IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR ALL DMs! I made a "player friendly video" that you can post into a discord channel, so your group doesn't find out what they're facing immediatly. Just post the link in the description instead of this one. It's currently named "Night Ambience" but I'll probably change it to something better. Any suggestions? :D And thank you @confetti veda for this great idea! Have fun torturing your players xD
A plot hook that I’m using for this is the players wander upon a quaint, helpful village. Everyone is nice, welcoming, and free of most stress. All seems well until the little deaf kid, daughter of the innkeeper, signs as best as she can that the village needs their help. She’s the only one that has seen the growing mass of flesh taking people, she’s the only one that notices the people that have went missing.
“The framed painting on the wall behind me? Oh, that’s just a portrait of me and a woman I have never met in my life. I don’t remember when that painting was even made. I don’t even remember commissioning an artist to make it for us. Paintings are very expensive, so that woman must have been important to me. Why do I cry when I see her? I can’t stop crying when I see her. The tears never stop. Why am I crying? I’m sorry, I can’t sell you anything today. Please come back next time.” - Local merchant from a deserted town.
Good but I think not quite there. They shouldn't be able to think quite that hard about it if they've been steeped in the song so long. More like "Paintings are very expensive, I wouldn't waste money on it with some stranger. This is some sort of ridiculous prank by somebody with entirely too much money and/or artistic talent. I keep thinking to throw it out but it is rather expensive, so... wait Crying? I'm not sure what you are talking about, oh! I do have a bit of an allergy lately, that's all. Keep having irritated eyes and sniffles. It's worse in this part of the store. Tch, I need to check for mold, it's definitely getting bad. Oh, enough about my problems though, how can I help you?"
@@kyokono6465 I .. Ugh I told you.. it must have been a weird prank from someone I know, maybe some old colleague of mine from merchants guild comissioned it. Thought I cant think of someone precise. I.....I dont have much colleagues there.... I have been a part for many years now, I knew almost all the members... then again I cant remember any faces... NO wait! I know , the guildmaster! HA! I now remember! He always was an egocentric fellow, had some kind of skin condition I think. A very pale , stretched skin on his face, ugh almost like a wraith, despite that he was very kind man. And a very good singer for that. He once singed for us on one of the meetings, truly a weird fellow. Im sure I saw him a few days ago walking the street at night thought. The picture was probably from him, I'll ask him about it when I meet him.
"It's so nice of you travelers but no, I'm certainly single. Funny huh? I've always wanted to make a family of my own and yet I... I haven't been with anyone since YEARS ago for some reason. You uh... know someone I could meet? Maybe similar to the woman in that one painting. I don't remember how I got it but I must have bought it. Me, a beautiful wife and three amazing kids. It feels so real when I see it... So real it always makes me tear up." I know it was cruel of my part, my players are fairly "new" to DnD so they had never heard of a false hydra. I dropped a few hints, then dropped this bit of the innkeeper they loved so much in the "base town" after they went some weeks on an adventure. Who would have thought that tiny ugly-yet-adorable creature they brought was not, in fact, a pet.
This is a very interesting take on this adventure! When my players arrived there, it was already haunting this town. But letting your player bring this aberration themselves is pure evil xD
Overlap this with some nice typical village ambience. Quietly at first; creeping at the edges of player subconscious. Gradually louder and louder until they figure out the mystery or cast silence, and then rip it away with a hearty pause and watch their skin crawl like the uneasiness you feel when the white noise at night suddenly dies.
I used this as background, and the closer they monster came to them the louder i played it. The False Hydra was the BEST horror mystery ive ever done and they were tense and focused the entire 5 1/2 hr session, and even though the fight was quick they remained terrified the whole time as it downed half the party in the 4-6 rounds it took.
In the swamp we walked, Through the mist and the muck, And then we heard it talk, A voice that seemed to mock. "Hello?" it called out low, And we froze, afraid to go, But something made us want to know, What creature spoke so slow. We searched and searched, But nothing could we find, Then suddenly we lurched, As something struck us from behind. Blood spattered everywhere, A gruesome sight to see, And then I became aware, That death had come for me. Transparent now, I saw, The false hydra in its lair, A monster with a deadly maw, A creature so unfair. It fed upon our minds, And played with our perception, A horror that one finds, In nightmares without exception. Beware the false hydra's song, Its voice will lead you wrong, And if you hear it for too long, You may not live for long.
