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THE ECOLOGY OF THE GULGUTHYDRA (unpublished 3.0 Monster Hunters "Ecology" article)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 3080372" data-attributes="member: 508"><p>The Monster Hunters staggered over the top of the hill and were amazed at the sight before them. This creature was almost twice as big as the pyrohydra they had slain some weeks before; as they watched in stupefaction, it bit into the trunk of a tree with three sets of powerful jaws and uprooted it whole, while its other three heads immediately started to work on the foliage and branches, ripping them to shreds with razor-sharp teeth as long as swords and swallowing them down practically without chewing. The creature's twin tentacles swayed back and forth like misplaced tails, their tips covered in spiky growths reminiscent of the thornlike fronds of a giant man-eating plant.<strong>[9]</strong></p><p></p><p>A squirrel, seeing its home being thus devoured, leapt out of the tree in blind panic for the safety of the ground below. Quick as a wink, one of the monster's tentacles snatched up the frightened squirrel in midair and popped it into a pair of gaping jaws like an after-dinner mint.<strong>[10]</strong> One gulp later and the squirrel was no more.</p><p></p><p>"Uh," was all Dreelix could say. He swallowed hard.</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, I know what you mean," agreed Zantoullios at his side, eyes goggling at the size of the beast.</p><p></p><p>"How in the world are we going to tackle something like that?" asked Buntleby.</p><p></p><p>"Its size is a bit of a problem," admitted Rhionda. "I don't think I'll be able to use my normal hydra tactics of chopping off each head in turn.<strong>[11]</strong> Maybe we'd be best off with you guys just lobbing spells at it from a distance, take it out that way."</p><p></p><p>"One <em>fireball</em> coming up," responded Dreelix, secretly pleased. <em>Fireball</em> was one of his favorite spells: Flashy, explosive, and leaving no doubt as to the power of arcane magic and those who could properly wield it.</p><p></p><p>"No!" cried Azurielle. "I'm not having you burn down my grove to save it from being eaten by the hydra! Find another way!"</p><p></p><p>"No <em>fireballs</em>?" pouted Dreelix.</p><p></p><p>"Willowquisp, any idea at all what kind of hydra that is?" asked Rhionda. "Any guesses as to its weaknesses?"</p><p></p><p>"I'm afraid not," replied the elderly sage. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably part otyugh: Note the two grasping tentacles, the basic roundness of the body, and the creature's overall stench. Plus, I believe the coloring's about the same as an otyugh underneath all of that dripping slime, a brownish gray. If this thing is a hybrid, it's possible that it can speak; I believe otyughs are capable of limited speech."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, but so what?" asked Zantoullios. "What are we going to say to it? 'Hate to be a bother, old boy, but would you mind terribly seeking your dinner elsewhere? I'm afraid this grove has already been spoken for.' Let's just kill the stupid thing!"</p><p></p><p>"Okay, here's what we'll do," said Rhionda. "Grindle, you pilot the <em>carpet of flying</em> to a position directly above the monster, and I'll jump onto its back, right behind the cluster of necks. Then I'll see what I can do about severing some of those heads. The rest of you make good with <em>hold monster</em> spells, <em>web</em> spells, whatever you can do to keep it immobilized. I don't want to be plucked off by one of those tail-tentacle things. And throw as many <em>magic missiles</em> and whatnot at it that you can target directly at the hydra without hitting me as well. No <em>fireballs</em>, Dreelix; I'm not kidding!"</p><p></p><p>"Why does Grindle get to pilot the carpet?" he whined petulantly. "It's my carpet!"</p><p></p><p>"Well, we don't want to waste someone with your obviously superior spell-slinging skills on simple carpet-piloting, now, do we?" asked the young fighter sweetly, conveniently neglecting to mention that she trusted Grindle's piloting skills far more than those of their illustrious President. Rhionda's little speech had its desired effect, though: Dreelix puffed out his chest in self-importance and passed Grindle his magical carpet without further argument.</p><p></p><p>"What about us?" asked Azurielle, indicating Willowquisp and herself.</p><p></p><p>"You two would do best to stay out of the way," suggested Rhionda. "Keep your distance from the beast; it may shift around a bit once we start attacking, so keep your eyes open. In fact, why don't you two get on the carpet with Grindle and me? That may be the safest place for you." The elderly sage and the nymph stepped obligingly onto Dreelix's unrolled carpet and sat down.</p><p></p><p>"Okay then, everyone know what they're doing?" Rhionda asked. The others replied in the affirmative. "Remember, don't use up all of your <em>hold monster</em> spells at once this time; despite its six heads, there should only be one brain in that thing!"