Hell Hounds !

The Hell Hound is a scourge from beyond that serve fire giants and stalk the underworlds of Hell seeking to satiate the hunger that eternally torments them or following the bidding of dark masters dragging hapless souls to their doom.

First let's have an outline of statistics over the years/versions of the game to see just what a Hell hound has meant statistically.

1st Basic Set:
Move: 120 feet/round, HD: 3-7, AC: 4
Alignment: Lawful Evil, Attacks: Bite, Damage: 1-6
Special: Breath Fire,5’ ranged attack for 1d6 per HD.

Expert Set:
#:3-7 AC:4 HD: 3-7, Attacks: Bite 1-6 or breath fire
AL: Chaotic, Morale:9, Move:120(40)
Special: fire breath vs one foe for 1d6 per HD, save for half.
75%  chance to detect invisible person or object within 60’

OD&D Greyhawk supplement:
#:2-8, AC:4,MV:12, HD: 3-7
Special: Breathe fire 1d6 per HD. Great stealth, detect hidden and invisible 75%. Fairly Intelligent.

AD&D:
#:2-8, AC:4, Mv:12”, HD 4-7,attacks:1 dmg: 1d10
Alignment: Lawful Evil Int: Low
Special: Breath fire for 1 hp per HD, save for half.
Stealthy surprising opponents 4in6, only surprised 1in6. Detect hidden or invisible 50%


Swords & Wizardy Core Rules
HD: 4-7, AC:4[15], Attack: bite 1d6 Mv:12 Al; Chaos
Special: Firebreath 2hper HD, 10’ range save for half.

Basic Fantasy RPG
#:2-8, AC: 14 to 18, HD: 3 to 7, Attacks: bite 1d6 or breath 1d6/HD
Mov:40’, Morale: 9
Special: breaths fire 1/3rd of attacks, save for 1/2 damage.


Labyrinth Lord
#:2-8, HD: 3-7, Mv:120’, Ar: bite 1d6 or breath 1d6/HD.
Special: breath fire 30% of attacks, save for 1/2 damage.
Detect Invisibility 60’ with 75% success.

Hell hounds over the years in classical games have shifted about a bit in their capabilities. In the 1st Holmes edit of Basic D&D they are an unholy horror if no save is allowed (which is implied by the hell hound needing a hit roll damage a foe). The damage ratings given to the fire breath are curiously low in AD&D.
Their Hit Dice is variable starting at 3 or 4 depending on the version of the game.  The Hell Hound’s detection powers and keen sense vary from version to version as do their associated intellect. BFRPG gives them variable AC tied to HD which is a nice touch that beefs up the toughness with HD. While faster than you’ll find encumbered dungeon adventurers they can be outrun by a horse in many versions of the game.

Hell hounds are often but not consistently noted as being from beyond the prime material plane, with Hell being an awfully obvious point of origin. Fire giants seem to find them to be useful companion beasts but this association raises some questions into the true nature of fire giants themselves (are they agents of hell or is hell working to corrupt them). While it may be possible to encounter small packs of Hell Hound wandering in search of victims the possibility far more dangerous masters are not to far away increases the risk of tangling with these evil hounds.

I’ve always enjoyed the Hell Hound as dungeon beastie and possible denizen of the nether realms. The variable nature as expressed by Hit Dice just encourages me to increase the randomness.

I recommend rolling 1d6 per column for an entire pack (or for all the Hell Hounds on a dungeon level/ plane). The Extra column and appearance based bonus need not always be rolled and would raise the effective challenge and level of a hell hound.

1d6	HD	AC	Bite	Breath Damage	Breath Type	Breath Frequency	Senses	Extra.
1	3	5[14]	1d6	5’ 1hp/HD save for 1/2	Fire	once an encounter	See Invisible 50%	Howl causes fear in all with less HD
2	4	4[15]	1d6	10’ 2hp/HD save for 1/2	Fire	30% of attacks	See Invisible or hidden 50%. Surprise foes 4in6, only surprised 1in6	Many Headed! Hellhound has one head per HD. Can only be slain if each head is destroyed.
3	4	415]	1d6	10' 1d6/HD save for 1/2	Fire	2 in 6 attacks	See Invisible or hidden 75%	Painful bite: Save or be paralyzed by pain. (unless HD twice hound)
4	5	3[16]	1d8	5' 1d6/HD on hit roll save allowed	Ice	2 in 6 attacks	See Invisible or hidden 75%. Surprise foes 4in6, only surprised 1in6	Turn Invisible twice per day. Appear when attacking.
5	6	2[17]	1d10	20’ cone 2hp/HD save for half.	Lightening	# of HD per day. May use vs foes it is biting.	See Invisible or hidden 75%. Avoid Surprise 90%	Teleport up to 60’ 3 times a day.
6	7	1[18]	1d10	5' 1d6/HD on hit roll, no save	Poison	At Will, may use vs foes it is biting.	See Invisible 100%. Surprise foes 4in6, only surprised 1in6	Turn invisible 3 times a day. Appear when harmed not while attacking.

