Lich Hound

Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 85 (10d8 + 40)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
10 (+0) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 6 (–2) 10 (+0) 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Wis +2, Cha +5
Skills Acrobatics +6, Perception +4
Damage Resistances piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages understands Common and Darakhul but can’t speak
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Blood Sense. The lich hound can pinpoint the location of creatures that aren’t Constructs or Undead within 60 feet of it and can sense the general direction of such creatures within 1 mile of it.
  • Keen Hearing and Smell. The lich hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
  • Undead Nature. The lich hound doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The lich hound can use its Eerie Howl. It then makes two Bite attacks. If both attacks hit one creature, the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) slashing damage and be incapacitated until the end of its next turn.
  • Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be forced prone.
  • Eerie Howl. The lich hound releases an eerie howl that fades in and out and echoes strangely. Each creature within 30 feet of the lich hound must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the lich hound’s Eerie Howl for the next 24 hours.

BONUS ACTIONS

  • Ethereal Jaunt. The lich hound magically shifts from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane, or vice versa.

ABOUT

Half bone, half purple fire, this deathly hound releases an eerie howl that echoes with the voices of the damned.

Fiery Bones. Bright white skulls with a heavy jaw and thick, robust skeletal bodies define the ferocious lich hounds. Their eyes burn green or blue, and their tongues resemble black fire. Fueled by necromantic power, these creatures are loyal servants of undead high priests or liches.

Echoing Howls. Even on their own, lich hounds are relentless hunters, pursuing their prey with powerful senses and a keen ability to find the living wherever the creatures may hide. Lich hound howls fade into and out of normal hearing, with strangely shifted pitch and echoes.

Murdered Celestials. The dark process of creating a lich hound involves a perverse ritual of first summoning a celestial canine and binding it to the Material Plane. The hound’s future master then murders the trapped beast. Only then can the creature be animated in all its unholy glory. Houndlike celestials have long been outraged by the creation of lich hounds, and every few centuries, they band together to rid the world of those practicing this particular dark magic. Inevitably some knowledge survives this purge, leaving lich hounds a constant, painful reality for the celestials.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Beasts 1 ©2023 Open Design LLC; Authors: Daniel Kahn, Jeff Lee, and Mike Welham.

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