Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="BOZ" data-source="post: 439401" data-attributes="member: 1241">DREAD WOLFDREAD WOLFSmall UndeadHit Dice: 4d12 (26 hp)Initiative: +2 (Dex)Speed: 50 ftAC: 14 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +1 natural)Attacks: Bite +4 meleeDamage: Bite 1d10+1 and diseaseFace/Reach: 5 ft by 5 ft/5 ftSpecial Attacks: Disease, tripSpecial Qualities: Undead, regeneration 3, electricity resistance 10, immunities, link, scentSaves: Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +5Abilities: Str 13, Dex 15, Con ---, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 7Skills: Climb +5, Hide +7, Jump +5, Listen +9, Move Silently +7, Search +4, Spot +7, Wilderness Lore +5 *Feats: Alertness, Weapon Finesse (bite)Climate/Terrain: Any land and undergroundOrganization: Pack (3-12)Challenge Rating: 5Treasure: NoneAlignment: Always neutral evilAdvancement: 5-8 HD (Small); 9-12 HD (Medium-Size)Dread wolves are awful undead wolves, originally created by an evil renegade wizard.  Word of their creation spread quickly and they are now in wide use among powerful evil wizards.   These magically created undead begin to decay soon after they are created.  Their fur falls out in clumps and their bodies have such an awful stink that they can be smelled 120 feet downwind.  Dread wolves are usually 2 – 4 feet in length.COMBATDread wolves bite and tear with fangs like living wolves, with normal pack tactics.  If they are within the special link of their wizard, the pack will fight under his direction.   Disease (Ex): Dead wolves carry a nasty rotting disease that infects bitten opponents.  If the victim fails a Fortitude save (DC 13) he will lose 1 hit point one hour after the bite, and every hour thereafter until he dies.  If treated by someone with the Heal or Profession (herbalist) skill, the victim gains a +2 to the saving throw.  This disease can be cured by cure disease or more powerful spells.   Trip (Ex): A dread wolf that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip the opponent as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack or opportunity.  If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot react to trip the dread wolf.   Undead: Immune to mind-influencing effects (except as below), poison, sleep, paralysis, and disease.  Not subject to critical hits, subdual damage, ability damage, energy drain, or death from massive damage.   Regeneration (Su): Acid and fire deal normal damage to a dread wolf, and total dismemberment will also defeat its regeneration.  Total dismemberment occurs when the dread wolf reaches –25 or fewer hit points.  This creature can continue to fight until it reaches –10 hit points, at which point it will goes down until it regenerates back up to 0 hit points.   Immunities (Ex): Dread wolves are immune to cold and hold spells.   Link (Su): A pack of dread wolves and their creator share a supernatural link that extends up to 50 miles away from the wizard.  The dread wolves can travel within this range and still be in communication with their creator.  Within this distance, they are directly under control of the wizard, who can see and hear everything they experience.   If the wolves venture outside of the range of this link, they lose contact with their creator and immediately seek to regain contact with him.  They can be ordered to travel beyond this range, and can be given a short set of commands (30 words at most), which they will travel any distance and make every effort to fulfill.  Though they normally keep no treasure, their master may order them to hold anything they can carry in their mouths.   A wizard may not attempt to create a second pack of dread wolves while he still has the first, and may not transfer control of his wolves to anyone else.  Attempting either of these actions causes the magic animating them to cease, and the bodies of the wolves to be permanently destroyed.   Skills: * Dread wolves receive a +4 racial bonus to Wilderness Lore checks when tracking by scent.CREATING A DREAD WOLFDread wolves can only be created by wizards of 9th-level or greater.  They are created as a whole pack all at once, and there must be between 3 and 12 fresh wolf carcasses present at the creation.  The spellcaster speaks an incantation over the wolves that combines specially modified versions of animate dead and dismissal, and requires the wizard to summon an undead shadow.  When the shadow appears, the magic of the incantation breaks the shadow up into equal parts which are then infused into the wolves, reanimating them as dread wolves.   If the hour-long ritual is interruption, the raw energy of the split-apart shadow are unleashed, dealing 3d10 points of negative energy damage to the caster.  If the ritual is undisturbed, the wizard will have a dread wolf pack as servants, with the special link as described above.   For some unknown reason, this ritual will not work on any other canines or animals, except for wolves of any type.  A wizard who attempts this spell on dogs or any other species of canine suffers damage as if the spell were interrupted, as above.The dread wolf first appeared in DRAGON Magazine #174 (“Cry Wolf!”, Tim Malto).  It later appeared in Monstrous Compendium Annual One (1994).</blockquote>

Verification