Wolf, Rock
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain | Any mountains and hills |
| Frequency | Very rare |
| Organization | Solitary (Packleader) |
| Activity Cycle | Any |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Intelligence | Average (8-10) |
| Treasure | Nil |
| Alignment | Lawful Good |
| No. of Appearing | 1 (2, 2% chance) |
| Armor Class | 3 |
| Move | 15 |
| Hit Dice | 5+5 |
| THAC0 | 15 |
| No. of Attacks | 3 |
| Damage/Attack | 1d6/1d6/2d4 |
| Special Attacks | None |
| Special Defenses | Camoflauge, +2 on surprise |
| Magic Resistance | Nil |
| Size | L (8'-13') |
| Morale | Fanatic (18) |
| XP Value | 1,400 |
Description
A Rock Wolf resebles a huge, grey wolf, being 10' long and well over 4' high at the shoulder.
If seen from a distance, a rock wolf looks exactly as a rock, and if it chooses not to be discovered, you can pass within a few feet and still think it's a rock. Creatures with infravision has a 30% chance of detecting a rock wolf if they are actively using the ability, dwarves have 75% chance because of their natural affinity for rock.
The pelt of the rock wolf looks grey if seen from the distance, but if studied at close range, you'll discover that it's actually made up of thousands and thousand of small rock crystals. This is how it got it's name and low armor class.
Combat
In combat, the rock wolf attacks with it's claws fist and then with its jaws. If it has a rider, the claw attacks are made with a -2 penalty. It is possible for the rider to use weapons from the back of the rock wolf without penalty, but only one-handed weapons can be used.
If a mother and cub is attacked, the mother will fight even if reduced below 0 hit points. She can continue to fight for 1d10+10 rounds after reduced to -1 or below, each negative hit point of damage reduces the time by 1 round.
Rock wolves sometimes act as leaders of packs of wolves and/or dire wolves, usually 50-80 ((1d4+4)x10) wolves, but packs of several hundred has been reported, although they only form in times of great need. A wolf pack led by a rock wolf never attacks human or demi-human habitations.
When a rock wolf is a pack leader, all wolves in the pack are at least 75% of maximum hit points (18-24 hp for wolves, 27-34 for dire wolves), this reflects the ability the rock wolf has to lead the pack wisely and the fact that only the strongest of wolves are accepted as company by the rock wolf.
This pack is a formidable fighting force, each wolf have a morale rating of 14, and the pack as a whole has a limited form of telepathy that allows them to fight as if they were all controlled by one mind; the mind of the rock wolf. A rock wolf may not fight while controlling the fight of a pack this way, and the wolves will flee the battle field if the rock wolf is killed.
Habitat
Rock wolves frequently allow themselves to be used as mounts for dwarven holy fighters, and serve their riders with great skill and courage. Once the rider is chosen, the wolf will not allow anybody else to ride it. Because of the unique pelt of a rock wolf, it may be ridden without difficulty if the wolf chooses to do so. However, a separate Riding Proficiency is required to be able to fight from the back of this beast.
Only the greatest of rock wolves present themself as mounts and develop almost a symbiose with their rider. To reflect this, a rock wolf mount has the same maximum hit points as it's rider, up to a maximum of 45.
Ecology
The origin of rock wolves is unknown, it is believed that it was created to balance out the evil influence the winter wolves have on the wolf breed. If two rock wolves are encountered, it will either be a mating pair (80%) or a mother with a cub (20%).