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The False Hydra

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In a small town, an aberration is quickly growing, feasting on the local's flesh and memories while protected by its ability to exist unseen and unnoticed. Will the adventurers realize something strange is happening? Will they be able to save the town?

This is a reference guide for running a false hydra. It is best suited for a party of 3-5 adventurers of level 4-6, however, it can be adjusted to suit a party of any size or level.

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Reviews (6)
Discussions (6)
Customer avatar
Colleen C November 06, 2023 8:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Used this and the goblinpunch post as the basis for a great false hydra arc with my party and they LOVED it. Thanks very much! I usually play music during games, so I also had a second track of white noise playing very quietly, which I slowly increased the volume on. It was not consciously noticeable to the party until I the first time I paused it, and it really freaked everyone out! Every time the hydra stopped singing to eat an NPC the white noise would cut off and I would describe little things that suddenly and briefly became apparent to the characters, before the white noise would slip back as the false hydra began to sing again. 10/10, if only this were the type of monster that you could pull twice on the same group. The fight at the end was fun, but the horror elements of the story and the confusion of realizing that things aren't as they seem were by far the best parts of the arc.
Customer avatar
Jerry K October 21, 2022 9:02 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Something I don't understand and hoping someone can clarify: Why do the party members remember things? For example, why would any of the party members ask Lev about Fib in the morning? Why would they find it strange to have just toast and coffee in the morning? By hearing the false hydra's song, wouldn't they also forget about Fib and the breakfast? Why would they remember a figure lighting the lamps the previous night?
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Customer avatar
Rachel M October 30, 2022 2:24 pm UTC
CREATOR
The way I ran it, you just have to accept that the players and PCs are going to remember certain things. You could always try to tell players that their characters don’t remember X as you play through, but I think that would get messy… If you need to make sense if it yourself, or if your players ask, I guess it could be that it depends how long you’ve been affected by the false hydra’s song (like a few days vs weeks vs months).
Customer avatar
Mark H June 28, 2022 11:47 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Ran this for my party of three and it was a great adventure! I'm a new DM and I also learned a lot about scenario-building by running this, because there are so many cool ideas within. I also realized it's gotta be done carefully to make the whole adventure rewarding. Thought I'd share my experience to help idea-build for future DMs :)

Lessons:
1. The starting scenario is a great hook, but the realization at the end is sad. I hooked my party in by having them know of a loose affiliate in the town (the town alchemist). He wasn't there anymore when they got to town... and I turned that whole discovery into a small investigation in his house (also tying into previous plot elements). Problem I had was: at the end of the adventure, the tragedy of the town is revealed and tbh it can be kind of a downer to the players! Especially any who are the good-doers looking to save people! You start by introducing them to Fib and Lev, and if you try to make them pleasant people the end realization is just sad....See more
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Customer avatar
Mark H June 28, 2022 11:55 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Ran this for my party of three and it was a great adventure! I'm a new DM and I also learned a lot about scenario-building by running this, because there are so many cool ideas within. I also realized it's gotta be done carefully to make the whole adventure rewarding. Thought I'd share my experience to help idea-build for future DMs :)

Lessons:
1. The starting scenario is a great hook, but the realization at the end is sad. I hooked my party in by having them know of a loose affiliate in the town (the town alchemist). He wasn't there anymore when they got to town... and I turned that whole discovery into a small investigation in his house (also tying into previous plot elements). Problem I had was: at the end of the adventure, the tragedy of the town is revealed and tbh it can be kind of a downer to the players! Especially any who are the good-doers looking to save people! You start by introducing them to Fib and Lev, and if you try to make them pleasant people the end realization is just sad....See more
Customer avatar
Thorin W January 30, 2021 12:54 pm UTC
I haven't used one yet, but had a few ideas for the aftermath, and since I have no idea where else to post it, I thought I'll do it here.

So, the adventure is over, the False Hydra slain. But what happens to the remains?
Here are two ideas on how you could bring this creature back, or how it could affect the world.
1. The False Hydra is slain, the day is saved. But what about the corpse of this beast? A trophy at the wall?
What, if someone (likely a wizard or other type of caster) gets their hands on one of the hydras heads? Through magic means, they could "reanimate" the head, or rather bring it to sing again, and alter its song. How would they use something like that? Maybe they use it to slowly brainwash the people of a small town? That's up to you.

2.What, if an artificer or a thief get one of the Hydras heads in their hands, and create something from it or something that immitates it?
Have you ever heard of the Aztec Death Whistle? It sounds like...See more
Customer avatar
Jamie W December 18, 2020 8:37 pm UTC
PURCHASER
Looks great, planning to use this as the weird-goings-on at the north pole for my xmas oneshot, what sort of CR do you think it comes out as?
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Customer avatar
Rachel M December 19, 2020 3:06 pm UTC
CREATOR
I’m not 100% sure on the CR, but I think as written it is best for a party of about level 5. But you can easily adjust its HP and other stats to be appropriate for any level. Have fun!
Customer avatar
Mary S November 07, 2019 6:31 pm UTC
Perhaps I'm missing it, but I can't see any reference in the product to the original author?
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Customer avatar
Rachel M November 07, 2019 7:07 pm UTC
CREATOR
Well, I'm the author of the product, but I didn't actually put my name on it. (As for the false hydra as a creature, I'm not sure who originally came up with it.)
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Customer avatar
Mary S November 07, 2019 7:09 pm UTC
Right, so you just stole https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2014/09/false-hydra.html then?
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Customer avatar
Rachel M November 07, 2019 7:13 pm UTC
CREATOR
That was definitely a source I used to put this together. I'd be happy to add the link to the product description.
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Customer avatar
Ish J April 12, 2022 2:14 am UTC
PURCHASER
and they probably stole it from someone else...relax
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Customer avatar
Alexandre P October 30, 2022 9:09 pm UTC
PURCHASER
At first I thought this was a joke about everyone forgetting about the author lol. Missed opportunity
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File Last Updated:
November 07, 2019
This title was added to our catalog on November 07, 2019.