Howler

Howlers were pack predators native to Pandemonium. They were known and feared for their mind-shattering howls. "Why does the howler ring? Doing so causes its prey to flee and surely stealth would make for better hunting in howling Pandemonium. There is only one answer: the creature can taste fear."

- Mordenkainen

Description
Howlers were long,  tall, quadruped beasts that weighed about. They were patchwork creatures that seemed to cross traits of canines and felines, with bruised, crushed digits ending in claws on their front legs and back legs ending in hooves. Despite seeming gaunt, their backs were strong and resembled those of oxen. Their scales were covered by tangled, red fur that spread into a mane of trembling quills on the backs of their necks and surrounded their muzzled, simian faces.

Behavior
Howlers were nonaggressive and usually cowardly when alone although extremely cruel when in packs. They practically stood when howling, and like dogs would do so for any number of reasons. They howled when lonely, trapped, frightened or challenged but despite their bestial behavior possessed a surprising level of intelligence, enough to understand language.

Young and inexperienced howlers killed their victims quickly for the delicious rush of terror that a violent death generated. However, older howlers preferred to draw long-term sustenance from constantly terrorizing their victims rather than killing them immediately.

Abilities
Howlers rended the flesh of their prey and tore at the minds of the terrified with their wicked jaws. The quills on their neck became erect when they engaged in combat and formed a shield of spines when they charged. Their raised bristles, while inaccurate could break off and become lodged in their victims requiring each one of them to be carefully removed lest the victim suffer extreme pain.

Their titular howling was a horrifying sound that could be heard from a large distance, even through the loud winds of their home plane, and which caused other creatures to become debilitated by fear and incapable of complex thought. Prolonged exposure to their baying had a similar effect to the winds of Pandemonium, slowly driving the listeners insane and turning those nearby into stumbling wrecks.

Combat
The craven nature of the howler meant that they generally left large groups and seemingly dangerous beings alone, instead targeting the weak and vulnerable. Their cowardice was not to be confused with weakness, and when they decided to go on the offensive they did so with ruthless savagery and focus. The first few seconds of combat with a howler pack often decided the outcome of the entire engagement. After chasing and wearing them down they would descend upon their prey, primarily relying on their numbers, speed and paralyzing howling. They used hit and run tactics to gradually weaken their targets but fled if their attempts to single out weak prey stopped working.

Although they generally avoided civilized areas and tight locations, howlers on the Material Plane were known to terrorize isolated villages, feasting on the steady supply of flesh and fear generated by the inhabitants. Normally content to drag off one or two victims at a time, any display of defiance resulted in the pack surrounding the offenders home and devouring everyone inside after crippling them with a series of howls.

Ecology
Although native to Pandemonium, howlers could be found in all of the Lower planes, in particular those more defined by chaos and evil.

Howlers could be partially domesticated to be used as war hounds. Fiends in particular favored howlers for their ability to temporarily neutralize spellcasters with their howl. Commanding a pack of howlers demanded a long and brutal period of training, until the creatures recognized their trainer as the undisputed pack leader. Well-trained packs of howlers were most commonly employed in the Blood War, but it was also possible for evil mortals to command a pack.

It was also possible to train howlers as mounts. Creatures such as quasits, orcs, and succubi were known to sometimes ride them.

They did not draw sustenance from the flesh of their victims, but from their fear.

Notable Howlers

 * Spike, Cressyl Blackbones's pet howler.