Once a month or so, we’ll do a Random Monster Mashup! This could take many forms – maybe see what happens when the monsters fight or team up, think about what kinds of circumstances might result in this situation, and even, if we’re feeling really creative, think about what happens if we stick these two monsters in a teleporter together and hit “SEND.”

This month we have a pair of monsters that make for an interesting combination. One is an ancient, undead serpent being that remembers everything, but not very well. The other is a rotting, poisoning, two-headed monstrosity that stalks its prey for days.

The Death Dog and the Bone Naga make a fascinating pairing for any Dungeon Master looking to offer something weird and new.

One thing that these creatures share is that they are cursed. The Bone Naga cannot fully die while they’re in the thrall of whatever necromancer brought them back from the grave. They obey and wait and serve, all while the endless memories they had in life are jumbled in their minds like an exploded jigsaw puzzle.

Meanwhile, the Death Dogs are compelled to hunt – relentlessly, mercilessly, two sets of jaws dripping poisonous saliva. They stalk their prey from the shadows, lunging at them when they least expect it, and devour them. If they’re lucky.

In an adventure, these could work well in a single location.

Your players need information on an ancient secret, and the only one who might know anything is a rumored Bone Naga somewhere in the bowels of the city. As soon as they get close, though, they begin to feel as though they are hunted.

They are. And they’re getting closer.

The Death Dogs have been set to guard this lair, probably by the same evil wizard who raised the Bone Naga. No one is to get through who doesn’t know the pass phrase, and that will probably include your players. So while they hunt through the labyrinthine headquarters of their enemy, these two-headed monstrosities are always at their heels. Not killing them outright, perhaps, but wearing them down with poison and blood, so that even if they get within sight of the Bone Naga, they’ll be far too weak to ask their questions.

Conversely, the Bone Naga may know things about Death Dogs that are essential to your players. Perhaps the Death Dogs’ poison is a key component to an alchemical miracle. Or a particular Death Dog is the faithful guardian of a dangerous Devil, exiled to the Material Plane.

While the memory of these serpentine undead are jumbled and confused, there is still a way they can point your players to their two-headed targets. An oblique reference to the hounds of the underworld, perhaps, or a riddle about how Man’s Best Friend can sometimes be a terrifying enemy. The counsel of the Bone Naga, mad and furious, can lead your players into further danger.

Either way, the Bone Naga and the Death Dogs are bound by the circumstances of their nature, and those circumstances are cruel indeed. The rage and hatred that power both creatures could be the fuel you need to send your party into darker and more terrible dangers, perhaps making them wonder if the treasure they are hunting is truly worth it.

Of course, we can get even more creative by combining these creatures, adding horror to horror until we get something truly more awful than the sum of its parts.

Say hello to The Ossuary Hound.

This skeletal, two-headed, doglike creature has a serpentine spine that coils far too long for its body. Its ribs grind as they shift, and bone fragments shed like scales when it moves. Each head bears empty sockets that glow with necrotic fire, and from its gaping jaws, it hisses spells instead of barking.

You see, when a Bone Naga is finally destroyed, or outlives its usefulness, cultists bind the fragments of its bones to a freshly fallen Death Dog, invoking fell magics to turn the resulting creature into a vessel for necromantic power. The result is something truly awful – neither wholly canine nor wholly Naga.

All hunger.

Its dual bite carries both poison and necrotic energy, sapping the strength of its victims. Its former intelligence retains the ability to cast some simple spells to control the battlefield — Command, perhaps, or Hold Person. Its long spine and tail can whip about, slicing through flesh or binding prey for further attack.

Most importantly, it is relentless. It will hunt its prey no matter where they go, regardless of which plane they’re in. The knowledge once possessed by the Bone Naga will become little more than a reference library for the Ossuary Hound to track those it has been set upon.

The important thematic thread that ties all of these creatures together is that they are servants who cannot stop serving. If you’ve ever wondered at what point loyalty becomes a curse, the Death Dog, Bone Naga, and Ossuary Hound can show you exactly where that point is. These creatures cannot help but obey, and if you want to rattle the cage of your Paladin, they can be a wonderful way to spark some very dangerous thoughts.

Why do I serve? It is truly my will that drives me, or my fear that my worth only comes from what I can do for others? If I stop serving my King, Queen, God, or Oath… who am I?

Suddenly this encounter isn’t just about surviving an encounter. It’s about what happens when the monster turns out to be you.

And that’s when the real story starts.

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Download the Ossuary Hound Stat Block!