Laughing Hydra

homebrew , monster

Laughing Hydra

Huge monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)

Hit Points 172 (15d12 + 75)

Speed 30ft, swim 30ft

+5
20
+1
12
+5
20
-2
6
0
10
-2
7

Saving Throws CON +8, STR +8

Skills Perception +6, Stealth +6

Damage Vulnerabilities fire

Senses Passive Perception 16, Tremorsense 60ft

Languages Common

Challenge 9

Hold Breath The hydra can hold its breath for 1 hour.

Fire Vulnerability The laughing hydra is vulnerable to fire damage.

Multiple Heads The hydra has five heads. Each has 25 HP and can be targeted independently. Attacks targeting a head damage the head but not the hydra. If all its heads die, the hydra dies. If the hydra dies from damage not done to its heads, all the heads die. Each head saves independently against being blinded, charmed, deafened, and stunned.

At the end of its turn, any head that died this round grows two new heads in its place unless the head took fire damage this round.

Reactive Heads For each head the hydra has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only for opportunity attacks.

Wakeful While the hydra sleeps, at least one of its heads is awake.

Patient Predator The laughing hydra spends long periods in near hibernation, its heads submerged under water but its huge, bulbous body near the surface. It can remain still for so long that reeds, grasses and other wetland vegetation will grow on its back, making it nearly indistinguishable from its surroundsings; a creature can make a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to detect a hibernating hydra.

Actions

Multiattack The hydra makes as many bite attacks as it has heads.

Bite Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) piercing damage.

Drowning Strike If a hydra’s head is hidden under water, it strikes out, attempting to grasp a creature in its jaws and pull it under. A large or smaller creature the hydra can sense within 10 feet must succeed on a DEX 15 saving throw or take 15 (2d10 + 5) piercing damage and be grappled. A grappled creature is pulled under water and begins to drown. On its turn, the creature can use its action to repeat the saving throw.

Legendary Actions

The Laughing Hydra gets one Legendary Action per round, which it may use to perform a drowning strike without being hidden.

Lair and Lair Actions

The Laughing Swamp On initiative count 20, all creatures must succeed on a DC 14 WIS saving throw or become incapacitated, falling prone and laughing uncontrollably for 1 minute. Each creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of its turn. A creature that succeeds its saving throw is immune from the effects for 1 hour.

While a creature is incapacited with laughter, at the start of its turn it must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or roll into the water and begin to drown.

Each head of the hydra must also make save against the effects of the Laughing Swamp and succeeds or fails independently of the other heads. If the hydra drowns due to this effect on any one head, the hydra dies.

Dark Water The water of the Laughing Swamps is unnaturally dark and murky. Any creature totally submerged in the water has partial cover. If the creature is 5 feet from the surface, this increases to half cover. If the creature is 10 feet from the surface, it has total cover.Darkvision has no effect on visibility of submerged creatures.

The laughing hydra is a fey reptilian horror with a crocodilian body and multiple heads on long, serpentine necks. Although its heads can be severed, the hydra magically regrows them in short order.

Lover of Jokes The Laughing Swamp is a vast bog summerwise in the Feywild, in which swarms of insects constantly tell each other bad jokes; any unfortunate creature that ventures too close to the swamp risks becoming incapacitated by magical laughter, losing their footing and disappearing into the depths of the black waters and laughing as they drown.

The laughing hydra is just smart enough to understand a few of these jokes, making it susceptible to the swamp’s strange effects. For this reason it spends most of its time in near hibernation submerged in the murky depths below the surface and only raising a head occasionally to breathe. Loud laughter will attract the hydra’s attention, both as a possible source of easy prey and a good chuckle.

When a hydra sleeps, at least one of its heads remains awake and alert, making the creature difficult to catch by surprise.