Innate Spellcasting. The false hydra's innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 18). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
At will: detect thoughts
3/day: dominate monster
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the false hydra fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Multiple Heads. The false hydra gains an additional action per turn equal to the quantity of heads it has. If the false hydra has 3 heads, it has 3 actions on it's turn (in addition to move and bonus actions). It does not gain additional move and bonus actions.
Extended Neck. The false hydra's heads have a sickeningly long neck. Each head can extend several hundred feet from it's body depending on the age of the false hydra. See the below table:
- Young (1-2 Heads): 120 ft. range
- Adult (3-4 Heads): 240 ft. range
- Mature (5-6 Heads): 480 ft. range
- Elder (7 Heads): 1240 ft. range
A head can recoil into it's body or shoot out to the full range as a move action. The heads movement can provoke an attack of opportunity and all parts of the head and neck can be targeted if extended.
Grow Heads: As the false hydra eats creatures, it has a cumulative chance of growing a new head. For each creature size below with an Int of 4 or higher, the false hydra has a cumulative chance to grow a new head upon consumption.
- Tiny: 1%
- Small: 3%
- Medium: 5%
- Large: 8%
If the creature has class levels, increase the chance by 2%. For example, a Small Fighter would be a cumulative 5% chance. If the false hydra then ate a Large Wizard, he would gain an additional 10% chance for a total of 15% chance to grow a head. Once a head is grown, the percent chance reduces to 0.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, one target. Hit: 20 (4d8 + 2) bludgeoning/slashing/piercing damage. If the target is a Huge or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 15) and takes 9 (1d8 + 5) constrict damage at the start of each of its turns until the grapple ends. The false hydra can grapple one creature per head at a time.
Engulf. The false hydra engulfs a Large or smaller creature grappled by it. The engulfed target is blinded, restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw at the start of each of the false hydra's turns or take 10 (1d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage. If the false hydra's head moves or it's body moves, the engulfed target moves with it. The false hydra can have only one creature engulfed at a time. If the target's HP drops to 0 while engulfed, or dies, it is immediately consumed. See Grow Heads.
Sonic Blast (Recharge 5–6). The false hydra let's out a vicious scream. Creatures within 60 feet of it must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 32 (5d10 + 5) sonic damage and be stunned for 1 round.
Mindsong. The false hydra sings a harrowing melody which is heard by anyone within 5 miles of the head that sings. Only one head needs to sing and having additional heads join the song provide no benefits. Creatures hearing the song gain gaps in their memory that they have no recollection of. If a person enters a room with a false hydra, the song may cause the person to forget the hydra was there. This is commonly used to cause people who are close to victims of the hydra to forget that person existed.
This song does not alter reality, only perception. A woman who lost her husband may find it confusing to find men's clothes in her house as she recalls no husband. This effect does not work on people who are deaf, or are focused on the item the gap is intended to replace. For example, the women above may witness the hydra eating a man, and recall all of it during the event, but forget the second she looks away.
As people are victims to the mindsong, they risk gaining split minds. If a victim gains split mind, the left half of the mind separates from the right. The victim does not notice this, however the left half cannot hear, thus is immune to the mindsong (but it can see). It may try to notify the victim of the hydra, but it only controls half the body. It does not control speech. This may appear as the left hand inserting text into a note the victim is writing, or scratch letters into their chest as they sleep. Since the right brain is still impacted by the mindsong, they may never notice the letter, however the scars on their chest are harder to blank out of their mind.
The false hydra can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. It can take only one legendary action at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The false hydra regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Bite. The false hydra makes a bite attack.
Sonic Pulse. The false hydra targets a creature within range of one of it's heads and blasts it with a cone of noise. Creatures within a 10 foot cone take 12 (4d6) sonic damage.
Description
Common wisdom holds that false hydras come from the ground. They spontaneously originate as undifferentiated masses of flesh. Potatoes that sprout from no seed. Supposedly, they germinate in response to lies, and that each falsehood causes a false hydra to swell larger.
Lair and Lair Actions
A False Hydra’s Lair
The lair of a false hydra always lies underneath the city it chooses to feed on. The hydra burrows underground sprouting it's head like a plant typically under buildings or in their lower floors. It frequently moves creating large cavernous areas prone to collapse. It only surfaces if the city can no longer feed it, and only long enough to move to it's next target.
Lair Actions
When fighting inside its lair, a false hydra can use lair actions. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), a false hydra can take one lair action to cause one of the following effects; the false hydra can’t use the same lair action two rounds in a row:
- The false hydra casts dominate monster.
- The false brain targets one dominated creature it can sense within 120 feet of it. The target has a flash of inspiration and gains advantage on one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw it makes before the end of its next turn. If the target doesn’t or can’t use this benefit in that time, the inspiration is lost.
- The false hydra targets one creature it can sense within 120 feet of it and causes it to freeze with fear by sheer force of will. The target must succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or be unable to leave its current space. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Regional Effects
The city a false hydra feeds on will experience one or more of the following effect:
- Creatures within 5 miles of a the false hydra can hear it's mindsong. The mindsong works as the ability. Only one head needs to be singing for it's effects to take notice.
If the false hydra dies, this effect immediately ends. The lost memory is not restored.