Intelligent alien creatures such as aboleths, as well as the occasional mad wizard or capricious deity enjoy tinkering with creatures to make them more suited for their environments or just as a thought exercise. Then the PCs have to go out and fight things like owlbears or chimeras.

Doesn’t it make you want to get in on the action? Monster Mix crosses two monsters from the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault to create new horrors that combine elements from the original creatures beyond just shuffling their component abilities.

This time? Canines in the real world have undergone years of breeding and crossbreeding to create desired results for specific tasks. So it follows that magical canines would have seen the same selective crossbreeding.

Hunting Phantom

This shaggy, brown canine stands unusually tall. Its eyes demonstrate intelligence . . . and malice.

Loyal Fey Hounds. Blink dogs have a streak of independence, making them less reliable hunters. So fey nobles mixed in worg devotion, replacing goblins with themselves, to create hunting phantoms.

Tenacious Trackers. Once a hunting phantom marks a target with its fearsome howl, it can follow that target until the creature tires. The phantom relies on its teleportation to keep up with its prey.

Fey Resilience. The hunting phantom is resistant to charmed and unconscious conditions.

Heightened Hearing and Smell. The hunting phantom’s Perception is 20 while perceiving by hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. The hunting phantom has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the phantom’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

ACTIONS

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 STR save or be knocked prone.

Teleport (Recharge 4–6). The hunting phantom teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space it can see or within 5 feet of a creature frightened by its Echoing Howl. Before or after teleporting, the phantom can make one Bite attack.

BONUS ACTIONS

Echoing Howl. The hunting phantom looses a terrible howl audible out to a distance of 200 feet. Each creature of the phantom’s choice within 30 feet of it must succeed on a DC 12 CHA save or be frightened of it for 1 minute. For the following two rounds, the phantom can use its bonus action to redirect the howl to any location within 200 feet of it, forcing each creature within 30 feet of that point to succeed on a DC 12 CHA save with advantage or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Until it finishes a long rest, the phantom can teleport to the exact location of any creature that was frightened by its Echoing Howl.

Fire and Ice Ruin Hound

This left side of this three-headed canine has white fur, and a chilling fog emanates from its muzzle. The right side is aglow with flames and a fiery tongue snakes out from its muzzle. The middle head glares with glowing green eyes.

Hellish Fusion. The fiendish creators of the fire and ice ruin hound saw the terrible potential in combining hell hounds with death dogs and winter wolves.

Bickerers. None of the three heads dominates the whole of the hound, so they must come to a consensus, which often results in the heads snarling and snapping at each other. When presented with prey, the hound focuses on that goal but might still argue over the best creature to attack among multiple options.

FIRE AND ICE RUIN HOUND         CR 4

Medium Fiend

Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 94
Speed 50 ft.
Perception 15                    Stealth 13
Resistant cold, fire | Multiple Heads
Senses darkvision 90 ft.
Languages understands Common, Giant, and Infernal but can’t speak

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
+3	+1	+4	−2	+1	−1

Heightened Hearing and Smell. The hound’s Perception is 20 when perceiving by hearing or smell.

Multiple Heads. The hound has three heads and is resistant to the blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and unconscious conditions.

Pack Tactics. The hound has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the hound’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

System Shock. A creature that takes cold damage and fire damage from the hound during the same round must succeed on a DC 14 CON save or become stunned for 1 round.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The hound makes one Fiery Bite attack, one Frosty Bite attack, and one Pestilent Bite attack. If the hound hits the same target with two melee attacks, it inflicts an additional 4 (1d8) piercing damage as the two sets of jaws rend the target.

Fiery Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) fire damage.

Frosty Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) cold damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 STR save or be knocked prone.

Pestilent Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a creature it must succeed on a DC 14 CON save or contract a disease. Until the disease is cured, the target is poisoned. Every 24 hours that elapse, the infect creature must repeat the save, reducing its hit point maximum by 7 (2d6) on a failure. This reduction lasts until the creature finishes a long rest after the disease is cured. The creature dies if the disease reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The hound exhales fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 DEX save, taking 22 (5d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Frost Breath (Recharge 5–6). The hound exhales frost in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 14 DEX save, taking 22 (5d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

BONUS ACTIONS

Triple Bark. The hound’s three heads bark at creatures in three 15-foot cones. Each creature in the area of a cone must succeed on a DC 14 CON save or be deafened until the end of its next turn. If the cones overlap each other, each creature in overlapping cones must make only one save with disadvantage rather than one save for each cone.

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