Return from hiatus with claws and bite

Thanks everyone who sent in an entry to our April contest. We'll post the results, including the top 3 entries soon. And, send in an entry for May's contest, eh?

Thanks also for bearing with us as we finalize plans to migrate our site to a Wordpress installation on our own servers. There's something downright satisfying about that.

We are also about to embark on an 8-post journey of virtuous items for any adventuring avatar. They should be fun additions to your role playing games, and bring back shades of your gaming past.

Stay tuned.

May Contest: Awe-inspiring Items

Thanks to all of you who submitted entries to our April contest, Dastardly Denizens. We're happy to announce May's contest, Awe-inspiring Items.

Write up your favorite item with a description of its origin, magical (or non-magical) effects, price, construction costs in materials, skills, and (if appropriate) time and experience. Artifacts are also welcome, as they are physical items wielded in much the same way as any other item.

"Post"mark your entries (to clawclawbite ATE gmail.com) by the end of May to be considered for the contest. Winners will appear in CCB 19 this summer.

By submitting an entry, you allow us to post the content of your entry, and reuse the entry for Claw/Claw/Bite magazine.

April Contest: Dastardly Creatures

Use the month of April to create a dastardly creature, and you'll win free copies of Claw/Claw/Bite and our inaugural issue of Tailslap. Entries are due on the last day of the month, at which point, our next contest will be announced.

Be creative. Be crazy. Enter as often as you'd like; no purchase necessary. Have fun with this. Email entries to clawclawbite@gmail.com.

Winners will be printed in CCB 18!

Entries may be printed in future issues of CCB or future collections released by Unicorn Rampant Publishing.

UPDATE (response to Comment #1): To help structure your entries, borrow a template from one of our recent creature entries, described in detail in the D20 SRD, or use the Pathfinder bestiary system, including an introduction, stat block, and a description in your entry.

New blog site about to go live

In case you've wondered what we've been up to these past few weeks, well...

After almost 4 years working with Blogger, we've decided to move on to Wordpress, and will be hosting the site off our own shiny server. We expect to make this move in another few days, once the blog software is completely installed, configured, and the data migrated over. We'll keep you posted as to when the move will be made.

Those of you using the clawclawbite.blogspot.com address, please migrate over to clawclawbite.com, which will stay with us wherever we move in the future. Consider that link the permanent home of the magazine.

Thanks again for your support...

Dark Hounds of Sin

Dark Hounds of Sin wander the earth, tempting humans and their brothers with sin. Some take the forms of humans to lure their prey into dark alleys and private homes where they can strike.

There are different dog types for each sin, each of which embody a particular sin. Here is an example of a Dark Hound of Gluttony, who may be encountered at a banquet in the court of a castle.

Dark Hounds of Sin (Gluttony)
Size/Type: Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 16d8+32 (103 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 28 (+5 Dex, +10 natural, +3 hide armor), touch 13, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +16/+24
Attack: Bite +18 melee (1d10+5/19-20 plus 1d6 poison)
Full Attack: Bite +13 melee (1d10+5/19-20 plus 1d6 poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapon, poison bite, rend
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., protection from good, scent, vulnerability to water, shape shift
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +12
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 21, Con 15, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Intimidate +22, Jump +20, Listen +16, Spot +18, Survival +10*, Tumble +12
Feats: Alertness, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (bite)
Environment: Outer Planes and urban environments
Organization: Solo
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 17-26 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: --

A typical hound of sin stands 5 feet high at the shoulder and weighs 140 pounds.

Hounds of sin are always encountered alone.

Shape Shift (Su): Three times a day, hounds of sin can shape shift into humanoid forms in order to tempt their humanoid prey.

Combat

Hounds of sin sneak up behind their prey, employing razor-sharp teeth to bite into and rend their opponents.

The natural weapons of hounds of sin are treated as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Breath Weapon (Su): 10x10 area of noxious poison that quickly fills an area, dealing 2d6 poison damage, Fortitude DC 25 to negate. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Poison Bite (Su): Hounds of sin deal an extra 1d6 points of poison damage every time they bite an opponent, as if these bites are a poison weapon.

Skills

Hounds of sin have a +10 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks, which are commonly used.

*They also receive a +8 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent, due to their keen sense of smell.