Dire Wolves

In the blighted lands of Sylvania, wolf corpses must be burnt or buried deeply, for those that are not will return from the dead and continue the hunt in Unlife. Even when these precautions are taken and the bodies of these monstrous wolves are buried in deep pits, the Dark Magic can gather and resurrect them. Half-rotted, their fur matted with blood and grime, the animated carcasses claw their way through the earth to hunt again. The smell of decaying flesh surrounds them, maggots writhe in open wounds and charred skin hangs from their bones in ragged flaps.

These Dire Wolves are the hunting hounds of the Vampires. They gather in great packs around the castles and towers of the Undead lords of Sylvania, their piercing howls echoing for miles across the still night. When the Princes of Undeath march to war, the Dire Wolves follow, treating the Vampire as their pack leader. Though Undead, their senses are as keen as they were in life, and the Dire Wolves lead the army, tracking down the living. In battle the Dire Wolves often speed along the flanks of the Undead army, driving away enemy cavalry and picking on small, vulnerable regiments or war machine crews.

Vampires sometimes breed these creatures in pens deep below their castles and towers, feeding them on local peasants and goading them to the heights of viciousness. The Vampires imbue their creations with Dark Magic to increase vitality and bestow a callous cunning. These monstrous creations are known as Doom Wolves, and the Vampires send these larger, more intelligent beasts to lead the Dire Wolf packs.