Weisshund

A weisshund looks like a lovely, overfed house pet: about 2 feet tall at the shoulder, wrapped in heavy white fur and loose, baggy skin. Visitors rarely notice that the dog spends most of the day dozing, which only adds to the impression that it is harmless. Underneath, the animal is lean, strong and quick.

That loose hide is part of its defense. When another beast clamps onto it, or a foe grapples it, the weisshund can twist around inside its own skin to keep fighting, and its dense coat makes it hard for jaws to find a firm grip.

These dogs carry a limited empathic sense that detects evil and hostile intent within 60 feet, and it works even while they sleep: such a creature coming into range wakes the dog at once. The weisshund then grows agitated, growls at the suspect and tries to bring one of its masters. It will never lose sight of the suspect to do so, though. If summoning a master would mean leaving, it stays on guard and barks until help comes, or fights if it must.

Sensing evil alone does not provoke an attack. The dog shadows its suspect from roughly 20 feet away, growling, and holds back as long as the person makes no threat against the dog, its masters or anyone it has been trained to guard. The first aggressive move, or a command from a master it recognizes, triggers its change into a full temple guardian.

Over five segments the weisshund grows to about 4 feet at the shoulder and 6 feet long, looking exactly as it did before, just bigger, and keeping all the protection of its skin and fur. It cannot attack while changing, and it is neither easier nor harder to hit during that time. Anyone trying to strike it must roll 7 or better on 1d10 or be surprised by the transformation and lose that round's attack.

Once grown, it fights with its forepaws and bite. The claws are blunt; the harm comes from the sheer weight behind each blow, roughly like being struck by a 10-pound stone. Its favored tactic is to knock a foe flat, close its jaws on the neck and hold him down, sometimes simply sitting on him. A victim who stops struggling is held without a scratch, so precise is its training. One who keeps fighting gets whatever force is needed to subdue him.

Against more than one opponent the dog never tries to pin anyone. It switches from target to target instead, trying to frighten them all into giving up. Weisshund understand their fighting style so thoroughly that two dogs who have never met can work together like a seasoned team.

Weisshund exist only in the temples and shrines of the Cudgel Saint, a stern god of law and plain good sense, whose specialized clerics have bred and trained the line for centuries at a secret kennel. Almost all temple dogs are males; only 5% of those encountered are female. Females are kept mainly for breeding, can conceive only twice a year and never bear more than two puppies per litter. A pregnant female is guarded with special care, and one who conceives away from the sanctuary is sent there at once.

Day to day, a weisshund lives much like any household dog. At six months of age each puppy begins the training that will make it a temple guardian.