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A Guide to Monsters: The Fey, and previous The Hydra

MeldingMelding Registered User regular
edited July 2016 in Social Entropy++
Hydras

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No, no the other one.

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Yes that one.

Hydras are a category of amphibious serpent like creatures most characteristically known for the possession of multiple heads. The typically break down into two large groups of fresh water hydra, and salt water hydra, though there is the rare land hydra. Though the different types of hydras may seem to be related, many are not, and therefore it is important to know the difference between the types of hydras out there. coming to combat a finned sea water hydra like it's a fresh water three headed hydra is going to end in disaster. So, let's discuss some common traits and myths about hydras.

You can get a hydra to fight it self because each head is independent and able to be tricked.

False. Getting a hydra to injure itself is very difficult, because the heads are typically all networked. each head posses roughly 60% of a fully developed brain, enough to do the things it needs to do, and keep the body alive if the other heads are removed. There is however, a central brain encased in a rib like structure int he main body of the hydra. That is its true brain. However as long as even one head exists your ability to get to it is basically none. Even with the heads removed the ability to get at it is still hard. that is why most opt to cauterize the neck stumps and leave the beast to starve. It is inhumane, but effective if the hydra must absolutely die. otherwise returning to to a body of water to regrow a head is the preferred removal method.

Cut off one of its heads and two take its place.

This is only sometimes true. the reason some hydras are categorized by head count and others are not, is because the ability to regrow multiple heads from a single loss. A three headed fresh water hydra, for example, will never have more than three heads, barring mutation from pollution. the Salt water finned hydra however, regrows as many as three heads from a severed stump, though those three are each less than half the size of the original, and typically down the line are killed off to allow a singular larger head take its place. All hydras are able to regrow their heads however, though the rate can vary greatly depending on how recently they fed to overall size, and species.


And Finally it is worth noting that all hydras are venomous. A bite from a hydra will likely kill just about anyone, and unfortunately it seems to follow the same lines as scorpions, with the smaller types being more dangerous than the larger ones as far as venom is concerned. however, since hydras start at about the size of a sedan and only get larger the comfort of the larger ones being less venomous is kind of lost. What with them being able to bite you in half and all that.

In further posts we will be covering the different types of hydras, their general habits, habitats, and haberdasheries. We will of course been fielding any questions in the mean time.

Melding on
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Posts

  • BlueBlueBlueBlue Registered User regular
    What if you jump on its back

    CD World Tour status:
    Baidol Voprostein Avraham Thetheroo Taya Zerofill Effef Crimson King Lalabox Mortal Sky ASimPerson Sal Wiet Theidar Tynic Speed Racer Neotoma Goatmon ==>Larlar Munkus Beaver Day of the Bear miscellaneousinsanity Skull Man Delzhand Caulk Bite 6 Somestickguy
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Do hydras chafe something awful in all those crannies where the heads meet the torso and, if so, could I make money selling them ointments?

    Possibly relevant: do hydras (hydri?) have money?

  • TallahasseerielTallahasseeriel Registered User regular
    What precautions should fishermen take to prevent hyrda related accidents and deaths in their workplace?

  • Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide: When I heard about a monster with long slender necks I thought beheading would be an effective tactic. But every time I swing my sword at one it just sinks a few inches into the scales of the neck and I can't get it back out. I came back with a battleaxe thinking this would surely fell it, but again the bones of the spine and the mobile nature of the beast head left me wanting.

    Am I just not swinging right, or are all the stories around beheading these beasts just conjecture?

    Crying for the Chopping Block in College Park

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  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    hercules_disney_8.png

    WILL YOU FORGET THE HEAD-SLICING THING!?!?!?!

    Zonugal on
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  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    BlueBlue wrote: »
    What if you jump on its back

    only really useful if there's a satyr about.
    Enc wrote: »
    Do hydras chafe something awful in all those crannies where the heads meet the torso and, if so, could I make money selling them ointments?

    Possibly relevant: do hydras (hydri?) have money?

    I imagine being an amphibious reptile, the answer would be no. to both.
    Uriel wrote: »
    What precautions should fishermen take to prevent hyrda related accidents and deaths in their workplace?

    The best course is always avoidance. If you can simply not be where the hydra is the odds of encountering it is low. next, not using chum and other baits that leave a lot of blood in the water is a good idea if you suspect a hydra might be in the area. As well as sea serpents if you see its head above water, just remain still, it is likely just investigating and will leave soon, attacking it will just provoke it. If none of these work, hope your boat is faster than it, and then get someone to remove the hydra, or relocate it.

