Dire Wolf

While wolves are a common danger to careless travelers throughout Ispar, the deepest forests and most remote tundras are home to even greater dangers.  Dire wolves are stocky, shaggy canines as large as a horse.  Unlike common wolves, dire wolves hunt almost exclusively at night, venturing forth from their dens to stalk large game or steal livestock.
Dire wolves' immense size and nocturnal habits have made them figures of fear and superstition for generations.  Night-hunting wolf-demons figure prominently in the folklore of many cultures.