Mist wolves were a somewhat larger cousin of ordinary wolves, with some innate magical abilities and a lawful good nature.[1]
Description[]
They looked very much like normal wolves expect for their slightly larger stature, often growing to 4 feet (1.2 meters) at their shoulders and having white tips on their hackles of otherwise grey fur. They were usually slim, muscular wolves, with fearsome-looking teeth, and black eyes that lacked the red tinge that ordinary wild wolves had.[1]
Abilities[]
Their innate magical abilities allowed them to exhale a cloud of thick mist that would block all vision between them and a foe twice a day. This mist filled a volume of 10 feet (3 meters) on a side (1,000 cubic feet (28 cubic meters)), similar to the wall of fog spell, and lasted for half a minute, allowing the wolf to flee the situation.[1]
All mist wolves had an innate ability to detect evil. This power was constant and worked without conscious volition.[1]
Behavior[]
They had their own language that consisted of yips, barks, and growls normally understood only by their own kind. They were far more intelligent than normal wolves and understood the Common tongue, but for anatomical reasons were unable to speak it.[1]
They were implacable enemies of evil and defenders of goodness and law, even giving up their own lives to protect humans and demihumans of good alignment. Only humans or demihumans who had acted in a flagrantly evil manner were at risk of being attacked by a mist wolf pack.[1]
Combat[]
Mist wolves attacked in packs like their common cousins, using their weight of numbers to drag down opponents and raking them with their savage teeth. As they were more intelligent than other wolves, they were more likely to abandon an obviously losing battle, using their mist breath to flee for safety.[1]
Ecology[]
Mist wolf society was based around the pack, consisting of up to 20 adult wolves, with a 50/50 split between males and females. Ordinarily there were about half as many cubs as females in the pack. Mist wolves were monogamous and would mate for life, with both parents sharing the responsibility of caring for their cubs. At 6 months they gained their mist breath ability and adulthood was reached at 12 months of age.[1]
The strongest of the pack, either male or female, became the leader and they would have to constantly defend their position from would-be challengers in non-lethal combat, losing the role of leader should they lose.[1]
They most commonly inhabited forests with evil reputations as that was where they could do the most good. This of course did not help their reputation at all and added to the unfortunate infighting that they so often experienced with those they sought to help.[1]
Territories claimed by mist wolves were usually rich with game as they were intelligent enough to control their hunting with care, making sure never to over-hunt an area.[1]
Relationships[]
Mist wolves were sometimes taken as animal companions as they would latch onto good rangers, elves, or others who battled evil in the wilderness if their pack was destroyed.[2]
While mist wolves attempted to protect travelers from evil creatures that might wish them harm, it was common for many people to feel fear and hatred of wolves. As such, it was not uncommon for those whom mist wolves tried to aid to turn their weapons on a mist wolf pack, which would've appeared around the same time as evil foes, and battle their would-be allies. Hence, they were sometimes slain by the very people they tried to protect.[1]
History[]
The halfling deity Urogalan were served by several packs of mist wolves living in Eronia, the second layer of Elysium.[3]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Grant Boucher, William W. Connors, Steve Gilbert, Bruce Nesmith, Christopher Mortika, Skip Williams (April 1990). Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-88038-836-6.
- ↑ James Wyatt (March 2000). “Animal Henchmen”. In Dave Gross ed. Dragon #269 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 33–34.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 176. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.