monster

Polukranos

CR 19

Gargantuan Monstrosity, Unaligned

Reveal Stat Block

Armor Class

17 (natural armor)

Hit Points

232 (15d20 + 75)

Speed

50 ft., swim 50 ft.

str

dex

con

int

-3

wis

cha

Traits

Acidic Blood.When Polukranos takes piercing or slashing damage, each creature within 5 feet of Polukranos takes 10 (3d6) acid damage.

Hold Breath.Polukranos can hold its breath for 1 hour.

Legendary Resistance (3/Day).If Polukranos fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Multiple Heads.Polukranos has five heads. While it has more than one head, Polukranos has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, or knocked unconscious. Whenever Polukranos takes 40 or more damage in a single turn, one of its heads dies. If all its heads die, Polukranos dies. At the end of its turn, it grows two heads for each of its heads that died since its last turn, unless it has taken 40 or more fire damage since its last turn. Polukranos regains 20 hit points for each head regrown in this way.

Reactive Heads.For each head Polukranos has beyond one, it gets an extra reaction that can be used only to make opportunity attacks.

Siege Monster.Polukranos deals double damage to objects and structures.

Wakeful.While Polukranos sleeps, at least one of its heads is awake.

Actions

Multiattack.Polukranos makes as many bite attacks as it has heads.

Bite.mw 13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d10 + 7) piercing damage.

Stomp.mw 13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage.

Tail.mw 13 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. ({@damage 2d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a 21 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 20 feet away from Polukranos.

Legendary Actions.The creature can take 3 legendary actions...

Detect.Polukranos makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.

Tail Swipe.Polukranos makes a tail attack.

Trampling Charge (Costs 3 Actions).Polukranos moves up to 50 feet in a straight line and can move through the space of any creature Huge or smaller. The first time it enters each creature's space during this move, it can make a stomp attack against that creature.

Polukranos

Polukranos, called the World Eater, is the mortal manifestation of the eternal ideal of a hydra. In its first incarnation, it fell from Nyx to the mortal world, and so great were its size and strength that the gods Nylea and Heliod combined their power to bind the monster deep within the Nessian Wood. That incarnation was slain, but the eternal ideal remains. A new incarnation of the World Eater is a fearsome omen, as the monster only appears when the pillars of the world tremble and terrible things are afoot in the realm of the gods. Its rampages often presage an age of menace for all civilization.

What krakens are to the sea and dragons are to the sky, hydras are to the lands of Theros. Various hydras dwell at the fringes of civilization, from the bog-dwelling hydras known across the multiverse to massive ironscale hydras that lurk in deep wildernesses. Beyond even these exist serpentine horrors born of the whims of foul gods, like the legendary hydra Polukranos.