Hound

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-03-05

Overview

The hound prefab serves as the core definition for multiple hostile hound variants in DST, using a shared factory function (fncommon) to initialize common components and behaviors. It supports multiple variants—default, fire, ice, lunar-aligned (moonbeast), clay, mutated, and hedgehounds—via specialized function variants (fndefault, fnfire, etc.). It integrates deeply with components for combat targeting, follower leadership, sleep cycles, amphibious movement, and stategraph-driven behaviors.

Usage example

-- Create a default hound with full behavior
local inst = SpawnPrefab("hound")
inst.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)

-- Example: create a firehound
local fire_hound = SpawnPrefab("firehound")
fire_hound.Transform:SetPosition(x, y, z)
fire_hound.components.health:SetMaxHealth(100)
fire_hound.components.combat:SetDefaultDamage(25)

Dependencies & tags

Components used:
amphibiouscreature, burnable, childspawner, combat, eater, embarker, entitytracker, follower, freezable, halloweenmoonmutable, hauntable, health, homeseeker, inspectable, locomotor, lootdropper, sanityaura, sleeper

Tags added:
scarytoprey, scarytooceanprey, monster, hostile, hound, canbestartled, pet_hound (for pets), lunar_aligned (mutated variants), moonbeast, clay (clayhounds), hedge (hedgehounds), electricdamageimmune (clayhounds), strongstomach, FX, NOCLICK, DECOR, INLIMBO, freezable, soulless (for lunar_aligned)

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
sounds	table	sounds, sounds_clay, etc.	Sound bank used by the instance, variant-dependent.
hedgeitem	string or nil	nil	Item name to drop on death for hedgehounds.
wargleader	entity reference or nil	nil	Reference to leader when mutated by a Warg.
forcemutate	boolean or nil	nil	Flag set when leader is mutatedwarg.
leadertask	task reference or nil	nil	Delayed task to restore leader after stopping following.
eyefxl, eyefxr	entity reference or nil	nil	Eyeflame child entities for clayhounds.
_eyeflames	net_bool or nil	nil	Replicated boolean for clayhound eye flame state.
landspeed	number or nil	nil	Cached land speed before entering water.
hop_distance	number or nil	nil	Cached hop distance before entering water.

Main functions

fncommon(bank, build, morphlist, custombrain, tag, data)

• Description: Shared constructor function that initializes common components and behavior for all hound variants. It sets up physics, animation, components (combat, follower, sleeper, etc.), sound banks, and variant-specific overrides.
• Parameters:
  bank (string) – Animation bank name (e.g., "hound", "clayhound").
  build (string) – Build asset name (e.g., "hound_ocean", "clayhound").
  morphlist (table or nil) – List of mutagenic prefabs for hauntable morphing.
  custombrain (table or nil) – Brain module to override default (brain or moonbrain).
  tag (string or nil) – Variant tag ("clay", "lunar_aligned", "moonbeast", "hedge").
  data (table or nil) – Options table ({amphibious = true}, {canlunarmutate = true}).
• Returns: inst (entity) – The fully constructed entity.
• Error states: Returns early without master simulation logic if TheWorld.ismastersim is false.

fndefault()

• Description: Constructs a default hound with amphibious behavior and lunar mutation support. Calls fncommon with canlunarmutate = true and adds halloweenmoonmutable component.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Default hound instance.

fnfire()

• Description: Constructs a firehound with fire-damage attacks, reduced freeze resistance, and explosion on death.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Firehound instance.
• Error states: No explosion occurs during file load (data.cause == "file_load").

fncold()

• Description: Constructs an icehound with cold-damage attacks, burn resistance, and frost-explosion on death.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Icehound instance.
• Error states: No shatter effect if component is missing at death.

fnmoon()

• Description: Constructs a lunar-aligned moonbeast with distinct AI (via moonbrain), petrify support, and moon-specific targeting/retarget logic.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Moon hound instance.

fnclay()

• Description: Constructs a clayhound that starts in a statue state ("statue"), lacks corpse, and supports eye flame lighting/sound.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Clayhound instance.

fnmutated()

• Description: Constructs a mutated hound (lunar_aligned) with unique corpse handling, no corpse state, and ability to inherit Warg leadership.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Mutated hound instance.

fnhedge()

• Description: Constructs a hedgehound that shatters on death, drops custom items from hedgeitem, and has unique scrapbook dependencies.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Hedgehound instance.

fnfiredrop()

• Description: Creates a non-sentient houndfire object used as projectile/overlay.
• Parameters: None.
• Returns: inst (entity) – Fire projectile instance.

Events & listeners

• Listens to:
  "attacked" – Triggers combat target assignment and share-target logic.
  "onattackother" – Triggers share-target logic for aggressive hounds.
  "newcombattarget" – Wakes sleeper if hound is asleep.
  "death" – Triggers variant-specific explosions (fire/ice) or shatter effects (hedge, ice).
  "moonpetrify" – Transforms moonhound into gargoyle.
  "moontransformed" – Enters taunt state after moon mutation.
  "startfollowing" / "stopfollowing" – Manages leader tracking and follow time.
  "restoredfollower" – Emitted when follower is restored after leader death.
  "eyeflamesdirty" – Updates clayhound eye flame FX and lighting.
  "spawnedfromhaunt" – Triggers panic behavior.
  "stopday" (WorldState) – Triggers return home at nightfall.
  "OnEntitySleep" – Triggers return home during sleep.
  "save" / "load" – Persists pet status and hedgeitem.
  "eyeflamesdirty" (custom) – Handles FX creation/destruction for clayhounds.

• Pushes:
  "onignite", "onwakeup", "attacked", "onattackother", "leaderchanged", "on_loot_dropped", "loot_prefab_spawned", "moonpetrify", "moontransformed", "restoredfollower", "eyeflamesdirty", "spawnedfromhaunt".