Hellhound

Hell Hound

Species	beast
No. Appearing	2–8
Behaviour	servant
Range	Hell, ruin
Size	5 ft. 6 in. at the shoulder
Weight	720 lbs.
Intelligence	5
Armour Class	4
Hit Dice	7
Action Points	5
Max. Stride	{{{stride}}}
THAC0	15
Hp/Die	d10
Attack Forms	bite
Damage	2–20
Special Attacks	breath weapon, gaseous form, jaws, surprise on 1–4, surprised only on 1

Hellhounds are unearthly beasts whose origin is the Lower Planes of Existence. As they are often guardians of the gates, or entrances to the "worlds of the dead," they often released into places where the dead lay, such as graveyards and burial grounds, or to violently portend the coming of war. As the recent poet Shakespeare wrote 51 years ago,

Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of war, that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial.

As well, hellhounds will break their chains and intrude upon the natural world, where they may remain for years until killed or reclaimed by their masters. This has given rise to many stories in many cultures, of hellbeast dogs that prey upon lone travellers, who when hunted down disappear like a fog in the night.

WORKING...

In addition to a normal attack (simply biting with their great black teeth), hell hounds breathe out a scorching fire an an opponent up to a 1" distance, causing 1 hit point of damage for each hit die they possess, unless the opponent is able to save versus dragon breath, in which case only one-half damage is inflicted, i.e. a 7 hit dice hell hound breathes for 7 or 4 hit points of damage/attack. Hell hounds move with great stealth, so they surprise opponents on a die roll of 1-4 (out of 6). They have keen hearing, and they are surprised on a die roll of 1 only (out of 6). Their exceptional sight allows them to locate hidden or invisible creatures 50% of the time. For these reasons they are favored as watchdogs by monsters and fire giants. Description:

See Bestiary