"They are wondrous strange are the Hydras. Their fearsome aspect and multiple heads are legendary though few indeed have ever met one or lived through the encounter if they did. I've heard rumours that certain tribes of Swamp Goblins worship the hydras and leave them offerings to divert their wrath. More likely to appease their hunger, I should think, but still it goes to show just how powerfully a Hydra can affect those who've encountered it. This is no surprise, as Hydras are nearly immortal beasts, living down through the long years untouched by time's ravages."
- —Hartwig Turns, Altdorf Merchant[2a]
A feral Hydra stalking the mountains of Naggaroth.
The Hydra is a titanic, reptilian beast that possesses multiple heads and makes its home in the mountains of the Known World. Its ill-tempered and ravenous nature has proven the doom of many an unsuspecting morsel.[1a]
Indeed, so ferocious is the Hydra that campaigning armies often make wide detours to avoid intruding on such a beast's bone-strewn lair. Those that march on regardless do so either out of confidence in their battle-prowess or ignorance of the Hydra's savagery.[1a]
Feral Hydras[]
"I have never faced a dragon, but I cannot see how one could be any worse than the Hydra I fought. It was enormous, each head more than capable of biting a man in half or swallowing him whole down one of its long snaky necks. I was fighting for a Merchant Prince of Verezo, one of Tilea’s grand cities and we’d been forced to cross through a swamp on the way to an engagement with one of the prince’s rivals. I suspect it was only bad luck that we came upon the Hydra. It didn’t roar, so much as make a bubbling hiss, like a grand cat, which issued from all of its heads at once. Some of my fellows soiled themselves at the sound. Old Loci even drowned in the swamp mud as he fell shrieking to the marsh at the mere sight of the thing. It started to charge us but stopped when one of the lads put a couple of bolts into it. This seemed like a good idea till it spat a column of fire at him, which roasted him on the spot. I’d like to say we put on a brave show and slew the beast, but it isn’t so. It waded in and tore us to pieces. The battle didn’t last long and I think it only ended because the Hydra became bored with the little sport we offered. It snatched up three men and carried them, screaming, off into the swamp. We didn’t try to save them, we just ran."
Hydras are restless and aggressive beasts, seldom sleeping and almost always on the hunt for prey. The Hydra is a deathly silent hunter -- an unusual trait in something so large and vicious -- and can track quarry across all manner of terrain without once giving itself away. Unfortunately, this subtlety is abandoned the moment the Hydra comes within striking distance, so a quick-witted prey can often escape if it reacts the moment the roaring begins.[4a]
Hydras are rampaging and voracious monsters. No matter how much they consume, they seem to always be hungry for more. Their presence will swiftly level most natural surroundings, reducing them to barren waste within a month or so of their taking up residence, which forces them to move on or starve. While Hydras are mighty beasts, their continual destruction of their local environment inevitably leads to their death as more and more enemies oppose them.[3a]
A Hydra will attack any creature that dares confront it, the many heads striking out to deliver vicious bites while the beast moves forward, using its bulk to crush opponents. The multiple-headed monsters are also known to coil their serpentine necks around larger prey, constricting them, as do the giant snakes of the jungle lands. In addition to belching out a smoky flame, Hydras also have the ability to rapidly heal any wounds that manage to penetrate their thick scales, even regrowing a severed head -- a new one pushing itself outwards from the stump to rejoin its fellows.[4a]
Nobody is sure of the origins of the Hydras -- whether they were natural creatures native the Known World before the Old Ones came, or are some mutant offspring of Chaos brought about by the warping effects of the Winds of Magic.[2a]
In any event, all Hydras are ill-tempered and solitary creatures that lair underground, favouring dark caves or noisome pits. Hydras are widespread and can be found stalking the slopes of the Worlds Edge Mountains or hunting the ashen wastes of the Dark Lands. The multi-headed reptilian monstrosities are especially numerous beneath the Blackspine and Iron Mountains in Naggaroth.[4a]
There are but a scant few Hydras left in the Old World outside of the Chaos Wastes and of those, perhaps only one or two still live within the borders of the Empire. However, no Hydra has ever been reported to have died of old age, leading many to believe that if they aren't ageless, they are at the least incredibly long lived. A number of hunters that go seeking after Hydras do so in the hopes of discovering the key to their longevity.[3a]
War Hydras[]
Over the years, a disturbing new source of tales and information about Hydras has become evident to the scholars of the Empire. Rumour holds that one of the Dark Elven factions of Naggaroth has taken to breeding Hydras as war beasts.[3a]
This is a fairly staggering revelation in the Old World, as many learned men would've sworn that such a thing was impossible, a Hydra being too fierce a beast to tame in such a manner. The few that know anything of such matters often suspect that sorcery must be involved.[3a] The Dark Elf Beastmasters of that land have learned to capture and breed these enormous reptiles, calling them War Hydras and driving them into battle, controlling the beasts with sharp goads and cruel whips.[4a]
Hydras first came into the armies of the Naggarothi from the magical Annulii Mountains on Ulthuan, and can now be found throughout the Iron and Blackspine ranges in Naggaroth.[2a] Only creatures as twisted as the Dark Elves would look upon a feral Hydra's natural vicious glory and deem it insufficient for the task at hand. But ever since the Witch King's Beastmasters first tamed the creatures, the Naggarothi have continually experimented with breeding techniques and dark enchantments to raise the raw ferocity and power of successive generations.[1a]
Variant Breeds[]
- War Hydra - A stronger and far more ferocious breed of Hydra created for to serve as a warbeast in the armies of the Dark Elves by a combination of genetic and magical alterations.[1a][2a]
- Spellthirster - A rare breed of War Hydra created by the Dark Elven sorceress Morathi that possesses innate magic resistance.[5a]
- Chimaerat - The rarest of all the creations of the Skaven's Clan Moulder, the Chimaerat is a horrifying mutant hybrid that blends the features of the common rat with the body of a fearsome Hydra.
Notable Hydras[]
- The Beast of Raema
- Incalamir
- The Chill of Sontar
Miniatures[]
_(4).jpg "Dark Elf - Beastmasters with War Hydra (New) (4).jpg (138 KB)")
_(5).jpg "Dark Elf - Beastmasters with War Hydra (New) (5).jpg (117 KB)")
.jpg "Dark Elf - War Hydra 4 (Classic Old).jpg (132 KB)")
