Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord Karsus 03-02-07, 11:58 AM	-I am currently populating a desert in my campaign setting, and have decided that there is a somewhat large population of wolves. While the ordinary pack members are nothing but shaggy, brown wolves, I want to give the pack leaders a special ability or two. I am using the Warg as the base for these Desert Wolf pack leaders, to give 'em a little extra kick. One idea I was batting around was giving them an ability that allows them to "breathe sand", resulting in obscurement. Another ability I was mulling over was the ability to break down into sand, and then reconstitute, a limited amounts of times per day. -Anyway, anyone have any interesting ideas? Mind you, I don't have the Sandstorm book, so anything stemming from there is going to need to come with a little accompanyment as to what that means.
primemover003 03-02-07, 02:44 PM	Use the wolf stats & worg stats just change them up and call them jackals or dingoes. I would use the Winter wolf for the top dog if you will and change it's breath to a sandy cone of heat or use Hell Hounds for mid level nasties.
Dead_Weasel 03-02-07, 09:14 PM	The tangible differences between Wolf and Hyena are pretty simple: Hyenas have 1 more point of both Str and Wis than wolves. Hyenas receive a +4 to Hide checks in tall grass or heavy undergrowth. Wolves receive a +4 to Survival checks when tracking by scent. Hyenas have Alertness. Wolves have Track and Weapon Focus (bite). (I think they are only supposed to receive one feat from HD, so a hyena's actually in the right here) Hyenas have 5 skill points, which is 3 more than they should have. Wolves have 4 skill points, which is only 2 more than they should have. So, to Worg-ify a Hyena, just add a point of Str and Wis, swap the Survival bonus for the hide bonus, and change Track to Power Attack or Dodge, since hyenas are scavengers rather than hunters (and with 4 HD, it actually deserves its second feat). Also, Worgs should have 1 more skill point than they receive, so feel free to add that in too (yeah, I know, one point, big whoop; it's better than nothing).
Darth Sephiroth 03-02-07, 09:48 PM	Take the winter wolf. Change subtype from cold to fire. (This swaps the immunity and vulnerability) Replace Freezing Bite with Dessicating Bite and use dessication damage from Sandstorm. Swap the breath weapon for a cone of grit like the Sand Dragons. Add immunity to Dessication damage. Hide bonus applies in Waste environments.
JLaurHughes 03-03-07, 12:09 AM	Wolves actually have 5 skill points >> [2-4 minimum 1(no negative skill points)]x5(hd+3)=5 skill points. Track is a wolf's racial bonus Feat from having scent. Hyena should also have 5 skill points based on this same information. Hyea's get no racial bonus feat, scent is not one of its special qualities. Main differences Hyena=scavenger <> Wolf=Hunter. Anyway, Suggestion for your Desert wolf. It has been suggested that you use the Winter wolf as the base idea. Change it's subtype and breath weapon/bite. Not a bad start. Looking at the Dire-wolf stats, I think it can be adapted to a desert setting and into the desert wolf you're looking for. Change it to magical beast with breath weapon, similar to the breath weapon of a Young Sand Dragon from Sandstorm - Basically 4d4 piercing&slashing from high velocity sand particles. Add one of two things, Sandyform(Su) or Dessication Bite. Brief Explanation of each - Sandyform(Su) A Desert-wolf can break into particles of sand, flowing into the very landscape it lives and reforming miles away in an instant. This is a supernatural ability that the desert-wolf can use X times per day. [I recommend nothing greater than 5/day and nothing less than 3/day. I'm going to use this very ability with one of my other creations sometime.] OR Dessication Bite: With each bite attack the Desert-wolf deals 1d6 extra damage from its hot arid breath. Or you can use both these with the desert-wolf. This in part will increase the overall CR to 5 or greater. Finally, small changes to Dire-wolf stats, increase the Con with a decrease of the same amount to the Dex. Increase the natural armor by an additional 3 points. Keeping the desert-wolf no smaller than Large sized will keep it around the right CR. Couple this with a pack of desert dwellers: wolves, hyena, jackals, or if you manage to pick it up, Sand Hunters from sandstorm.
Dead_Weasel 03-03-07, 02:16 AM	The hyena does, in fact, have scent. Track is a bonus feat for the wolf arbitrarily, not because it has scent. Most creatures with scent have track, but only some of them gain it as a bonus feat; many more do not have track. I missed the little B; I'm not especially bright. I'm perfectly willing to concede the skill point issue - I can't break down those bonus right to save my life, it seems. Other than that, the changes suggested are good; I completely glossed over the part of the OP asking about a sandy breath weapon. I would suggest that a failed Fort save results in blindness for, say, 1d4 rounds though; to me, that is what makes a sand attack 'sandy'.
JLaurHughes 03-03-07, 10:04 PM	Was thinking about that too, and make that 10% of permanent blindness on a failed fort save in addition to the 1d4 rounds temporary. Sand does have the capability of blinding a character completely. I missed the Scent ability with the hyena...still it's a scavenger not a hunter.
Koji 03-03-07, 11:18 PM	Hyenas aren't canines! They're more closely related to mongooses and stuff. :P You could give them a burrow speed, or perhaps they have some sort of mirage power--they can use illusion to make it look like there are three or four of them.
ZolDarklock 03-04-07, 12:22 AM	winter wolf into a summer wolf "fire type" hellhound ability type wolfs I even had a wolves that were basically winter wolf in stats except there breath was a stinking cloud like effect, them were some nasty critters, my PC's loved fighting them over any other wolf type ever created