[DF] [Boss Monster] The Hydra

[Athanbeli]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

I[*]Bite (16): 5d+2 imp at reach C-6 and automatically grabs if it hits. This attack counts as a grapple, taking half penalties for hit location and reversing the usual penalty for relative SM to a bonus (as usual).

I thought that in MA it was ruled that biting gets full hit location penalties, even if it can be considered a grapple (once it hits).

Also, where can I find those rules for SM modifiers?

[aesir23]

I don't see any way to stop the heads from regrowing--the torch to the stump trick doesn't work.

This thing would eat Hercules for lunch.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Athanbeli

I thought that in MA it was ruled that biting gets full hit location penalties, even if it can be considered a grapple (once it hits).

1) it's a monster, with a special attack. As long as you know how it works and you're consistent with it, the exact details don't really matter.

2) "Under the hood" I was treating the heads as a pile of arms, not heads. It's "really" grabbing, it just happens to have teeth, not claws. That's why it says "Treat a one-head bite as a one-handed Grapple, although the Hydra may apply more heads to the situation as if they were hands (does not increase damage, does increase hit bonuses)." :D

Originally Posted by Athanbeli

Also, where can I find those rules for SM modifiers?

Basic Set, Size Modifier section. B402

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by aesir23

I don't see any way to stop the heads from regrowing--the torch to the stump trick doesn't work.

Kill it before they finish regrowing.

The Supernatural Durability vulnerability is all heads being severed at once, so the PCs will have to co-ordinate.

Originally Posted by aesir23

This thing would eat Hercules for lunch.

With Antoni's game, that makes sense. It's designed to fight five-ish Herakles-level heroes at once :D

[Athanbeli]

Originally Posted by Bruno

1)
Basic Set, Size Modifier section. B402

Oh, thankyou. Never spotted the 'you also get +1...' part!.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by aesir23

I don't see any way to stop the heads from regrowing--the torch to the stump trick doesn't work.

This thing would eat Hercules for lunch.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Kill it before they finish regrowing.

The Supernatural Durability vulnerability is all heads being severed at once, so the PCs will have to co-ordinate.

With Antoni's game, that makes sense. It's designed to fight five-ish Herakles-level heroes at once :D

Bruno said it, you need to sever the heads faster than they come back. Also, inflicting massive damage to the body will slow down the regrowth, as, at least the way I play it, make regeneration work in a FIFO manner, meaning that if it takes a huge amount of damage to the torso, and then gets 3 heads looped off, it will first regenerate the body, and then the heads. In fact it was sort of the point, you pound it hard, keep it down, and then sever the heads.

BTW, it didn't last two rounds... Fear 600 points DF characters... Of course, it was not fighting in the water.

[Mateus]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

BTW, it didn't last two rounds... Fear 600 points DF characters... Of course, it was not fighting in the water.

Two rounds? ... My god... I am scared of yours players =)

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by Mateus

Two rounds? ... My god... I am scared of yours players =)

It appeared, and the skill 31, feint+4, Striking ST 19 catgirl swashbuckler feints with the first attack, power blow/edged rapier swing (enchanted to be unbreakable, to have AD (2), and with a custom enchantment that ups the max ST), and then does 5 rapid strikes. Each attack does an absurd amount of damage, due to Weapon Master adding +2 per dice. Then the Scout/Mystic Knight starts raining arrows (with the hydra being so big, it's easy), and tosses 27 arrows at it (three arrow bow+multishot+dual weapon attack+ extra attack). Each arrow does insane damage due to being fired with effective ST 19, and weapon master. Then the skill 25 wizard great hastes the swashbuckler, and the dark one evil cleric makes his hidden lore roll to discover that it won't die as long as it has heads. Next turn, the swashbuckler chops all the heads, due to being able to do two turns of attacks back to back.

[kdtipa]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

It appeared, and the skill 31, feint+4, Striking ST 19 catgirl swashbuckler feints with the first attack, power blow/edged rapier swing (enchanted to be unbreakable, to have AD (2), and with a custom enchantment that ups the max ST), and then does 5 rapid strikes. Each attack does an absurd amount of damage, due to Weapon Master adding +2 per dice. Then the Scout/Mystic Knight starts raining arrows (with the hydra being so big, it's easy), and tosses 27 arrows at it (three arrow bow+multishot+dual weapon attack+ extra attack). Then the skill 25 wizard great hastes the swashbuckler, and the dark one evil cleric makes his hidden lore roll to discover that it won't die as long as it has heads. Next turn, the swashbuckler chops all the heads, due to being able to do two turns of attacks back to back.

... is that even fun anymore?

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by kdtipa

... is that even fun anymore?

Yep, it is. I still find ways to challenge them, they have goals, and I find ways to add obstacles in their way, etc etc.

Brute force single boss monsters are hard to design, so I usually go for hordes nowadays. Imagine a horde of fast zombies (30 or so) from Monster hunters, and each time a zombie dies, it releases a super skull spirit, that is like a normal skull spirit, but it can move and attack with no penalties against everything in it's path. That managed to kill two characters. One was resurrected on the spot, thanks to a scroll, but for the other one, they had to use Lesser Resurrection (a Resurrection variant I created that costs 50 energy only, and that costs the resurrected one permanent point of HT, also reducing racial maximum).

The zombies themselves aren't that bad, but they needed to control them and kill them slowly, as otherwise the skull spirits would ping them to death.