From the depths of the night, a low, guttural growl echoes. A decayed hound lurches into view, its eyes vacant yet focused, jaws snapping with unnatural vigor. The zombie hound advances, driven to track and attack anyone too slow to escape its relentless pursuit.

Zombie hounds move with a disturbing, uneven gait, their rotting flesh hanging loosely from their skeletal frames. They are clad in tattered remnants of collars or harnesses, and their stench of decay is unmistakable.

Dark Hunters. Infused with sinister necromantic magic, the remains of once-loyal hounds rise as zombie hounds, executing their creator’s commands with unyielding precision. They move with jerky, uneven motions, their senses eerily sharp despite their decayed state, and carry the pungent odor of death.

While most zombie hounds are created from the remains of domesticated canines, any canine corpse can be imbued with this semblance of life. The necromantic magic animating them, often through powerful spells, allows them to follow the scent of prey with a terrifying single-mindedness. Some rise spontaneously in areas saturated with dark magic. Once turned into a zombie hound, the creature cannot be restored to life except by potent magic, such as a resurrection spell.

A zombie hound retains no vestiges of its former self, its mind emptied of loyalty and affection. Without orders, it stands aimlessly, rotting, until it catches the scent of a living creature, at which point it becomes an unyielding tracker. The magic that animates it imbues it with malevolence, driving it to attack any living being it encounters.

Grisly Trackers. Zombie hounds appear as they did in life, bearing the wounds that killed them. However, the vile magic that reanimates them often leaves them in even more grotesque states. Hunting dogs might rise from their graves, eyes clouded and bodies bloated, yet still able to track with uncanny accuracy.

Mindless Pursuers. Zombie hounds pursue their prey with unrelenting determination, oblivious to obstacles or hazards. They will charge through thick underbrush, plunge into freezing waters, or leap from heights to reach their target. Their senses, although dulled by death, are preternaturally keen, allowing them to detect hidden or distant prey that living hounds might miss.

A zombie hound can follow simple commands and distinguish between friends and foes, but it lacks the ability to reason beyond its immediate directive to track and kill. It may use its teeth and claws with brutal efficiency, but it will not utilize complex tactics or retreat from danger unless ordered to do so.