Wizards of the Coast has made the goose hydra an official DnD monster. Combining the single-minded aggression of a goose with the raw savagery of six more geese, the Goose Mother is one of 25 creatures added in Monstrous Compendium 4: Eldraine Creatures, available now from DnD Beyond for $5.99.
All 25 DnD monsters in the new document are drawn from the MtG sets Wilds of Eldraine and Throne of Eldraine. The plane of Eldraine is a land of distorted fairy tales, populated by fairies, fey spirits, gingerbread golems, knights, giants, beanstalk wurms, unicorns, dragons, wolves, and more besides – classic adversaries for DnD.
Here’s all the DnD monsters added in Monstrous Compendium 4:
| Creature | CR | Type |
| Archon of Boundaries | 15 | Celestial |
| Beanstalk Wurm | 18 | Monstrosity |
| Deathless Rider | 5 | Undead |
| Dunbarrow Witch | 5 | Humanoid |
| Faerie Borrower | ½ | Fey |
| Faerie Pathlighter | 2 | Fey |
| Faerie Pest | 1 | Fey |
| Gingerbrute | ½ | Construct |
| Goose Mother | 7 | Fey |
| High Fae Impostor | 11 | Fey |
| High Fae Kindguard | 12 | Fey |
| High Fae Mage | 12 | Fey |
| High Fae Noble | 13 | Fey |
| Knight of Eldraine | 3 | Humanoid |
| Nightmare Haunt | 5 | Aberration |
| Ogre Chitterlord | 3 | Giant |
| Redtooth Werefox | 3 | Monstrosity |
| Sewer King | 2 | Fiend |
| Snapping Hydra | 11 | Monstrosity |
| Specter of Night | 12 | Undead |
| Sweettooth Horror | 4 | Fiend |
| Tempest Hart | 11 | Elemental |
| Treefolk | 11 | Plant |
| Witchkite | 15 | Dragon |
| Witchstalker | 6 | Monstrosity |
If your DM is using Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants in your DnD campaign, you’ll probably be familiar with the Giant Goose and its deafening Thunderous Honk.
With seven times as many heads and more than twice the challenge rating, the Goose Mother is the perfect way for a DM to reintroduce the players to goose-themed terror, just when they think they’re safe.
There are already 16 community created statblocks for Goose Hydras (and Hydra Geese) on DnD Beyond, not to mention various homebrews floating around social media. Deep down inside, all DnD players know to fear the goose.
As for the other monsters, the Compendium has a whole court of Faeries and Fae in it, which will make a good addition to A Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign.
And then there’s the Gingerbrute, a tiny construct made from Gingerbread that is both aggressive and incredibly fast, with a movement speed of 60’. The tragic love story between a pair of Gingerbrutes features in this trailer for the 2019 MTG set Throne of Eldraine:
If you want tips on how to vanquish any multi-headed avians you might face in your next game, check out our guides to DnD Classes and DnD Races and species, which have advice on how to design the best characters for the job.