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Lich Hound

Medium · Undead · CR 4 · Neutral Evil

Source. Tome of Beasts

119 (14d8+56)

Ability Scores

Core attributes and their modifiers.

STR

DEX

CON

INT

-2

WIS

CHA

Overview

Category Monsters

Size Medium

Type Undead

Alignment Neutral Evil

XP 1100

Initiative Bonus +4

Movement

Walk 30 ft (9.1 m)

Fly 50 ft (15.2 m)

Swim 15 ft (4.6 m)

Climb 15 ft (4.6 m)

Crawl 15 ft (4.6 m)

Senses

Blindsight 100 ft (30.5 m)

Passive Perception 14

Saving Throws

Dexterity +4 Constitution +4 Charisma +3

Skills

Acrobatics +6 Perception +4

Languages

understands Darakhul

Resistances & Immunities

Damage Immunities

poison

Damage Resistances

piercing and bludgeoning from nonmagical attacks

Condition Immunities

exhaustion, poisoned

Environments

Arctic or Tundra Caves Coast Desert Forest or Jungle Grassland or Plains Hills Laboratory Lake Mountain Ocean Ruins Sewer Shadowfell The Abyss Astral Plane Elysium Ethereal Plane Feywild Hell Material Plane Plane of Air Plane of Earth Plane of Fire Plane of Water Swamp or Marsh Temple Badlands Tomb Underworld Urban

Traits

Keen Hearing and Smell

The lich hound has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Actions

Bite

+6 to hit, reach 5 ft (1.5 m). Hit: 1d12 piercing damage.

Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d12 + 4) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Ethereal Jaunt

As a bonus action, the lich hound can magically shift from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane, or vice versa.

Gut Rip

As a bonus action, the lich hound tears into any adjacent prone creature, inflicting 19 (3d12) slashing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be incapacitated for 1d4 rounds. An incapacitated creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns; a successful save ends the condition early.

Howl

The eerie howl of lich hounds as they close in on their prey plays havoc on the morale of living creatures that hear it. Howling requires and action, and creatures that hear the howl of a lich hound within 100 feet must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 5 rounds. Creatures that successfully save against this effect cannot be affected by a lich hound's howl for 24 hours.

About Lich Hound

Lich Hound is a medium undead with a Challenge Rating of 4. It has a neutral evil alignment.

In combat, this creature maintains an Armor Class of 14 and possesses 119 hit points (derived from 14d8+56).

Lich Hound has communication capabilities including understands Darakhul. This allows it to interact verbally with various creatures and characters.

GM Tips: Using Lich Hound

1 tips available

When using Lich Hound in your D&D 5e campaign, consider these tactical approaches:

Flight Control Strategy: Target flying creatures with spells like 'Hold Person', 'Web', or 'Grease' to ground them. Without flight restriction, they can escape melee range easily. Consider area denial spells below their flight altitude to force them into disadvantageous positions.

Player Guide: Facing Lich Hound

1 strategies available

When your party encounters this creature, keep these strategies in mind:

Counter Flight Advantage: This creature can fly! Use ranged attacks, reach weapons, or spells like 'Thunderwave' to push it away. Consider 'Gust of Wind' or 'Earthbind' to ground it. Melee characters need fly speed or flight magic to engage.

Encounter Building Calculator

Standard Party Encounter (4-5 characters):

This creature is a medium encounter for a party of 4 characters of level 4.

Solo Encounter:

A single character of level 6 (up to level 20) can face this creature in a medium to hard encounter.

Experience Point Thresholds:

Medium: 2,000 XP
Hard: 3,000 XP
Deadly: 4,000 XP

Based on D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Guide encounter building guidelines. CR roughly equals party level for medium encounters.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the challenge rating of Lich Hound?: Lich Hound has a Challenge Rating of 4, making it appropriate for parties of level 4.0.
What type of creature is Lich Hound?: Lich Hound is a Medium Undead, which affects how certain spells and abilities interact with it.
What languages does Lich Hound speak?: Lich Hound can communicate in understands Darakhul.