| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 20 | +5 | +5 |
| DEX | 18 | +4 | +4 |
| CON | 20 | +5 | +11 |
| Mod | Save | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| INT | 18 | +4 | +10 |
| WIS | 16 | +3 | +9 |
| CHA | 20 | +5 | +11 |
Antimagic Cone. The central eye of the creature's head creates an area of antimagic, as in the antimagic field spell, in a 150-foot-cone. At the start of each of its turns, the creature decides which way the cone faces and whether the cone is active. The area works against the creature's own eye rays.
Multiple Heads. The creature has five heads. While it has more than one head, the creature has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious.
Whenever the creature takes 50 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads dies. If all its heads die, the creature transforms in to a large size cloud of mist as it's Misty Escape trait.
At the end of its turn, it grows two heads for each of its heads that died since its last turn, unless it has taken radiant damage since its last turn. The creature regains 10 hit points for each head regrown in this way.
This creature also has advantage on any perception checks made to spot enemies as it has not only multiple heads, but each head has 10 different eye stalks constantly monitoring it's surroundings.
Wakeful. While the creature sleeps, at least one of its heads is awake.
Hold Breath. The creature can hold its breath for 1 hour.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the creature fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Regeneration. The creature regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight. If the creature takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of the creature's next turn.
Spider Climb. The creature can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Shapechanger. If the creature isn't in sunlight, it can use its action to polymorph into a huge cloud of mist, or back into its true form.
While in mist form, the creature can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can’t pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and it is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.
Misty Escape. When it drops to 0 hit points outside its lair, the creature transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that it isn't in sunlight. If it can't transform, it is destroyed.
While it has 0 hit points in mist form, it can't revert to its creature form, and it must reach its lair within 6 hours or be destroyed. Once in its lair, it reverts to its creature form. It is then paralyzed until it regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in its lair with 0 hit points, it regains 1 hit point. If it was killed by decapitation, then it instead regains 2 heads and 10 hit points.
Vampiric Weaknesses. The creature has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. The creature can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The creature takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Stake to the Heart. If a large or larger piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the creature's heart while the creature is incapacitated in its resting place, the creature is paralyzed until the weapon is removed.
Multiattack. The creature can make a number of eye-ray attacks equal to the number of heads it currently has, or a number of bite attacks equal to the number of heads it has with the ability to exchange any bite attack for a charm attack.
Charm. The creature targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the creature, the target must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the Creature. The charmed target regards the creature as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn't under the creature's control, it takes the creature's requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the creature's bite attack.
Each time the creature or the creature's companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the creature is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
If the target succeeds on their wisdom saving throw, they are immune to the creature's charm until the start of the creature's next turn.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft. Hit: 18 (4d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the creature regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under the creature's control.
Eye Rays. The creature shoots the following magical eye rays at random (reroll any duplicates per head), choosing any number of targets it can see within 120 feet of it:
1. Charm Ray. The target must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by the creature for 1 hour, or until the creature harms the target.
2. Paralyzing Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
3. Fear Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
4. Slowing Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target’s speed is halved for 1 minute. In addition, the creature can’t take reactions, and it can take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
5. Enervation Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 36 (8d8) necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
6. Telekinetic Ray. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or the creature moves it up to 30 feet in any direction. It is restrained by the ray’s telekinetic grip until the start of the creature's next turn or until the creature is incapacitated.
If the target is an object weighing 300 pounds or less that isn’t being worn or carried, it is moved up to 30 feet in any direction. The creature can also exert fine control on objects with this ray, such as manipulating a simple tool or opening a door or a container.
7. Sleep Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or fall asleep and remain unconscious for 1 minute. The target awakens if it takes damage or another creature takes an action to wake it. This ray has no effect on constructs and undead.
8. Petrification Ray. The targeted creature must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature begins to turn to stone and is restrained. It must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. On a failure, the creature is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.
9. Disintegration Ray. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 45 (10d8) force damage. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, its body becomes a pile of fine gray dust.
If the target is a Large or smaller nonmagical object or creation of magical force, it is disintegrated without a saving throw. If the target is a Huge or larger object or creation of magical force, this ray disintegrates a 10-foot cube of it.
10. Death Ray. The targeted creature must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 55 (10d10) necrotic damage. The target dies if the ray reduces it to 0 hit points.
Reactive Heads. For each head the creature has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.
The creature can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The creature regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Eye Ray. The creature uses one random eye ray.
Bite. (Costs 2 Actions). The creature makes one bite attack.
Move. The creature moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Description
A Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra is a monster that was created in the dankest depths of the underdark. A drow wizard, angry at the idea that a wizard from the surface was able to garner so much fame at the simple creation of a stupid beast like the owl bear, took it upon herself to create a creature that is much grander. She hired mercenaries, adventurers and other sell swords to find and either kill or capture many different kind of beasts and monsters until she found her perfect creation. With the help of a powerful vampiric sorceress, and much danger and death to previously mentioned mercenaries, she managed to obtain 8 different beholders, and a hydra. Using a large transfusion of blood from her vampiric assistant, this drow wizard was able to use the regenerative properties of the vampire to magically meld the beholders to places where the heads of the hydra should've been located. Upon it's awakening, Legion was born.
Legion was the first Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra. "Born" with 9 heads, Legion understands that it has the capacity of growing up to about 18 heads and may take advantage of it's knowledge of it's own anatomy to bite and rend itself a part so that it can regenerate more heads to make it more dangerous. The down side of this is that each head is just as wise and cunning as a normal beholder is, and so there's a chance that all of the heads may begin to argue among themselves, and possibly even attack each other knowing that their incredible regenerative abilities mean that any damage it inflicts on itself is not permanent. The vampiric blood meant originally to simply help with the recovery process from the magical experiment that gave it life has been infused throughout Legion's body, giving it most of the charm, strengths, and weaknesses of a vampire.
