[RPG] Can a Hydra make multiple opportunity attacks at once

dnd-5emonstersopportunity-attackreactions

A normal creature only has one reaction that may be used as a single attack of opportunity. A Hydra, though, has one of these reactions per head.

My question would be: may several reactions be combined in reaction to the same action and thus allowing several attacks of opportunity at once?

Scenario: Fighter A attacks Hydra with five heads and then tries to leave, thus provoking an opportunity attack. Now, as a reaction to this, may the Hydra attack Fighter A only once or up to five times?

Best Answer

No

Let's look at the opportunity attack rules:

Opportunity Attacks

[...]

You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.

[...]

Suppose we remove the reaction cost.

You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach. To make the opportunity attack, [SNIP] make one melee attack against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.

You'll note that this is very clear that you don't get to make 1 million opportunity attacks when someone leaves your reach.

You can make an opportunity attack when the trigger occurs. It doesn't say "you can make as many as you want".

Adding a cost -- an extra restriction -- doesn't suddenly make that paragraph let you make infinite opportunity attacks by paying the cost repeatedly. An extra restriction doesn't remove other requirements.

So a Hydra can make one opportunity attack when provoked by someone leaving its reach. It costs one reaction. Unlike most creatures, it has multiple reactions, so can do this again later.

Weak support from a tweet:

Q: Mr. Crawford, I'm confused about Reactive Heads. If a player provokes an OA from a Hydra, can it atk them with every head?

A: A hydra can have more reactions than normal, but it doesn't change how an opportunity attack works: one attack per opportunity attack.

This is weak, because you could read this as "one attack per opportunity attack, and you do 10 opportunity attacks to one opportunity attack trigger; see, no problem!", but that would be an extremely strange way for Crawford to say it.

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