Deep Dive - The Hell Hound
Welcome to October and another Halloween-themed Deep Dive. This is our third year doing this, so we have broadened our monster selection as our previous Halloween Deep Dives examined such classics as the ghoul, mummy, scarecrow, vampire, and werewolf. To start us off this spooky October, we will be taking a look at everyone’s favorite hellish hounds from hell, the Hell Hound.
While dogs are definitely man’s best friend, we should probably make an exception for the Hell Hound. These fire-breathing canines have a long and storied history, most of which involves killing adventurers just like you… pry cause they could sense deep down that you were a cat person. Whether you are a cat person or just a tasty snack, these beasts like their meat well done as they bathe you with their fire breathe before they rip the flesh from your bones.
OD&D - Hell Hound
No. Appearing: 2-8
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12
Hit Dice: 3-7
% in Lair: 25%
No. of Attacks: 1 bite
Damage/Attack: 1-6/bite
Treasure: C
*also has breath weapon
Dungeons & Dragons Supplement II: Blackmoor, 1975 TSR Inc.
We first encounter the Hell Hound in the Greyhawk Supplement (1976) and we get a pretty basic description of these creatures. They are renowned for their foul disposition as they are evil and chaotic creatures. To match their loathing of pretty much everything, they are listed as reasonably intelligent, so while you could teach them to sit, roll over, or fetch, we doubt that Hell Fido is going to put up with you acting like you are in charge.
Now you might be curious what they look like, but it’s going to be pretty hard to actually see one. They are a bit of a ninja dog as they move far stealthier than you might think for a pup from hell, and in fact, they very often turn from being the prey to the predator. They can sniff out hidden creatures and can even detect hidden and invisible creatures and objects 75% of the time. If you can somehow hide from them, and you get a chance to gaze upon them, they have reddish-brown fur and they have a fiery breath, so they may even breathe in and out with small flames licking out. We recommend if you find yourself in this position, don’t mess with it and just hope you can stay hidden long enough for it to leave the area you are in.
Of course, if you do decide to make this foul-tempered doggo your best friend, you have quite a problem ahead of you. Your new would-be pet can breathe fire, though the range isn’t listed so we guess just on one person - or maybe if your DM is especially vicious, the entire party. The damage that a Hell Hound deals is based on their hit dice and they deal a number of d6s equal to that amount. So a hell pup with 3 hit dice only deals 3d6 for their fire breath while a Hell Hound with 7 hit dice will deal 7d6. If that isn’t enough to stop you from adopting them, just know that they are typically the pets of fire giants who aren’t known for being kind and understanding with their fiery temper.
Basic D&D - Hellhound
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3-7
Move: 120’ (40’)
Attacks: bite or breath
Damage:1-6 or special
No. Appearing: 2-8
Save As: Variable
Morale: 9
Treasure Type: C
Alignment: Chaotic
The Hell Hound is so powerful that it isn’t found in the Basic Rules but rather shows up in the Holmes Box Set (1971), Moldvay Expert Box Set (1981), and in the BECMI Expert Rules Box Set (1983). While they largely remain the same as before, they do provide some updates to their lore and mechanics that can help run this good boy in a fight.
The Hell Hound is no longer just reasonably intelligent but highly intelligent. Are they going to drive a car or write a sonnet? Probably not. Are they going to be able to set up an undetectable ambush for your poor unsuspecting party? Definitely. Which has to be terrifying for you as we now know that Hell Hounds, while still reddish-brown, are the size of a small pony, standing about 4 to 5 feet at the shoulder. They easily tower over any dog, take that Great Danes!
If you end up fighting such hellish hounds, there are a few things to keep in mind. They are not immune to fire and its effects, so you can always swing your torch at them in a panic. When they attack, they only get one attack each round against a single creature and they roll a d6 to determine what attack they will make this turn. On a 1-2, they breathe fire in the space 5 feet in front of them, which means they only hit a single creature where it was rather questionable how many they got to hit before. If they roll a 3-6 on the d6 roll, they instead make a vicious bite attack, tearing into your flesh.
For their breath weapon, they deal the same damage on their breath weapon, which is dependent on their hit dice, and so be careful of stronger Hell Hounds if you were hoping to live. You can make a saving throw against the effect, taking half damage if you successfully dodge the fiery bad breath of this canine - though even that can be quite a bit of damage if you are facing a matured Hell Hound.