The stats presented above are for a 5 headed Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra. This creature will max out at 10 heads. If you wish to incorporate Legion in to your game, give it a number of heads between 9 and 18. All Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydras are very cunning and will likely seek out ways to expand their power. They'll likely use their disintegration ray to create tunnels under towns or cities where they can make their nests/lairs.
New Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydras can be brought about a number of ways:
First, if a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra mates with a normal hydra, then the resulting child has a 5% chance to be born as a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydras. Most Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydras look down on this form of reproduction though as they see normal hydras as nothing more then lowly unintelligent beasts.
Second, if every head of a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra all fall asleep at once, there is a 10% chance of a new Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra appearing in to reality fully formed. This manner of "reproduction" is similar to how a beholder alters reality around it and has a chance to create new beholders. Understandably, this won't happen often as a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra will usually keep at least one head awake while the others sleep so it is aware of it's surroundings.
The final way for a new Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra to be created is for them to be made in a lair in a similar fashion to how the first Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra was made.
Given how how unique each manner of creating a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra is, it's a given that there aren't many out there. There are probably less then 50 in existence.
Lair and Lair Actions
A Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra's Lair
The creature's central lair is typically a large, spacious cavern with high ceilings, where it can attack without fear of closing to melee range as well as bridges, cliffs, and tunnels made of natrual materials that the Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra can make with its disintegration ray. It uses these creations to hide on or in and surprise enemies. Their lairs will usually be located in swampy or other wet areas where the air is naturally misty. This will allow the creature to use it's shape changer trait to spy on those who are invading it's lair. Inside the lair itself will also usually have cracks and crevices in the walls that the Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra can escape through as a cloud of mist to a private cave or cavern that is it's resting chamber. It will usually retreat to this location if injured or if killed but not destroyed. It will keep it's most important treasures in this location. The path to it's resting chamber is usually a large sized tunnel located deep underwater where it can make use of it's ability to hold it's breath for an extended period of time. Alternatively, the resting walls of a Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra's lair will usually have small inaccessible holes or crevices that can only be accessed by a creature that has the ability to transform in to a cloud of mist or some other form of air. These short cuts are vulnerable to thunder damage, but any attempt to collapse the walls to reach the resting place could lead to the whole lair collapsing.
A Vampiric-Beholder-Headed-Hydra encountered in its lair has a challenge rating of 17 (18,000 XP).
Lair Actions
When fighting inside its lair, the creature can invoke the ambient magic to take lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the creature can take one lair action to cause one of the following effects:
- A 50-foot square area of ground within 120 feet of the creature becomes slimy; that area is difficult terrain until initiative count 20 on the next round.
- Walls within 120 feet of the creature sprout grasping appendages until initiative count 20 on the round after next. Each creature of the creature’s choice that starts its turn within 10 feet of such a wall must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled. Escaping requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.
- An eye opens on a solid surface within 60 feet of the creature. One random eye ray of the creature shoots from that eye at a target of the creature’s choice that it can see. The eye then closes and disappears.
The creature can’t repeat an effect until they have all been used, and it can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
Regional Effects
A region containing the creature's lair is warped by it's unnatural presence, which creates a number of effects equal to the number of heads the creature has:
- Creatures within 5 mile of the creature’s lair sometimes feel as if they’re being watched when they aren’t.
- There’s a noticeable increase in the populations of bats, rats, and wolves in the region.
- Plants within 500 feet of the lair wither, and their stems and branches become twisted and thorny.
- Shadows cast within 500 feet of the lair seem abnormally gaunt and sometimes move as though alive.
- A creeping fog clings to the ground within 500 feet of the creature's lair. The fog occasionally takes eerie forms, such as grasping claws and writhing serpents.
- When the creature sleeps, minor warps in reality occur within a number of miles of its lair equal to the number of heads it has. These changes in reality revert after 24 hours. Some examples of such changes might include: Markings on cave walls subtly changing, the appearance of an eerie trinket where none existed before, harmless slime might coat a statue, and so on. These effects apply only to natural surfaces and to nonmagical objects that aren’t on anyone’s person.
If the creature dies, these effects fade over the course of 2d10 days.
Previous Versions
| Name | Date Modified | Views | Adds | Version | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1/21/2020 11:07:17 AM
|
173
|
1
|
Alpha
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
1/31/2020 11:30:41 AM
|
383
|
2
|
Beta
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
2/1/2020 12:07:13 PM
|
225
|
0
|
C.
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
3/14/2020 12:47:54 PM
|
368
|
1
|
Delta
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
7/10/2020 9:40:17 AM
|
402
|
2
|
--
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
7/10/2020 9:44:11 AM
|
379
|
0
|
6th and Final?
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
7/10/2020 9:53:44 AM
|
389
|
0
|
Golf
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
11/7/2021 12:53:13 AM
|
620
|
3
|
Hotel
|
Coming Soon
|
|
|
9/20/2023 2:41:54 PM
|
618
|
3
|
I. India
|
Coming Soon
|
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Nov 28, 2023Number of Heads kept because the amount of average damage is about 90 per round if it only uses bite attacks. Reduced the max HP by about 60 to account for it's innate regeneration it has for being a vampire.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Dec 10, 2023Right. kinda quirky but cool.
-
View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Mar 16, 2025So this is the 2014 version. I Now I gotta go back through the monster manual and look at the 2024 versions of each monster, jam them together, and see what that would look like....