Hound Archon

Description

(From Planes of Law - Monstrous Supplement - 1995):

Guardians of the Lanterns and the first and second layers of Mount Celestia, hounds also serve as planar hosts. Much like the helpful lanterns, the hound archons welcome travelers to Mount Celestia. They will gladly direct a planewalker to where they want to go - though often with a watchful eye.

Hound archons can eat anything set before them, as long as it’s organic. They have no preference for meat or plant matter, and neither affects them adversely. Interestingly, they don't hunt for meat or harvest vegetation, preferring instead to subsist on gifts of food offered by visitors. Hounds can live indefinitely until the next offering, perhaps subsisting on the remnants of planar essence gleaned as lanterns. They lose this ability once they have metamorphosed to the next station of goodness - that of warden.

Combat: Like most other archons, hounds fight only to defend Mount Celestia or themselves. If the cause is just, or the defendant innocent of evil, hound archons will also defend those who are unable to protect themselves against a mightier foe. Regardless of their motivation for battle, hounds fight with a will. When they attack, they can use weapons, though they prefer their natural abilities. The fists cause ld4 points of damage each, while their fierce bite causes Id8 points.

Hounds can also shape change into any type of dog or wolf, though they can’t take the form of a lycanthrope. While in their animal form, they can use any of its natural abilities, as well as all of their own. They are immune to nonmagical weapons - regardless of which form they are in.

Each hound archon has a telepathic link to 100 lantern archons. Whenever there’s trouble, a hound can spread the message via its lanterns (which pass word quickly indeed). If a hound ever enters so it can expect ldl0 lanterns to arrive each round u all 100 are gathered.