There are troll mutants with this. Tyranny of Dragons has one in chapter 7, along with details shared below…
FOUR-ARMED TROLL
Sometimes when a troll loses a limb, it regenerates two limbs to replace the one it lost. This can result in trolls with multiple arms. A four-armed troll uses the troll stat block, except that it is a challenge rating 6 monster (2,300 XP) and has the following action instead of the troll’s normal Multiattack action:
Multiattack. The troll attacks five times, once with its bite and four times with its claws. If two or more claws hit the same target, the troll rends the target, dealing an extra 2d6 slashing damage.
I know, but if we are going to exploit it we should bring thermodynamics.
My rule of thumb, is that all magic like that breaks thermodynamics. And everything that breaks thermodynamics is like a super tech that can provide infinite energy.
It isn’t just free meat, it is free energy. Imagine a powerplant that just constantly beheads hydras to burnt he heads. burning a head is less efficient than coal, but they are renewable and infinite. Said civilization will eventually lean why it is bad to burn so much energy, and will end up with some serious global warming.
Same thing with magic portals, or basically any superpower. as soon as you break thermodynamics you have infinite power.
Well, magic is usually “Mana” or some equivalent, in many stories you have to build up a mana reserve to use magic, it look like the body produce it or absorb it naturally, i’d lean on the option that mana is absorbed because in many stories the characters are way faster to fill up the mana reserves than fill up the energy reserves and usually they also explain that you can find mana everywhere and in the air so my guess is that we absorb it using our lungs or skin contact
So they have ““infinite energy”” (which is not infinite but it’s so big that we don’t care about it finishing soon, like the heat in the Earth’s crust)
Probably there is also a natural process that release new mana like the decay of organic matter or some plant or bacteria that synthesise mana
imagine hydra affecting every body part.
lose a finger in an accident, 3 more grow. lose a leg, 3 grow.
it would be so hard to buy shirts and trousers.
There are troll mutants with this. Tyranny of Dragons has one in chapter 7, along with details shared below…
such a beast would make a great source of endless meat for a ever growing community! Would be a nightmare to build a cage for though
I’m pretty sure you need to eat more to get the energy and protein to regrow.
the hydra parts grow magically, no story with a hydra states that the beast has a feast to prepare for the regrowth
It can just eat it’s own body parts to never starve.
I know, but if we are going to exploit it we should bring thermodynamics.
My rule of thumb, is that all magic like that breaks thermodynamics. And everything that breaks thermodynamics is like a super tech that can provide infinite energy.
It isn’t just free meat, it is free energy. Imagine a powerplant that just constantly beheads hydras to burnt he heads. burning a head is less efficient than coal, but they are renewable and infinite. Said civilization will eventually lean why it is bad to burn so much energy, and will end up with some serious global warming.
Same thing with magic portals, or basically any superpower. as soon as you break thermodynamics you have infinite power.
Well, magic is usually “Mana” or some equivalent, in many stories you have to build up a mana reserve to use magic, it look like the body produce it or absorb it naturally, i’d lean on the option that mana is absorbed because in many stories the characters are way faster to fill up the mana reserves than fill up the energy reserves and usually they also explain that you can find mana everywhere and in the air so my guess is that we absorb it using our lungs or skin contact
So they have ““infinite energy”” (which is not infinite but it’s so big that we don’t care about it finishing soon, like the heat in the Earth’s crust) Probably there is also a natural process that release new mana like the decay of organic matter or some plant or bacteria that synthesise mana
Yeah it might cause crazy climate change until someone casts atmospheric cleansing and sequesters all the carbon.