| Talent category | Class |
| Method of purchase | None - this talent is unlocked by a subclass. |
| Personality traits | None |
| Required class type | Dragon (as class or trait) |
You are a multi-headed hydra, one of the rarer dragon breeds. While in Dragon Form, your left and right hand locations are replaced with head combat tables, representing the additional heads on the left and right side of your body.
The basic hydra has only three heads, but every five ranks in Salamanders Gift adds an extra one (first on the left, then the right, then in the centre). If you perform a full breath attack, each head beyond the first on the attacking location gives +1 Attack, Damage and bypass for each rank in Dragon Form.
You may infuse your left, right and centre head locations with dragon wisdoms, and these will change the breath weapon for that location, as well as provide a bypass bonus of +2 per rank in Dragon Form for the appropriate damage type. A location without an infusion instead gains +2 bite bypass per rank.
Your three head infusions will also determine the colour of your scales, giving you armour bonuses in much the same way as the scales and hide infusions do for Draconian Form, except based on your rank in Dragon Form. You also get a bonus for your pattern, as long as you have at least two different head infusions.
Note that these bonuses only apply while you are in Dragon Form.
| Infusion | Breath | Left/Right/Centre Infusion | Pattern Infusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| None (default) | None | +2 bite bypass per rank +2% physical armour per rank |
+1% physical armour per rank |
| Flame Dragonkin | Heat | +2 fire breath bypass per rank +4% heat armour per rank |
+2% heat armour per rank |
| Frost Dragonkin | Cold | +2 frost breath bypass per rank +4% cold armour per rank |
+2% cold armour per rank |
| Storm Dragonkin | Shock | +2 shock breath bypass per rank +4% shock armour per rank |
+2% shock armour per rank |
| Venom Dragonkin | Poison | +2 acid breath bypass per rank +4% poison armour per rank |
+2% poison armour per rank |
| Brass Snake | None | +2 bite bypass per rank Counts as one brass item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a brass item for Dragon Barding |
| Bronze Snake | Poison | +2 acid breath bypass per rank Counts as one bronze item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a bronze item for Dragon Barding |
| Copper Snake | Shock | +2 shock breath bypass per rank Counts as one copper item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a copper item for Dragon Barding |
| Gold Snake | Heat | +2 fire breath bypass per rank Counts as one gold item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a gold item for Dragon Barding |
| Platinum Snake | Mental | +2 ghostfire breath bypass per rank Counts as one platinum item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a platinum item for Dragon Barding |
| Silver Snake | Cold | +2 frost breath bypass per rank Counts as one silver item for Dragon Barding |
Counts as half a silver item for Dragon Barding |
The hydra’s breath weapon depends entirely on infusions. If you don’t use an infusion on one of your head locations it will get +2 bite bypass per rank, but won’t have any breath attack (regardless of what other talents or powers you might have).
If you do have a breath attack, however, it will gain the full benefits of the associated Dragon Descendant talent regardless of whether or not you actually have that talent. For example if you use the Venom Dragonkin warp on your left head location, then your left combat table will gain an acid breath attack with the same range, Ascendancy/Attack and Power/Damage as if you had Black Dragon Descendant, and Fumes of the Pit would give your acid breath an additional +2 Attack/Ascendancy and +2 Damage/Power per rank.
If you also have the associated Dragon Descendant talent, your breath will gain no further benefit, although you will still gain the other advantages of the talent (such as natural armour, improved bypass, and the double bonus to immunity, armour, auto-absorb and bypass for powers such as Fumes of the Pit).