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide: When I heard about a monster with long slender necks I thought beheading would be an effective tactic. But every time I swing my sword at one it just sinks a few inches into the scales of the neck and I can't get it back out. I came back with a battleaxe thinking this would surely fell it, but again the bones of the spine and the mobile nature of the beast head left me wanting.

    Am I just not swinging right, or are all the stories around beheading these beasts just conjecture?

    Crying for the Chopping Block in College Park

    Dear Chopping Block,

    There could be a lot of things at play here. First, most places selling "Battle ready" and "sharp" weapons, are selling a bill of goods. You want a blade that is able to remove the hairs from your body, axe or sword. Having no way to actually check how you're using these weapons, for that i can only really say if the neck is larger than a human leg, you're probably going to need more force, maybe use a pole arm. a voulge, or a Bardiche perhaps might be able to cleave through it. Remember though, shaving sharp. Brute force alone wont fell the beast.

    Sincerely,

    D. Melding, Not really covered in that many scars

    Melding on
  • PinfeldorfPinfeldorf Yeah ZestRegistered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide:

    I have read that hydras can regenerate heads if you cut them off, but what if you just chop its whole body off? Can it regenerate its whole body? Conversely, what about its legs? I would imagine a hydra with no legs would nary be a threat!

  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide,

    I have read on The Internet that secret Hydras have infiltrated the highest levels of our government as well as our civilian organizations. Personally I find this ridiculous but I wanted to ask the expert.

    Also, where are you located and what hours are you home? Just wondering.

    Sincerely,
    Stunning Steve in Brooklyn.

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  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Pinfeldorf wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide:

    I have read that hydras can regenerate heads if you cut them off, but what if you just chop its whole body off? Can it regenerate its whole body? Conversely, what about its legs? I would imagine a hydra with no legs would nary be a threat!

    Well, going in reverse order, many hydras don't have legs to begin with, most have snake like bodies, the ones with limbs are able to regrow them, though most don't bother to attack them because they're usually just there for movement, and not an intimidate threat like the heads are. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by cutting its whole body off. the heads can't regrow a new body, however, like wise to trolls, if the heads are quickly placed back on to the body there is a chance of them reattaching.

    In some respects they're a lot like the axolotl but on a larger scale in both size and regenerative power. there is limits, it's main brain destroyed for example it's not likely to recover from that even if it has heads attached, but generally speaking it can recover.

  • SolarSolar Registered User regular
    What if I nuked a Hydra

    would it die then

  • JarsJars Registered User regular
    as one of the two non flying level 7 units hydras were a bit weaker than their counterparts

  • Mr FuzzbuttMr Fuzzbutt Registered User regular
    does sex with a hydra count as an orgy?

    asking for a friend

    broken image link
  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide,

    I have read on The Internet that secret Hydras have infiltrated the highest levels of our government as well as our civilian organizations. Personally I find this ridiculous but I wanted to ask the expert.

    Also, where are you located and what hours are you home? Just wondering.

    Sincerely,
    Stunning Steve in Brooklyn.

    I have no idea what you're talking about.

    U5HwxW9m.png
    Solar wrote: »
    What if I nuked a Hydra

    would it die then

    If the hydra is small enough to nuke, yes. which luckily covers about 99.8% of all hydras. but that .2%, whoo boy.
    does sex with a hydra count as an orgy?

    asking for a friend

    no, it is a singular being.

  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    Yo tell me about that .2%

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  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    BAN16508.jpg

    .2% Hydra?

    8EVmPzM.jpg
  • YukiraYukira Registered User regular
    Melding wrote: »
    Solar wrote: »
    What if I nuked a Hydra

    would it die then

    If the hydra is small enough to nuke, yes. which luckily covers about 99.8% of all hydras. but that .2%, whoo boy.

    Okay what about a few Mobile Suits.

    Sincerely,

    C. Anzable

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    latest?cb=20150521192831

    HYDRA???

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  • Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide

    A friend of mine has read in a magazine of a business that captured a Hydra and used it as a cheap source of meat. He seems intrigued by the idea and keeps talking about how he will capture a Hydra one day and make his own food chain off this story. How could I best talk him out of this hairbrained scheme?

    Suspect Steaks in Sussex

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  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    You forgot the miasma they can breathe out, easily just as bad as getting the venom from their bite. Or fire breath, that's bad too.

  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide,

    My maniple and I have been fighting a Hydra for the past several hours. We heard that if you destroyed all of a Hydra's heads fast enough, it will die before any can regrow. We're trying to do that, but whenever we get a few it always keeps us at bay long enough for them to regenerate before we can get the rest! Do you have any suggestions?

