| Hit Dice: | 8d10+32 (76 hp) |
| Initiative: | +7 |
| Speed: | 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 30 ft. |
| Armor Class: | 20 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +8 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 17 |
| Base Attack/Grapple: | +8/+18 |
| Attack: | Claw +13 melee (2d4+6) |
| Full Attack: | 2 claws +13 melee (2d4+6) and bite +8 melee (2d6+3) or sting +13 melee (2d4+9 plus poison) |
| Space/Reach: | 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with sting) |
| Special Attacks: | Poison, pounce |
| Special Qualities: | Blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 90 ft., damage reduction 10/magic, immunity to charm, sleep, and fear, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10, scent, spell resistance 19 |
| Saves: | Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +8 |
| Abilities: | Str 22, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 15 |
| Skills: | Climb +14, Hide +11, Jump +10, Listen +5, Move Silently +11, Spot +5, Survival +16; racial bonuses |
| Feats: | Alertness, Improved Initiative, Stealthy, Track [bonus] |
| Environment: | Gray Waste of Hades (or other evil outer plane) |
| Organization: | Solitary, pair, or pack (5-12) |
| Challenge Rating: | 8 |
| Treasure: | Standard |
| Alignment: | Always neutral evil |
| Advancement: | 9-12 HD (Large); 13-16 HD (Huge) |
| Level Adjustment: | — |
This vicious beast looks like a cross between a wolf and a cockroach. Its sleek, elongated head sports a skull-like face and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Its eyes are lost in the shadows of its eye sockets. Its body is covered in a chitinous shell, and its tail resembles a streamlined version of a scorpion’s tail—right down to the stinger.
Used at one time as hunting beasts by both sides in the Blood War, pack fiends now roam freely throughout the Gray Waste of Hades, stalking and savaging any creature foolish or unlucky enough to be caught alone. More powerful lower-planar beings sometimes round up small groups of pack fiends and relegate them to their original roles as hunting beasts. Night hags in particular relish them as pets, and pit fiends and glabrezu are known to keep kennels full of starving pack fiends, just waiting for the right moment to take them out hunting.
A lone pack fiend uses stealth to approach a target, pouncing the very moment the target becomes aware of the pack fiend’s presence—or when, aware or not, the target is unable to escape. Multiple pack fiends prefer hit-and-run tactics, making quick slashes at the target in one round, then withdrawing in the next, so that the target is never quite sure where the next attack will come from. Whenever possible, pack fiends band together to take targets down one at a time, moving on to the next for only when the current target stops twitching.
A pack fiend’s natural weapons are treated as evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 18, initial damage 1d6 Strength, secondary damage 2d6 Strength. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Pounce (Ex):: When a pack fiend makes a charge, it can follow with a full attack.
Skills: Pack fiends gain a +4 racial bonus on Hide, Move Silently, and Survival checks.
Trained pack fiends are highly valued as hunting beasts. A pack fiend requires training before it can hunt on command. Training a pack fiend requires six weeks of work and a DC 25 Handle Animal check.
Source: Planar Handbook, page 128.