Hellhound Appearance (choose or roll, Bonus! goes with appearance if desired)

	Appearance	Bonus!
1	Rusty Red Hounds with glowing Eyes.	Tracks as ranger of same level
2	Shadow Dog, Living shadow	Phase Door, in shadows 2 times a day
3	Gaunt Hound, looks like starving dog with glowing red eyes.	Devour Soul and All, after the hell hound slays a foe it will stand and consume the remains and soul of the slain in 3 rounds.
4	Blazing Skeleton, a hounds skeleton wreathed in ever burning flames  (fumes if not fire breathing)	Thrusting weapons causes minimal damage. Hafted weapons must save vs damage.
5	Broken Dog, rear legs appear crushed by wagon wheel.	Lockjaw, any attack that hits on a die roll of 19-20 means the helhounds jaws have locked on auto-hitting and weighing down foe.
6	Iron Talbot, great hunting dog seemingly forged from iron.	Normal weapons must save vs damage or break after a successful strike.
7	Junkyard Dog, Dog is a composite mass of garbage and refuse.	Miasma, a cloud of filth surrounds the hound all who approach within 10’ who must save or be unable to act except for escaping the 10’ distance.
8	Rotting Hound, The hound is clearly rotting with oozing pus, crawling with maggots	Filth Fever, victim must save after being bitten or be unable to be healed  (mundane or magical) until the Disease is removed.

When next your doughty band of adventurers, mad murder hobos, or crusading champions heAr tell there are hell hounds about , it may be best for them to be a heed the warnings to find out what they are really  getting themselves into when fighting these unpredictable diabolic monsters from the underworld.

+1 at what? (a different take on magical weapons)

Oh yeah a +1 sword…+1 at what?  Hit and damage of course…. oh boy woo-hoo, just like a strength of 13… and that is a nutshell is what is wrong with a generic +1 sword; unless your rules/campaign provides no bonuses for high strength the +1 magic sword is fairly mundane and not all that exciting and is just like pretty much all other +1 swords. There have been some cool attempts to liven up boring old magical weapons over the years here’s one that expands on alters what that old +1 could means

There are 6 different types of bonuses a magical weapon may have. A magical weapon will have a number of bonuses equal to it’s +bonus. A +2 weapon would have 2 types of bonuses, while a +1 weapon would have only 1.

Types of Bonuses
Striking: + adds to hit chance
Wounding: + adds to damage
Quickness: + adds to initiative
Durability: + adds to saves of weapon
Parrying: + improves Ac when parrying
Warding: +1 improves to saves vs magic when in hand

Random Determination of Bonus Types

1d100 roll	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5
1-3	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding & Qucikness	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
4-6	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding & Quickness	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
7-9	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding  & Durability	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
10-12	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding  & Durability	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
13-15	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
16-18	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding  & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Warding
19-21	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Parrying
22-24	Striking	Striking & Wounding	Striking, Wounding & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Parrying
25-27	Wounding	Striking & Quickness	Striking, Wounding, & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Parrying
28-30	Wounding	Striking & Quickness	Striking, Wounding & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Durability	All but Parrying
31-33	Wounding	Striking & Quickness	Striking, Wounding, & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	All but Parrying
34-36	Wounding	Striking & Durability	Striking, Quickness & Durability	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	All but Parrying
37-39	Wounding	Striking & Durability	Striking, Quckness & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	All but Durability
40-42	Wounding	Striking & Parrying	Striking, Quckness & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	All but Durability
43-45	Wounding	Striking & Parrying	Striking, Quckness & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	All but Durability
46-48	Quickness	Striking & Parrying	Striking, Durability & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Warding	All but Durability
49-51	Quickness	Striking & Parrying	Striking, Durability & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Warding	All but Durability
52-54	Quickness	Striking & Warding	Striking, Durability & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Warding	All but Durability
55-57	Quickness	Striking & Warding	Striking, Parrying & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Quickness & Warding	All but Quickness
58-60	Quickness	Wounding & Quickness	Striking, Parrying & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Parrying & Warding	All but Quickness
61-63	Quickness	Wounding & Durability	Wounding, Quickness & Durability	Striking, Wounding, Parrying & Warding	All but Quickness
64-66	Durability	Wounding & Parrying	Wounding, Quickness & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Parrying & Warding	All but Quickness
67-69	Durability	Wounding & Warding	Wounding, Quickness &  Warding	Striking, Wounding, Durability & Warding	All but Quickness
70-72	Durability	Wounding & Warding	Wounding, Durability & Parrying	Striking, Wounding, Durability & Warding	All but Quickness
73-75	Durability	Quickness & Durability	Wounding, Durability & Warding	Striking, Wounding, Durability & Warding	All but Wounding
76-78	Parrying	Quickness & Parrying	Quickness, Durability, Parrying	Wounding, Quickness, Durability & Parrying	All but Wounding
79-81	Parrying	Quickness & Parrying	Quickness, Durability, Parrying	Wounding, Quickness, Durability & Parrying	All but Wounding
82-84	Parrying	Quickness & Parrying	Quickness, Durability, Parrying	Wounding, Quickness, Parrying & Warding	All but Wounding
85-87	Parrying	Quickness & Warding	Quickness, Durability, Warding	Wounding, Quickness, Parrying & Warding	All but Wounding
88-90	Parrying	Quickness & Warding	Durability, Parrying & Warding	Wounding, Durability, Parrying & Warding	All but Striking
91-93	Warding	Durability & Parrying	Durability, Parrying & Warding	Wounding, Durability, Parrying & Warding	All but Striking
94-96	Warding	Durability & Warding	Quickness, Parrying & Warding	Quickness, Durability, Parrying & Warding	All but Striking
97-99	Warding	Durability & Warding	Quickness, Parrying & Warding	Quickness, Durability, Parrying & Warding	All but Striking
100	Weapon has all properties*

