Mist wolf

Greyhawk Creature

Mist wolf
A mist wolf, as depicted in Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix (1992).
General information
Alignment:	Lawful Good
Type:	Magical beast
First appearance:	MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix (1990).

The mist wolf is a cousin to the normal wolves, but is larger and exhibits some magical abilities and a lot more intelligence. Although lawful good in alignment, they are treated with distrust due to the fear normal wolves provoke amongst people.

Ecology

A mist wolf from the 1991 Trading Cards, art by Jeff Easley.

A pack of mist wolves encountered in its own territory (usually wilderness forests), will typically have half as many cubs present as there are females in the pack. Mist wolves are monogamous and mate for life, and both parents share the responsibility of caring and raising the cubs. Cubs grow rapidly, reaching full maturity at the age of 12 months. They gain their breath weapon ability at half that age. Mist wolves have a magical ability that makes it easier for them to disengage from stronger opponents. Each mist wolf can exhale clouds of thick mist.

Environment

They can be found in subarctic and temperate/non-desert regions preferring ancient and dense forests.

Typical physical characteristics

Mist wolves are almost identical to their cousins, they're taller at the shoulder and their fur is gray with white tips on the hackles. They're slim and muscular, with fearsome-looking teeth. Their eyes are black, without the red tinge often seen in wild wolves.

Society

Mist wolves only attack humans or demi humans who have been acting in a flagrantly evil manner. Normally, mist wolves protect travelers from evil creatures that may do them harm. Unfortunately, fear and hatred of wolves are taught from infancy. The fact that mist wolves are frequently seen where evil is abroad doesn't help; people never realize - or refuse to believe - that the wolves only appear when evil is near in order to fight it. Therefore, mist wolves are often slain by the very people they're trying to protect.

Mist wolf society is based around the pack. Packs consist of up to 20 adult wolves, with an equal number of males and females. The leader of the pack is the strongest individual (usually male, but not necessarily so), who gains and defends the position by challenge and non-lethal combat.

These creatures are most common in forests with evil reputations, because that's where they can do the most good. (Of course, this doesn't help the wolves' reputation at all…) There are large populations of mist wolves in Dreadwood and in the Burneal Forest, although they aren't limited to these areas.

Alignment

Mist wolves have an innate ability to detect evil. This power operates continuously, without conscious volition. They're implacable enemies of evil and defenders of goodness and law. They'll often go to great lengths - even giving up their lives - to protect humans and demi humans.

Language

Mist wolves have their own rich language consisting of yips, barks, and growls. They understand the common tongue, but they are unable to speak it.

Publishing History

The art by Jeff Easley from the cover of MC5: Greyhawk Adventures Appendix was also used in the 1991 Trading Card line, for card #299, Mist Wolf. The same art was later used on Spellfire card #175 of 400.

Gallery

• 
  Back of trading card #299

References

Bibliography

• Boucher, Grant, , William W. Connors, Skip Williams, et al. MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1990. Item code TSR2107.
• Nesmith, Bruce and Tim Beach. Spellfire Reference Guide. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995. Item code TSR1133.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Wolf, Mist	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Dragon magazine #269	33-34
Wolf, Mist	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	Greyhawk Adventures	32, 33
Wolf, Mist	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	MC5 Monstrous Compendium Greyhawk Adventures Appendix	Insert (Wolf, Mist), Encounter Tables
Wolf, Mist	Monster	Native of: Material Plane,	1991 TSR Trading Cards - Factory Set	299