Faitfhful Hound: Who’s a Good Boy?
Spell Level: 4
School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 8 hours
Components: V, S, M (A tiny silver whistle, a piece of bone, and a thread)
You conjure a phantom watchdog in an unoccupied space that you can see within range, where it remains for the duration, until you dismiss it as an action, or until you move more than 100 feet away from it.
The hound is invisible to all creatures except you and can’t be harmed. When a Small or larger creature comes within 30 feet of it without first speaking the password that you specify when you cast this spell, the hound starts barking loudly. The hound sees invisible creatures and can see into the Ethereal Plane. It ignores illusions.
At the start of each of your turns, the hound attempts to bite one creature within 5 feet of it that is hostile to you. The hound’s attack bonus is equal to your spellcasting ability modifier + your proficiency bonus. On a hit, it deals 4d8 piercing damage.
Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold
Faithful Hound is Alarm with teeth, literally. If you’re in the market for a flexible spell with moderate use cases, you’re in the right place. Plus, it comes with an invisible very good boy, and who DOESN’T want an invisible pet dog?
This spell is a little bit of See Invisibility, a little bit Alarm, and a little bit Spiritual Weapon. In specific combat encounters, you’re going to get a lot of mileage out of it. It doesn’t require concentration, and offers a functional free attack for as long as it's up. Once you place it, though, it's there until the spell ends, so positioning it in high density areas or in key paths that creatures have to move through will ensure you get most out of the combat portion. A free attack is a massive deal; it doesn’t even require a bonus action. The power ceiling here is high, and it rewards tactical thinking and placement.
Out of combat, having a sound based warning with a 4th level spell on its own isn’t worth it. It detects invisible creatures and sees onto the ethereal, which adds some fringe benefits, but it more or less is Alarm but worse. Losing out on the mental ping from any distance is pretty massive when considering its utility; you can’t know when an area is being accessed, nor can you venture a moderate distance away from the dog.
The 30 ft. range also hampers its effectiveness. You’re encouraged to use it to keep watch while you rest, and when doing so, you’ll probably want to have it bar a specific entrance to give you a bit of time to get up. This will make it excellent in guarding dead end corridors and cave entrances, but mediocre if you’re resting under open stars in a field.
Faithful Hound is solid. It encourages tactical uses, won’t weigh the game down or grind things to a halt like some other summoning spells do, and does more than just function as an extra attack. If it were only the warning effect, it’d be horrendous; with its combat implementations, it can be a great tool to have on your belt.
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