So, suppose I wanted to make a ceremorphised Hydra monster for 5e, how do you think Mindflayers would go about it? I suppose the actual question is what's the best balance between what's "cool" and what "makes sense."
Like do you think they'd get a tadpole for each individual existing head? Or maybe just One tadpole for a "centre" head and the other heads just become really big tentacles? Maybe they have to scoop out the brains of the other heads first for that to work? And what about the regeneration thing? If they stick a tadpole into every head, when it regenerates a head do the regenerated heads come back already all mindflayer-y? Like if all but one head becomes a big tentacle, then it's easy because regrowing a tentacle is no big deal but suppose it's got 4 tentacles and one head, and the one head is severed, does one tentacle and one head come back? Do two heads come back? Do two tentacles come back and the ceremorphised hydra just becomes this bestial, blind, really angry mass of flailing tentacles?
Also drawing a blank on why they'd even try to ceremorphise a Hydra. I mean it'd be cool (or not I don't know, I certainly think it'd be cool) but the Mindflayers don't strike me as the type to go to such overt measures.
And what should I even call it? Maybe keeping in line with the ceremorphised beholder being a "Mindwitness" it should probably be Mind-something. Mindthrasher? Mindsplitter? Like split personalities? I don't know.
So, suppose I wanted to make a ceremorphised Hydra monster for 5e, how do you think Mindflayers would go about it...
I'd go with Mindwrither.
As for function, say that a hydra brains are all linked, and tadpoling one slowly corrupts the rest. You could inflict multiple heads, but they'd be in conflict and not cooperate and eventually tear one another off. I'd make the necks a bit tentacle-ish but retain actual heads at the ends. Anything else is needless complication.
Mind Flayers would more than likely not even bring their own tentacles within 10ft of that thing out of self respect. Intelligence wise, Hydra's are as dumb as a sack of potatoes. They are beasts and nothing more. It is possible, don't ask me how, but it is potentially too dangerous as having clashing personalities within a hive mind is generally a terrible idea. They would not even suffice as sustenance. Their memories would probably be boring as hell to riffle though. The only emotions that could be found would be pretty simplistic and animalistic.
What's a good monstrous sort of creature to ceremorphise and throw at players that isn't a dragon? Something that really communicates a "Man this is fucked up" sort of feeling?
One tadpole = one tentacle head, the other heads enthralled.
Tadpole for each head = Fully ceramorphised, each head with tentacles, hivemind between them.
>creating monsters
>5e
lol
Explain this meme.
the monster manual is full of monsters, and the creation rules for monsters, while okay, are awful when it comes to calculating XP.
Ceremorphed Otyugh or Xorn.
> giving players experience based on their kill count
>Not giving players the same EXP for overcoming the challenge regardless of methods.
> not just giving group exp as you see fit based on narrative* sense of party's accomplishments
* and I don't mean according to plot
Ceremorphed unicorn.
Ceremorphed chimera.
Ceremorphed manticore.
go full abberation and make all of the heads tentacles
>why would they do it
maybe one illithid for some reason wants to sabotage their hivemind, and decides the best way to do that is to introduce a blind, rampaging retard into the pool of voices
The work of an Adversary! The only thing worse than an Alhoon.
A sphinx
The Adversary? Never heard of this one
>a blind, rampaging retard into the pool of voices
there's a shitposter joke here, I know it
Why don't they cut off all but one head, burn the stumps, stick a tadpole in the last head and then use magic/psionics to let it regenerate the other heads so they grow back as flayer heads?
'cause they're assholes
Policefalic creatures - illithid
The Origin
This Hydra is eternally pregnant, her brain is just an empty shell,and from time to time produces a big egg.
If the egg is fused with a tadpole, it becomes a Policefalic Abomination, that regenerates their multiple heads,each a copy of the original one.
Policefalic Abominations can become hosts of special Mindflayers task forces that release their original bodies to become a more brutal and dangerous mindwarrior.
One experiment was done to turn one of those beasts into a Elder Brain host failed,but maybe one day they will try again.
Another experiment was done to produce a Policefalic Guardian, that is a mass of tentacles, tails and diferent types of mindflayer and primal hydra heads,
By having multiple hosts in one body, the mindcomplex acts as a "focus" for a mindflayer colony. Each of the heads allows psionic energy to be stored and amplified many fold.
The small brain size of each polyp means that even though it is a powerful hub for psionic connection, it cannot be easily overwhelmed by the sheer amounts of power that it transmits between sources.
Mindcomplexes have a voracious appetite, therefore only the most powerful and well off mindflayer colonies can afford them. They are a sign of utmost luxury and decadence, a sign of the power that all mindflayers wish to exert over the world.
>linked brains
So what happens if a cranium rat gets infected?
>the year of 2016.91780821917808219178082191780822
>not using milestones
Also there are easy spreadsheet ways for calculating CR. Not that CR has ever been a firm guideline in the history of D&D, but yeah.