Hydra by Joseph Mohr is a role playing game supplement published by Old School Role Playing for use with Cepheus Engine. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG as an 18 page Pay What You Want PDF. Two pages are the front and rear covers, three pages are the front matter and three pages are the Open Game License.
Background Information explains that the characters are hired by the Hydra Corporation to acquire some genetically enhanced flowers from a rival company. Stats are given for the company’s representative and the adventure is stated to be set in the Frontiers of Space setting but can be dropped into other locations.
Complications are the potential problems that the characters can run into; the flowers are on a guarded agricultural ship, local officials are resistant to bribes and the flowers themselves are hazardous without protection.
The Shamburan describes the agricultural ship. There are stats for the crew members, notes on who will stay on board when in port and a key to the ship’s locations. Locations have notes on who can be found at each, which can vary.
Conditions for Success has several ways in which characters could succeed in their mission.
Agricultural Workers Aboard the Shamburan has stats for agro workers.
Finally, there is a colour labelled map of the ship.
Hydra in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and has enough different sections that these would have been useful. Navigation is poor. The text maintains a single column format and some minor errors were noticed. Bar the colour and black and white cover illustrations and the map, there are no other images. Sadly, the map doesn’t come in a player-friendly version. Presentation is okay.
The adventure is somewhat fluid in nature. There is a ship that the characters need to get onto in order to get the required item, but how they go about this cannot be precisely determined. Ways that it could be done are mentioned, but it’s also mentioned that characters may come up with different ideas. GMs will need to be relatively flexible, especially as the situation onboard the ship does depend on whether it is in port or not. Hydra is an adventure that is a combination of straightforward and complicated and it can be found by clicking here.
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