If you are still hoping to have the best doggo as your best friend forever, we hate to break it to you but they only like creatures who are into fire and are even made of fire. Their best friends are fire giants, and they can often be found near volcanoes, so we imagine fire newts and even red dragons might enjoy the Hell Hounds company. So if you are really hell-bent on making friends with a foul-tempered, evil canine… head for a volcano and hang out around the lava tubes and just maybe… you won’t burn to death until the Hell Hound gets to you.
AD&D - Hell Hound
Frequency: Very rare
No. Appearing: 2-8
Armor Class: 4
Move: 12”
Hit Dice: 4-7
% in Lair: 30%
Treasure Type: C
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-10
Special Attacks: Breathe fire
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Low
Alignment: Lawful evil
Size: M
Psionic Ability: Nil
Monster Manual, 1978 TSR Inc.
The Hell Hound appears in the Monster Manual (1978) and one of the designers for this edition was obviously a cat person. The image given for the Hell Hound is just the first hurdle these poor creatures have to deal with as they appear to be emaciated jackals with a too-big head. While this isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a bad picture, it’s not a very frightening one which is a shame seeing how outright terrifying a devil’s best friend must be.
Of course, maybe we are just judging a book by its cover. Then we look over its intelligence and it is now low, instead of being highly intelligent and cunning it is now just a dumb dog. While they are still dangerously sneaky and stealthy, they lack the ability for elaborate plots and traps to spring and drag a screaming adventurer back to hell with them.
Where the Hell Hound gets knocked down is when it uses its fire breath attack. Before this point, our fire-breathing dog was breathing 1d6 damage per hit die it had. Now it's reduced to 1 damage per hit die. So that big mean 7 hit die Hell Hound no longer isn't going to burn you to a crisp since it can only singe your arm hair for 7 hit points of fire damage, and then only 4 points of damage if you can make a save against breath weapons. You even have a better chance of hiding from the Hell Hounds now, as their eyesight only detects hidden or invisible creatures 50% of the time.
Our fire pup still has a few things going for it, so it's not all bad. It still can bite you, and that attack now does 1d10 damage. They can still move very stealthily, surprising you and your friend on a 1-4 roll on a d6. On the flip side, you only have a 1 in 6 chance of sneaking up on them since they have keen hearing. Fire Giants still love these fiery animals and will, along with other creatures, keep them as guard dogs for their lairs. At least we know someone still loves their Hell Hounds.
2e - Hell Hound
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Frequency: Very rare
Organization: Pack
Activity Cycle: Any
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Low (5-7)
Treasure: C
Alignment: Lawful evil
No. Appearing: 2-8
Armor Class: 4
Movement: 12
Hit Dice: 4-7
THAC0: 4 HD: 17, 5-6 HD: 15, 7 HD: 13
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-10
Special Attacks: Breathe fire
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Size: M
Morale: Elite (13)
XP Value: 4 HD: 420 / 5 HD: 650 / 6 HD: 975 / 7 HD: 1,400
Monstrous Compendium Volume 2, 1989 TSR Inc.
First appearing in the Monstrous Compendium Volume 2 (1989) and then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993), we encounter a Hell Hound that is starting to look more like the dog we would all expect to see on a trip through hell. Like in the 1st edition, Hell Hounds aren’t from the material plane but brought here to serve evil masters. They can be found roaming the extradimensional planes where a hot, fiery landscape is the norm which sounds suspiciously a lot like hell. If found in such a location, you’ll most likely encounter a pack of these mangy beasts, with up to 40 of them frolicking amongst the lava, happy to rip you to shreds if you get too close like the foul natured dogs they are. Many who make their way to the material world do so as servants and guard dogs for powerful entities, though a life of servitude isn’t for the Hell Hound, and many will escape and find places to settle down and burn down a forest. Even though they literally breathe fire, they only create the second most forest fires with the number one spot belonging to those pesky humans who just ruin everything.
