Astral Projections presents A Literary Halloween! For October, I am providing stats inspired by tales from some of my favorite fantasy authors.
Today’s creature feature is a working dog. Mage-hounds are a unique type of hunting/tracking dog. Instead of scents, they pick up the magical traces of their quarry — items, magic users, untrained magical talents, or species that are innately magical.
Mage-hounds are employed in several ways by their masters, and many of them are also trained as attack dogs, especially larger specimens. The most obvious purpose is to track down magical fugitives. Renegade, criminal, or heretical mages or other innately magical enemies are hunted by anti-magic religions, orthodox wizard organizations, or other enemies who can afford mage-hounds and handlers. When used to guard a camp or building against magical intruders, they are often paired up: a small, noisy “alarm” dog and their vicious attack dog “buddy.”
Mage-hounds can perform more benign tasks, however. Some magical schools, guilds, etc. use mage-hounds to to help find candidates with magical aptitude. (Which doesn’t preclude them being trained as guards or trackers as well.) In general, the more excited the hounds, the stronger the magical potential. Retired mage-hounds can very rarely be found as pet or guard dogs in households of wizards, where they act mostly like ordinary dogs, although they will still react to the presence of magic items or people.
Design & Play Notes: I have come across variants of these canines, under different names in works by several authors, such as Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels and Grace Draven’s Master of Crows and Wraith Kings series. I’ve included stats for a toy dog-sized Mage-Hound, whose only duty is to bark loudly to summon guards and/or their large Tracker packmate/s when they notice an unauthorized mage or magical creature in the area.
Mage-hounds may be found in societies that use magic and those that ban (or severely restrict) its practice. They may be used several ways in your campaign. If the party has earned the ire of the locals, mage-hounds and handlers might be among the pursuers. Mage-hounds might add some spice to an ambush–and distraction for the party’s wizard or sorceror. Perhaps there’s a feral pack hanging around an abandoned wizard’s tower. Or, if you’re in a really good mood, maybe a stray decides to adopt a magic-user PC. A patron who is really eager to re-gain their stolen magical item might offer the use of a couple mage-hounds and a handler to help the PCs locate the MacGuffin.
Pro-tip: Mage-hounds can be confused if there are other magical traces in the area. So maybe hide out in some temple ruins, or make a fake trail with one of your cheapest potions or spell components.
Mage-hounds vary greatly in appearance in the different sources, from looking and acting more or less like ordinary hunting dogs to creepy, distorted vaguely dog-like things that snarl, bay, and attack savagely. The latter are ideal for a Halloween one-shot, but use the same stats as the Mage-Hound Tracker.
Mage-Hound Tracker
Large Beast, Unaligned
Armor Class: 13 (Natural armor)
Hit Points 37 (5d10 + 10)
Speed: 50′ feet
Strength 17 (+3)
Dexterity 15 (+2)
Constitution 15 (+2)
Intelligence 3 (-4)
Wisdom 14 (+3)
Charisma 7 (-2)
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +4
Passive Perception +14
Languages: Common (or handler’s tongue), Understand Only
Challenge: 1 (200 XP)
Magic Tracker: The mage-hound may make Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect and track mages and innately magical items and creatures; it has Advantage on these checks. The mage-hound also has advantage on other Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics. The mage-hound has 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: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Mage-Hound “Alarm Pup”
Tiny Beast, Unaligned
Armor Class: 12 (Natural armor)
Hit Points 3 (1d4)
Speed: 40′ feet
Strength 3 (-4)
Dexterity 15 (+2)
Constitution 10 (+0)
Intelligence 3 (-4)
Wisdom 14 (+3)
Charisma 7 (-2)
Skills: Perception +4, Stealth +4
Passive Perception +14
Languages: Common (or handler’s tongue), Understand Only
Challenge: 0 (10 XP)
Magic Tracker: The mage-hound may make Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect and track mages and innately magical items and creatures; it has Advantage on these checks. The mage-hound also has advantage on other Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
ACTIONS
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.
Linda Whitson
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