AC 18 (Constitution,
cloak of protection
)
HP 187 (22d8+88; bloodied 93)
Speed 40 ft.
Proficiency +5; Maneuver DC 22
Saving Throws Str +16, Dex +4, Con +11, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha +1
Skills Animal Handling +5, Athletics +15, Perception +5, Survival +5
Senses passive Perception 15
Languages Greek
Action Surge (1/ short rest ). Once on his turn, Hercules can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Amazonian Girdle. The Girdle of Hippolyta functions as a belt of storm giant strength that increases his Strength to 29. Without it, his Strength score is 20 (Str +11, Athletics +11, CR 14, running long jump distance decreased by 5 feet, Unarmed +11 [1d4+5], thrown +13 to hit, –4 damage).
Danger Sense. Hercules has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded , deafened , or incapacitated .
Divine Soldier. Spellcasters do not require material components when casting raise dead or similar spells targeting Hercules to bring him back to life.
Feral Instinct. Hercules has advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, if he is surprised at the beginning of combat and isn’t incapacitated , he can act normally on his first turn, but only if he enters his rage before doing anything else on that turn.
Indomitable (1/ long rest ). Hercules can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Improved Critical. Hercules’ weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
Nemean Hide. The impervious skin of the lion so famously slain by Hercules is treated as a cloak of protection . Without it, his AC becomes 17 and his saving throw bonuses are all reduced by 1.
Rage (4/
long rest
). On his turn, Hercules can enter a rage as a bonus action. His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked
unconscious
or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Hercules can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits:
◆ Hercules has
advantage
on Strength checks and Strength
saving throws
.
◆ When Hercules makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he deals 2 extra damage.
◆ Hercules has
resistance
to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
◆ Hercules first successful weapon attack on his turn deals an extra 1d6+4 radiant damage.
◆ Once per rage when he fails a
saving throw
, Hercules can reroll it.
Reckless Attack. When Hercules makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.
Remarkable Athlete. Hercules adds +3 to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check he makes that doesn’t already use his proficiency bonus. In addition, when he makes a running long jump, the distance he can cover increases by 5 feet.
SPECIAL TRAITS
Grappler. Hercules has advantage on attack rolls against a creature he is grappling and he can use an action to try to pin a creature he’s grappled. On a success, Hercules and the creature are both restrained until the grapple ends.
BONUS ACTIONS
Brawling. Hercules is proficient with improvised weapons, and he can use a bonus action to grapple a target he hits with an unarmed strike or improvised weapon on his turn.
Second Wind (1/ short rest ). On his turn, Hercules can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+11 hit points.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack. Hercules attacks three times when he takes the Attack action. When he uses a bonus action to engage in two-weapon fighting, he adds his Strength modifier to the damage of his fourth attack.
Unarmed. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d4+9) bludgeoning damage.
Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (1d8+9) bludgeoning damage.
Spear. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d6+9) piercing damage, or 13 (1d8+9) piercing damage if wielded in with both
hands.
Spear. Ranged Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d6+9) piercing damage.
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, range 20/40 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d4+9) bludgeoning damage.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.
Perhaps the best known Western mythological figure of all is hitting this book with his incredibly powerful fists. Let’s see if it lives up to the task as we take on Hercules! There are plenty of heroes in the myths of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire—Atalanta, Odysseus, Perseus, Achilles—but they are all in the shadow of the man of might: Heracles. Er, Hercules. Same guy, depending on whether you’re a Greek or a Roman!
One of Zeus’ many bastard offspring, as a baby Hercules fought off two snakes sent by Hera to kill him—but she didn’t stop there. Later on, after he’s been wed, she drove him to a fit of madness that ended with him slaughtering his family. So it is he undertook the famous Twelve Labors as penance, the Special Traits for which he became best known.
These included slaying the Nemean Lion, the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, and the Stymphalian Birds, capturing the Golden Hind of Artemis, the Erymanthian Boar, the Cretan Bull, and Cerberus (yes, that Cerberus), obtaining the girdle of Hippolyta, the Mares of Diomedes, the cattle of the giant Geryon, and the apples of Hesperides, and cleaning the Augean stables in a single day. He accomplished all of them with a bit of cleverness and his immense strength.
These were only the beginning of his adventures, and he got into all sorts of trouble (the earth-loving giant Antaeus that he wrestles also appears in this book). He killed a fire-breathing giant, held up the sky for Atlas, rescued the princess Alcestis from the underworld, and freed the chained Prometheus. Hera kept interfering in his life in either mythos, causing the deaths of many with her lethal mischief that plagued him right up until his demise. Hercules’ end came after his final paramour, Deianira, was tricked into touching him with a cursed shirt covered in the blood of a centaur—blood tainted by the poison of the Lernaean Hydra. Hercules succumbed to the poison, and after Zeus recognized his greatness, he ascended to godhood.
Humanoids include a number of different intelligent, language-using bipeds of Small or Medium size. Humans and elves are humanoids, and so are orcs and goblins. Humanoids may employ magic but are not fundamentally magical—a characteristic that distinguishes them from bipedal, language-using fey, fiends, and other monsters. Humanoids have no inherent alignment, meaning that no humanoid ancestry is naturally good or evil, lawful or chaotic.