Old Gods of Appalachia
Red dogs are magical creatures vaguely resembling stocky mutts, with glowing red eyes and a thick coating of ash on their skin, like they've rolled in dust. They hunt, chase, and play like wild dogs and wolves, although their only vocalizations are the crackling and sputtering of a large fire.
Red dogs aren't what they appear to be. Their skin isn't covered in ash. Instead, a thin layer of ash surrounds and covers the scorched rocks that form their "bones" and give them a doglike shape. Most attacks against them harmlessly break through this outer crust, revealing a hollow space and its inner hard parts.
In the center of a red dog's body is a rough stone "heart" that glows like a hot coal. If the red dog is killed and this heart isn't taken away or destroyed, the beast tends to reform and continue whatever it was doing before.
Red dogs can appear anywhere there has been a large coal fire in red rock, and they have been seen eating coal, dry wood, and other burnable objects. However, they aren't quite alive, and even a well-fed red dog eventually goes cold and collapses into inert materials after a few weeks.
Motive: Hungers for coal, wood, and other solid fuel
Environment: In and near mines, in packs of five to ten
Health: 6
Damage Inflicted: Minor wound (3 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short
Modifications: Perception as level 3
Combat: A red dog makes one bite attack; its jagged, rocky teeth inflict a minor wound (2 points plus 1 heat).
A slain red dog reforms after it dies, taking between a few rounds and a few minutes to do so, returning with full health. The only way to prevent this is to use an action to seize the dead creature's stone heart (which inflicts a minor wound/1 point from fire each round it is touched or held) and either crush it or move it at least a short distance away from any nearby red dogs (throwing it is usually good enough).
Interaction: Red dogs are beasts and have a temperament similar to that of normal dogs. They can be befriended but never fully tamed (partly because they have short life spans), and they react viciously if harmed, mistreated, startled, or forced into a confusing situation.
Use: An infamous company man can call upon a pack of strange red dogs to deal with strikers. Red dogs have been preying on a remote farm, stealing cut wood instead of chickens or sheep.
Loot: Red dogs carry nothing of value, but the rocky heart of one can be used to craft magical cyphers having to do with fire.
Connection: The character once was lost in the woods until they followed a red dog that led them to an active mine with people. The character knew someone with old bite and burn scars that they claimed was from a vicious red dog.
GM Intrusions: Several slain red dogs near the character immediately reconstitute themselves and attack. The red dog's "skin" splits open, creating a burst of choking smoke that hinders the adjacent character's actions for the rest of the combat.