DCC Bestiary - Hellhound

Next up, the hellhound!

The DCC Core Rulebook mentions hellhounds, but doesn’t but them in the bestiary … the latest module DCC #101 has the stat block for a hell hound, but to me, it’s not scary enough.  These are the hounds of hell, servants of powerful demon lords, sent to the material plane to hunt down and slaughter their enemies.  I think that we can do better than 2 HD and a breath weapon.

Once again, www.dumpstatadventures.com does not let me down with the gaming history of the Hellhound, and they originated with a high AC, 3-7 HD, a description of being highly intelligent, with the ability to sniff out invisible and hidden creatures.  They’re the size of a small pony, incredibly fast, scary, and eat people.

The mythology of the hellhound doesn’t have anything crazy that deviates from what D&D turned them into – sometimes they are guardians, sometimes they are chained or trail a chain behind them.

But all that in mind, I think we would be missing an opportunity if we don’t make Hellhounds a Type I demon, with all it implies…

I had a hard time with the breath weapon – some monsters in the bestiary can breathe X times per day as an attack, others every 1d4 rounds or so.  I ultimately decided their breath weapon was only against a single foe (much like the OD&D version), allowed a saving throw for half, and could be used every 1d6 rounds, which is scary but not too scary.  Lastly to make them not vanilla, I decided a Reflex save fumble against a breath weapon subjects the victim to minor corruption as the flames of Chaos wash over them.

So, here’s my hellhound … enjoy!  Feel free to give me feedback at archadethered@gmail.com.

Demon, Hellhound (Type I)

     These black hounds with slavering jaws and smoke trailing from their nostrils are 4-5 feet high at the shoulder, being as tall as a small pony, and are malicious and intelligent servants of the Lower Hells and the Lords of Chaos.  They have the ability to sniff out hidden or even invisible prey and lay a cloak of darkness.
 

     Hellhound: Init +2; Atk bite +4 melee (1d6+2); AC 16; HD 4d8 (18 hp); MV 60’; Act 1d20; SP can spell invisible or hidden foes, darkness (+4 check), fiery breath, infravision, resistant to non-magical weapons and fire; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +1; AL C.
     As a minor demon, hellhounds cannot travel the planes of their own volition, but are often summoned or sent to the material plane.  They cannot speak but understand Nibelung, the tongue of Chaos.  They have infravision, and the ability to cast the spell darkness with a +4 check.
     Every 1d6 rounds, a hellhound may breathe fire, dealing 3d6 damage against a single foe, unless a DC 14 Reflex save is made for half damage.  If the victim rolls a natural 1 on their Reflex save, the victim suffers minor corruption.