Thursday, September 3, 2020

Non-Dark Sun Creatures in Dark Sun - Dog

There are many creatures from the various monstrous manuals that have been officially added to Dark Sun. I added some unofficially for my game and I'm sure a lot of other DMs do the same.
There is no inherent problem with this, although the flavor text often doesn't fit with the Dark Sun setting. My goal is to list the various monsters that "don't fit" and rewrite their flavor text to make them fit.
I often add a new Athasian variant as well.



Dog


Dog War Dog Psionic Dog Death Dog
Climate/Terrain Any Any Scrub Plains Rocky Badlands,
Stony Barrens
Frequency Common Uncommon Very Rare Very Rare
Organization Pack Solitary Pack Pack
Activity Cycle Any Any Any Night
Diet Omnivore Omnivore Omnivore Carnivore
Intelligence Semi- (2-4) Semi- (2-4) Average (8-10) Semi- (2-4)
Treasure Nil Nil (C) Nil
Alignment Neutral Neutral Any Lawful Neutral Evil
No. Appearing 4-16 Variable 4-16 5-50
Armor Class 7 6 5 7
Movement 15 12 12 12
Hit Dice 1+1 2+2 4 2+1
THAC0 19 19 17 19
No. of Attacks 1     1 1 2
Damage/Attack 1-4 2-8 1-6 1-10/1-10
Special Attacks Nil Nil Psionics Disease
Special Defenses Nil Nil Psionics Nil
Magic Resistance Nil Nil Nil Nil
Size S (3' long) M (4' - 6' long) M (4' long) M (6' long)
Morale Unsteady (5-7) Average (8-10) Steady (11-12) Steady (11-12)
XP Value 35 65
120


Dogs are four-legged mammals that are often domesticated. Many dogs have coats of very short fur and some dogs have coats inlaid with quills.

Combat
Wild dogs fight as an organized pack. They favor small game, and attack men and human habitations only in times of great hunger. The bite of a wild dog inflicts 1-4 points of damage.
Dogs with quills inflict 1 point of damage on creatures attacking it with natural weapons.

Habitat/ Society
Wild dogs are found almost anywhere. They run in packs, and are led by the dominant male. The pack usually hunts a variety of game, even attacking erdlu or erdland. Pups are born in sun ascending. Wild dogs can be tamed if separated from their pack.

Ecology
Wild dogs are omnivores which usually thrive on a combination of hunting and foraging.

War Dog
Generally bred to be very large, they have keen senses of smell and hearing, making them adept at detecting intruders. Most war dogs are vicious, and will attack without cause. The status of war dogs varies greatly; some are watch dogs, others are hunting dogs, and some are trained for battle.

Psionic Dog
Psionic dogs are yellowish brown canines which are stockier and more muscular than other wild dogs. They are intelligent and employ psionics when they hunt. Psionic dogs communicate in a complex language of barks, yaps, whines, and growls. They inhabit open plains and avoid human haunts. A lair will contain 3-12 (3d4) pups 50% of the time (1-2 hit dice, 1-2/1-3 hit points damage/attack). Psionic dogs will wither and die if forced into captivity.
Psionic dogs have their own language, but may speak Elven (25%), or the local dialect (25%). Psionic dog packs have fully formed societies that may, or may not, resemble humanoid societies.
Psionic Summary
Level: 8
Dis/Sci/Dev: 3/4/13
Attack/Defense: EW, II / M-, TS, MB, IF
Score: 16
PSPs: 160
Clairsentient: Clairvoyance, All-Round Vision, Combat Mind, Danger Sense, See Sound
Psychoportation: Teleport, Teleport Other, Blink, Dimensional Door, Dimensional Screen, Teleport Lock, Time Shift
Telepathy: Mindlink, Contact, Ego Whip, ESP, Id Insinuation

Death Dog
Death dogs are large two-headed hounds which are distinguished by their penetrating double bark. They always have quills in their coats. Death dogs hunt in large packs. Death dogs cannot be domesticated.
Each head is independent, and a bite does 1-10 points of damage. Victims must save vs. poison or contract a rotting disease which will kill them in 4-24 (4d6) days. Victims must be bed ridden and have a healer tend to them every day, each successful use of the healing proficiency halts the rotting diseases progress in killing the victim. If a victim moves from their bed for longer than ten minutes in a day, or takes part in any strenuous activity (including fighting and spellcasting), the healing proficiency check is considered an automatic fail for that day. Fifteen successful healing proficiency checks are required to remove the disease from a victim, these checks need not be consecutive. A cure disease spell removes the disease completely.
A natural roll of 19 or 20 on their attack die means that a man-sized opponent is knocked prone and attacks at a -4 until able to rise to its feet again. There is an 85% chance that death dogs will attack humanoids on sight.

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