Dog

Wild dogs are smaller than wolves and look different from region to region; most are wolfish, while some resemble a cross between wolf and jackal. They live nearly everywhere, running in packs under a dominant male. Omnivores, they mix foraging with hunting, taking small game as a rule but also pulling down deer or antelope. They fight as a coordinated pack, biting for 1d4 points of damage, and go after people or settlements only when starving. Pups arrive in spring, and a dog cut off from its pack can be tamed.

Most war dogs are big mastiffs or wolfhounds whose sharp noses and ears make them excellent at sniffing out intruders. They are seldom vicious and rarely attack without a reason. Their roles range widely: cherished family pet, watchdog, hunting hound or trained battle animal.

These intelligent, yellow-brown dogs are thicker-set and brawnier than their wild cousins, and they hunt using a short-range natural teleport. They talk among themselves in an elaborate language of barks, yips, whines and growls, roam open plains and keep away from people.

A blink dog pack fights with real coordination, popping in and out unpredictably to get into position, and 75% of the time a dog strikes from behind. Each round a dog teleports if it rolls 7 or higher on 1d12. A second 1d12 roll sets its arrival point: 1 dead ahead of the foe, 2 the shielded (left) forward flank, 3 the unshielded (right) forward flank, 4-12 the rear. It materializes within 1-3 feet of its target and may attack at once. Blinking is innate, and a dog never arrives inside a solid object. A pack in serious danger blinks away together for good.

Half of all lairs hold 3d4 pups with 1-2 Hit Dice that bite for 1-2 or 1-3 points of damage. Trainable pups sell for 1,000-2,000 gp apiece.

A death dog is a big hound with two heads and a piercing double bark, and it hunts in large packs. Each head bites separately for 1d10 points of damage, and anyone bitten must save vs. poison or catch a rotting disease that kills in 4d6 days unless a cure disease spell is cast. On a natural 19 or 20 a man-sized foe is knocked down and fights at -4 until back on its feet. There is an 85% chance a pack attacks humans as soon as it sees them.