*as an exception this weapon had all 6 types of properties enchanted to the bonus of the weapon, the weapon may have only as many special abilities as equal to the bonus of the weapon.


Determining Special Abilities of Weapons
Each category also has a chance of offering a special ability.
Roll once for each bonus in one of the special properties amiable to the weapon.
If you have a +2 Mace of Durability and Warding a roll should be made for each category. If no bonus is received there is no bonus for that bonus. By example a +4 weapon could have 4 special abilities but maybe none.

Striking Special Abilities
Dedicated Foe, against a type of foe the hit bonus is increased by 2 for this weapon.
Double Biting, if the die roll to hit is a modified roll of over 20 an immediate bonus attack is allowed vs the foe or same type of foe this round.
Dancing, the weapon may move and fight targets up to 30’ away from the the owner as well as the wielder normally can.
Seeking, the weapon may be hurled to strike a foe up to 100’ feet away returning to the user on all rolls except for a 1. This replaces all normal attacks of the weapon for the round.
Truestrike, once the weapon has hit a foe protected by obfuscation,illusion, protective magics, or invisibility and further attacks may be made as if that protection was absent.

Random Determination of Striking Special Ability

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16-18	Dedicated Foe, determine a type of foe as appropriate for campaign.
19-20	Double Biting
21	Dancing
22-23	Seeking
24+	Truestrike

Wounding Special Abilities 
Stunning, if foe is wounded for damage >= level or HD they must save or be stunned until end of next round. If dedicated foe is normally immune to stun effects they are not immune to this ability.
Devastating Wound, add +1d6 per foe vs opponents of a specific type.
Maim Foe, foe saves or is hindered by wound and is limited to half speed and suffers -2 to all attacks and saves until healed.
Sever Limb, Chop off a limb on any hit roll of 20- bonus if foe fails a save. Dedicated foes have a save penalty equal to the rating of the sword.
Slaying, foes of a specific type must save when struck by weapon or they are slain.

Random Determination of Wounding Special Abilities

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16-18	Stunning
19-20	Devastating Wound
21	Maim Foe
22-23	Sever Limb
24+	Slaying

Quickness Special Abilities
Instant Draw, the weapon may be considered in hand anytime the user wishes so long as they are not surprised.
Counter Attack, against foes of a specific type the weapon user is allowed a bonus attack each time they are attacked (hit or miss). Limited to + bonus in number of counter attacks.
Instant Blow, the weapon may be used to attack a foe of a specific type before they may strike the bearer regardless of initiative score or surprise situation.

Random Determination of Quickness Special Abilities

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16-19	Instant Draw
20-23	Counter Attack
24+	Instant Blow

Parrying Special Abilities
Riposte, a counter attack is allowed against any foe that attacks and misses the wielder of this weapon.
Pin, The user may choose to instantly pin the weapon of an armed foe that misses an attack. Such a magically pinned weapon muse be released by it’s wielder to flee or make additional attacks. The weapon with this property is not allowed to make an attack against a foe that has a pinned weapon while so pinning but the pin can be released at will without dropping the weapon.
Break Guard, the foe loses all benefits of Dexterity, shields, and parrying arms when this property is used and a saving throw is failed until the end of the following round.
Weapon Breaker, a melee weapon used to attack while the user is parrying that issues is required to make a save or be broken.

Random Determination of Parrying Special Abilities

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16-19	Riposte
20-21	Pin
22-23	Break Guard
24+	Weapon Breaker

Durability Special Abilities
Invulnerable to harm, a specific type of harm can not damage or destroy the weapon.
Mending, should this weapon be damaged it will be fine on the next morning. If somehow destroyed it will reform after resting in a holy/unholy place of proper alignment for a week.
Resonance, any special attacks that would harm this blade are reflected back at the attacking weapon if a successful save is made.

