Sand Howler [Dark Sun]

Picture a lean, doglike lizard with a head far too big for its body. The oversized skull exists to carry eight eyes, set above a pair of heavy yellow tusks. Most hides run from pale tan to deep brown; a rare few are born pure white.

A pack prefers ambush to open battle. The animals stay hidden until every member is in position, then ring the target and close in from all sides, wearing it down. Each howler rakes with two foreclaws for 1-3 damage apiece and bites for 1d6.

The real threat is the stare. Anyone who meets the gaze of those eight eyes must save vs. paralyzation or stand frozen for 2d4 rounds; a remove paralysis spell ends the effect early.

A hunt usually starts with one scout. When it finds a meal it howls, the pack howls back and converges on it. The stalker itself is rarely glimpsed, but its calls carry and its tracks can sometimes be followed. Howlers favor small, lone prey, though hunger will push them to tackle creatures their own size; a group is attacked only with surprise and at least two howlers per victim.

Packs den in empty wastes, away from rival hunters, digging deep tunnel mazes where they escape the heat and briefly hibernate. Kills are often dragged home, so old remains may hold treasure. One big male rules; he has maximum hit points and +1 to attack and damage rolls, and the rest keep a strict pecking order.

Each mated pair has a 20% chance of one or two pups, which cannot fight yet but can be stolen and raised for war or the hunt.

Trained, they become superb guards and trackers with one of the keenest noses in the desert. Mercenaries on the desert world use them to hunt runaway slaves, and in the city-state heartlands fear and capture have pushed them close to extinction. A white pelt fetches around 150 gp, valued for its rarity, its looks and the protection it gives against heat.