    With regards,
    Legionary cBDLVII

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    H-

    Hail?

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Yo tell me about that .2%

    I was planning to build up to that, but sure. Let's start at the largest hydra.

    Currently the largest hydra on record is the World-Spanning Hydra, estimated to be roughly 51,900 KM long. Currently there has been 9 heads discovered, we are unsure if there is more. Records indicate we have likely found all of them, though, it also indicates that if severed it replaces a lost head with 9 other heads. So, we could be missing as many as 72 heads. If it behaves like other hydras than before entering hibernation it should have shed its heads down to nine however, so the odds of this are slim. We know very little about it, outside of records of ancient beings who lived when last it awakened.

    From their record it was a terrible force, slaying as many as six titans and several previously thought to be divine beings before returning to its slumber. If it were to awaken, we're pretty sure humanity is basically just fucked. Luckily, according to our research it won't start to awaken for at least another 6000 years and will take near a millennium to become active after that. Giving us ample time to flee the planet for the duration.

    For those keeping track at home, the awakening of a Titan is a near apocalyptic event, and this thing killed six of them.



  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide

    A friend of mine has read in a magazine of a business that captured a Hydra and used it as a cheap source of meat. He seems intrigued by the idea and keeps talking about how he will capture a Hydra one day and make his own food chain off this story. How could I best talk him out of this hairbrained scheme?

    Suspect Steaks in Sussex

    Dear Steaks,

    That is a very dangerous idea. Though, not unheard of. Properly prepared, people can't even tell it's not low grade beef. However, there is a lot of aspects that make this ridiculously dangerous, and not that profitable. As another poster pointed out, yes, the miasma they can spew,a s well as the rare few that breath fire make it a dangerous prospect. in addition tot hat, if the heads are kept locked up, many are cunning enough to remove their own heads and lay in ambush. The farmer will come to check on its cattle and suddenly a very free hydra springs into attack, and is more than willing to fight to the death. It is also worth noting that in hydras most would be able to keep there isn't a lot of meat in that there neck, and you need to feed the hydra enough to keep it healthy enough to regrow heads. a starved hydra isn't regrowing anything, and that is probably the cruellest way to kill one.
    cB557 wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide,

    My maniple and I have been fighting a Hydra for the past several hours. We heard that if you destroyed all of a Hydra's heads fast enough, it will die before any can regrow. We're trying to do that, but whenever we get a few it always keeps us at bay long enough for them to regenerate before we can get the rest! Do you have any suggestions?

    With regards,
    Legionary cBDLVII

    Hail Legionary,

    It is important to remember that hydras share a network of their brains. as heads are severed it will fight both more fiercely and defensively. depending on the amount of heads, once more than 2/5ths are removed you should be ready to spring into action to remove the rest immediately. you should consider using tactics that start with only a few in the fight until some of the heads are removed while the others that were resting then spring into a fever of action to remove the rest. Or, instead, simply repel the beast, until it falls off a ledge, or is out of the way enough that its presence no longer affects whatever you're attempting to do in the area.

    It is also worth noting that no, killing all the heads doesn't kill the beast. However, most quit fighting to feign death, so it can regrow proper heads in peace without fear of reprisal. Which is why unless you have personally killed the main brain you should never move a hydra's body.

  • XehalusXehalus Registered User regular
    kill hydras with AoE dmg

    profit

  • MysstMysst King Monkey of Hedonism IslandRegistered User regular
    one shot rumple followed by two shots rumple

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  • Duke 2.0Duke 2.0 Time Trash Cat Registered User regular
    Dear Monster Guide

    I've recently gotten into media of monsters and the cooking of them. Living off the land and unique exotic tastes, that sort of stuff.

    In your experience of monster hunting are there any particular creatures known for their taste when cooked, or recipes you have taken a liking to on the campaign?

    Dungeon Cooking in Cincinnati

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  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Still covering that .2% We have the Fey-Gorger Hydra.

    This one measures in a comparably puny 5000km. Don't let the size fool you however, the emergence of one of these is rated as a Titan Level event. And considering the next largest hydra is maybe a kilometre long, why the Fey-Gorger is feared is pretty easily apparent.

    The Fey-Georger Hydra is luckily an alien being, coming from the same realm of existence as the other fey being, and even there is considered a massive threat. As such it is impossible to say how many heads these creatures have naturally, as they always seem to cross over in an agitated state, and with wildly varying numbers of heads, currently three have been recorded, one had as few as nine heads, another as many as twenty seven. As well, they buck the trend of large size means less fatal venom. As their venom seems to be potent enough to dissolve a human in seconds.