Random Determination of Durability Special Abilities

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16	Invulnerable to Cold/Ice
17	Invulnerable to Heat/Flame
18	Invulnerable to Electricity/Lightning
19	Invulnerable to Acid/Disintegration
20-21	Invulnerable to Rusting
22-23	Mending
24+	Resonance

WardingSpecial Abilities
Dispel Illusion, With a wave of this weapon inside the area of effect of an illusion the illusion shall be dispelled.  An illusionary monster may save to not be destroyed.
Cleave Spell, with a tap on a target of a spell the spell may be dispelled. Roll 1d20+ bonus of weapon vs 1d20 + spell level to succeed. If a 1 is rolled the sword will have all it’s powers and bonuses suppressed until the next morning.
Deflect Spell, if actively parrying this round any spell successfully saved against is sent away in a random direction to 1/2 range.
Reflect Spell, a spell saved against may be reflected back at the caster if so wished by the wielder of this blade.
Arcane Bastion, as the only action in a round the bearer of this weapon may draw a circle in there air over their head and the saving throw bonus of this weapon is applied to all within a 20’ radius. If the bearer leaves the original circle the bonus is lost. The bonus is not gained by foes that enter the circle.
Protective Circle, as the only action in a round the bearer of this weapon may draw a circle in the air overhead and all foes of a specific type must save to enter or attack into the 20’ radius circle. Any such foe within the circle is compelled to flee to suffer 1d6 damage per round equal to + bonus and must make a saving throw to be able to attempt any single action. Should one of these foes successfully enter the circle the protection after it is raised the circle is broken. The circle is also brown if the bearer steps out of the protective circle.
Capture Spell, a spell saved against by this weapon may be absorbed if the bearer so wishes. One spell per + bonus may be captured. If the captured spell had an area of effect all in area are treated as if they successfully save vs the spell. The bearer of the weapon is aware of the properties and identity of all captured spells and may release them as if they were the original caster of the spell.

Random Determination of Warding Special Ability

1d20 + Bonus
14 or less	No Special Ability
15	No Special Ability for this property, roll twice in another.
16	Dispel Illusion
17	Cleave Spell
18	Deflect Spell
19	Reflect Spell
20-21	Arcane Bastion
22-23	Protective Circle
24+	Capture Spell

Magical weapon alignments and effects of contrary users.
If a weapon has one or more special properties it has a chance of being aligned. This chance is equal to the sum of the bonus multiplied by double the number of special properties  So a +5 weapon with 4 properties would have a 40% chance of begin aligned (5 x   8), while a +2 weapon with 1 special property would have a 4% chance of begin aligned

An aligned weapon has it’s own ego, will, and personality as the magical properties are tied to a magical spirit bound within the weapon. A DM is free to play this up or ignore it as much as appropriate to the campaign and nature of the weapon. Some weapons may have additional powers they will only ever grant to bearers of the same alignment, this is not currently expanded upon in here.

Roll 1 d10 ro Determine Alignment of Aligned Weapons
1-4 Lawful, 5-6 Neutral, 7-10 Chaotic.

Roll to Determine Weapon Reactions to Other Alignments

1d6	Lawful	Neutral	Chaotic
1	Torpid	Torpid	Torpid
2	Quarrelsome	Torpid	Quarrelsome
3	Enervation	Quarrelsome	Quarrelsome
4	Enervation	Enervation	Enervation
5	Domination	Enervation	Enervation
6	Domination	Domination	Domination

Explanation of Reactions of Aligned Weapons.
Torpid, no beneficial properties of this weapon will serve a misaligned bearer in any circumstances.

Quarrelsome, Bearer must force weapon to use special properties.  Make a reaction roll and special property is only useable if weapon reaction isn’t currently undecided to worse.
Antipathy, Bearer must save vs magic when drawing the weapon or no magical properties will function. Sheathing and redrawing the weapon within the same battle will have no impact on  use of the weapon.

Enervation, the bearer of this weapon suffers 1d6 damage each round until the weapon is released or willfully converts to the alignment of the sword. Normal use of the weapon is allowed while the user suffers enervation but any attempt to use a special ability will inflict an extra 1d6 damage. This damage may not be regenerated or healed while bearing the weapon. Casual inspection does not invoke Enervation but magical attempts to inspect the item do so invite enervation.

Domination, each time the weapon is drawn the bearer must make a saving throw or be taken over by the weapon for the remainder of the day. The bearer will act as appropriate for the alignment of the weapon and will be compelled to follow actions at the whim of the weapon. Casual inspection of the weapon does not invoke an attempt of Domination by  the weapon.