D&D 4E Dungeons of Dread Preview 1 - 4e stuff!

[frankthedm]

I've always liked serpentine hydras since the first time I came across them in "Jason and the Argonauts"

http://theseventhvoyage.com/images/Jason and the Argonauts/hydra4.jpg

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Here...

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/2961/hydra4ej0.jpg

 

[Nytmare]

The new hydra reminds me of something...

Modern day fantasy sticks legs on the hydra, and when they take them back off they're accused of stealing the idea from Mario Brothers?

 

[kennew142]

The dinosaur bodies hydra never did it for me. Before I started using miniatures, I just changed the description to match a real hydra.

I never uderstood why Gygax changed that one in the first place. He never explained it that I know of.

Seriously, I like the "new" look better than the previous* one. The old design never caused me any fits of anxiety. I just never liked them.

*I can't bring myself to say old or traditional, since all hydras prior to D&D were serpentine.

 

[rkanodia]

Modern day fantasy sticks legs on the hydra, and when they take them back off they're accused of stealing the idea from Mario Brothers?

To be fair, a quick glance at Wikipedia shows that both legged and legless versions of the hydra are represented in artwork. I think of the hydra as being legless - but only because I saw an illustration like that in a book of Greek myths when I was a kid. If someone else had read a different book, with a different illustration, I could easily see how they would think a legged version was the 'real' hydra.

 

[med stud]

yes, that's true in DDM. And it will work pretty well there too. I suppose the normal damage was omited to speed gameplay and better writing the statcard (and it's bound to be more tacticaly interesting), but it just reminded me of the speculation from the Pit Fiend article, who wields a mace that does fire damage in plain 4E. Does it also do normal/blunt damage? Like the cambion' sword, his mace seems physical, not fiery...

I would be surprised if a flaming weapon didn't deal it's normal damage type as well. Otherwise it will be a house rule for it IMC .

 

[med stud]

To be fair, a quick glance at Wikipedia shows that both legged and legless versions of the hydra are represented in artwork. I think of the hydra as being legless - but only because I saw an illustration like that in a book of Greek myths when I was a kid. If someone else had read a different book, with a different illustration, I could easily see how they would think a legged version was the 'real' hydra.

I may be wrong, but I think a hydra was described as a multi-headed snake.

 

[rkanodia]

I may be wrong, but I think a hydra was described as a multi-headed snake.

Right. My point was that its depiction in artwork is not consistent. Some of the examples on Wikipedia are hundreds of years old.

 

[rkanodia]

all hydras prior to D&D were serpentine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hercules_slaying_the_Hydra.jpg
http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=2926
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hydra_04.jpg

Don't get me wrong. I think the legless variety is better. But this is clearly not something new to D&D.

 

[Voss]

An extra note on radiant energy, in W&M it is noted that it can be found free-flowing in the underdark.

Yeah. Glad I don't use the Underdark.
What is it 'radiating' from?

 

[Xyl]

Modern day fantasy sticks legs on the hydra, and when they take them back off they're accused of stealing the idea from Mario Brothers?

It wasn't an accusation; it's just that that was the first image to pop to mind when I saw the new hydra.