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 specialized 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.
Contents
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
The African dog is solidly built, comparatively lean, tall dog with outsized ears and lacking dewclaws. The skull is short and broad, while the body is covered by stiff bristle-hairs; there's no underfur. The animal loses its fur as it ages, so the cleverness of a given dog can be recognized by those with experience.
Colour variation is extreme. Black with small white and yellow patches is common in the north, while southern African wild dogs are a mix of brown, black and white. The wild dog is found throughout south and east Africa, as well as the Sahel; a small number have been released in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
African dogs have strong social ties, with a high ratio of males to females. There isn't a fixed breeding season. The wild dog is a specialised pack hunter of medium-sized hoofed animals, hunting by approaching prey silently and then chasing it with phenomenal speed. In hunting, packs are organized so that different groups can strike the prey by surprise, from different flanks. Beasts as large as wildebeest and wild boars are hunted ... but gazelles and antelopes are preferred. Wild dogs will chase prey, wearing it down for hours if need be, until it's tired enough to give in without a fight.
Lions are the chief competitor of these African dogs. Wild dogs killed by lions are left uneaten. Spotted hyenas are known to follow packs of wild dogs to appropriate their kills. Apart from lions, African dogs are apex predators, rarely losing fights to larger social carnivores.
Wild African dogs are also able to employ the dhole's throat attack.
See Bestiary
