Runehound

Image by Julie Dillon, © Paizo Publishing. Accessed at Julie Dillon’s deviantArt page here

[The runehound feels like a Pathfinder monster already, what with its combination of body horror and psychic powers, plus the word “rune”. James Jacobs was a designer on Monster Manual III, so I wonder if this is one of his creations.]

Runehound
This creature has the build of a wolf or large dog,
but its head is an eyeless maw, rising from a flexible stalk growing from the
creature’s back. Its body is hairless and covered in vaguely letter-like
patterns.

Runehounds are
strange, vaguely dog-like monsters that perceive the world through mental
vibrations. A runehound is an expert dowser, and can track its quarry for miles
using psychic impressions alone. They are ferocious predators who hunt
cooperatively with each other, working in packs to isolate targets and destroy
them with their acidic bile and savage jaws. Their rubbery necks are capable of
stretching and contorting, allowing them to strike at surprising range. 

Runehounds are
often submissive to other aberrant creatures, and they believe that they were
created by some other race as servitors in the distant past. As such, they will
serve as trackers and assassins for monsters or spellcasters of many types, as
long as they are suitably paid for their efforts. A runehound will also not
hesitate to turn on a master that strikes it as weak or foolish. They are
carnivorous, but supplement their diet with chemicals and poisons of all kinds.
Some runehounds have variant ranged attacks instead of their acid spew and vile
globs, capable of spraying poison, hallucinogens or slippery grease.

Runehound        CR
4
XP 1,200
NE Medium
aberration
Init +2; Senses
blindsight 30 ft., Perception +11, thoughtsense 120 ft.
Defense
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4
natural)
hp 37 (5d8+15); fast healing 3
Fort +4, Ref
+5, Will +5
Immune acid, poison, gaze attacks, visual spells and effects
Offense
Speed 50 ft.
Melee bite +7 (1d8+6)
Ranged acid spew +5 touch (3d6 acid) or vile
glob +5 touch (entangle)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Statistics
Str 18, Dex
14, Con 17, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 9
Base Atk +3; CMB
+7; CMD 19 (23 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes,
Psychic Maestro (dowsing, read aura), Psychic Sensitivity (B)
Skills Perception +11, Stealth +7, Survival +11,
Swim +9; Racial Modifiers +4
Perception, +4 Survival
Languages Aklo
Ecology
Environment temperate marshes
Organization solitary, pair or pack (3-8)
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Acid Spew (Ex) As a standard action once every
1d4 rounds, a runehound can spray acid at a single target. Treat this as a
ranged touch attack with a range of 60 feet and no range increment. A creature
struck takes 3d6 points of acid damage (no save).
Vile Glob (Ex) As a standard action once every
1d4 rounds, a runehound can vomit sticky slime at a single target. Treat this
as a ranged touch attack with a range of 60 feet and no range increment. A
creature struck is entangled for 1 minute, and must succeed a DC 15 Reflex save
or be glued down and be unable to move from its square. The goo can be
destroyed by taking 10 points of slashing damage or through the use of universal solvent. The save DC is
Constitution based.