Nagahydra
Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Thomas Baxa
[Commissioned by @justicegundam82. The nagahydra first appeared in the somewhat infamous Serpent Kingdoms for Forgotten Realms in 3.5. Infamous because of the wacky balance issues; it was this book that allowed the exploits of Pun-Pun, a charop build that could become literally immortal by level 6 or so. The nagahydra isn’t that bad, but is pretty close, being originally able to cast one spell per head per round, with no restrictions. That’s a recipe for a TPK, even for a CR 18 monster, but I wanted to capture a certain amount of that flavor. I borrowed a level cap from the spell weaver, which will interact with the number of heads the nagahydra has in what should hopefully be a fun way.]
Nagahydra CR 18 N Aberration This immense serpentine creature has scales of multiple colors and textures, and a ridge of spines running down its back. It has five heads, each of which is human-like but scaled and fanged.
Nagahydras are among the most powerful of naga-kind, and perhaps the most monstrous. They have five heads, which are frequently mismatched, with scale colors and facial features characteristic of multiple species of nagas. They have the hydra-like ability to heal quickly and to grow two heads if one is severed, although accessory heads quickly die back, instead of remaining permanently. Whether the transformation into a hydra-like entity was something done by nagas or to nagas remains unclear—different nagahydras have different explanations, if they bother to discuss this history at all.
Much like other nagas, nagahydras are gifted magic users. Due to the flexibility of their spellcasting, no two nagahydras are likely to have the same tactics or the same spells to draw from. However, they can cast multiple spells at once, using multiple heads to intone different verbal components and make arcane gestures simultaneously. A nagahydra that has grown accessory heads can cast even more spells simultaneously, and some nagahydras with minions or summoned allies instruct them to cut off a head or two to allow them to grow more just before a difficult combat is anticipated.
Most nagahydras live in forest environments, particularly tropical rainforests and tropical seasonal forests. They are carnivores and sit comfortably at the top of the food chain, often choosing other monstrous prey to consume for the sport of it. The alignments of nagahydras vary, but the appearance of the heads they have does not necessarily reflect their alignments. Some with the washed out purples and banded reds of dark and spirit nagas are nevertheless good, and some with the golden scales of guardian nagas are of the foulest evil. Nagahydras are skilled liars and clever conversationalists, and even evil ones like to engage in riddles and stories. Nagahydras have a single personality and motivation no matter their number of heads, although they can engage in multiple separate conversations separately.
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Okay, I’m going to need to hear about this Pun-Pun.
There were several different ways to build Pun-Pun, but here’s the basics.
1. Play a kobold with a viper familiar. This is so you both count as “Scaled Ones” for the purposes of Serpent Kingdom rules.
2. Get access to Master of Many Forms from Complete Divine, a prestige class that expands your ability to take options while wild shaping or polymorphing.
3. Take the Assume Supernatural Ability feat from Savage Species, which allows you to grant yourself a supernatural ability of the monster you turn into with wild shape or polymorph
4. Turn into a sarrukh, the serpentfolk progenitor race from Serpent Kingdoms. Sarrukhs have the following ability:
Manipulate Form (Su) At will, a sarrukh can modify the form of any Scaled One native to Toril, except for aquatic and undead creatures. With a successful touch attack, it can cause one alteration of its choice in the target creature’s body. The target falls unconscious for 2d4 rounds due to the shock of changing form. A successful DC 22 Fortitude save negates both the change and the unconsciousness. Sarrukh are immune to this effect.
A sarrukh may use this ability to change a minor aspect of the target creature, such as the shape of its head or the color of its scales. It may also choose to make a much more significant alteration, such as converting limbs into tentacles, changing the overall body shape (snake to humanoid, for example), or adding or removing an appendage. Any ability score may be decreased to a minimum of 1 or increased to a maximum equal to the sarrukh’s corresponding score. A sarrukh may also grant the target an extraordinary, supernatural, or spell-like ability or remove one from it.
The change bestowed takes effect immediately and is permanent. Furthermore, the alterations are automatically passed on to all the creature’s offspring when it breeds with another of its unmodified kind.
5. Give your viper familiar the ability to Manipulate Form, which permanently changes them.
6. Order your viper familiar to give you Manipulate Form, which permanently changes you.
7. Profit!
The quickest way (in order to get this combo at 5th level) is if you can take the Divine Minion template, which grants you wild shape as an 11th level druid, which qualifies you for Master of Many Forms. But there are many other routes. Fortunately, the madness has been preserved for future generations (and to allow me to remember exactly how this wild combo worked) on the DND Wiki here.