This song is so great.... Also by the way there's a bag pack next to me that isn't mine and I don't know how it got there but anyway keep up the good work
I was walking through the swamp with my party when we heard a voice that seemed to mimic a human. We couldn't see anything in the thick fog, but the voice spoke again, this time with an eerie tone, "Hello? Is anyone there?" The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart raced with fear. My party scrambled up a nearby tree to get a better view, but I couldn't climb fast enough. Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, like something moving quickly through the swamp. I turned around to see a trail of blood leading towards me. It was on my shoes, my armor, and all around me. Panic set in as I realized the truth. The false hydra had found us, and it had already claimed its first victim. My vision began to blur, and I felt myself fading away. As I took my final breath, I saw my own body through a haze of mist. I was dead, just another victim of the false hydra's deception.
Siren's have nothing on this creature. Tales tell of it turning entire towns into empty husks without a soul realizing until it was too late to stop it. These tales being from tattered and worn out adventurers that escaped from it's song quickly enough to remember. They wish to retire-- but do not dare to stay in one place. Especially in one so populated as a town. Bustling markets and filled taverns are now forever linked in their minds to that monstrosity's choice in feeding grounds...
During a campaign in Eberron, our party fought a False Hydra that had been stalking us for LONG TIME (damn memory loss) Long story short, we weren’t ready for the fight. It swallowed every party member and their gear…which included several items of both plot and global significance. The DM only realised what he’d don after the fact…
Just finished a critical point in my Dragonlance campaign with the false hydra and this music. It was fun and a mindfuck for my players at the same time. I had a projector and pulled up Microsoft paint and had them write their notes when it was there turn, all they did was stand up and reenact what their players would do and when they found something to note, they would type it in paint. After they went home I would change what they wrote around to throw them off and did that till the very end. They lost their shit (in a good way) and when they figured out this song was the song I used to let them know it was active they lost their shit even more. They fucking loved it and I did too, it's a fun way to liven up a campaign and add extra tidbits and side stories. (I made it to when they killed it, it melted and disappeared into a pile of ash and the only thing left was an amulet with the symbol of the dragon queens army. Along with a ring that looked like the same ring the kingdoms captain of the guard wore.) I highly recommend playing with the false hydra, whether as a side quest or a one-shot.
Cold and cruel and undetected Foully hidden, unexpected Born from lies, stalking quickly A slight lacuna leaves you sickly Skin ash white, eyes pure black It leaves no trace or track Heads aplenty, morals lacking Siren's song, never slacking The false hydra, party beware A cold and unseen evil stare Gaps in memory, missing friends Easily missed, yet perverse trends In short Run
Fearful whispers echo through the land And only those who hear them understand Lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike Secretly feeding on memories alike Enticing its prey with a siren's call Hiding in plain sight, deceiving us all Yearning for the day it will finally prevail Doomed to forever dwell in its twisted tale Ruthless and cunning, it remains unseen Always there, a nightmare, a false dream.
I wish this wasn't branded as "The False Hydra Song" or at least did not include it in the title. It makes it hard to keep it hidden from players when you want to use it. Still, it is an amazing ambience that suits it oh so well.
I see the problem there, but what else should I call it in the title if i specifically made it for a False Hydra encounter? I pinned one comment with the same issue and I would suggest to somehow prevent the players from seeing the title from the music bot you use. (I solved the problem by making a music bot channel on discord and remove all player permission for this channel so that only I could see and use this channel)
No, I see the issue as well. Bit of a catch 22. I unfortunately do not have the possibility to make a private channel since I do not own the server I DM in. Just one of several. A very niche problem but yeah.
@@runecraster2Late reply, but I see a solution. The false hydra's song is normally imperceptible. This could play when something happens to make them aware that they're fighting a false hydra.
