Bone Hounds

Bone hounds are fearsome canine predators who roam the shattered remains of California in hunting packs. The make travel dangerous for wanderers, as they are highly aggressive, possessed of powerful bites, and most notably of all, gifted with the use of telepathy which makes them extraordinarily dangerous.

Appearance
An adult bone hound usually stands about three feet high at the shoulder, and is between four to six feet in length, not including their bony tail, which usually accounts for another two feet.

Diet
Bone hounds, as their name suggests, are voracious predators, and will eat virtually anything that moves. They possess strong jaws which allow them to crunch through bone, and powerful stomachs which allow them to eat almost any body part, including those which are severely irradiated.

Life Cycle
Bone hounds are typically born in litters of about three to six pups. They remain puppies for approximately six months, before entering an adolescent stage, which lasts until age two, where they become adults. They become old at around eight years of age, and most will die of old age at around ten years.

Pack Structure
Bone hounds typically hunt in packs of three to twelve members, led by a mated alpha pair, who are the only members of the pack to breed. The alpha pair are the only members of the pack permitted to breed, and are typically the largest and most dominant members of the group, and possessed of the most advanced telepathic abilities.

Habitat
Bone hounds typically inhabit warm, dry climates, such as grassland, savannah, and deserts.

Range
As a result of their usual habitats, bone hounds are usually found within the Mojave desert, as well as the Central Valley of California.

Physical Traits
Bone hounds are strong, fast, predators, gifted with considerable endurance which they employ to run down prey. Their powerful jaws allow them to easily break bones and even tear off limbs if allowed to properly bite down.

Psychic Traits
The bone hound's most dangerous trait is their psychic traits. They telepathically project noises that they produce via natural verbal means to any minds within their vicinity, allowing them to communicate with each other over longer distances and confuse their prey. However, this ability is completely unregulated, so it does also have the downside of alerting potential prey to their presence. Bone hound alphas are possessed of the "loudest" psychic voices, meaning that their snarled and growled commands will always be heard over their lesser pack mates.