Dread Hound enemy line

The Dread Hound, Fenrir, and Cerberus are enemies that are randomly battled in each game in the Golden Sun series. These monsters, which resemble two-headed dogs with manes in the GBA games but are redesigned with three heads in Dark Dawn, are palette swaps of each other that have differing levels of power and defense and are fought in different locations in the games. In Golden Sun only, the Cerberus is misspelled as the Cerebus (interestingly enough, the enemy is hidden in the game code of The Lost Age, like all other monsters introduced in the first game, but with its name spelled properly).

In Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Dread Hound

A Dread Hound (ケルベロス Cerberus) is a purple variant with turquoise tongues, and it is level 18 in Golden Sun and level 25 in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. In Golden Sun, it is battled throughout Altmiller Cave. In The Lost Age, it is first battled throughout Gaia Rock, and subsequently throughout Izumo Ruins.

In Golden Sun, it is one of the strongest monsters in Altmiller Cave, right alongside the Golem. If you repeatedly fell Dread Hounds with Mercury Djinn until you get a Prophet's Hat, you'll most likely find that it is a valid incremental improvement to at least one of your mage-style Adepts' current headwear, assuming you get one after having come to Tolbi for the first time. In The Lost Age, the Dread Hound is generally "average" among the monsters in Gaia Rock, but the game's focus on stronger equipment artifacts acquired at earlier areas will most likely prevent the Prophet's Hat they can drop from being practical.

A Dread Hound is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Dread Hound	252	0	211	56	90	13
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			116	176	Prophet's Hat	1/64

A Dread Hound uses these battle commands with low intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Attack	2/8 (25%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Fire Breath	2/8 (25%)	115 Power	Enemy ability where the user generates a mass of fire at the party of Adepts. Deals a Mars-aligned attack with 90 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Double Fang	2/8 (25%)	95 Power	Enemy ability where a glowing blue image of a pair of jaws chomps at the position of a targeted Adept either once or twice. Deals a Venus-aligned standard physical attack with 35 damage points added to the end result, and then that end result has a chance to be doubled.
Wicked Howl	2/8 (25%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability where the user launches rings of dark red energy through a targeted Adept. Deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that it will stun the target.

Fenrir

A Fenrir (フェンリル) is a slightly more violet level 28 variant with light-green tongues. In Golden Sun, it is battled throughout the later "true" dungeon portion of Venus Lighthouse.

Of the various monsters of the first game that reside in Venus Lighthouse as the strongest of the first game's randomly encountered monsters, the Fenrir is at the height among those monsters, with about as much battling capability as the Grand Golem and perhaps only surpassable by the explosive kamikaze attacks of the Boulder Beast. Rather more notable than its statistics, however, is its randomly droppable item, Kikuichimonji, which as already noted is usually equipped in place of the Swift Sword on Ivan if acquired because they're both candidates for his most ideal weapon in Golden Sun. The Fenrir's also the only monster in the first game that drops its item that rarely, however; these factors combine to make the Fenrir one of the most popular targets for Random Number Generator abuse.

A Fenrir is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Fenrir	406	0	357	125	141	9
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			402	212	Kikuichimonji	1/256

A Fenrir uses these battle commands with low intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Attack	2/8 (25%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Ice Blessing	2/8 (25%)	115 Power	Enemy ability where the user generates a mass of small chunks of ice at the party of Adepts. Deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 180 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Double Fang	2/8 (25%)	95 Power	Enemy ability where a glowing blue image of a pair of jaws chomps at the position of a targeted Adept either once or twice. Deals a Venus-aligned standard physical attack with 35 damage points added to the end result, and then that end result has a chance to be doubled.
Wicked Howl	2/8 (25%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability where the user launches rings of dark red energy through a targeted Adept. Deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that it will stun the target.

Category:Golden Sun enemies weak to Mars attacks | Category:Golden Sun enemies that drop unique items

Cerebus

"Cerberus" redirects here. For the Dark Dawn version, see Cerberus. For the Cerberus Psynergy, see Salamander Psynergy set.

A Cerebus (ヘルハウンド Hellhound) is a larger, turquoise level 35 variant with violet tongues. In Golden Sun, only two are fought throughout the entire game, together as one scripted boss encounter that occurs on the ninth "dungeon floor" of the optional Crossbone Isle as soon as you try to enter the door to that floor's puzzle room.

Compared to the "sub-boss" encounters at the previous eight floors of the dungeon, the two Cerebus monsters are much more powerful and durable, and may prove a legitimate challenge together. The usual "summon rushing" tactic of having everyone using all full-powered summons in the first turn works wonders as usual, provided all of your party members are faster than the Cerebuses even with that many Djinn On Standby; if not, though, then even that approach, which is often viewed as "cheap", carries risks, because a Cerebus can take out in one hit an Adept that hasn't summoned yet.