I used a false hydra in a campaign a bit ago, only one player could metagame the encounter and since I'd changed the statblock and how blindsong worked (Keeping the hydra and all evidence of it completely obscured for days to those who failed the wis save) along with keeping it as vague as possible even they couldn't figure it out until a few sessions in when they found one of the holes the false hydra hadn't covered. It was fun describing the few rotten corpses left in the catacombs that hadn't been devoured as for the encounter? they absolutely stomped it, it took a bit and they did lose some of their gear but they beat it in the end Overall a 7/10 monster, formidable at early levels and incredibly fun to mess with your players but it gets curbstomped very easily later on unless you buff the statblock.
This is incredible! You should also do an accompanying track where it’s a happy/jaunty town theme with something sinister barely audible in the background. This would be awesome for when they are deeply paranoid, but why not start well before then?
Something like a mix of it? Like a cheery town theme, but that incredible droning in the song sits somewhere in the background so when the hydra is revealed and this track is played the players realize they’ve been hearing the ‘song’ the whole time
Perfect for a one-shot I'm going to be running. I'm taking my party back to Phandalin to revisit the Lost Mine. They're going to discover that there was another member to their party they can no longer remember. I'm hoping there'll be tears. 😆
My DM once ran the false hydra in a swamp we were traversing, we didn't know what it was but then we heard a voice that sounds like it's mimicking a human, at that time we did not see it, as it was very foggy, but it said, in an almost uncanny and low voice: "Hello? Is any one there..?" . the rest of my party climbed on a tree, but I couldn't reach it, and then I hears a sound, like something moving quickly, I looked around and saw blood on the ground, a lot of it, on my shoes, my armor, basically everywhere I was, and then I noticed, I am see through, I was dead.
I actually have an idea for how to fix the whole "I can't post the video in my server because of the title" problem. Why not just make a private video of the song with a different title and link it in the description of this video as a "DM friendly" version. I dunno if it would work, but it's something.
Do you claim copyright? I'd love to use this for my dnd we record and put it up on RUclips mostly for record keeping but one does run an actual channel and posts our sessions online so I'd like to ask. Also this was amazing to listen to.
Thanks for asking :D Since DnD is a community game, I think we should assist each other where we can. So don't worry about copyright ^^ However, if you could write somewhere in the description where you got the music from, it would help me a bit. Also please let me know where I can listen to the sessions :P
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR ALL DMs!
I made a "player friendly video" that you can post into a discord channel, so your group doesn't find out what they're facing immediatly.
Just post the link in the description instead of this one. It's currently named "Night Ambience" but I'll probably change it to something better. Any suggestions? :D
And thank you @confetti veda for this great idea!
Have fun torturing your players xD
Pin this!
Only noticed after we've already finished the 4-part game about False Hydra. However - thank you for the consideration!
A plot hook that I’m using for this is the players wander upon a quaint, helpful village. Everyone is nice, welcoming, and free of most stress. All seems well until the little deaf kid, daughter of the innkeeper, signs as best as she can that the village needs their help. She’s the only one that has seen the growing mass of flesh taking people, she’s the only one that notices the people that have went missing.
That’s super clever
Any progress on this amazing idea?
I might steal this for my campaign, this is an amazing idea!!!
I will use this for the false hydra in my campaign as well
Stolen! Brilliant!
“The framed painting on the wall behind me? Oh, that’s just a portrait of me and a woman I have never met in my life. I don’t remember when that painting was even made. I don’t even remember commissioning an artist to make it for us. Paintings are very expensive, so that woman must have been important to me. Why do I cry when I see her? I can’t stop crying when I see her. The tears never stop. Why am I crying? I’m sorry, I can’t sell you anything today. Please come back next time.”
- Local merchant from a deserted town.
Good but I think not quite there. They shouldn't be able to think quite that hard about it if they've been steeped in the song so long. More like "Paintings are very expensive, I wouldn't waste money on it with some stranger. This is some sort of ridiculous prank by somebody with entirely too much money and/or artistic talent. I keep thinking to throw it out but it is rather expensive, so... wait Crying? I'm not sure what you are talking about, oh! I do have a bit of an allergy lately, that's all. Keep having irritated eyes and sniffles. It's worse in this part of the store. Tch, I need to check for mold, it's definitely getting bad. Oh, enough about my problems though, how can I help you?"
