Pyrohydra breath weapon?

[Darklord Xavez]

In the Monster Manual, it says under the pyrohydra entry that all heads breath every 1d4 rounds. Is there one breath weapon attack for each head, or do they all contribute to one breath weapon attack.

Simplified:

Does a 7-headed pyrohydra breath seven different 20-foot lines?
-X

[Lord Ruby34]

That depends, do you want the PCs extra crispy or just a bit singed?

[ClothedInVelvet]

I would say each head gets a breath weapon. That partially comes from my reading and partially because the pyro- prefix adds +2 to the CR, which seems like quite a bit for one lousy breath weapon.

But it's your game. If, for instance, the PCs are on the verge of death anyway, maybe a few heads forget how to breathe.

[The Glyphstone]

Each jet only deals 3d6 fire damage, though, so a 7th level cleric will be able to ward the party to be completely immune to those breath attacks (CR8 for a 7-header), and even a 3rd+level cleric will be able to severely dull it. I'd make it one collective breath weapon for that reason, as well as for cutting down on die rolls - one Reflex save vs. 21d6 instead of 7 individual saves for 3d6 each.

[Moriato]

These reddish hydras can breathe jets of fire 10 feet high, 10 feet wide, and 20 feet long. All heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds. Each jet deals 3d6 points of fire damage per head

It has to be one attack, or else a 12 headed hydra would do 432d6 with its breath weapon, and... I don't think that's right. Also note that it says all heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds, and not each head.

[Darklord Xavez]

Thank you everyone. It did seem kinda weak.

Now I know what my wizard will polymorph into!
-X

[Ravens_cry]

What do you call it when you accidentally Plane Shift to a world full of such monstrosities?
Hydra-planing!
Yeah, yeah, I know; murder is too good for me.:smallbiggrin:

[TroubleBrewing]

It has to be one attack, or else a 12 headed hydra would do 432d6 with its breath weapon, and... I don't think that's right. Also note that it says all heads breathe once every 1d4 rounds, and not each head.

... Or a 12-headed hydra would deal 36d6 damage. Because 3d6 times 12 iiiiisssss... ? :smallconfused:

[The Random NPC]

... Or a 12-headed hydra would deal 36d6 damage. Because 3d6 times 12 iiiiisssss... ? :smallconfused:

The problem comes if every head has a seperate breath attack. The damage would be 3d6*Number of heads^2 if every head had a seperate attack. To clarify, there are 12 heads. Every breath attack deals 3d6 per head. So one head deals 36d6. There are 11 more heads left to do a breath attack.

[Cog]

The problem comes if every head has a seperate breath attack. The damage would be 3d6*Number of heads^2 if every head had a seperate attack. To clarify, there are 12 heads. Every breath attack deals 3d6 per head. So one head deals 36d6. There are 11 more heads left to do a breath attack.
I don't think anybody was suggesting that before. The questions is, is it one breath that deals 3d6 per head, or a 3d6 breath weapon with one breath per head.

[thompur]

What do you call it when you accidentally Plane Shift to a world full of such monstrosities?
Hydra-planing!
Yeah, yeah, I know; murder is too good for me.:smallbiggrin:


*Ba-dum-DUM*

Raven's Cry everybody! He'll be here through the 23rd. Try the veal!

[Vangor]

I don't think anybody was suggesting that before. The questions is, is it one breath that deals 3d6 per head, or a 3d6 breath weapon with one breath per head.

I believe the point Moriato was making was because the language says 3d6 damage per head this would mean each actual jet of flame does 3d6xN where N is number of heads. For twelve heads, this is 36d6. The ambiguity of whether each head gets an individual breath attack should be solved by realizing 36d6x12 is 432d6 total.

I am of the mind, though, the wording is sloppily meaning to say all heads do an individual jet of flame simultaneously, and each jet of flame is 3d6. This appears to combine two perspectives on the anatomy of the hydra, however, but is used for simplicity. You have to keep track of only one cooldown and no further calculations for damage need to be made. If you're employing a hydra, you're already using all the heads.

[graeylin]

i tend to agree with Vangor... And my hydras rotate their breathing, so that 1/4 of them breath in round 1, 1/4th in round two, etc... The other heads bite when not breathing, so you are always face a biting/fire breathing head or six.

[AppleChips]

Thank you everyone. It did seem kinda weak.

Now I know what my wizard will polymorph into!


Unless you have the Assume Supernatural Ability feat, you won't be able to use the breath weapon because its, well, a supernatural ability.

[Cog]

Unless you have the Assume Supernatural Ability feat, you won't be able to use the breath weapon because its, well, a supernatural ability.
The hydra's breath lacks that (Su) tag - or any tag - meaning it's a natural ability for them.

[JaronK]

The hydra's breath lacks that (Su) tag - or any tag - meaning it's a natural ability for them.

"Breath weapons are supernatural abilities except where noted." That's in the section on Breath Weapons in the SRD (it mimics the one in MM1, IIRC).

Also, no special attack is ever a Natural Ability. Only Natural Weapon attacks (such as Claw attacks) are Natural Abilities. Any other form of attack is always a Special Attack and thus Ex if it's not magical.

JaronK

[aquaticrna]

this just came up in another thread... in the general description of breath weapons in states that breath weapons are always supernatural abilities unless stated otherwise

[The Random NPC]

I don't think anybody was suggesting that before. The questions is, is it one breath that deals 3d6 per head, or a 3d6 breath weapon with one breath per head.

I didn't mean to suggest that it was the correct method to determine damage, I just meant to show Mr. McBannert where the 432d6 came from.

[BobVosh]

What do you call it when you accidentally Plane Shift to a world full of such monstrosities?
Hydra-planing!
Yeah, yeah, I know; murder is too good for me.:smallbiggrin:


If only we were talking about an aquatic subspecies of the hydras.

[Moriato]

I don't think anybody was suggesting that before. The questions is, is it one breath that deals 3d6 per head, or a 3d6 breath weapon with one breath per head.

Yes, that's my point. If each head were to get its own separate breath weapon, which deals "3d6 points of fire damage per head", the damage would be ridiculous.

That, and the the phrase "All heads breathe once every 1d4 round" both imply that it's supposed to be multiple heads involved in one attack, rather than each head getting its own attack.