If you are so unlucky as to be attacked by a pack of Hell Hounds, you don’t have to fret too much. Each pack is led by a single 7 hit dice Hell Hound and the rest of them are between 4 and 6 hit dice, of course, you still have up to 8 of these creatures to fight at a time, so maybe don’t celebrate too soon. If you are curious how strong these creatures might be, there is some disagreement between the publications. In the Monstrous Compendium, the weakest among them are only worth 270 XP with the strongest being 975 XP; while the Monstrous Manual sets them at 420 XP and 1,400 XP respectively. For those used to the CR system, its roughly about a CR 1/2 for 270 XP, CR 1 for 420 XP, CR 2 for 975 XP, and CR 3 for 1,400 XP - so not kill you immediately powerful, but still not a joke to mess around with, especially as a pack.
Monstrous Manual, 1993 TSR Inc.
If you are hoping to avoid encountering a pack of Hell Hounds, be on the watch for the remains of forest fires or badly burned tree trunks. The territory for a single pack can be up to 14 square miles, at the center of which is their den that is badly scorched thanks to the pack’s pups who uncontrollably belch fire instead of being more decisive about when they can utilize their breath weapon. You aren’t likely to visit this den, even if you become the pack’s food, as they like to eat where they killed a creature, but they aren’t above bringing back doggie bags filled with their leftovers to their den so they can throw you in the back of the fridge and forget they have you for a few weeks before tossing you out with the trash once you start smelling a bit funky. Or they’ll just feed their leftovers to their pups, of which there are about 2 to 8 of them in each litter.
But if you are hoping to meet these dangerous predators, it's pretty much the same thing as previous editions. They have red and brown fur, glowing red or brown eyes, and jet black teeth and claws. They are incredibly sneaky and capable of surprising pretty much anything the pack puts their mind to. They can detect hidden and invisible creatures 50% of the time each round and, unlike other hunting dogs, do not bay when they pick up their prey’s scent. Instead, they remain deadly quiet as they stalk through the forest, only baying once they attack.
When they do attack, they first breathe out fire and they are now capable of targeting a creature up to 30 feet away. They won’t hit anyone else along the path, as they seem to have very good control on their flames, but if they do connect, they’ll deal damage equal to the number of hit dice they possess, and you get a saving throw to avoid taking all that damage. After that, they charge into melee and just go straight for your throat as they bite and tear. They’ll only use their breath weapon again in a fight if they roll a 20 on the d20 for their attack, in which case they grab on to you with their jaws and then breathe fire point-blank into you. We aren’t sure if that means you don’t get a saving throw but we can only imagine, even if you do save against it, you are in incredible pain afterward.
In the category of Did you Know…, in the book Legends and Lore (1990), we find out the goddess Hecate has a fondness for Hell Hounds. As the goddess of the night, she travels with a pack of these fire-breathing dogs and has no qualms setting them loose on any travelers she encounters on her nightly strolls. Her avatar even has a Hell Hound at her disposal and never travels without it. Maybe she met one of these dogs on a visit to Hades to see her best friend, Persephone. Or it could just be she has a soft spot for fire-breathing dogs that everyone else is scared of.
3e/3.5e - Hell Hound
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Fire, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 4d8+4 (22 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (+1 Dex, +5 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+5
Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d8+1 plus 1d6 fire)
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d8+1 plus 1d6 fire)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, fiery bite
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire, scent, vulnerability to cold
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +4
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 6
Skills: Hide +13, Jump +12, Listen +7, Move Silently +13, Spot +7, Survival +7*
Feats: Improved Initiative, Run, Track
Environment: Nine Hells of Baator
Organization: Solitary, pair, or pack (5-12)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 5–8 HD (Medium); 9-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: +3 (cohort)
Monster Manual, 2003 WotC
Appearing up first in the Monster Manual (2000/2003), the Hell Hound is worming its way to the top. Big news for those looking to breed these hellish dogs is that they originate from the plane of Acheron, though can be found in such evil and lawful places like the Nine Hells and the material plane because people just can’t help themselves. If you are heading for such planes to get your own dogs, hopefully, you bring a party of stout adventures as these beasts stand over 4 feet tall at the shoulder. While they might tower above most dogs, they are quite skinny as they only weigh 120 pounds, easily being outweighed by Great Danes that are over a foot shorter than them.
