Retch Hound

Medium monstrosity, neutral evil

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (7d8 + 14)
Speed 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	15 (+2)	15 (+2)	5 (-3)	12 (+1)	4 (-3)

Skills Perception +5
Damage Immunities acid, poison
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages –
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

Special Traits

• Keen Senses. The retch hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing, sight, or smell.
• Pack Tactics. Retch hounds have advantage on an attack roll 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.

Actions

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage.
• Retch (Recharge 5-6). The retch hound exhales acidic bile in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.

About

This large, muscular dog has sickly brownish-yellow fur, matted or torn in places. Small sores cover its body, each oozing a thick, yellowish-green liquid. Its mouth is filled with long, pointed yellow teeth, some broken off on the ends. Most disturbingly, it has four large yellow eyes evenly aligned across its canine head.

Retch hounds are large, yellowish, sickly looking hounds, about the size of war dogs. They are highly aggressive and powerfully built carnivores that love the taste of human flesh and bones. Their appearance lends to the façade of a sickly dog, which sometimes works to the retch hound’s advantage when hunting its prey.

Retch hounds are often found in the service of powerful fighters and warriors, who use the dogs to guard prisoners, lead hunting expeditions, and perform other such services. A retch hound is only as loyal to its master as it has to be to ensure its own survival. While the dog won’t necessarily seek escape at the earliest possible time, it often turns on its master at some point. Retch hounds raised in captivity are often more loyal to their masters than those captured in the wild. A typical retch hound stands 4 to 4½ feet tall at the shoulder and weighs about 150 pounds.

Retch hounds hunt their prey in packs. Using an eerie howl, they seem to coordinate and communicate with one another during these hunts.

A favored tactic of a retch hound pack is to encircle a foe and then hit it from all sides at once. Usually, the largest hound in the pack is the leader.

When slain, a retch hound melts into a pile of stinking and bubbling slime.