Canon:Death dog

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the death dog is a magical beast. It resembles a large, ugly, undead hound with two heads. Each head thinks independently, but they both have a penetrating double-bark. It is similar to a hell hound, yeth hound, shadow mastiff and werewolf.

Publication history
The death dog first appeared in the first edition in the original Fiend Folio (1981). The death dog appeared in second edition in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989) under the "dog" entry, reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The death dog appeared in the third edition Fiend Folio (2003).

Characteristics and habits
The death dog is an evil creature which lurks in dark forests, deserted dungeons, barren wastelands and abandoned ruins, and it kills anyone it sees on sight. Though it can also attack with its teeth and claws, it has a preferred attack in the form of its disease-causing bite. The abominable disease kills the victim within just a few days, and then causes them to rise as a zombie. Only a disease curing spell can save them. Death dogs, though somewhat unintelligent, are highly acknowledging and proud of all those that have died via their bite and risen as undead, and gloat over both them and their family and friends. Death dogs are sometimes used by evil necromancers, power-mad rulers, demon lords, and other such malevolent beings to track down and slay rebels, criminals, escaped slaves or prisoners and the like. They also make good spies and assassins. Death dogs cannot speak, but understand both Undercommon and Abbysal. They are neutral evil in alignment.