Monster Week at the Near TPK - the Earth Wolf

I started Monster Week with six drawings - not quite a week. Fortunately, Jen came through for me with one more. She also drew four really wacky ones, so I have fodder for a month's worth of weekly "what the heck" posts. Brainstormers, set your reminders for 10 AM Central Time (4PM GMT, I think) Saturdays to come by and answer "what the heck is that?"

There are already lots of wolf/hound variants in the Monster Manual, but this stocky guy looks like he could fill an empty niche: pack hunter of elemental earth. The shock wave power copied from the galeb duhr synergizes nicely with the standard wolf's love for enemies that have fallen down and can't get up...

Earth Wolf

Earth wolves are elemental pack hunters that manipulate the terrain to hinder their prey.

Level 7 Skirmisher

Earth Wolf

XP 300

Medium elemental beast

Initiative +8 Senses Perception +6; tremorsense 10
HP 83; Bloodied 41
AC 21; Fortitude 21, Reflex 19, Will 19
Immune petrification
Speed 6 (earth walk), burrow 3

mBite (standard; at-will)

+12 vs. AC; 2d6 + 5 damage, or 3d6 + 5 damage against a prone target.

CShock Wave (standard; recharge 6)

Close blast 3; +8 vs. Fortitude; 1d8 + 5 damage, and the target is knocked prone.

Combat Advantage

If the earth wolf has combat advantage against the target, the target is also knocked prone on a hit.

Pack Attack

The earth wolf deals an extra 5 damage on melee attacks against an enemy that has two or more of the wolf’s allies adjacent to it.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +11
Str 21 (+8) Dex 16 (+6) Wis 16 (+6)
Con 19 (+7) Int 4 (+0) Cha 10 (+3)

Earth Wolf Tactics

Earth wolves work together to take down an enemy, usually focusing on the weakest in a group. They flank prey or use shock wave so that victims are knocked prone, allowing other wolves to deal greater damage.

Level 19 Soldier

Dire Earth Wolf

XP 2,400

Large elemental beast

Initiative +17 Senses Perception +15; tremorsense 10
Rough Ground (Earth) aura 1; enemies treat the area within the aura as difficult terrain.
HP 185; Bloodied 92
AC 35; Fortitude 33, Reflex 31, Will 31
Immune petrification
Speed 6 (earth walk), burrow 3

mBite (standard; at-will)

+26 vs. AC; 3d6 + 8 damage, or 5d6 + 8 damage against a prone target.

CShock Wave (standard; recharge 6)

Close blast 3; +22 vs. Fortitude; 2d6 + 8 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square and knocked prone.

RRocky Terrain (minor; at-will)

Ranged 10; up to 4 squares within range become difficult terrain. The squares need not be contiguous, but the affected terrain must consist of earth or stone.

Combat Advantage

If the dire earth wolf has combat advantage against the target, the target is also knocked prone on a hit.

Pack Attack

The dire earth wolf deals an extra 10 damage on melee attacks against an enemy that has two or more of the wolf’s allies adjacent to it.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -
Skills Stealth +20
Str 27 (+17) Dex 22 (+15) Wis 22 (+15)
Con 25 (+16) Int 5 (+6) Cha 10 (+9)

Dire Earth Wolf Tactics

Dire earth wolves use tactics similar to earth wolves, though they also use rocky terrain and their rough ground aura to hinder their enemies' ability to shift or move effectively.

Earth Wolf Lore

A character knows the following information with a successful Arcana check.
DC 15: Earth wolves hunt in packs like normal wolves, but even the smaller specimens are stronger and tougher than dire wolves.
DC 20: Larger earth wolf specimens cause the ground to crack and split around them, making the terrain treacherous. As creatures of earth, they still move normally.

Encounter Groups

Earth wolves are often found in the service of intelligent beings of elemental earth.
Level 8 Encounter (XP 1,850)
* 3 earth wolves (level 7 skirmisher)
* 1 galeb duhr rockcaller (level 11 controller)
* 1 galeb duhr earthbreaker (level 8 artillery)
Level 18 Encounter (XP 10,400)
* 2 dire earth wolves (level 19 soldier)
* 1 earth titan (level 16 elite brute)
* 8 ogre bludgeoneers (level 16 minion)

A monster writeup a day for a week was a more ambitious project than I gave it credit for at the beginning, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Tomorrow, the grand finale: find out what the heck was that?