A low, deep growl rumbles in the darkness where two colorless and pitiless eyes blink above the canine’s foaming maw.
Legend has it that a merciless thief made a network of caverns his base of operations. His only companions in his ruthless attacks from this network were abused hounds trained to do his dirty work.
When the hounds refused to carry out orders to destroy a helpless family, the thief trapped them in the deepest cavern to die, alone and abandoned by their only master. There, their cries and howls went unheard, and one by one, they perished— but not before their grief turned to rage. Bound to the places where they were left to die, the ghosts of the maddened hounds lurk, stronger and more vicious than any living canine, looking for vengeance.
Multiplying Menace. When struck while near death, the relentless hound splits, creating a duplicate of itself. In this way, packs of relentless hounds can quickly double or triple in size just when an opponent seems to have gotten the upper hand.
Hounds at Heart. Despite the misery they endured, relentless hounds are still hounds hurting over their mistreatment. Stories abound of relentless hounds that have been redeemed and put to rest by a kind traveler offering food; other stories tell of relentless hounds refusing to attack travelers who treat their canines well.
Relentless Hound
Medium Undead, Chaotic NeutralArmor Class 12
Hit Points 52 (8d8 + 16)
Speed 40 ft., fly 20 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 15 (+2) | 4 (-3) | 11 (+0) | 6 (-2) |
Saving Throws Wis +2
Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4
Damage Resistances acid, fire, lightning, thunder; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold, necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 14
Languages —
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Good Dog. If a Humanoid that hasn’t harmed the relentless hound in the last 24 hours takes an action to offer the hound a morsel of food or speak kind words to it, the hound must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed by that Humanoid for 1 hour or until the Humanoid or its companions do anything harmful to the hound. In addition, the relentless hound has disadvantage on saving throws against the command spell.
Incorporeal Movement. The relentless hound can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.
Pack Tactics. The relentless hound has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the hound’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Undead Nature. The relentless hound doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Actions
Multiattack. The relentless hound makes two Spectral Bite attacks. If both attacks hit the same target, the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) necrotic damage and its hp maximum is reduced by that amount. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hp maximum to 0.
Spectral Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) necrotic damage.
Reactions
Multiply (3/Day). When the relentless hound takes damage while below half its hp maximum, it creates a spectral hound. The spectral hound uses the statistics of a shadow, except it doesn’t have the Sunlight Weakness trait and it can’t make new shadows when it kills Humanoids. It appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the relentless hound and acts on the same initiative as that hound. After the spectral hound finishes a long rest, it becomes a relentless hound.