These creatures don’t see much change in the way they hunt, though now their fire breathing is all the deadlier - depending on the version of 3rd edition you are using. In 3e, their damage is only 1d4+1 fire damage and affects a 30-foot cone while in 3.5e, their damage is 2d6 and only affects a 10-foot cone. We suppose dealing more damage is an acceptable trade-off for having a smaller area of effect, but we can’t help but want both for our danger dingoes. In each version, they can use their breath weapon every 2d4 rounds, so in some combats, they might get multiple flames off but it isn’t likely.
On top of their breath weapon, they also have a bite attack whose effectiveness is based on the version you are going off of. For 3e, they only deal 1d8+1 damage on a bite, while in 3.5e they deal 1d8+1 damage plus 1d6 fire damage AND their attack counts as evil and lawful for overcoming certain damage resistance. We prefer the 3.5e version as it means that every time they bite you, they also pre-cook your flesh for their eventual dinner once you finally stop being such a nuisance and let them kill you.
We are also introduced to the Nessian Warhound in 3.5e. This elite breed of Hell Hound can be found underneath Asmodeus’ castle in Nessus, where he keeps these terrifying creatures. They are coal-black, the size of a draft horse, and accessorize well when they don their infernal chainmail shirt. Essentially they are Hell Hounds on enough steroids to kill an elephant. The Warhound has a CR of 9, whereas the lowly Hell Hound only has a CR of 3, which means they are stronger, deadlier, and maybe the best hell boys we can think of.
Monsters of Faerun, 2001 WotC
The Monsters of Faerûn (2001) uses the Hell Hound as its beast du jour to create the Hell Hound Beast of Xvim. Who is this Xvim, you ask? This mean and spiteful diety’s full name is Iyachtu Xvim and prefers to make his presence known by injecting a tiny bit of his corrupted will into carnivorous and evil-natured animals and monsters. When he does this, the creature grows larger, its eyes glow emerald green, and the Hell Hound’s fire breath now glows green instead of red when it breaths on you. Beasts of Xvim are always ill-tempered and violent, but that’s not much different than your typical Hell Hound’s personality.
The Book of Vile Darkness (2002), not surprisingly, mentions the Hell Hound in various contexts. The Mortal Hunter prestige class are fiends whose sole goal in life is to hunt mortals and kill them, and they will use Hell Hounds to track their prey. We know that the Hell Hound is from Acheron, but they also live in large packs in cities of Baator, those lovely places we talked about with the chain devil. The archdevil Mammon is the proud owner of a pack of massive Hell Hounds he takes with him when he hunts. These cute little doggies have all the traits of a normal Hell Hound, just amped up to a level fitting for a pet to a Lord of Hell.
Fiend Folio, 2003 WotC
The Fiend Folio (2003) brings us the Haraknins, a type of Canomorph whose hound form is that of a Hell Hound. A Canomorph is often thought to be a type of fiendish lycanthrope, when in fact, they are a fiendish hound that has learned to assume humanoid form. The Haraknin is not a product of evolution, instead, they were created by devils and demon lords to hunt, track, guard, and of course, kill other creatures on the material plane. These creatures retain all the traits of a Hell Hound and can also assume a humanoid form and gain class levels, like becoming a barbarian. While the Haraknin are the weakest of the three types of Canomorphs, they have the largest population, and like a dog with a bone, are the most steadfast and stubborn of their kind. The other two kinds of Canomorphs are the shadurakuls, who are shadow mastiffs, and vultivors, who are vorrs. Shadurakuls are the most powerful of these three, though they are constantly having to defend against attacks from the Haraknin, all the while the vultivors watch from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
In Exemplars of Evil (2007), Hell Hounds are prominent in the chapter discussing the fire giant queen Valbryn Morlydd. Valbryn is the ruler of Gilgirn, the fiery mountain stronghold that was the birthplace of the fire giant. Hell Hounds can be found throughout the castle, guarding various locations and individuals within. There are numerous statues of Hell Hounds throughout, and even a large kennel where they live and the pups are kept. While Hell Hounds aren’t a creature you probably want to fight, these particular canines should be avoided at all costs, as they will attack you on sight and always fight to the death. They are fiercely loyal to Valbryn, though she keeps a tight leash on them, culling their numbers when there are too many in her stronghold.
4e - Hell Hound
Level 7 Brute
Medium elemental beast (fire) / XP 300
Initiative +5/ Senses Perception +11
Fire Shield (Fire) aura 1; any creature that enters or begins its turn in the aura takes 1d6 fire damage.
