AC 15 (natural armor)
HP 97 (15d8+30; bloodied 48)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Proficiency +3; Maneuver DC 15
Skills Athletics +7, Insight +7, Perception +7, Stealth +6 (1d8)
Damage Resistances cold
Condition Immunities
frightened
Senses darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages Common; telepathy 100 ft. (images of death omens only)
Innate Spellcasting. Black Shuck’s innate spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will:
divination
(indefinite timespan; death omens only)
3/day:
fog cloud
,
arcane riposte
(fire damage only), hunter’s mark
Keen Hearing and Smell. Black Shuck has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Magic Resistance. Black Shuck has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. Black Shuck attacks twice.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) magical piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone .
BONUS ACTIONS
Terrifying Howl. Black Shuck can use a bonus action to unleash a terrifying howl. Each creature of its choice within 120 feet of Black Shuck that is able to both see and hear it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Black Shuck’s Frightful Howl for the next 24 hours.
Although there are various ghostly black dogs in British mythology and folklore, this entry is easily one of my favorites—a big black dog which haunts the coasts of East Anglia in England, the one and only Black Shuck!
The name “Shuck” means “devil”. Legends about this terrifying canine go back to 1127 and accounts range from it being Satan himself, to a poor fellow’s lonely companion haunting the spot of his death, to a terrifying monster that liked to bust into churches to wreak havoc. One thing is for certain: Black Shuck is a great example of localized folklore really taking root, like the Jersey Devil but much, much older.
Even worse, legends say that should you meet Black Shuck, your death is guaranteed within one year.
“He takes the form of a huge black dog, and prowls along dark lanes and lonesome field footpaths, where, although his howling makes the hearer’s blood run cold, his footfalls make no sound. You may know him at once, should you see him, by his fiery eye; he has but one, and that, like the Cyclops’, is in the middle of his head. But such an encounter might bring you the worst of luck: it is even said that to meet him is to be warned that your death will occur before the end of the year.”
Highways & Byways in East Anglia,1901