Woof, Woof, Hiccup
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary or Pack |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Intelligence | Semi- (2-4) |
| Treasure | Special |
| Alignment | Neutral Good |
| No. Appearing | Variable |
| Armor Class | 5 |
| Movement | 12 |
| Hit Dice | 4 |
| THAC0 | 17 |
| No. of Attacks | 1 |
| Damage/Attack | 1-4 |
| Special Attacks | Nil |
| Special Defenses | Teleportation |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | M |
| Morale | Steady (11-12) |
| XP Value | 250 |
Description
Woof, Woof, Hiccup
Boozehound
The boozehound is a breed of dog with a very keen sense of smell for alcohol. Unlike its cousin the bloodhound which doesn't have a fondness for blood, the boozehound has an affection for booze (i.e. alcohol).
The boozehound weighs about ninety pounds. The usual color is black with golden-brown markings. The head is large, with long drooping ears, and many wrinkles on the face. The skull is high and round.
This hound's very sensitive nose enables it to detect alcohol. A boozehound can smell even small traces of alcohol up to 1000 feet away. And of course, it will want to seek out such alcohol for consumption.
A boozehound has a great fondness for alcohol. Whenever it gets a chance to drink alcohol, a boozehound will do so. When determining intoxication levels, the boozehound has a Constitution of 1d6+12.
Unfortunately, as a boozehound becomes intoxicated it begins to involuntarily, randomly blink (teleport a short distance). When in a state of slight intoxication, a boozehound blinks every 1d8 rounds. When in a state of moderate intoxication, a boozehound blinks every 1d6 rounds. When in a state of great intoxication, a boozehound blinks every 1d4 rounds. When in a state of comatose intoxication, a boozehound blinks every 1d2 rounds. Roll after each blink. To determine where the dog teleports, roll a 4-sided die: 1 = in front, 2 = to the left, 3 = to the right, 4 = in back. The distance teleported is 1d4 feet while slightly intoxicated, 1d6 feet while moderately intoxicated, 1d8 feet while greatly intoxicated, 1d12 feet while comatose. Blinking is an innate power and the animal will never appear inside a space occupied by a solid object.
This involuntary blink can become quite comical as a drunk boozehound begins popping around as it lies down to take a nap, or as the boozehound goes for a little stroll but keeps blinking and never quite reaches its destination.
A boozehound does not suffer the effects of a hangover. All other recovery from intoxication is normal.
Combat
Boozehounds are non-vicious creatures. When forced to fight, they bite for 1d4 points of damage. If given a constant supply of alcohol, a boozehound becomes extremely docile and lazy.
Habit/Society
Boozehounds do not need alcohol to live, but without it there is no reason for them to live. A boozehound usually roams the world with a pack of boozehounds searching for civilization where there is always an ample supply of alcohol. Then its common for a boozehound to take up residence with an owner (probably one that owns a tavern or inn). Domesticating a wild roaming boozehound is easy. It only needs to be house broken, and this can be quite simple if the punishment-reward system is used (with alcohol of course). There isn't much more domesticating left to do because there is very little the boozehound does except drink and eat.
The only place in the wild where boozehounds are content to live are the wild-magic power nodes where magical alcohol elixirs such as Whimsy Wine (q.v. Popular & Strange Alcohols Amongst the Worlds) are naturally created.
Ecology
Boozehounds seem to be related to bloodhounds and blink dogs, but nobody knows for sure.