Wolf Worries

The old saying “don’t let your eyes wander” doesn’t really refer to a mad scientist’s experiment gone awry, but welp, here we are.

A good dungeon always needs a couple of rooms that just don’t fit the typical narrative. Yes, you’re going to encounter a barracks, a storage room, a library, etc., but your adventurers won’t be expecting a secret lab that churns out mixed DNA monsters in the hopes of building an invincible army!

Brilliant STL creator Schlossbauer has a soft spot for experiments gone wrong, so we downloaded this mutated wolf for free on Cults. He’s got all sorts of crazy creature hybrids that fit perfectly into this “It’s loose!” Dungeon Delve Wandering Monster scenario.

Let’s set the scene here. The party is currently making its way through another wild, dangerous dungeon. They’ve blown through all their hit points, utilized all their spells, checked off all their short rests, and need to find a long resting spot for some much-needed shuteye.

The intent here is not to discover the secret lab or take out the insane inventor. Instead, we want to “plant the seed” that there is some crazy stuff going on down here and that they should tread carefully.

What DM Ben wants the party to inadvertently discover this wolf-squared monstrosity outside of their resting spot. Wisely retreating to a different area of the dungeon is one option as the group can choose to fall back in exchange for a level of exhaustion. Or, they certainly can draw swords against this slimy, horrifying beast.

So, what stats would our misunderstood chemist have mixed together in an attempt to create the perfect soldier companion? A couple options here…

• Greater Murk Wolf | Magic mutation
• Necrophage Lurker | Living organism infestation
• Bale Wolf | Warhammer-inspired

So, any of these monster builds work for our Wandering Genes scenario, so it’s just a matter of how tough we want our unbalanced beast to be.

The Bale Wolf is the toughest (AC 17, HP 85) and comes with three attacks (+6 att, 2 bites + 1 claw). The Necrophage Lurker is a step down (AC 17, HP 26) in terms of beefiness with its bite att/2d4+2 but also a cool spiked tail ranged attack (+6/1d4+4). Lastly, the Greater Murk Wolf (AC 15, 26) is the lightest encounter with two bites at +4/2d4+2.

Monster mutations should always be as freakish as possible, so we’re actually going to take bits and bobs of each monster to create the perfect runaway organism for our surprised six-member, level 4 group.

• AC 15 (exposed eye lessens the natural armor)
• HP 85 (need some heft to it)
• Bite Attack x2 (+6/2d4+2 damage) | two heads
• Claw Attack x4 (+4/2d4+2 damage | four front claws
• Spike Ranged Attack (+6/1d4+4)
• Limb Weakness: each 19/20 to-hit roll takes out a fighting appendage
• Name Tag: Wolf Experiment #29 | “Eye Guy”

So, this poor fella has broken out of his kennel and is just lost. He desperately wants to escape the dungeon and is coming through their door whether the party likes it or not! If the group doesn’t eliminate this mutation quickly, his high-pitched squealing and violent door attack is sure to bring more guards!

Upon defeat, the group can turn this into a side mission by grabbing his name tag off his collar and asking around about who created this mutation and why.

Now all that’s left to do is update our table!

Until next time!