Saluqi Dog

Prized by the jann, these desert sighthounds are famous hunters. They are lean, whip-thin black dogs with gray markings and long, narrow heads. Breeders guard their bloodlines closely, mating only the finest animals.

Saluqi hunt by sight, not scent, and work as a pack rather than alone or in a loose line. They are so fast they get -2 on initiative. With 120-foot infravision, they can follow a target's heat trail without error if it crossed the ground within the last three turns.

Their specialty is the mass takedown. At least four hounds are needed, and the pack rolls once to hit, treating the target as AC 10 modified only by the target's Dexterity and any magical bonuses from armor or protective items, gaining +1 for every hound beyond four. On a hit the victim is knocked flat and, failing a save vs. petrification, stunned and unable to act that round. Getting up takes a full round of doing nothing else amid the dogs. Spellcasting is impossible while the pack swarms, whether or not the takedown works.

Once a victim is down, individual hounds attack at +4, ignoring its Dexterity bonus to AC. Some packs are trained to pin: if two dogs hit the fallen target, it must still spend a round rising and also pass a Strength check at -1 per dog that hit, or be pulled back down.

Nearly all saluqi live with a huntsman who trained them from puppyhood, and they learn a set of standard commands; common ones include attack, guard, hold, fetch, stay, return, and pursue-and-return. Too much sun harms them, so nomads shelter them in tents through the worst heat, and wild packs stay near caves or rock overhangs where they can escape the glare.

They hunt small game and are skilled at driving antelope and other grazers out of hiding. Wild packs exist but are very rare, because the jann catch strays, neuter them and give them away to other desert peoples.

A related breed, the jungle hound, is said to have been developed by forest peoples. It fights the same way but tracks by smell far better than by sight, following trails up to a week old. It is smaller than the saluqi, with a dark coat dappled in orange and yellow instead of gray.