Hellhound
- Habitat
- Scorched wastes, volcanic uplands, and any wild land near heat
- Biomes
- desert, +mountain
- Spawn
- pack, any
- Temper
- Cruel, coordinated pack hunter
- Threat
- High
- Rarity
- Very Rare
- Move
- run.
- Special
- Breathes a cone of fire (damage scales with its size); immune to fire; slips close with eerie stealth; senses the hidden and invisible
- STR17
- DEX14
- CON16
- INT7
- Health152
- Damage32
- Armor24
A lean coal-hided hound the size of a large dog, its rust-red coat marked with soot-black teeth, tongue, and stripes, its eyes burning a dull red. A reek of smoke and sulfur clings to it, and its baying carries a hollow, unsettling tone. Hellhounds run in disciplined packs, stalking with eerie silence before one springs from cover to drive prey into a waiting ring of fangs. They open with a gout of flame, then close to bite while still exhaling fire. Raised from whelps they can be trained as fearless watch-beasts, prized for sniffing out things hidden or unseen, though they remain prone to setting their surroundings alight.
Behavior
- Hunts in packs, encircling quarry and herding it toward an ambusher.
- Moves with unnatural quiet, granting it the first strike against startled prey.
- Breathes a cone of fire before charging into a flaming bite.
- Keen senses make it hard to surprise; it can sense concealed or invisible creatures.
- Wholly unbothered by flame, fighting freely amid fire it has started.
Abilities
- Fire Breath. Exhales a short blast of flame, hotter from larger, older pack-leaders.
- Silent Stalk. Approaches without sound, ruining an enemy's chance to react in time.
- Ember Senses. Detects hidden and invisible foes by scent and heat.
- Fire Immunity. Takes no harm from flame or intense heat.
Drops & Crafting
- Smoldering hide (tanned into heat-resistant leather)
- Ember gland (reliable tinder / firestarter)
- Blackened fangs and claws
- Sulfurous marrow (alchemical reagent)
- Charred sinew for bowstrings