us so many monsters is because they are diverse and varied, sometimes even when describing the same creature.
As for my personal pick - the dinosaur/dragon body - as to the size, it was always described in the huge or gargantuan range by D&D sizing standards, frankly if it were smaller I couldn't see it being all that threatening, besides the Chimera (its sibling - literaly aloang with the Nemean Lion) fills that role already. For additional directions go here. I find this site most helpful - but you must poke around a bit.
Hope this helps - Happy Gaming - TF
SteelDraco
First Post
The last time I used a hydra, I described it as serpentine. That's my preference, generally, and I was playing up the 'snake-ness' of it - I believe I used the Poisonous Creature template from the Advanced Bestiary for those hydra.
Kunimatyu
First Post
SteelDraco said:
I love that template - it's so unbelievably over-the-top with its poison, and so appropriate for a super-poisonous mythical monster like the hydra.
I remember when my players fought a Giant Constrictor that I'd given the Poisonous template. I believe the reaction was something like this: "Wait, so it has a breath weapon poison, a bite poison, poison blood, AND the air around it is poisonous? I give up - let's run, guys!"
blargney the second
blargney the minute's son
Ditto: I had a two-headed cockahydra. Two petrifying bites per round as a standard action with Flyby Attack.hong said:
(It was also medium-sized.)My normal hydras have neither dinosaur nor dragon bodies, but rather crocodile bodies. They also hunt much like crocodiles, with one head breathing/spotting above water and the rest floating merrily down the river as spoof logs.
-blarg
