Hellhound
Hellhound (CR 7)
Coal black dogs wreathed in hellish flame, hellhounds are monstrous beasts often found as pets of the mighty and dreadful. On the Prime Material, Hellhounds in the wild can be found in wastelands, deserts, barren mountains, volcanoes, etc. They are hardy, canny, and good hunters. Hellhounds typically lair within a badland and raid out to search for prey. Hellhounds view humans and other humanoids as prey, along with domestic animals, children of all species, and pretty much anything else they can catch. Hellhounds can also gain sustenance from fires, and a pack of hellhounds moving into a forest will soon reduce it to a wasteland unless they are stopped.
GENERAL
CR 7 Hit Dice 10
XP 3,200
Lawful Evil, Medium, Magical Beast
Init +3; Senses Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 15, flat-footed 20 (+5 dex, +10 armor)
hp 82
Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +6
Special Defenses Fire Shield, ER 20/fire
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., Softpaws
Single Melee Bite +11 (2d6+2/x2)
Full Melee Bite +11 (2d6+2/x2), 2x Claws +11 (2d4+2/x2)
Ranged -, but see Fiery Breath
Special Attacks Fire Shield, Fiery Breath
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 17, Cha 10
Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 25
Feats Big Game Hunter
Skills Survival 15
Languages -
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Softpaws
With light steps and surefootedness, the Hellhound ignores rough terrain
- Fire Shield
Any creature that begins their turn adjacent to or uses a melee attack against the Hellhound takes 1d6 of fire damage.
- Fiery Breath
Once per round, as a swift action, the Hellhound may breath forth a fifteen foot cone of flame or a thirty foot line of flame, as they wish. This flame does 1d6 of fire damage to those caught in the area of effect. If the Hellhound successfully bit a foe this round and then breathes on them, they receive no saving throw against this damage. All other victims may make a Reflex saving throw at a DC of 16 for half.
TREASURE
Assuming you're using the 'Medium XP' progression chart, each creature should drop loot with a sell value of approximately 2,375 gp at this CR.
COMBAT TACTICS
Hellhounds are animals but their wisdom is extremely high. They use good pack tactics, are quite sly, and will use their attacks intelligently. They are immune to their own breath weapons, so they will breathe with abandon. Their Big Game Hunter feat makes them effective against large prey, and their high Survival allows them to track prey even without access to more esoteric senses. They will breath fire from range whenever possible to soften up foes, then run into melee and use their fire shields to damage as many foes as possible.