General Rules: Monsters - Nagahydra

Nagahydra (from Serpent Kingdoms)
Huge Aberration

Hit Dice: 18d8+108 (192 hit points)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40 feet, swim 50 feet
Armor Class: 21 (-2 size, +2 Dexterity, +1 dodge, +10 natural); touch 11, flat-footed 18
BAB/Grapple: +13/+31
Attack: Bite +22 melee (2d6+10 plus poison, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Full Attack: 5 bites +22 melee (2d6+10 plus poison, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing, 20 x2)

Space/Reach: 15 feet by 15 feet/10 feet
Special Attacks: Poison, spells
Special Qualities: Darkvision, 60 feet, fast healing 15, scent
Saves: Fortitude +11, Reflex +10, Will +17
Abilities: Str 30, Int 16, Wis 19, Dex 14, Con 20, Cha 21

Skills: Bluff +18, Concentration +18, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +18 (+20 if acting), Intimidate +21, Listen +21, Sense Motive +17, Spellcraft +16, Spot +21, Swim +18

Feats: Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Augmentation (Listen and Spot), Toughness, Weapon Focus (Bite)
Environment: Temperate forests
Organization: Solitary, pair, or nest (3 - 4)
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: 19 - 36 Hit Dice (Gargantuan); 37 - 54 Hit Dice (Colossal)

A nagahydra is a serpentine monster with five heads, each of which can unleash a devastating array of spells. This fearsome predator haunts the depths of ancient forests, hunting lesser beings for food.

A nagahydra's body is covered with a reticulated array of scales in varying hues. Common colors include black, bright crimson, deep purple, emerald green, green-gold, and silver. A thicket of fiery red and orange spines juts from its body along each of its backbones. A typical specimen is about 20 feet long and weighs about 2,000 pounds.

Nagahydras speak Celestial, Infernal, and two commonly spoken languages such as Enslaic, Jeblic, Kansattish, Rhadynnic, or Sorglish.

Combat
Like a hydra, a nagahydra can attack with all its heads at no penalty, even if it moves or charges during the round.

A nagahydra can be killed either by severing all its heads or by slaying its body. To sever a head, an opponent must make a successful sunder attempt with a slashing weapon. The player should indicate where the attack is aimed before making the attack roll. Making a sunder attempt provokes an attack of opportunity unless the foe has the Improved Sunder feat. An opponent can strike at a nagahydra's heads from any position in which he could strike at the nagahydra itself because the heads writhe and whip about in combat. An opponent can ready an action to attempt sunder a nagahydra's head when the creature bites at him.

Each of a nagahydra's heads has hit points equal to the creature's full normal hit point total divided by 5. Since a normal nagahydra has has 192 hit points, 38 or more points of damage severs a head. A natural reflex seals the neck shut to prevent further blood loss A nagahydra can no longer attack with a severed head but takes no other penalties. A severed nagahydra head grows back from a stump in 1d4 rounds. The application of at least 5 points of acid or fire damage to a stump (touch attack required to hit) prevents a stump from regrowing for 24 hours. A flaming weapon or similar effect deals its energy damage to the stump in the same blow in which a head is severed. Fire or acid damage from an area effect such as a fireball may burn multiple stumps in addition to dealing damage to the nagahydra's body. A nagahydra does not die from losing its heads until all of them have been cut off and the stumps seared by fire or acid.

A nagahydra's body can be slain just like any other creature, but nagahydra's possess fast healing and thus are difficult to defeat in this fashion. Any attack that is not (or cannot be) an attempt to sunder a head affects the body. An area effect deals damage to a nagahydra's head and not to its heads. Targeted magical effects cannot sever a nagahydra's and must be directed at the body unless the deal slashing damage and could be used to make sunder attempts.

Poison (Ex): Bite, injury, Fortitude DC 24, initial and secondary damage 1d12 Constitution. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spells: A nagahydra casts spells as a 15^th level sorcerer, and can also cast spells from the cleric list and from the Domination and Scalykind domains. A nagahydra can cast one spell per round per head, but all spells come from the common pool of spells available.

Typical sorcerer spells known (6/8/7/7/7/7/6/4; save DC 15 + spell level) 0^th level - detect magic, detect poison, light, mage hand, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance; 1^st level - alarm, burning hands, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement, Tenser's floating disk; 2^nd level - bull's strength, eagle's splendor, fog cloud, scorching ray, see invisibility; 3^rd level - blink, dispel magic, fireball, fly; 4^th level - confusion, fire shield, stoneskin, wall of fire; 5^th level - cone of cold, dominate humanoid, summon monster V, teleport; 6^th level - chain lightning, globe of invulnerability, mass hold person; 7^th level - forcecage, limited wish.

Skills: A nagahydra has a +2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks thanks to its multiple heads.

A nagahydra has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check made to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming provided it swims in a straight line.

Feats: A nagahydra's Combat Reflexes feat allows it to use all of its heads for attacks of opportunity.

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