Extendable Necks. The hydragora’s long vine necks can be extended to great lengths. When determining the range of its attacks, individual heads can be located anywhere within 30 feet of the main body, including above or below it.
Multiple Heads. The Hydragora has three heads: one orange, one brown, and one black. While it has more than one head, the hydragora has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, deafened, frightened, and stunned. While it has no heads, it is deafened and loses its blindsight
When the Hydragora takes at least 1 point of slashing damage, or when it takes at least 25 points of total damage in a turn, one of its heads falls off and dies.
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 necrotic damage since its last turn. The Hydragora regains 10 hit points for each head regrown in this way. The new heads are each of a randomly determined color. (Roll 1d4 for each head; 1 or 2 is orange, 3 is brown, 4 is black.)
Reactive Heads. For each head the hydragora has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.
Multiattack. The hydragora makes as many snap or shriek attacks as it has heads.
Snap. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage and 15 (2d10 + 4) acid damage.
Shriek (Recharge 5-6). This attack has a separate recharge counter for each of the hydragora's living heads. The effect is dependent on what color head is currently attacking.
Orange: This shriek has no effect on plants, constructs, and undead. All other creatures within 30 feet of the head that can hear it must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 13 (3d8) psychic damage and becomes frightened until the end of its next turn. On a success the creature takes half damage and is not frightened.
Brown: This shriek has no effect on plants, constructs, and undead. All other creatures within 30 feet of the head that can hear it must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature drops to 0 hit points. On a success, a creature takes 16 (3d10) psychic damage.
Black: This shriek has no effect on plants, constructs, and undead. All other creatures within 30 feet of the head that can hear it must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a success, the creature takes 19 (3d12) psychic damage. On a failure, the damage is doubled and the creature is stunned. If the creature failed the save by 5 or more, it is petrified until restored by the Greater Restoration spell or similar effect.
Regenerate (Recharge 6). The hydragora pulls stored energy from its root mass to heal its wounds. It recovers 25 hit points, minus 5 hit points for each of its living heads. If it has no living heads, it also gets a +2 bonus to its armor class and all saving throws until the beginning of its next turn. It regrows heads at the end of this turn even if it has taken necrotic damage since its last turn.
Description
The hydragora, a monstrous relative of the mandragora, is a terrifying mass of thorny roots with long leathery vines reaching out from within like the necks of a true hydra.
At the end of each neck is a carnivorous gourd-like head with snapping jaws and the ability to harm nearby creatures with its otherworldly shrieking.
The creature never sleeps, spending all of its time burrowed beneath the ground sensing possible approaching prey; when a sufficiently large creature or group of creatures enters it territory, it bursts forth from the ground to engage with a surprise attack.
When the hydragora is defeated, it can be harvested for a special variant of mandrake root (Survival or Nature DC16) that empowers homunculi created by the Create Homunculus spell. Such a homunculus is created with an additional 20 maximum hit points, +4 to its armor class, and an additional +4 to hit with its bite attack.
The undamaged heads can also be harvested (Survival or Nature DC14) for use in either a Poisoner's Kit or Herbalism Kit. The heads are considered damaged if exposed to fire or radiant damage.
A properly harvested head can be used in its entirety to create Potions of Healing with an Herbalism Kit. (Orange: Greater, Brown: Superior, Black: Supreme)
A properly harvested head can be used in its entirety to create Basic Poison Vials with a Poisoner's Kit. (Orange: DC14 with 2d4 poison damage, Brown: DC15 with 3d4 poison damage, Black: DC16 with 4d4 poison damage and petrification if the save is failed by 5 or more)
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