@@kagato23 Beautiful.
"But sir... the ring on your finger. It's the same as the one in the painting-- and the woman is wearing a matching one."
@@kyokono6465 I .. Ugh I told you.. it must have been a weird prank from someone I know, maybe some old colleague of mine from merchants guild comissioned it. Thought I cant think of someone precise. I.....I dont have much colleagues there.... I have been a part for many years now, I knew almost all the members... then again I cant remember any faces... NO wait! I know , the guildmaster! HA! I now remember! He always was an egocentric fellow, had some kind of skin condition I think. A very pale , stretched skin on his face, ugh almost like a wraith, despite that he was very kind man. And a very good singer for that. He once singed for us on one of the meetings, truly a weird fellow. Im sure I saw him a few days ago walking the street at night thought. The picture was probably from him, I'll ask him about it when I meet him.
"It's so nice of you travelers but no, I'm certainly single. Funny huh? I've always wanted to make a family of my own and yet I... I haven't been with anyone since YEARS ago for some reason. You uh... know someone I could meet? Maybe similar to the woman in that one painting. I don't remember how I got it but I must have bought it. Me, a beautiful wife and three amazing kids. It feels so real when I see it... So real it always makes me tear up."
I know it was cruel of my part, my players are fairly "new" to DnD so they had never heard of a false hydra. I dropped a few hints, then dropped this bit of the innkeeper they loved so much in the "base town" after they went some weeks on an adventure. Who would have thought that tiny ugly-yet-adorable creature they brought was not, in fact, a pet.
This is a very interesting take on this adventure!
When my players arrived there, it was already haunting this town. But letting your player bring this aberration themselves is pure evil xD
Oh that's pure evil and cruel I love it
Overlap this with some nice typical village ambience. Quietly at first; creeping at the edges of player subconscious. Gradually louder and louder until they figure out the mystery or cast silence, and then rip it away with a hearty pause and watch their skin crawl like the uneasiness you feel when the white noise at night suddenly dies.
I used this as background, and the closer they monster came to them the louder i played it. The False Hydra was the BEST horror mystery ive ever done and they were tense and focused the entire 5 1/2 hr session, and even though the fight was quick they remained terrified the whole time as it downed half the party in the 4-6 rounds it took.
In the swamp we walked,
Through the mist and the muck,
And then we heard it talk,
A voice that seemed to mock.
"Hello?" it called out low,
And we froze, afraid to go,
But something made us want to know,
What creature spoke so slow.
We searched and searched,
But nothing could we find,
Then suddenly we lurched,
As something struck us from behind.
Blood spattered everywhere,
A gruesome sight to see,
And then I became aware,
That death had come for me.
Transparent now, I saw,
The false hydra in its lair,
A monster with a deadly maw,
A creature so unfair.
It fed upon our minds,
And played with our perception,
A horror that one finds,
In nightmares without exception.
Beware the false hydra's song,
Its voice will lead you wrong,
And if you hear it for too long,
You may not live for long.
This song is so great.... Also by the way there's a bag pack next to me that isn't mine and I don't know how it got there but anyway keep up the good work
Good one xD
What song?
@@videowatcher3297 wut
@@Dragoon096 He's talking about a song? Do you know anything about it?
@@videowatcher3297 hes refering to the one in the vid and the creator says in the description
I was walking through the swamp with my party when we heard a voice that seemed to mimic a human. We couldn't see anything in the thick fog, but the voice spoke again, this time with an eerie tone, "Hello? Is anyone there?" The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart raced with fear.
My party scrambled up a nearby tree to get a better view, but I couldn't climb fast enough. Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, like something moving quickly through the swamp. I turned around to see a trail of blood leading towards me. It was on my shoes, my armor, and all around me.
Panic set in as I realized the truth. The false hydra had found us, and it had already claimed its first victim. My vision began to blur, and I felt myself fading away. As I took my final breath, I saw my own body through a haze of mist. I was dead, just another victim of the false hydra's deception.
