Death Dogs were huge, woolly beasts that could tear anything or anyone apart in seconds.
Death Dogs are ferocious and move in hunting packs. They were bred to hide themselves from woodsmen, warriors, and wizards. They announce their attack with their characteristic gobbling snarl. Their bites that draw blood are septic and cause a lethal infection. Their spittle burns like acid. They are immune to magical wards as they can wriggle through the cracks in the energy fields.
The pack leader is a human who has willingly embraced this path, rejecting humanity in exchange for the power and passion, ending with corrupted flesh and spirit.
Origin[]
According to legend, they are a creation of the foulest sorcery. The Veil Folk raised a line of warhounds to be resistant to the touch of cold iron, to defend their holdings against the Daikini, who are immune to steel. The Death Dogs however were a warped, tainted and bastard breed.
Under Bavmorda[]
Nockmaar uses Death Dogs on numerous occasions for tracking and for attack. They are first used to track down the midwife that snuck away with Elora Danan so that she would not be killed by Bavmorda. The Death Dogs attack and kill the nursemaid.
They are next seen in the Nelwyn village, searching for Elora. Vohnkar and his soldiers manage to kill one of the two Death Dogs.
They are seen in a few other instances running with mounted Nockmaar soldiers. They appear as enemies in the arcade game of the movie and a giant death dog is the first boss of the game.
Following Bavmorda's death, the brownies spent most of the year exterminating the remaining Death Dogs.
Two hundred moons after the Battle of Nockmaar, despite their probable extermination, the Death Dogs have not completely disappeared and some of them accompany the Gales when they attack Tir Asleen.
Behind the scenes[]
The Death Dogs appearing in Willow were actually highly trained Rottweilers wearing fur suits and rubber masks. Since the dogs could cause serious damage, everybody was kept well away whenever the dogs were on the set.[1]
Appearances[]
- Willow (First appearance)
- Willow: A Novel
- Shadow Moon
Willow – "The Gales"- Willow – "Children of the Wyrm"