Hound of ill omen

The hound of ill omen was a legendary, canine beast that only appeared to punish mortals for major transgressions against a deity.

Description
This creature appeared to be a dark, shadowy wolf-hound that stood tall at the shoulder.

Behavior
The hound of ill omen had a basic, animal level of intelligence.

Abilities
The hound of ill omen appeared before other creatures instantaneously and only briefly, viewable to only a single individual without the aid of magic. Only those who could see the hound were capable of injuring it. If slain, a hound of ill omen reformed on its deity's home plane and all creatures who were involved in its death would suffer the effects of its magical howl&mdash;this included even those who merely planned to attack it as well as those whose attacks all missed.

There was a high chance that a deity would send another servant to deal with a transgressor, such as an aasimon or deva, if they killed the hound of ill omen they had sent to punish them.

Offensive
Upon appearing, they unleashed a booming howl that all creatures within of it could hear. Afterwards, the hound of ill omen would walk off.

Those who could both see and hear the hound would suffer from the magical effect of its howl &mdash;the next ten injuries they suffered would be more severe. If remove curse was cast on the target soon after, this would be decreased to five. Until the requisite number of injuries was met, no manner of healing spells would work on the target. In addition, the injuries sustained had to be outside of a creature's control. If the victim of a hound of ill omen was involved in its killing, then their curse would become even more severe and remove curse could not lessen it.

Creatures subjected to the howl of a hound of ill omen were immediately aware of their transgression against a deity and received an empathic feeling of both death and dread. However, they would be unaware of the nature of their curse until they first suffered an injury.

Combat
The hound of ill omen did not attack its targets directly.

Diet
The hound of ill omen fed from the power of its deity and required no other form of nourishment.

Habitats
These creatures were always found on the home planes of deities.

Relationships
The hound of ill omen served a variety of deities, but they were particularly a favored monster of Urogalan. They were never known to be attacked by the minions of other deities when on their travels or on a mission.

Rumors & Legends
Some rumors claimed that there was only one of these hounds in existence, while some sages believed that they were merely manifestations of a deity's will, rather than a true creature.