Hydras overpowered?

[Bob5th]

I've been thinking that hydras are overpowered. Take a 12 header. Add the regrowing heads part. Add cyro or pyro. A hydra that regrows heads can have up yo double the original number of heads. Pyro and Cyro give it a breath weapon at 3d6 per head. So 24 heads time 3d6 equals 72d6 breath weapon.
Min 72
Max 432
Avr 252
All that in a CR14 or so. CR24 dragons don't have a breath weapon that good. They do have a higher DC check on the save and better abilities overall but still.

 

[Crothian]

Dragons are smarter have magic, and better ACs. Hydras are tough, don't get me wrong. But I think they are about right CR from having fought them too many times.

 

[gfunk]

We ran into a 12-header in the Underdark once. My Sor 14 held it and b/c of its crappy Will save, it failed. Then the party decided to roshambo to see who got to coup-de-grace it.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Hydras might seem overpowered to a party of nothing but fighters and thieves since the creatures really are killers in straight fights.

They are much less tough when magic is thrown at them.

 

[James McMurray]

Also, don't forget that the ones that grow extra heads lose additional heads fairly rapidly. In order to have 24 heads, a party would have to be dumb enough to cut one off, see two grow in its place, and then decide to keep hacking heads off...

 

[Hejdun]

And that damage is assuming that they WERE stupid enough to cut off all those heads, not seal them, and didn't manage to do enough damage to kill it off. We have fought a hydra before, and we killed it fairly easily. That was at the CR of the party level.

 

[Hatchling Dragon]

Nit Picking

Don't have my MM handy, but is that CR 14 what's listed for the 'basic model' of Hydra? If so you should be modifing it to reflect it's added abilities.

Upon further thought though it doesn't seem that CR 14 would be too powerful for it's HP and abilities. Given a 4-character group of 14th level characters I don't imagine I'd have too much trouble at all defeating this beastie. Don't forget that the PC's at 14th will have (unless multi-classed) the potential to cast 7th level magics, not to mention an impressive collection of magical items, either party-created or looted.

Hatchling Dragon

 

[Crothian]

Also, don't forget that the ones that grow extra heads lose additional heads fairly rapidly. In order to have 24 heads, a party would have to be dumb enough to cut one off, see two grow in its place, and then decide to keep hacking heads off...

And my party did this. One of them had the engenius idea that the more heads it had, the more experience they would get. So, they tried to give it a lot of heads.

 

[Arkham]

And my party did this. One of them had the engenius idea that the more heads it had, the more experience they would get. So, they tried to give it a lot of heads.

Metagaming like this can never have good results. ;-)

 

[Crothian]

Metagaming like this can never have good results. ;-)

it had great results. They spoent more time and resources trying to kill this thing they I expected. So, it had good results from my side of the screen.