The Orc Mastiff is a large, powerful type of fighting dog specially bred for hunting and killing orcs. They are large and muscular, often weighing over 200 lbs, and are covered with thick, coarse black hair.
These dogs are prized for their ability to both detect and fight orcs. They have an excellent sense of smell and are usually raised from puppyhood to recognise the scent of orcs and distinguish it from other humanoid beings. This allows them to detect orcs at a range of 120', and also means that they can track the creatures if their trail is less than a week old (70% chance if the trail is a day old or less, 60% for two days or less, and so on.) Their thick black fur insulates their body heat against infravision during the night or when they are underground; all infravision is ineffective against them, allowing them to operate in near-invisibility when in an orcish lair. Finally, they are highly intelligent and assertive, and can be trained to fight against armoured humanoid opponents; a favourite tactic is to grab an ankle and pull an enemy to the ground before attacking it at the neck.
Naturally, Orc Mastiffs are extremely expensive. A single one will cost 75 gold pieces or more, so that a pack of a dozen or so of these dogs may cost 1,000 gold pieces; and typically they will also be given special padded armour by their owners, which costs a considerable additional sum (25 gold pieces per dog). But noblemen in remote and uncivilised areas which orcs frequent will often have ancestral packs, bred by their families down the generations. These packs are rarely used in open battle but instead as guards or terror weapons for rooting out and killing orc females and children, or hunting and slaying males routed in a fight.
Orc Mastiff
Armour Class: 6 (4 with padded armour)
Hit Dice: 3+3*
Move: 180' (60')
Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 2d4
No. App: Never appear in the wild
Save As: F3
Morale: 12
Treasure Type: U
Intelligence: 4
Alignment: Neutral
XP: 75
These packs are rarely used in open battle but instead as guards or terror weapons for rooting out and killing orc females and children, or hunting and slaying males routed in a fight.
ReplyDeleteHardcore. Love it.
sirlarkins: I've recently been planning a BECMI campaign, and one region of the setting is in the middle of a war of extermination between various orc clans and a group of human nobles. It makes sense to me in a sick way that such wars would be pretty no-holds-barred.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing more about that campaign. And this is a great follow-up to the previous post. Do you have other canines hidden up your sleeve?
ReplyDeletea single 3 hd monster for 75 gp still seems cheap.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zac on the cost, especially when you add in it's other abilities... unless you use a silver standard in your game.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I think it's pretty awesome! Are there more to come?
trollsmyth: Oh yes, there are more on the way...
ReplyDeleteZak and David: It does seem cheap, but dogs are quite cheap... A guard dog in 2nd edition, which is the PHB I have closest to hand, is only 25gp, and I've always played that as a 2 HD monster (same as a wolf).