Moonless

Moonless is a special encounter and potential party member in Fear & Hunger, as well as an optional boss fight in Fear & Hunger 2: Termina. A large wolf-like creature with jutting teeth and four eyes, she was most likely mutated by the darkness of the dungeon.

Lore
"'A lone cave wolf who was once driven away from her pack because of her superior strength. The black has its way of changing the nature of wolves.' - The New Gods when asked about Moonless."

Moonless is a cave wolf that used to be a part of a pack of other wolves like her. Because of her superior strength, she might have been the matriarch of the group. However, she was driven away by them because of this same strength. It might have been because of the black, and the madness and sickness it induces in all living creatures living within the areas under influence of the Dungeons of Fear and Hunger.

So now she roams the caves alone, in search of food for herself and perhaps for a new pack whom she can call her own, wherever that may be.

Recruiting
Moonless is a special encounter that can be found when descending into the cavern using the elevator from the blood pit. She can be recruited as a party member by talking with her during battle and offering two Rotten Meats, one after another. If you refuse to let Moonless join the party when offered, she will not appear again.

In hardmode, it is impossible to recruit unique allies to your party. Offering Rotten Meat in this situation will make Moonless get angry instead.

Gameplay
Moonless cannot wear any equipment and is AI-controlled. Her basic attack is called Bite, which can cause bleeding. She also comes with an extra turn at the start of each round after the first one, exactly like the skill Fast Attack.

As a dog, Moonless cannot smoke opium nor tobacco from pipes, attempting to do so will result in her "not knowing what you're suggesting". However, being mutated by the darkness of the dungeon has made her immune to any effects of low mind. While she can be given sanity-relieving items, it is completely unnecessary, making her a very cost-efficient party member to have early-game.

She randomly "marks territory" throughout the game, which is her equivalent of "leveling up", and eventually leads to learning the much stronger Terrifying Bite, which she will then use instead of her original move. The spots of marking for this is such as pillars, poles and fencings-alike structures.

Moonless does not have an assigned Fear when she joins the party, which means she has no penalties against any kind of enemy. You are also able to feed Moonless rotten meat without fear of getting her poisoned. Moonless also has no penalty for spirit exhaustion, although spirit-draining attacks are still able to kill her.

Moonless will not be accepted by The Human Hydra as food and is not a viable partner for a Marriage, but she can be sacrificed at the altars.

Fear & Hunger 2: Termina
Moonless now sports a much larger, gigantic figure. She is missing her bottom-right eye and meets the player character as a special encounter. She is partially impaled by two swords: Black Steel (which can be gathered by the player if targeted and destroyed in-battle) and Miasma (which at the moment cannot be looted). If August is still alive when Moonless confronts the player, he will stop the battle and ask the wolf-like creature to cease her attacks.

Note that in Moonless' portrait, she sports a pair of dew claws on her hindlegs. Dewclaws are typically seen only in dogs, and not wolves in real life. When dewclaws are seen in wolves in the wild, it is typically a result hybridization with large domesticated dogs.