Siren's have nothing on this creature. Tales tell of it turning entire towns into empty husks without a soul realizing until it was too late to stop it. These tales being from tattered and worn out adventurers that escaped from it's song quickly enough to remember. They wish to retire-- but do not dare to stay in one place. Especially in one so populated as a town. Bustling markets and filled taverns are now forever linked in their minds to that monstrosity's choice in feeding grounds...
During a campaign in Eberron, our party fought a False Hydra that had been stalking us for LONG TIME (damn memory loss)
Long story short, we weren’t ready for the fight.
It swallowed every party member and their gear…which included several items of both plot and global significance.
The DM only realised what he’d don after the fact…
How'd he handle the ramifications?
@@blackhawk3975 after gorging itself on the party and the Hydra took it upon itself to finish the party's quest in honor of them.
@@trebot9292266 That... would probably be be one of the most effective "heroes" around- maybe.
Just finished a critical point in my Dragonlance campaign with the false hydra and this music. It was fun and a mindfuck for my players at the same time. I had a projector and pulled up Microsoft paint and had them write their notes when it was there turn, all they did was stand up and reenact what their players would do and when they found something to note, they would type it in paint. After they went home I would change what they wrote around to throw them off and did that till the very end. They lost their shit (in a good way) and when they figured out this song was the song I used to let them know it was active they lost their shit even more. They fucking loved it and I did too, it's a fun way to liven up a campaign and add extra tidbits and side stories. (I made it to when they killed it, it melted and disappeared into a pile of ash and the only thing left was an amulet with the symbol of the dragon queens army. Along with a ring that looked like the same ring the kingdoms captain of the guard wore.) I highly recommend playing with the false hydra, whether as a side quest or a one-shot.
Cold and cruel and undetected
Foully hidden, unexpected
Born from lies, stalking quickly
A slight lacuna leaves you sickly
Skin ash white, eyes pure black
It leaves no trace or track
Heads aplenty, morals lacking
Siren's song, never slacking
The false hydra, party beware
A cold and unseen evil stare
Gaps in memory, missing friends
Easily missed, yet perverse trends
In short
Run
Fearful whispers echo through the land
And only those who hear them understand
Lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike
Secretly feeding on memories alike
Enticing its prey with a siren's call
Hiding in plain sight, deceiving us all
Yearning for the day it will finally prevail
Doomed to forever dwell in its twisted tale
Ruthless and cunning, it remains unseen
Always there, a nightmare, a false dream.
I wish this wasn't branded as "The False Hydra Song" or at least did not include it in the title. It makes it hard to keep it hidden from players when you want to use it. Still, it is an amazing ambience that suits it oh so well.
I see the problem there, but what else should I call it in the title if i specifically made it for a False Hydra encounter?
I pinned one comment with the same issue and I would suggest to somehow prevent the players from seeing the title from the music bot you use. (I solved the problem by making a music bot channel on discord and remove all player permission for this channel so that only I could see and use this channel)
No, I see the issue as well. Bit of a catch 22. I unfortunately do not have the possibility to make a private channel since I do not own the server I DM in. Just one of several. A very niche problem but yeah.
not sure if this is still relevent, but you could possibly download the song, and then play it through whatever you need to like a VTT@@runecraster2
@@runecraster2Late reply, but I see a solution. The false hydra's song is normally imperceptible. This could play when something happens to make them aware that they're fighting a false hydra.
@@austinmiller2170 Better late than never because this is actually genius.
I used a false hydra in a campaign a bit ago, only one player could metagame the encounter and since I'd changed the statblock and how blindsong worked (Keeping the hydra and all evidence of it completely obscured for days to those who failed the wis save) along with keeping it as vague as possible even they couldn't figure it out until a few sessions in when they found one of the holes the false hydra hadn't covered. It was fun describing the few rotten corpses left in the catacombs that hadn't been devoured
as for the encounter? they absolutely stomped it, it took a bit and they did lose some of their gear but they beat it in the end
Overall a 7/10 monster, formidable at early levels and incredibly fun to mess with your players but it gets curbstomped very easily later on unless you buff the statblock.
