This is a review for the book Monstrous Lair #45 Hydra’s Den. It's a 8 page book. Four pages are cover pages, patreon and so on. There is also the obligatory OGL that every supplement of this nature has to have.

The real meat of the document is to be found on the middle pages. It’s here you will find everything you need to create a truly unique lair each and every time you create one for your group. There are 7 tables in total! Each one takes you from outside the lair right up to and including the treasure in the lair.

I have included the author's reason for that table's inclusion and 1 example from each of the tables. That way you can see for yourself why I think these supplements will quickly become essential for you as the DM. Usually there is also a very nice line art drawing of the monster that the lair belongs to.

As with any tables you can just read the list and take the one you like the most or you can roll each table. As a tip when I use an entry, I make a notation for which party I used it with so I don’t use it again with them.

The Tables. The tables themselves provide you with a strong creative spark to add to your descriptions of each scene. There have been times where the table entry has provided me with the full narrative needed for that section of the lair.
You will quickly see from each example, the entries have been crafted by a gifted wordsmith, that or laboured over lovingly with dictionaries and a thesaurus. Either way you won’t find trite descriptions or generic throwaways here.

Table 1. Outside the Lair - Determine notable features outside the lair, using this list.

1. Spiralling patterns of crushed bark show the hydra’s slithering passage through the trees.

Table 2. What's Going On? - Use this list, to determine what’s happening when the characters arrive.

1. The monstrous hydra wallows in a small pond; its heads sway above the water’s surface like dancing serpents.

Table 3. Major Lair Features - Use this list, to determine the lair’s major feature(s).

1. The hydra’s wild motion throws up clouds of choking dust from deep drifts scattered throughout its lair.

Table 4. Minor Lair Features - Use this list, to determine the lair's minor feature(s).

1. A massive elk skeleton, complete with huge antlers, lies draped over a boulder.

Table 5. Hydra's Appearance - Use this list, to generate the monster’s appearance and other characteristics.

1. The thick hide and scales of the hydra change colour like a chameleon as the beast moves around its lair.

Table 6. Treasure - Use these lists [tables 6 & 7], to add interesting incidental items to the lair’s hoard.

1. This small gold ring depicting different coloured enamelled serpents twisting together provides its wearer with potent protection from venom.

Table 7. Trinkets & Trash -

1. The lower half of a longspear’s shaft, decorated with carved serpents, has a crack down the centre.

   These are description that for me would take a lot of work because I don’t do this regularly enough. It’s going to take you several sessions / groups to fully plumb the depths of this resource and honestly, anything that allows me to prep less and enjoy more is a boon and that makes this [and many of the Raging Swan supplements] supplement a 'literal' gold mine.

At £0.62 [at time of writing] this is an absolute solid 5 stars from me.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Monstrous Lairs-pdfs clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, leaving us with 2 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Sometimes, you just need a bit of dressing for a wayside encounter – or something specific to a monster type. Finding appropriate entries can be rough, and so, this series attempts to remedy this shortcoming on 2 pages, with a total of 7 d10-tables.

As for the outside of the lair, we have broken branches and rocks sporting shredded pieces of old hydra ski, trees with spiraling bark (awesome) or polluted puddles bubbling, hinting at the supernatural nature of the hydra. As for what’s going on, we have hydras lounging in the sun, watching in multiple directions for intruders. We have them coiling protectively around statues, or coiling in a serpentine manner around the branches.

As for the various lair features, we have fragments of toppled towers spread throughout the lair, we have dusty floor resulting in choking fog clouds when the hydra moves, several pits filled with serpents, attracted to the hydra…really cool, and meaningful entries here. The minor lair features include oversized, half-eaten lizard-carcasses, crusty growths on rocks, born from spilled hydra blood, crushed eggs…quite diverse here.

The pdf also provides an array of appearance dressing, which include red and black cobra-heads, crocodilian hydras waiting in deep pools, icy-scaled hydras or ones with pronounced bone crests and shark-heads. Awesome. As for treasures, we have, obviously, the hydra blood angle; we have entwined serpentine rings protecting us from poison, or what about a magical figurehead? As for the miscellanea or trash that might be found, we can find blades made to hack off heads, but only that – too flimsy to swiftly use in combat. We have smashed helmets and shields…and strange feathers, bound together in charms.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good, I noticed no serious hiccups. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press’ elegant two-column b/w-standard, and we get a nice piece of b/w-artwork. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience, in spite of its brevity (kudos!) and is included in two versions – one optimized for screen-use, and one for the printer.

Steve Hood delivers big time in this one; hydras are tough, being primarily defined by being magical and multiheaded; bestial, yet more cunning than a mere animal. It is impressive, then, to notice how he manages to coax new and unique dressing out of this little pdf, all while retaining a well-constructed baseline with the concept. I can’t picture a hydra-centric dressing file doing a better job, which is why my final verdict will be 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.