In a blur of motion, a great canine pounds past you. Massive paws slam the earth, sending dust erupting from the bleak plain. In a second, the motion stops and the vile canine stands motionless before you. Its great maw drips with unholy slaver and its ebony hide is completely smooth and hairless. Its long, sleek head is completely eyeless.
Netherhound
Always NE Large outsider (evil, extraplanar, netherfiend)
Init +13; Senses blindsight 120 ft.; Listen +18
Languages Understands Abyssal and Infernal
AC 28, touch 18, flat-footed 19
(-1 size, +9 Dex, +10 natural)
hp 126 (12 HD); fast healing 3; DR 10/good
Immune cold, poison
Resist electricity 10, fire 10, sonic 10; SR 25
Fort +14, Ref +17, Will +11
Spd 60 ft. (12 squares)
Melee bite +20 (2d8+5 plus 2d6 cold and freezing saliva)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +12; Grp +21
Atk Options aligned attack (evil), freezing saliva, savage the fallen, sorrowful bay, trip, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack
Special Actions mark target
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th):
1/day – wall of force
3/day – cone of cold (DC 19), unholy blight (DC 18)
At will – deeper darkness, desecrate, dimension door, fly (self only), wall of ice
Abilities Str 21, Dex 29, Con 22, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18
SQ enhanced scent, magic circle against good
Feats Ability Focus (sorrowful bay), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +19, Concentration +21, Hide +20, Jump +31, Knowledge (the planes) +17, Listen +18, Move Silently +20, Sense Motive +18, Survival +18 (+20 on other planes), Tumble +26
Environment Gray Waste of Hades
Organization Solitary, pair, or pack (2-12)
Treasure None
Advancement 13-24 HD (Large); 25-36 HD (Huge)
Freezing Saliva (Su) Anyone bitten by a netherhound takes an additional 2d6 points of cold damage and must make a Fort save (DC 22) or take 1d4 points of Dex damage as the netherhound’s incredibly cold saliva chills their joints and muscles. Creatures immune or resistant to cold are immune to the Dex damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Enhanced Scent (Ex) Netherhounds have a rather uncanny sense of smell. This functions like the scent special quality, except it effectively grants the netherhound blindsight out to 120 ft.
Also, the netherhound can sniff out good creatures as it were under a constant detect good spell (caster level 12th). The netherhound need not concentrate and it can instinctively tell if the creature it smells is good and the power of its aura.
Mark Target (Su) As a full round action, a netherhound can focus upon a single foe within 100 ft., causing a glowing rune to appear on its body. As long as the creature is marked, the netherhound knows exactly where the creature is and it can monitor it as if with a status spell (caster level 12th).
The creature can only remove the rune with a break enchantment or remove curse spell, however the caster must first succeed on a 25 caster level check or the spell has no effect. The netherhound is immediately aware of any attempt to remove the mark.
Savage the Fallen (Ex) If a netherhound successfully trips a creature (see below) it can make an immediate bite attack against the tripped creature. This attack is made at its highest base attack bonus.
Sorrowful Bay (Su) Three times per day, the netherhound can release a sorrowful bay as a standard action. Anyone within 80 ft. of the netherhound when it bays must make a Will save (DC 22) or take a -1 penalty to all skill checks, attack rolls, damage rolls, saves, and to AC as their senses are overwhelmed with a terrible apathy. The effects of this bay cumulative, as packs of netherhounds have been known to quickly weather even the hardiest of souls into complete carelessness. Other netherfiends are immune to this bay. The save DC is Charisma based and includes a +2 bonus from its Ability Focus feat.
Trip (Ex) A netherhound that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent (+9 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the netherhound.
Magic Circle Against Good (Su) A netherhound is constantly surrounded with a magic circle against good effect, as per the spell (caster level 12th). It can end or resume this effect as a free action on its turn.
Netherhounds are powerful canines native to the Gray Waste of Hades.
Netherhounds are canny opponents. They often trail their target for days, gauging its resources and strengths before deciding to strike. Netherhounds are the most social of the netherfiends and often hunt in packs, though solitary netherhounds are not unheard of. Often the garul (the pack leader), will appoint several principle scouts, which then fan out and try to flank and encircle the target. The remainder of the pack then begins the chase, attempting to drive the prey into the hungry maws of the scouts.
Netherhounds use their spell-like abilities to their fullest effect. They often cloak the battlefield with deeper darkness to confuse and bewilder their foes while using greater dispel magic to weaken them. They use wall of ice to limit mobility while moving about either with dimension door or air walk. They reserve their cone of cold for enemies clumped together or against foes that seem especially strong.
Netherhounds aren’t above fleeing combat to rethink a plan or to regroup, though it never gives up. Once a netherhound has marked a target, it continues attacking until either it or its target is dead.
Netherhounds have very little society to speak of. They roam the Gray Wastes in service to netherfiends and netherhaunts. Sometimes a particularly cruel night hag will tame a netherhound or two.
Although extremely rare, there have been cases of packs of netherhounds encountered in the Wastes without a netherfiend or netherhaunt master. In these cases, rule of the pack is usually divided amongst a trio of alpha males, referred to as a cabal by discerning planar scholars.
Alignment: As creatures native to the Gray Wastes, they are always neutral evil.
Planar scholars have yet to come to a conclusion as to where netherhounds originate. Some possit that they were created by the yugoloths in ages past to hunt down particularly troublesome prey and that they have since broken free.
Others speculate that they are members of a genus of Lower Planar creatures tentatively known as netherfiends. They exhibit some of the same qualities possessed by other creatures within this group, although there is little to back up this claim other than netherhounds can frequently be found in service to both netherfiends and netherhaunts.
