Hellhound
RARITY: ★★☆☆☆ | THREAT LEVEL: ★★★☆☆ SIZE: Slightly larger than wolves.
HABITAT:
Often seen in cemeteries and places of death feeding on remains, but can be found in the woods, around town, and Gatlin’s farms and fields. There is a highland population in Seven Peaks.
OVERVIEW:
These adaptable demonic beasts resemble some kind of unholy cross between a hyena and small horse. Most have short, spotted or striped coats and hooves that make a rattling noise with each step they take. Hellhounds are common in areas of high supernatural activity, and can originate both from other hellhounds, or from humans exposed to demonic magic.
They’re pack creatures and often hunt in groups of 6 to 10 individuals; even if you don’t see more than one, you can bet the rest of the group is nearby. Working as a pack, they are strongly motivated to eat whatever crosses their path. When their population becomes especially large, it’s a sign that a supernatural threat is looming.
The mouth of a hellhound is full of strong, serrated teeth for tearing apart prey and crushing skulls, and their bellies are transparent, allowing those who get too close to see what (or who) the hellhound last ate. And they will eat anything, dead or alive. Once their stomach is full, they convert the food into a yellow gas that they can ignite at will, allowing them to breathe fire. This gas smells strongly of sulfur, and permeates the air around them, which earned hellhounds their name (they are not actually from “Hell”). They make a distinct “laughing” or “cackling” sound as they eat. Because hellhounds are so motivated by food, some more intelligent species might employ them as “grunts,” taking advantage of their sturdy and aggressive nature. They have no loyalty and will follow the food, but will not harm demons.
SHAPESHIFTERS:
While most hellhound populations seem self-sustaining, new hellhounds can also be created from humans when demonic energy and magic twists someone around in just the right way. More powerful demons may enjoy and make use of this. Typically, if someone has been made into a hellhound, contact with more natural, pure forms of magic may turn them back into a human. This usually comes with great relief and confusion for the person, but they’re liable to shift back again if they end up being around demonic magic once more, and so on, making them a sort of shapeshifter. The hellhound beast is wild and dangerous, but the human shows no signs of anything unusual about them at all and may only perceive “lost time”. Hunters who are aware that hellhounds may have once been human may take extra precaution, but it is difficult to decide how to handle hellhounds who become human again, due to the risk of reversion.
ABILITIES:
Hellhounds are resilient and fast, with muscular bodies that give them impressive physical strength.
They can breathe fire after they’ve eaten, but only until their stores of gas have been reduced (this can be seen in their transparent belly); they have an immunity to fire as well.
Their sulfuric stench can be so overpowering that it can immobilize those nearby with a strong sense of smell.
Hellhounds are ferocious predators and known for their incredible jaw strength, often leaving behind nothing more than bone fragments from their feeding.
Do not have claws, but their hooves are strong.
Because they’re often found in groups, it’s not usually possible for a single individual to take them all out unless they’re spread apart.
WEAKNESSES:
It’s often rangers and slayers who end up running into and handling hellhounds, but exorcists and spellcasters may know a handful of rituals and wards that can weaken them or keep them out of areas. With their help, hunters might have some solutions pre-prepped.
Hellhounds can be defeated by decapitation, or several strong blows to their bodies.
Between their rattling hooves, cackling while dining, and sulfuric stench, hellhounds are not subtle and more than often you can hear or smell them coming.
Not especially intelligent, due to how instinct-driven they are.
Hellhounds do not like water. While it won’t harm them, they rarely cross bodies of water and panic if submerged or doused.
Once-human hellhounds who have regained their human form often don’t understand what happened, especially when not familiar with the supernatural. They are completely human until exposed to demonic magic again, making them vulnerable to hunters who might take them out rather than risking reversion.
VARIANTS
CAVESTALKER:
Cavestalkers are solitary hellhounds that come from a population that got lost in Wicked’s Rest’s cave and mine system many years ago, and have adapted and evolved at an unusually fast rate to take advantage of the darkness. They have only tiny vestigial eyes, and they’re smaller in size than other hellhounds, allowing them to squeeze through narrower pathways. On rattling hooves, they follow anyone who is wandering through the underground tunnels, waiting for them to simply perish from dehydration or exposure. They don’t generally attack and will wait many days for their food to be ready. Cavestalkers can’t survive outside of a cave environment, and bright lights cause them pain. They do not breathe fire, but noxious sulfuric gas pours from their mouths.
HILLHOUND:
This crystalline-coated hellhound variant is found at higher altitudes, including Wicked’s Rest’s Seven Peaks. They have icy breath instead of fire, and only eat the living or dead once they’ve been frozen solid, like a popsicle. Hillhounds tend to be transient, not establishing a territory or regular hunting ground, as they’re used to tracking prey long distances. They are larger than their lowland cousins and are inactive on hot days.