Working on a False Hydra storyline in my campaign. Saving this to be used as background for the infested city
I'm not sure if I'll use or not a False Hydra, but i'm definitly gonna use this music
If well prepared by the dm, a false hydra encounter is (in my opinion) pretty much one of the best and most interesting encounters in D&D.
This is criminally underrated. There should be more people who come to witness this marvel
I used this in my game and all of players agreed it gave them IRL chills. Great work man!
This is incredible! You should also do an accompanying track where it’s a happy/jaunty town theme with something sinister barely audible in the background. This would be awesome for when they are deeply paranoid, but why not start well before then?
Do you mean additionally to this track or something entirely new?
Something like a mix of it? Like a cheery town theme, but that incredible droning in the song sits somewhere in the background so when the hydra is revealed and this track is played the players realize they’ve been hearing the ‘song’ the whole time
Yes, exactly that! That's exactly what I'm looking for!
Perfect for a one-shot I'm going to be running. I'm taking my party back to Phandalin to revisit the Lost Mine. They're going to discover that there was another member to their party they can no longer remember. I'm hoping there'll be tears. 😆
Remember this time we fought it.
All my comrades died, as i was he only one left alive after his rampage
I’m definitely gonna use this in a campaign. Oh god help me. It’s a really nice ambience
My DM once ran the false hydra in a swamp we were traversing, we didn't know what it was but then we heard a voice that sounds like it's mimicking a human, at that time we did not see it, as it was very foggy, but it said, in an almost uncanny and low voice: "Hello? Is any one there..?" . the rest of my party climbed on a tree, but I couldn't reach it, and then I hears a sound, like something moving quickly, I looked around and saw blood on the ground, a lot of it, on my shoes, my armor, basically everywhere I was, and then I noticed, I am see through, I was dead.
What song is everyone talking about here? I never heard anything. Can someone help me?
Lovely, haunting, primal. 5/5 ⭐️
Um... People... Whose arm is that!?
What arm? There aren’t any arms laying around. You must be going mad.
Awesome! This fits the false hydra perfectly.
Keep up the great work 😃
Nice and creepy! I cannot wait to see what you do next!
I want to become a DM it's my goal rn and this is being added to the playlist for encounters/ambiance.
Willpower, Creativity and Tolerance are your best friends.
I actually have an idea for how to fix the whole "I can't post the video in my server because of the title" problem.
Why not just make a private video of the song with a different title and link it in the description of this video as a "DM friendly" version. I dunno if it would work, but it's something.
Let's try this out! Please check the link in the description and tell me if it works :D
@@maskmakesmusic6650 It works! :D
I found a random laptop open to this page in the guest bedroom. it's in the window Weird right?
RUN BITCH RUUUUUNNNNN
Lol
If you're still there, get out of the house.
Question, my friends and I play dnd and actually stream it, is it ok if we use this piece? because its absolutely amazing!
Hey sure :D
Thanks for asking. Maybe give some credit and enjoy the music together, that's all I ask ^^
And where and when can I watch the stream? xD
@@maskmakesmusic6650 dnd misfits on youtube and twitch :) would love to have you
and of course ill give credit
@@maskmakesmusic6650 and be warned the earlier episodes are pretty low quality but the later ones are good
@@maskmakesmusic6650 one more question, can we use your other pieces for the streams too? Because I was looking at them, and they are all amazing!
Im running one in a few sessions, Gunna start laying on the Clues about a missing party member!
This is awesome.
Oh no my players r so gonna hate me after this 😎
Do you claim copyright? I'd love to use this for my dnd we record and put it up on RUclips mostly for record keeping but one does run an actual channel and posts our sessions online so I'd like to ask. Also this was amazing to listen to.
Thanks for asking :D
Since DnD is a community game, I think we should assist each other where we can. So don't worry about copyright ^^
However, if you could write somewhere in the description where you got the music from, it would help me a bit. Also please let me know where I can listen to the sessions :P
@@maskmakesmusic6650 Of course. Credit is given where credit is due.
Neat