Dracowolf

The Fangwood Jungle is filled with fearsome and deadly creatures, but none is as dangerous as the creature commonly called the Dracowolf. Believed by many to be a magical cross between wolf and dragon (which they are not), these medium-sized, pack-hunting carnivores are remarkably intelligent and cunning, remarkably swift and agile, and have voracious appetites for anything.

Physical Description

The dracowolf is a bipedal reptilian creature. Its lower limbs are powerful, allowing the creature to run swiftly and jump remarkable heights and distances. While running, the creature leans forward, balanced by a tail which is responsible for half of the creature's length. The forelimbs are short, but powerful, and end in sharp curved talons capable of shredding flesh, but also allowing the creature to grip tighly to prey when bringing it down.

The head is small, with forward facing eyes and a snout filled with razor-sharp teeth. The entire body is covered with scales, colored to provide excellent camouflage in the thick jungles where they hunt.

Behavior

Dracowolves live and hunt in packs of between 8 and 20 individuals. The effectiveness with which they employ "control" and ambush tactics suggest that the twittering vocalizations they produce may in fact be a primitive language allowing them to communicate audibly with one another during hunts. Pack organization seems to be involve a matriarchal hierarchy

Dracowolf

Alternative Name
Lizard-wolf
Length
5-7ft(1.5-2m)
Height
3-4ft(1-1.25m)
Weight
30-45lb (14-20kg)
Diet
Carnivore
Reproduction
Egg-laying

Once a target is selected, a dracowolf pack will rarely give up on the hunt before bringing down their intended prey. Their relentlessness - and their apparent willingness to sacrifice one or two of their number if the pack is sufficiently large - are reasons they are considered such fearsome predators.

Variants

There have been rumors of sightings of much larger creatures that nonetheless resemble the dracowolf quite closely. These creatures, commonly referred to as Dire Dracowolves, grow to heights of 7ft (2m) or more. They exhibit the same pack hunting tactics.

Credits

Page Banner Orc Warrior Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay
Page Banner Sailing Ship Image by GLady from Pixabay
Side panel images by Dorothe from Pixabay



Comments

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Aug 9, 2023 11:52 by E. Christopher Clark

These are awesome and fearsome and great. I particularly loved the bit about their relentlessness.

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Aug 10, 2023 12:43 by Bob O'Brien

In case it wasn't obvious, these are essentially the velociraptors of Jurassic Park fame. Intelligent.. communal... perhaps not quite so willing to resort to cannibalism, but velociraptors nonetheless!   Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. It's greatly appreciated as always!

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