"Never a more rotten cretin ever took up the cloth than the Hound Priest. Now that's an empirical fact, that it is. If it wasn't the womanizing that damned his soul, it was the gambling. If it wasn't the gambling, it was the pilfering of church coffers. If it wasn't the stealing, then it was dog-fighting. If it wasn't the dog-fighting, it was training his hounds to kill men on command.

Some say he even fed a few of his own babes, fathered out of wedlock, to those blasted curs. Whether that be true or not? I lean toward true myself given the nature of the man and the beasts that now follow him. Eventually, the locals got fed up with his crimes and stormed the temple he was tasked to look after.

It was a bloody affair. Despite being soaked in inequity the cleric could still draw on divine, well profane, power. Good folk withered under his touch and bled out of every orifice under his curses. His hounds proved as dangerous as any war-dog and racked up kills and maimings. In the end though, the righteous prevailed. Still battered and blooded they burnt the priest and dogs until only bones remained, bound them together, and buried the mix deep in the forest.

I've got it on good authority the hounds came back first, shaped of evil and gloom instead of flesh and fur. They dug their master up, breathed un-life into him. Now, he be just a shadow himself, shaped like a man but with a mastiff's head with glowing, crimson eyes. "

-Fossor Carvilius Graeme

The Hound Priest

Medium undead, chaotic evil

Armor Class 12

Hit Points 68 (9d8 + 27)

Speed 0ft

Flight 40ft (hover)

Str 7 Dex 14 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 18 Cha 18

Skills: Animal Handling +7, Arcana +3, Religion +3

Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained

Damage Immunities Cold, Necrotic, Poison

Damage Resistances Acid, Fire, Lightning, Thunder; Bludgeoning, Piercing, And Slashing From Nonmagical Weapons

Senses darksight 60ft, passive Perception 14

Languages common, dwarven

Challenge 7 (2900 XP)

Cry Havok:

As a bonus action, Hound Priest summons a shadow mastiff which appears in an unoccupied square the hound priest can see within 30ft. The shadow mastiff may immediately act, and has the same initiative as the hound priest. The hound priest may only have two shadow mastiffs summoned at one time.

Ethereal Sight:

The ghost can see 60 ft. into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa.

Incorporeal Movement:

The ghost can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Spellcasting:

The hound priest's spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). The hound priest has the following cleric spells prepared:

Cantrips (at will): guidance, resistance, toll the dead

1st level (4): cure wounds, guiding bolt, inflict wounds

2nd level (3): aid, blindness/deafness, spiritual weapon

3rd level (3): animate dead, bestow curse

4th level (1): divination

Actions

Castigation:

Ranged Spell Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) necrotic damage. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma save or be frightened of the Hound Priest until the end of its next turn.

Etherealness:

The ghost enters the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa. It is visible on the Material Plane while it is in the Border Ethereal, and vice versa, yet it can't affect or be affected by anything on the other plane.