Monster Preview: Bone Hound

Bone Hound
Small Construct

Hit Dice: 2d10 (hp 10)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+2 size, +1 Dex, +5 natural)
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–3
Attack: Claw +1 melee (1d3)
Full Attack: 2 claws +1 melee (1d3), tail slap –4 melee (1d3)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Death howl
Special Qualities: Absolute loyalty, construct traits, damage reduction 10/good, magic immunity
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Skills: —
Feats: —
Environment: Any land and underground
Organization: Solitary or gang (2–4)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 3–4 HD (Small); 5–7 HD (Medium)

Some wizards create bone hounds to act as familiars, imbuing them with magical intelligence. Bone hounds created for this purpose have an intelligence score the same as any other familiar for the level of the wizard, as well as all other abilities and qualities a familiar has, such as granting the Alertness feat. The only exception is that bone hounds cannot gain the ability to speak. Only a wizard of 11th level or higher can create a bone hound for use as a familiar.

Bone hounds cannot speak, but understand every language their creator knew at the time of their creation.

Construction
The majority of materials for a bone hound must come from a dog, fox, coyote or wolf dead no more than a year. Up to three different animals can be combined to create the body, but at least half the bones used must be from an animal the creator cared for. In addition, the creator must contribute the bones of a finger or toe and work them into the bone hound’s body (usually in the tail).

The bone hound costs 10,000 gp to create, which includes 250 gp for construction of the body. Assembling the body requires a Craft (sculpting) or Heal check (DC 14).

The creator must be at least 9th level, and be able to cast arcane spells. In addition to the small bone required, creating a bone hound drains 1,500 XP from the creator and requires bull’s strength, faithful hound, shout, and polymorph other.

A bone hound meant to act as a familiar requires an additional 8,000 gp and 500 XP to create, as well as charm monster and summon monster V. In order to create a bone hound familiar, the creator must be at least 11th level.

Combat
A bone hound only enters combat to defend itself or protect its creator or its creator’s body. Bone hounds close as quickly as possible with the greatest number of potential opponents to use their death howls. They try to avoid using more than two of their death howls in any given combat situation.

Absolute Loyalty (Su): Because its creator must give a little of himself to create a bone hound, the bone hound will never serve any other master. The bone hound senses its master’s death, and will immediately move toward its master’s body if they are on the same plane. If it can get to its master’s body, the bone hound will remain as close as it can to the body and guard it tirelessly until the bone hound is destroyed. If the remains are scattered by some sort of climate change, the bone hound will guard the skull or largest remaining bone.

If a bone hound’s creator is somehow utterly destroyed (such as from a disintegrate spell or the action of thousands of years of natural decay) the bone hound lets out one final death howl and crumbles to dust.

Death Howl (Su): Three times per day, as a full-round action, a bone hound can unleash a piercingly loud and painful howl. Every living creature within 60 ft. must succeed at a DC 14 Fort save or be shaken for 2d4 minutes. The bone hound’s creator is immune to this effect.

Magic Immunity (Ex): Bone hounds are immune to all spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural effects that allow spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differenty against a bone hound. Fire- and cold-based effects stun a bone hound for 1d4 rounds. Animate dead deals 1d6 points of damage per caster level of the caster (maximum 5d6) to the bone hound. Speak with dead or speak with animals causes confusion for 1d6 rounds.