Dog (wild)

Type	Dhole	Wild African Dog
Species	canine
No. Appearing	5-20	4-24
Behaviour	social (clan)	social (pack)
Range	barrens, jungle, rainforest, savanna, steppe, woodland	desert, savanna
Size	17 to 22 in. tall	24 to 30 in. tall
Weight	22 to 46 lbs.	40 to 79 lbs.
Intelligence	4	3 to 4
Armour Class	7	7
Hit Dice	2	2
Action Points	5	5
Max. Stride	17	26
THAC0	20	20
Hp/Die	d3 (d4)	d4 (d6)
Attacks	1: fangs
Damage	1-4	1-6
Special Attack	throat attack

Wild Dog is a term broadly applied to canines that have never been domesticated, existing as distinct species adapted to untamed environments. These animals exhibit highly social behaviours, forming structured packs that rely on coordinated hunting tactics and complex communication. Unlike feral dogs, which descend from domesticated ancestors, true wild dogs have evolved independently, developing specialised traits suited to their native habitats. They are known for their endurance, sharp instincts and adaptability, thriving in regions where cooperation and resilience dictate survival.

Dhole

Wild dogs maintain a relentless pace when pursuing prey, often relying on endurance rather than brute force to wear down their quarry. Their communication is highly developed, utilising a complex range of vocalisations, posture and scent to coordinate movements and reinforce pack cohesion. Unlike many other predators, they rarely engage in dominance struggles within the pack, instead displaying strong social bonds where food is shared freely and weaker members are supported rather than cast out. They are cautious but not timid, assessing threats carefully and responding with either swift evasion or decisive aggression as a unit.

Opportunistic and highly adaptable, wild dogs will shift their hunting patterns and territory as needed, demonstrating an acute awareness of their environment. Even in the face of scarcity, their cooperative nature allows them to endure, making them one of the most resilient predators in the wild.

Dhole

Dhole are a smaller species of wild dog, often described as "cat-like" due to their long, flexible backbone and slender limbs. Their broad skull gives them a distinct appearance, and they are considered the more intelligent of the wild dog species. Their fur is typically reddish but dulls during winter or rainy months. Dhole are widespread across the lowlands and highlands of Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia and India, extending as far east as Korea. Unlike domesticated canines, dhole cannot be tamed.

Highly social creatures, dhole live in simple earth dens, often repurposing burrows from other animals rather than digging their own. They do not engage in dominance struggles within their packs, forming cohesive groups based on cooperation rather than hierarchy. They typically hunt in small packs of three to five animals but will gather in larger numbers during migration or breeding seasons.

Dhole are not territorial and instead roam across vast distances, sometimes migrating hundreds of miles in search of new habitats. These migrations are gruelling, causing the animals to lose considerable weight due to food scarcity. Once they resettle, they become relentless hunters, pursuing prey for hours on end to replenish their strength. Their endurance and cooperative tactics make them formidable predators, with legends even describing them as capable of treeing tigers, forcing the great cats to remain aloft until exhaustion overcomes them.

During resettlement, dhole sometimes engage in "overhunting," killing more prey than they can consume. While this behaviour may appear wasteful, it provides scavengers with an abundance of food. In some regions, villagers welcome the arrival of dhole, knowing that excess kills will offer a temporary source of easy meat.

Advantages

Dhole are highly efficient killers, with a natural instinct to target the most vulnerable areas of their prey. When a dhole rolls a natural d20 during an attack, it is assumed to have struck the target's throat. Due to this precision and the dhole's powerful bite, critical hits inflicted by a dhole result in triple damage rather than the standard double.

As with all natural 20s, the attack roll is made again. If another 20 is rolled, the damage increases further to quadruple, then quintuple, sextuple, and so on with additional consecutive 20s. However, unlike some other creatures, dhole do not gain additional damage on a natural 19 — only a natural 20 triggers the possibility of a progressive critical hit. This makes them particularly deadly in close combat, as their rapid, coordinated attacks can quickly bring down prey through sheer precision and lethal targeting.

Wild African Dog

Wild African dogs are powerfully built and lean, with long legs and large, rounded ears that contribute to their acute sense of hearing. They lack dewclaws and their skulls are broad and short, built for strength rather than sheer bite force. Their fur consists of coarse bristle-hairs without an undercoat, giving them a patchy, ragged appearance. As they age, they gradually lose their fur, making experienced individuals appear increasingly bare-skinned over time.

Their coat patterns are highly variable, but regional trends exist. In the north, black fur with small yellow and white patches is common, while in the south, individuals display a mix of brown, black and white in irregular blotches. These colourations help distinguish packs by region. Wild dogs are distributed across much of eastern and southern Africa, thriving in open savannas, woodland edges and semi-arid scrublands. They are also found in the Sahel and have been introduced in limited numbers to the southwestern Arabian Peninsula.

They have an exceptionally tight-knit social structure, with an unusually high ratio of males to females. Pack cohesion is critical for survival, as they rely on cooperation for hunting, rearing pups and defending territory. Unlike many canines, wild dogs lack a strict dominance hierarchy and conflict within the pack is minimal. Breeding is not tied to a single season, and only the dominant female typically produces a litter, while the rest of the pack assists in raising the young.

Wild African dogs are endurance predators, specialising in the relentless pursuit of medium-sized hoofed animals. They hunt with extraordinary coordination, using silent approach tactics before launching into an all-out chase. Unlike many predators that rely on ambush or brute force, wild dogs wear down their prey over long distances, running it to exhaustion before delivering the final attack. Packs will often divide into separate hunting parties, flanking prey from multiple directions to cut off escape routes. Wildebeest, wild boars and zebra foals are taken on occasion, but gazelles and antelopes remain their preferred prey.

Though they are among Africa's top predators, they face stiff competition. Lions actively target wild dogs, often killing them on sight without consuming them. Spotted hyenas regularly trail wild dog packs, waiting for the opportunity to steal their kills, though they rarely confront them directly unless numbers are in their favour. Against other social carnivores, African wild dogs rarely lose a fight — when forced into a corner, their pack discipline and coordination make them formidable.

Like the dhole, wild African dogs are capable of throat attacks that enable them to dispatch prey with ruthless efficiency.

See Bestiary