Houndmaster Bélokh

* Portrait
* In Game
* Mounted

"Chief Houndmaster of the legions of Vâh-rús, Bélokh is a loyal and fierce warrior, proudly leading the Khandish auxiliaries into battle, accompanied by scores of ferocious warhounds."
—Age of the Ring team

Houndmaster Bélokh was a Variag warrior of humble origins who became renowned throughout Khand for both his deadly skill with a bow as well as his ability to tame and command Khandish Wardogs, normally ferocious beasts that are incredibly difficult to tame. Such was Bélokh's reputation and skill that he quickly rose through the ranks of the Khandish auxiliaries until the Easterling overlord Vâh-rús personally took notice. Vâh-rús appointed Bélokh his Chief Houndmaster and leader of the Khandish auxiliaries, a role that Houndmaster Bélokh has served loyally in since his promotion. He proved just as effective at taming and training the horses of the East as he was with his hounds, earning the respect of both the Variag and Easterling armies. When Vâh-rús sounded the call to war, Bélokh willingly marched the forces of Khand to war, ready to unleash the ferocity of his warhounds onto his unfortunate enemies.

Houndmaster Bélokh is a hero available to the Adventure: Rhûn subfaction of Mordor. He is recruitable from the Rhûn Fortress.

## Abilities

**The Houndmaster (W)** - Houndmaster Bélokh is accompanied by three Khandish Wardogs. Passive ability. When activated, summons an additional temporary Wardog that follows the Houndmaster and attacks his enemies. Summons an additional Wardog at levels 5, and 2 more at Level 10. Left click to activate.

**Level 3: Master of the Khandish Steppes (R)** - Modifier Type: Leadership. Nearby Variags, Wardogs, and Rhûn Serf units gain +15% armour and +15% damage. Passive ability. Left click to switch between mounted and on foot.

**Level 4: Warmonger's Shot (T)** - A precise arrow shot that slows down an enemy unit by -70% and reduces their vision by 50% for 15 seconds. Left click icon then left click on target unit.

**Level 5: Rending Arrows** - The Houndmaster's arrows cause enemies to suffer damage over time for 10 seconds. Passive ability.

**Level 8: Fury of the Beasts (V)** - Modifier Type: Spell. Nearby Variags, Outriders, and Khandish Wardogs gain +50% damage, +50% armour, and -25% trample deceleration for 10 seconds. At rank 10, duration of effect increases to 20 seconds. Left click to activate.

## Strategy

Houndmaster Bélokh is an early-mid game hero for the Adventure: Rhûn subfaction who manages to keep some degree of relevance in the late-game thanks to his abilities. Although he is primarily a ranged hero, he is surrounded permanently by 3 Khandish Wardogs who can attack enemies head-on in his stead, while Belokh attacks safely from behind them and the rest of his arm. **The Houndmaster** allows him to summon additional Wardogs to harass enemies or protect himself with, with more of them summoned at higher levels. **Master of the Khandish Steppes** provides a modest leadership to Rhûn’s early-game units such as the Serfs, while also allowing Bélokh to become mounted to increase his mobility and potential to harass and escape enemies. **Warmonger’s Shot** allows him to slow a target enemy by a significant amount and lower their vision, and it is best used on a high priority enemy target like a hero to cripple them and leave them an easy target for Rhûn’s army to pick off. **Rending Arrows** allows Bélokh’s arrows to deal damage over time, increasing their deadliness against enemies in general. **Fury of the Beasts** allows Bélokh to massively increase the power and durability of the Khandish parts of Rhûn’s army, with an extended duration at level 10. While Bélokh can be useful at all stages of the game, he is vulnerable to a full-frontal assault even with his Wardog escort, so it is important to keep Bélokh either mounted for an easy escape or protected by the rest of Rhûn’s army to ensure that he isn’t rushed down and killed.