<strong>[12]</strong> Rhionda stepped onto the <em>carpet of flying</em> beside massive Grindle, and with a word they were off, soaring steadily up above the oblivious multiheaded monster below.<strong>[13]</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 3080372, member: 508"] The Monster Hunters staggered over the top of the hill and were amazed at the sight before them. This creature was almost twice as big as the pyrohydra they had slain some weeks before; as they watched in stupefaction, it bit into the trunk of a tree with three sets of powerful jaws and uprooted it whole, while its other three heads immediately started to work on the foliage and branches, ripping them to shreds with razor-sharp teeth as long as swords and swallowing them down practically without chewing. The creature's twin tentacles swayed back and forth like misplaced tails, their tips covered in spiky growths reminiscent of the thornlike fronds of a giant man-eating plant.[b][9][/b] A squirrel, seeing its home being thus devoured, leapt out of the tree in blind panic for the safety of the ground below. Quick as a wink, one of the monster's tentacles snatched up the frightened squirrel in midair and popped it into a pair of gaping jaws like an after-dinner mint.[b][10][/b] One gulp later and the squirrel was no more. "Uh," was all Dreelix could say. He swallowed hard. "Yeah, I know what you mean," agreed Zantoullios at his side, eyes goggling at the size of the beast. "How in the world are we going to tackle something like that?" asked Buntleby. "Its size is a bit of a problem," admitted Rhionda. "I don't think I'll be able to use my normal hydra tactics of chopping off each head in turn.[b][11][/b] Maybe we'd be best off with you guys just lobbing spells at it from a distance, take it out that way." "One [i]fireball[/i] coming up," responded Dreelix, secretly pleased. [i]Fireball[/i] was one of his favorite spells: Flashy, explosive, and leaving no doubt as to the power of arcane magic and those who could properly wield it. "No!" cried Azurielle. "I'm not having you burn down my grove to save it from being eaten by the hydra! Find another way!" "No [i]fireballs[/i]?" pouted Dreelix. "Willowquisp, any idea at all what kind of hydra that is?" asked Rhionda. "Any guesses as to its weaknesses?" "I'm afraid not," replied the elderly sage. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably part otyugh: Note the two grasping tentacles, the basic roundness of the body, and the creature's overall stench. Plus, I believe the coloring's about the same as an otyugh underneath all of that dripping slime, a brownish gray. If this thing is a hybrid, it's possible that it can speak; I believe otyughs are capable of limited speech." "Yeah, but so what?" asked Zantoullios. "What are we going to say to it? 'Hate to be a bother, old boy, but would you mind terribly seeking your dinner elsewhere? I'm afraid this grove has already been spoken for.' Let's just kill the stupid thing!" "Okay, here's what we'll do," said Rhionda. "Grindle, you pilot the [i]carpet of flying[/i] to a position directly above the monster, and I'll jump onto its back, right behind the cluster of necks. Then I'll see what I can do about severing some of those heads. The rest of you make good with [i]hold monster[/i] spells, [i]web[/i] spells, whatever you can do to keep it immobilized. I don't want to be plucked off by one of those tail-tentacle things. And throw as many [i]magic missiles[/i] and whatnot at it that you can target directly at the hydra without hitting me as well. No [i]fireballs[/i], Dreelix; I'm not kidding!" "Why does Grindle get to pilot the carpet?" he whined petulantly. "It's my carpet!" "Well, we don't want to waste someone with your obviously superior spell-slinging skills on simple carpet-piloting, now, do we?" asked the young fighter sweetly, conveniently neglecting to mention that she trusted Grindle's piloting skills far more than those of their illustrious President. Rhionda's little speech had its desired effect, though: Dreelix puffed out his chest in self-importance and passed Grindle his magical carpet without further argument. "What about us?" asked Azurielle, indicating Willowquisp and herself. "You two would do best to stay out of the way," suggested Rhionda. "Keep your distance from the beast; it may shift around a bit once we start attacking, so keep your eyes open. In fact, why don't you two get on the carpet with Grindle and me? That may be the safest place for you." The elderly sage and the nymph stepped obligingly onto Dreelix's unrolled carpet and sat down. "Okay then, everyone know what they're doing?" Rhionda asked. The others replied in the affirmative. "Remember, don't use up all of your [i]hold monster[/i] spells at once this time; despite its six heads, there should only be one brain in that thing!"[b][12][/b] Rhionda stepped onto the [i]carpet of flying[/i] beside massive Grindle, and with a word they were off, soaring steadily up above the oblivious multiheaded monster below.[b][13][/b] [/QUOTE]
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THE ECOLOGY OF THE GULGUTHYDRA (unpublished 3.0 Monster Hunters "Ecology" article)
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