This variant dragon rifle gets its name from the fact that it has three barrels. Each barrel has a separate trigger and thus one can fire the weapon three times without loading—it’s like carrying three loaded rifles at once. However, for an extra 250 gp, a weaponsmith can fit it with a master trigger to allow the user to fire all three at once. A character must roll all three attacks independently, and all three must share the same target. It is not possible to fire only two barrels at once; you either fire one or all three when the weapon is fitted with a master trigger. Each barrel must be loaded separately, taking a full round per barrel.

A person needs two hands to load and fire a hydra rifle. One could attempt to fire, but not load, the weapon in one hand at a –4 penalty.

Such a character could even fire one hydra rifle in each hand, using the rules for two-weapon fighting as if attacking with two one-handed weapons. The penalty for doing so stacks with the penalty for firing the rifle in one hand. For a cost of 100 gp, the hydra rifle can be refitted with a larger trigger mechanism that allows a character one size bigger than the weapon’s normal size to fire it in one hand at no penalty.