    Luckily as extra-planar beings, means to combat them are many, as most magics able to bind and expel such things are commonly available, enough in a large spell formation can shunt an emerging Fey-Gorger Hydra away. Or once here, able to eject them from earth with enough force present. With it being fey typical fey killing weapons have effect however, due to the scale, they are not recommended.

    If you suspect a Fey-Gorger Hydra is appearing in your area, call fucking everyone, and just keep calling until enough people show up to deal with it. A single one of these could dominate an entire continent in a week, they need to be removed immediately.

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide

    I've recently gotten into media of monsters and the cooking of them. Living off the land and unique exotic tastes, that sort of stuff.

    In your experience of monster hunting are there any particular creatures known for their taste when cooked, or recipes you have taken a liking to on the campaign?

    Dungeon Cooking in Cincinnati

    Dear Dungeon Cooking,

    As a general rule I try to avoid eating things we'd classify as monsters. Monstrous blood can have unintended effects on the human body, i forget which guide this was originally covered in but it can cause mutation. So i typically stick to safe foods.

    That said, i hear good thing about dragon and if you can pull it off, basilisk meat is apparently super tender. but good luck getting all the poison out.

  • BarcardiBarcardi All the Wizards Under A Rock: AfganistanRegistered User regular
    The Dark Souls Hydra, if it appeared in another game how would you improve it to make it actually worthwhile? Make it an actual boss? Make its heads grow back? More varied attacks? Or something else?

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Barcardi wrote: »
    The Dark Souls Hydra, if it appeared in another game how would you improve it to make it actually worthwhile? Make it an actual boss? Make its heads grow back? More varied attacks? Or something else?

    god i hated that thing. making it a boss would be neat, maybe heads get introduced through out the fight, so it starts off with three heads visible, then four, each has its won health bar, and if you take too long to kill all of the heads a head will revive at say a quarter health, until all the heads are dead. and there wouldn't be a pool of instant death water right in front of it.

  • PeasPeas Registered User regular
    Duke 2.0 wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide

    I've recently gotten into media of monsters and the cooking of them. Living off the land and unique exotic tastes, that sort of stuff.

    In your experience of monster hunting are there any particular creatures known for their taste when cooked, or recipes you have taken a liking to on the campaign?

    Dungeon Cooking in Cincinnati

    I see that you have been reading that kekekeh

  • Al_watAl_wat Registered User regular
    does sex with a hydra count as an orgy?

    asking for a friend

    Thanks for covering for me

    I would be really embarrassed if the forums knew about my hydra fetish

  • MeldingMelding Registered User regular
    Al_wat wrote: »
    does sex with a hydra count as an orgy?

    asking for a friend

    Thanks for covering for me

    I would be really embarrassed if the forums knew about my hydra fetish

    Request to any mod: Please change Al_wat's title to "Known Hydra Fetishist" TIA.

  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide,

    I have read on The Internet that secret Hydras have infiltrated the highest levels of our government as well as our civilian organizations. Personally I find this ridiculous but I wanted to ask the expert.

    Also, where are you located and what hours are you home? Just wondering.

    Sincerely,
    Stunning Steve in Brooklyn.

    ew03_thebabylonianbrotherhood.jpg
    Your call is being forwarded to the nearest authorities please stay on the line and we will be with you as soon as we can

  • BlankZoeBlankZoe Registered User regular
    Brainleech wrote: »
    Blankzilla wrote: »
    Dear Monster Guide,

    I have read on The Internet that secret Hydras have infiltrated the highest levels of our government as well as our civilian organizations. Personally I find this ridiculous but I wanted to ask the expert.

    Also, where are you located and what hours are you home? Just wondering.

    Sincerely,
    Stunning Steve in Brooklyn.

    ew03_thebabylonianbrotherhood.jpg
    Your call is being forwarded to the nearest authorities please stay on the line and we will be with you as soon as we can
    Cool I'll just stay in this elevator

    CYpGAPn.png
  • PinfeldorfPinfeldorf Yeah ZestRegistered User regular
    Jars wrote: »
    as one of the two non flying level 7 units hydras were a bit weaker than their counterparts

    HAHA A HEROESOF MIGHT AND MAGIC 3 JOKE

    Wanna get married?

  • JarsJars Registered User regular
    excuse me but that was a SERIOUS POST about the quality of fortress level 7 units

  • PinfeldorfPinfeldorf Yeah ZestRegistered User regular
    Fortress doesn't need quality level 7 units because Dragonflies and Wyvern Queens are super crazo bananas. Though I've been playing WoG for so long I've kind of forgotten how the unmodded game even goes.

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