A Cerebus is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Cerebus	2200	42	369	130	151	22
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			1863	3200	Psy Crystal	1/1

A Cerebus uses these battle commands with moderate intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Double Fang	88/256 (34.4%)	95 Power	Enemy ability where a glowing blue image of a pair of jaws chomps at the position of a targeted Adept either once or twice. Deals a Venus-aligned standard physical attack with 35 damage points added to the end result, and then that end result has a chance to be doubled.
Ice Blessing	53/256 (20.7%)	115 Power	Enemy ability where the user generates a mass of small chunks of ice at the party of Adepts. Deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 180 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Attack	40/256 (15.6%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Restore	35/256 (13.7%)	--	Psynergy costing 3 PP that removes the Sleep, Stun, Delusion, Psynergy Seal, and Death Curse status conditions from either itself or its ally.
Wicked Howl	29/256 (11.3%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability where the user launches rings of dark red energy through a targeted Adept. Deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that it will stun the target.
Ice Missile	11/256 (4.3%)	115 Power	Psynergy costing 23 PP that shoots a mass of ice spikes down onto multiple Adepts. Deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 160 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with high damage distribution.

Category:Golden Sun enemies weak to Mars attacks | Category:Psynergy-capable enemies in Golden Sun

In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Dread Hound

A Dread Hound (ケルベロス Cerberus) is a dark green level 20 variant. It is battled throughout Teppe Ruins.

A Dread Hound is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Dread Hound	280	0	214	63	101	13
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			548	169	Oil Drop	1/8

A Dread Hound uses these battle commands with moderate intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Attack	4/8 (50%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Fire Breath	2/8 (25%)	115 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Mars-aligned attack with 60 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Triple Fang	1/8 (12.5%)	--	Enemy ability that deals a standard physical attack with 35 damage added to the end result.
Wicked Howl	1/8 (12.5%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability that deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that the target will lose its intended action for the turn.

Category:Dark Dawn enemies weak to Mercury attacks

Cerberus

A Cerberus (ヘルハウンド Hellhound) is a violet level 36 variant. It is battled throughout the Passaj Mountain Climb late in the game when the Grave Eclipse is in effect.

A Cerberus is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Cerberus	512	28	392	181	202	15
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			3410	131	Berserker Claw	1/128

A Cerberus uses these battle commands with moderate intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Attack	4/8 (50%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Ice Breath	1/8 (12.5%)	115 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 50 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Triple Fang	1/8 (12.5%)	--	Enemy ability that deals a standard physical attack with 35 damage added to the end result.
Wicked Howl	1/8 (12.5%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability that deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that the target will lose its intended action for the turn.
Ice Horn	1/8 (12.5%)	115 Power	Psynergy costing 11 PP that deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 70 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with high damage distribution.

Fenrir

A Fenrir (フェンリル) is a silvery gray level 43 variant. It is battled throughout the Endless Wall and the Apollo Ascent.

A Fenrir is especially likely to be affected by Resistance-lowering effects. Its statistics are as follows:

Name	HP	PP	Attack	Defense	Agility	Luck
Fenrir	612	33	459	227	247	15
Elemental Resistances and Levels			Exp	Coins	Item Dropped	Drop Rate
175 (Lv 4)   100 (Lv 2)   100 (Lv 2)   25 (Lv 0)			5197	256	Atropos' Rod	1/128

A Fenrir uses these battle commands with moderate intelligence:

Command	Chance to use	Elem. Stats used with *	Description
Attack	4/8 (50%)	--	Standard physical attack.
Ice Breath	1/8 (12.5%)	115 Power	Enemy ability that deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 90 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with low damage distribution.
Triple Fang	1/8 (12.5%)	--	Enemy ability that deals a standard physical attack with 35 damage added to the end result.
Wicked Howl	1/8 (12.5%)	95 Power Level 2	Enemy ability that deals a Jupiter-aligned attack with 60 base damage, and there is a chance that the target will lose its intended action for the turn.
Ice Missile	1/8 (12.5%)	115 Power	Psynergy costing 11 PP that deals a Mercury-aligned attack with 160 base damage that is spread out across 3 enemies with high damage distribution.

Trivia & Cultural references

The overall enemy line was based off the Hellhound, which refers to a wide variety of demonic, supernatural dogs. Cerberus is one of the most well known Hellhounds.

• Fenrir, in Norse tradition, was a monstrous wolf and the son of Loki and Angrboda. During Ragnarök, Fenrir killed and consumed the ruler of Asgard, Odin, but was in turn killed by his son, Víðarr.
• Cerberus is a three-headed dog in Greek mythology who was employed by Hades to guard the gates of the Underworld. According to Greek mythology, Cerberus was a male and one of Typhon and Echidna's offspring. His brother was the two-headed hellhound, Orthrus.
• The "Cerebus" misspelling in Golden Sun was, unusually enough, also made in a certain popular comic.
• The Cerberus Psynergy summons a hellhound that breathes fire, like the Dread Hound enemy and unlike the Cerebus and Fenrir enemies, despite the correct spelling of Cerberus being in game code of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. This is because the Psynergy is known as Cerberus in Japanese as well, but for the enemies, in Japanese "Cerberus" refers to the fire-breathing Dread Hound, while the ice-breathing Cerebus was originally called "Hellhound" (Fenrir is just Fenrir in both languages).
• Fenrir breathing ice could be a reference to the cold northern climate that Norse mythology was wrought amongst.