HP 96; Bloodied 48
AC 20; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 18
Resist 20 fire
Speed 7
Bite (standard; at-will) ✦ Fire +10 vs. AC; 1d8 + 2 plus 1d8 fire damage.
Fiery Breath (standard; recharge 4-6) ✦ Fire Close blast 3; +9 vs. Reflex; 2d6 + 3 fire damage.
Alignment Unaligned / Languages -
Str 14(+5) Dex 14 (+5) Wis 17 (+6) Con 16 (+6) Int 2 (-1) Cha 10 (+3)
Monster Manual, 2008 WotC
As many of our readers probably know by now, 4th edition has no issue with slaughtering the sacred cows of previous editions, and the Hell Hound found in the Monster Manual (2008) didn’t escape this slaughter untouched. This best boy is now listed under the “Hound” category, grouped with the shadow hound and wild hunt hound. To go along with the big change that giants were created by primordials, the Hell Hound is also an elemental and created by primordials when the multiverse was still quite young. They are only known by the nomenclature of Hell Hound because they appear fiery, though we have to imagine more than a few devils would love to have their pet made of literal flames.
The basics of the Hell Hound remain the same, as they bite and breathe fire, though their cone is reduced… or expanded… to a 15-foot cone. In addition, if you find yourself getting just a smidge too close to these lovable hellions, they exude of aura of fire within 5 feet around them, dealing 1d6 fire damage to anyone within range. If the basic Hell Hound mutt isn’t enough for you, and you want a designer breed, the Firebred Hell Hound is for you. The Firebred is the result of selective breeding done by the fire giants over thousands of years. We all know that those giants will keep Hell Hounds as guard dogs, but they weren’t satisfied with questionable lineages and bred far more powerful and larger Hell Hounds until they got the horror that is the Firebred. They retain all the traits of their lesser cousins and also have a fiery burst ability. The fiery burst is precisely what it sounds like, as these powerful dogs can explode into flame, dealing a ton of fire damage to everyone within 15 feet of them.
5e - Hell Hound
Medium fiend, lawful evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (7d8 + 14)
Speed 50 ft.
STR 17(+3) DEX 12(+1) CON 14(+2) INT 6(-2) WIS 13(+1) CHA 6(-2)
Skills Perception +5
Damage Immunities fire
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages understands Infernal but can't speak it
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Keen Hearing and Smell. The hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics. The 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.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.
Fire Breath (Recharge 5-6). The hound exhales fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Monster Manual, 2014 WotC
Appearing in the Monster Manual (2014), we are back to our roots and the Hell Hound is now a true fiend and returns to its home plane of Acheron. Based on the art for this edition, they are back to having a dark fur coating, but they have an inner glow within them, where the fire of their life stays lit, burning and consuming any flesh the Hell Hound rips off of its prey. While no specific size or weight is listed for these creatures, they are listed as medium-sized, which makes them at least as big as a mastiff, basilisk, or dragon wyrmling.
With their return to the Acheron and the lower planes, they stick to hunting in large packs scouring the battlefields of Acheron for any scraps they can find. Since most dogs think everything is possible food, we can’t help but think that the Hell Hounds will attack pretty much anything they encounter, assuming it is edible. This doesn’t make them mindless animals, however. They are just constantly hungry, mainly for your delicious flesh. Hell Hounds travel in packs in the wild, separating the weakest of a group of tasty-looking heroes first, then descending upon the remainder so long as they know they can win the fight. They capitalize on this with their pack tactics feature which grants them advantage on their attacks so long as their friends and allies are nearby.
Of course, we can’t end our look at the Hell Hound without first talking about their fire breath. They can exhale a 15-foot cone, hitting every creature in the area, though you do get a save to take half damage. Luckily, their breath weapon isn’t based on the number of hit dice they have and is a whopping 6d6 fire damage, far more dangerous than before.
Various creatures use the Hell Hound as a dangerous pet, training them as guard dogs from young pups. To a devil or fire giant, this makes the Hell Hound the perfect pet as their blistering fire breath is but a tickle to them. Being lawful evil, the Hell Hound will listen and obey the commands of its master, but those commands need to involved murder and mayhem, or it will turn its evil fury upon the hand that holds that refuses to feed their hellish instincts.
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