Dungeons and Dragons Lore: False Hydra

AJ Pickett・2 minutes read

AJ from the Mighty Glue Stick channel discusses the creation and mechanics of the False Hydra, a homebrew creature in Dungeons & Dragons with a unique ability to erase memories and induce split minds in its victims. The False Hydra's song distorts perception, causing confusion, paranoia, and bizarre behaviors in those it consumes, growing stronger with more heads and longer necks, making it a formidable and dangerous foe.

Insights

  • Arnold Kemp created the False Hydra, a boneless, pale creature with a mesmerizing song that distorts perception, causing victims to disappear while erasing their existence from others' memories, inducing split minds and bizarre behaviors.
  • The False Hydra's mechanics include legendary resistance, innate spellcasting abilities, and powerful attacks like a sonic pulse dealing damage in a cone, a biting attack with a high hit bonus and grapple ability, as well as the ability to engulf and consume victims, showcasing its complex and deadly nature.

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Recent questions

  • What is the False Hydra in Dungeons & Dragons lore?

    A homebrew creature that erases memories and feeds on evil.

  • How does the False Hydra consume its victims?

    By infiltrating their brains with a mesmerizing song.

  • What are the abilities of the False Hydra in combat?

    It can attack with a bite, release a sonic pulse, and use lair actions.

  • How does the False Hydra affect the memories of those around it?

    It causes memory gaps and alters perception within a 5-mile radius.

  • What makes the False Hydra a unique and terrifying creature?

    Its ability to erase memories, induce split minds, and feed on evil.

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Summary

00:00

"False Hydra: Memory-Erasing Monster of D&D Lore"

  • AJ runs the Mighty Glue Stick channel focusing on Dungeons & Dragons lore and strategy videos, with a collection of hundreds of monster ecology videos.
  • Arnold Kemp created the False Hydra as a homebrew creature for first edition Dungeons & Dragons, gaining popularity since its inception on September 4th, 2014.
  • The False Hydra emerges in the town of Luskin on the Sword Coast, growing from a small creature into a monstrous entity feeding on evil and villainy.
  • Its appearance is described as a pale, boneless creature with a flexible neck, hairless head, and a mesmerizing song that distorts perception, making it hard to notice.
  • The False Hydra's song infiltrates the brain, causing victims to be unable to focus, leading to their disappearance as it consumes them.
  • Consuming victims not only feeds its physical form but also erases their existence from the memories of those who knew them, causing confusion and paranoia.
  • The creature's song induces split minds in victims, leading to bizarre behaviors like limbs acting independently or self-inflicted harm.
  • As the False Hydra matures, it grows more heads and longer necks, enhancing its hunting abilities and making it harder to conceal, eventually needing to consume several people daily.
  • The creature's song causes memory gaps and alters perception within a 5-mile radius, making people forget the existence of its victims.
  • The False Hydra's mechanics include legendary resistance, innate spellcasting abilities, and a harrowing melody that induces memory gaps and split minds in victims, with additional heads providing more physical attacks.

14:58

Deceptive False Hydra: Sonic attacks and grapples

  • The False Hydra can attack with a bite or release a sonic pulse, dealing 4d6 sonic damage to creatures within 10 feet of the cone. Its bite has a +11 to hit, dealing 4d8+2 damage and can grapple huge or smaller creatures, causing 1d8+5 bludgeoning damage until the grapple ends.
  • It can grapple one creature per head and engulf a large or smaller creature, blinding and restraining it. The engulfed target moves with the False Hydra and takes damage unless it succeeds on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw. If the target's hit points drop to zero while engulfed, it is consumed.
  • The False Hydra can release a sonic blast, stunning creatures within 60 feet on a failed DC 20 Constitution saving throw, dealing 5d10+5 sonic damage. It can use lair actions to cast dominate monster or freeze a creature with fear within 120 feet, causing it to be unable to leave its space until it succeeds on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw.
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