Innate Spellcasting. The amarok's spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 18). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: zone of truth, true seeing, speak with animals
3/day for each: bestow curse, remove curse
Alert. An amarok gains a +5 bonus to its initiative and can’t be surprised while it is conscious.
Keen Hearing and Smell. The amarok has advantage on Wisdom (perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics. The amarok has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Multiattack. An amarok make three bite melee weapon attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 4d6 + 10 piercing damage.
Soul Bite. Melee Spell Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 4d6 + 6 psychic damage and the target creature must make DC 18 Strength saving throw or else be knocked prone and restrained until the amarok makes another soul bite attack or bite attack. A shadowy image of the bitten creature appears next to the amarok and the amarok visibly wrestles with the shadowy image. This ability doesn’t work against construct and undead creatures. The amarok can move and drag the target restrained/prone creature in any direction with half of its movement speed.
Description
These monstrosities resemble massive black wolves, but their origins are unknown. Some scholars debate whether they are creatures from the Shadowfell or creations of the Abyss, however an amarok's temperament suggests that they are not spawned from places of great evil and torment. While an amarok looks dark and cruel on the outside, underneath its outward appearance lies a clever and intuitive magical creature that seems to act more as a protector rather than hunter.
Amaroks are reported to have some clear sentience and intelligence. In each report, an amarok has ambushed a lone hunter, herder, or trapper and knocked them unconscious instead of devouring their bodies like a typical monster. Though they appear to be carnivorous, amaroks rarely hunt humanoids for their meat. Victims - always identified later as poachers or criminals - report their unconscious bodies being dragged to the edge of forests or to the base of mountains, far away from the place they were excessively harvesting from. Some victims of amarok attacks even report being mocked in the common tongue by the huge black wolf right before an attack commences.
On rare occasions, amaroks have been seen leading packs of predators (wolves, bears, lions, etc.) against villages or settlements that excessively rob from the bounties of the local wildlife. While a lone pack of wolves can give a community some trouble, a pack of wolves led by an amarok is a dire omen for those who trample over nature in favor of societal needs.
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