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Count yourself lucky if you have not encountered a death hound in the wild. Few who do survive the experience. These large, muscular dogs with glowing red eyes are undead and often reside alongside vampires, serving as guardians of their lairs. Should you find yourself face to face with one of these creatures, you likely have other, more pressing matters to deal with.
While many death hounds remain indoors, serving as guard-dogs for their vampiric masters, there are those who roam the wilderness, as well. They play an important role in the ecology of the areas they inhabit, often to the detriment of the habitat itself. They are voracious, undead predators that attack everything alive in sight. It's still unclear whether they hunt prey for sustenance or merely to satisfy some unholy blood lust. They do eviscerate and consume their prey, but the wide variety of quarry suggests it is less about survival and more about temperament.
One of the most unique traits of the death hound is its wintry bite. It is often said that the death hound has a bite "as cold as the grave." Almost like a poison, a bite from a death hound can freeze the very flesh of its prey and render it immobile. Whether this magic is somehow tied to the vampires, or just an innate quality of this monstrous creature, no one is certain.
Local flora and fauna tend to suffer in areas where death hounds abound. The beasts are so indiscriminate when hunting, they can raze an area and leave nothing left alive if they stay too long. Fortunately, vampire covens that operate in the wilderness are often transient in nature. They too, must relocate when their prey becomes scarce.