The Magical Creature Handbook

Hellhound

Artist Undetermined

HELLHOUND
(hel-hawnd)

Historical Context:
Hellhounds are a generalised breed of creatures that originated from Greek Mythology.

Height: ≈ three feet
Weight: ≈ 50 kilograms (sometimes more)
Life span: ≈ 25 years
Attack: 87 // biting, claws, strength (weight of the hound)
Armour: 24 // soft fur and flesh easily accessible to attack
Defence: 46 // shadow travel and legs allow quick getaway, bark may frighten opponent
Stealth: 66 // dark coats allow camouflage and have soft padded paws that allow for quiet steps
Diet: carnivore // any meat they find, they eat
Habitat: varies // though usually found in dark places

Artist Unknown

Sex:
The names that determine between the sexes vary. The males of this creature are usually referred to as a sire, on the odd occasion, dog (thanks to human influence). Female hellhounds are referred as a dam, but more commonly as a bitch. The offspring of these creatures are most commonly known as puppies (a puppy).

Appearance:
Hellhounds take the form of the common human dog, around the height and weight of an Irish wolfhound. Their coat does not vary in colour, they will only be coated in thick black fur. The eyes of a hellhound vary between red, black or a silver eerie glaze. Their snout contains of extremely sharp teeth able to rip open a throat in one go. Steady front and hind legs give them a fine structure, decent speed and ability to jump certain lengths and heights. When the eyes become prominent against the darkness, it is a sign that they are about to shadow travel.

Mating:
Hellhounds usually only mate once, twice on the odd occasion of the death of a mate. The bitch will give birth to around seven or eight puppies which she stays with until they're strong enough to wander off alone. The family of hellhounds will stay within a pack of up to three other families to help protect the vulnerable puppies. An alpha male will take charge after a series of fights for dominance, this is to keep the pack safe guarded and make sure that the puppies survive. An alpha female can occasionally happen, depending on whether she wants to risk the death of herself and her puppies by being the main guardian of the pack, but both have an equal chance of becoming alpha.

Artist ~ Sidonie

Hunting:
When the hellhounds are living in packs during the upbringing of their offspring, usually the alpha and the rest of the sires hunt for the pack, whether the alpha is a sire or a bitch, it doesn't matter. But when the pack is no longer needed for the protection of the puppies, hellhounds either live in packs of two (or opposite sex) or alone until they find a mate. In this case, the hellhound will hunt with its partner or alone. Once the puppies reach a certain age within the pack, they are taken with the alpha and other sires whilst hunting so they can learn the proper skills of survival and will survive when they pack breaks,

Temperament:
Like the human dog, hellhounds can be tamed and become loyal to the owner if a level of trust has been achieved. When found in the wild, they are usually shy and cannot be seen for they hide in the shadows. If they're hungry, they will attack with no warning and rip their prey to shreds.

Rarity:
Hellhounds are not rare, they're just hard to find. Because of their dark coat of fur, they prefer to hunt at night, making it difficult to spot them. Sometimes, they may be found in places known to cause death like Pandorvia (reference to The Falling) or Tartarus. All hellhounds possess the ability of shadow traveling, in which can be known as a super power or seratin (reference to The Falling). Shadow traveling allows the hellhound to jump half away across countries, or the world if it desires, as long as there is a shadow. The eyes of the hellhound will glow and create an eerie atmosphere, sometimes creating fog before it travels through the shadows. So if a red pair of glowing eyes are seen in the woods, a hellhound is either traveling away, or straight for its prey.
Do not confuse the hellhounds to its cousins; the Cerberus, the Orthrus, the Werewolf or the Laraveen. Hellhounds can strand into a few different categories or nastier canines such as the goblin hounds and the gremlin hounds, which are obviously used by goblins and gremlins.

Artist ~ Thomas Bowling

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below.