When posting in Hydra, players should GM report the thread or otherwise contact a GM to provide dangers to the Gembound entering or interacting there.

The Hydra threat system works like this:

The Game Master will do an Other roll for "danger."

- A Critical Failure will leave the Gembound safe until the end of the thread, or for one in-character day, whichever comes first.
- A Failure will leave the Gembound safe for the end of the thread or two hours' in-character time, whichever comes first.
- A Barely Successful will result in a danger against which the Gembound must roll to save themselves (using whatever type of defense they wish). Two failures in a row will result in serious injury or a re-entering of the chrysalis for two weeks to reform.
- A Successful roll will result in a serious danger that must be rolled against as above. Three failures in a row will result in the Gembound's death.
- A Critical Success roll will result in a deadly threat that must be rolled against as above. Two failures in a row will result in the Gembound's death.
- Any Critical Fail rolled by a character during an encounter will result in a severe injury.

Multiple-Character Threads

- Gembound arriving in a thread during an encounter already in progress may roll once to attempt to save another character. However, they must then roll to defend themselves (regardless of their own failure or success in rescue), and will only have two chances to do so; failure will result in them taking the consequences of the threat themselves either in place of, or in addition to, the initial victim (depending on if they succeeded in helping).
- For threads in which multiple characters are present when a threat appears, they must each roll to save themselves. Choosing to roll to save their ally first will count against their own number of available attempts to get to safety. Failing to save themselves, however, will also mean that they cannot save their ally.
- For threads in which other characters join after a threat is escaped, defeated or nonexistent, it is up to GM discretion whether to roll for additional danger.

Dangerous threats may include Lesser Gembound (Eyehook Vultures, Spire Spiders, and so on); environmental threats (extreme heat, toxic gas, etc); and more, depending upon location within Hydra and the time of day.

Please note:

- After the "safe time" has passed, either through defending against a threat or receiving a failed Danger roll by a GM, the thread must again be tagged for a new GM roll.
- GMs may roll additional dangers or impose harsher penalties, at their discretion, or be more lenient dependant upon character actions. For example, a character taking steps to cleverly defend itself might receive a less-deadly threat or injury, whereas one attacking Eyehook Vultures during a period of "safe time" may immediately provoke a potentially-deadly encounter.
- Gemstones from those lost in Hydra may be unrecoverable depending upon how the Gembound died.
- Characters living in Hydra must complete at least one thread per Cycle. Should they go inactive and then return, and if the player wishes to assume the character remained in Hydra for the duration, they must retroactively complete these threads. Alternatively, it can be assumed that the character left Hydra for the duration of inactivity. It cannot be assumed that a character has been living consequence-free in Hydra without threading against GM'd threats.