Hound of Ill Omen

This ghostly hound appears before you. A howl quickly follows. On this day your God has taken notice of your transgressions. 

Source: AD&D 2E Monstrous Compendium Annual 3
              Original source AD&D 1E Fiend Folio

The Hounds of Ill Omen are servitors of the Gods. They are only encountered when a great offense has occurred. The hound is sent by a God to lay down a curse upon the offender. The Hound simply appears as ghostly messenger and lets loose a howl. All creatures within 120ft can hear the howl but only those who can see the hound are affected.

Now only the offender can see the hound unless other creatures use magic to reveal it. Once the howl has been delivered the offender has a feeling of dread and despair wash over him. He knows that something horrible is about to happen and is fully aware of its transgression against the God.

Combat

The Hound of Ill Omen offers no challenge in combat. It has a AC of 10, no attacks, 1 HD, and is worth zero experience. Its main function is a plot device.

The Curse

-Once the Hound has delivered its curse through its howl the offenders has its next 1d10 wounds deal quadruple damage. Until all of the 1d10 wounds have been dealt no magical healing can heal the offender.

- If the offender chooses to self-inflict damage on himself to reduces the wound total it has no effect on the sum total. Only intentional wounds count towards the threshold.

-All creature who can see and hear the Hound are affected by the curse.

-A remove curse by a priest of at least 12th level cast within one turn of the howl can reduce the wound curse by half the normal amount. So instead of 1d10 roll 1d5.

-Those who slay the Hound of Ill Omen are affected as if the curse had targeted them. This includes the person who supplied the killing blow and anyone who was involved in the combat or had planned to be involved.

-If the offenders was responsible for the death of the Hound or was involved with those who killed it he instead take double the amount of wounds. Take the next 1d10 wound and times it by 2. Also remove curse will have no effect plus there is a 70% chance the God will send a more powerful servitor to deal with transgressor.

Adventure Seed

-A prominent noble has hired the group to help protect him. Last week he was visited by the Hound of Ill Omen. He has withdrawn to his mansion and hires the adventurers as bodyguards. He feel over the course of the next day or so he will be attacked. The PCs must prevent the noble from taking damage and dying over the course of 24 hours. The mansion is attacked by waves of creatures throughout the day. They try to infiltrate the manor to get to the noble. If the noble can survive the entire day the God will remove the curse bestowed upon him.