Retch Hound

This large, muscular dog has sickly brownish-yellow fur, matted or torn in places. Small sores cover its body, each oozing a thick, yellowishgreen liquid. Its mouth is filled with long pointed yellow teeth, some broken off on the ends. Most disturbingly, it has four large yellow eyes evenly aligned across its canine head.

Retch Hound (CR 3)

Medium Magical Beast
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +2
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Scent; Perception +12
Aura: stench (DC 13, 10 rounds)

Speed: 40 feet
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 Dex, +5 natural)
Hit Points: 22 (3d10+6)
Saving Throws: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2

Offense

Melee: bite +5 (1d6+2 plus Trip)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: Breath Weapon (10-ft. cone, 2d6 acid damage plus nauseated 1d3 rounds, Reflex DC13 for half and not nauseated, usable ever 8+1d4 rounds)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
14 (+2)	15 (+2)	15 (+2)	5 (-3)	12 (+1)	4 (-3)

Base Attack Bonus: +3
CMB +5
CMD 17 (+21 vs. Trip)

Feats: Skill Focus (Perception)

Skills: Perception +12, Survival +6 (+10 scent tracking)

• Racial Modifiers: +4 Perception, +4 Survival when tracking by scent

Languages:

Special Abilities

NONE

Ecology

Environment: Temperate Forests or Marshes
Organization: solitary, pair, or pack (3-6)
Treasure: none


Retch hounds are large, yellowish, sickly-looking hounds, about the size of war dogs. They are highly aggressive and powerfully built carnivores that love the taste of human flesh and bones. Their appearance lends to the façade of a sickly dog, which sometimes works to the retch hound's advantage when hunting its prey.

Retch hounds are often found in the service of powerful fighters and warriors, who use the dogs to guard prisoners, lead hunting expeditions, and perform other such services. A retch hound is only as loyal to its master as it has to be to insure its own survival. While the dog won't necessarily seek escape at the earliest possible time, it often turns on its master at some point. Retch hounds raised in captivity are often more loyal to their masters than those captured in the wild.

A typical retch hound stands 4 to 4 1/2 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs about 150 pounds. Retch hounds hunt their prey in packs. Using an eerie howl, they seem to coordinate and communicate with one another during these hunts. A favored tactic of a retch hound pack is to encircle a foe and then hit it from all sides at once. Usually the largest hound in the pack is the leader.

When slain, a retch hound melts into a pile of stinking and bubbling slime.

Copyright Notice Author Scott Greene.