Over at mewe.com, Samwise 7 had shared a post about an amazingly gigantic, now-extinct kind of bear from 11.000 years ago (the “Short-faced Bear”). If you think that a rearing grizzly is tall, than you will find this thing towering. Anyway, it sparked some post about “when in doubt which monster to use in OSR RPG, use a bear”.
….well… this means something different than what I did here but… I already did “it” want to share it with you. Welcome to D20 Bear Monsters. Enjoy!
[Terrible Bear / Basic Stats]
HD: 4
Hit Points: 4D8 +4
AC: as Leather and Shield
Move: 50´
Attacks: Claw (1d6) / Claw (1d6) / Bite (1d8)
Saves: as Fighter
Moral: 8
Crushing Hug: If both claw attacks hit the same opponent, the victim must pass a saving throw or become trapped in a crushing hug that will deal a further 2d4 damage.
These are the basic stats I use. If you use different stats for it (like, a puny 1d4 for the strike of a clawed paw of a bear bigger than you will ever be) then just exchange the stat block. It is, after all, just a basis for the modifications that make the D20 Bear Monsters listed below. Just keep in mind to adjust damage dice accordingly if they are mentioned as part of the modification.
D20 Bear-Based Monsters
01# Earth Bear
A creature infused with elemental energies, an Earth Bear has a light brown fur and a skin that looks like wet clay. It may merge with the ground and will do so to sleep and hibernate. Therefore, it does not dwell in caves or other places but simply sinks into the ground, which takes it about a turn. If the spot it merged into is dug up, plowed, penetrated deeply or infused with other elements (e.g. water to the point where it becomes muddy or heated by erecting a campfire over it), the Earthbear is forced to emerge. Emerging means that it seemingly breaks out from under the earth: there is one round of light tremors and cracks forming at the surface while at the second round, the Earthbear comes forth: ready to deal with any disturbance.
Modifications: +8 hit points; Saves as Cleric
02# Barkbear
Those creatures are a tree-animal hybrids. They look like regular bears but have a carapace-like bark skin with small clusters of leafs growing from tiny twigs here and there. Claws and teeth are oversized thorns, the flesh beneath the bark strange and fungus-like. This bizarre beings are less agile and aggressive than regular bears and not carnivorous, but territorial. Characters that try to remain calm when they encounter a Barkbear may avoid an aggressive reaction on Good or better Reaction Roll. Elves, druids, clerics of nature gods and witches will get a +3 bonus on such rolls. Anyone that has cut a tree in the territory of the Barkbear will suffer a -3 penalty on it.
Modifications: Claws deal only 1d4 damage; Bite only deals 1d6 damage; AC as Chainmail; Saves as Elf
03# Giant Bear
A gigantic bear, twice the size of a normal one. A ferocious carnivore and hefty eater, with a large territory and no fear of humans.
Modifications: HD plus 1; all damage codes +2 per die; Moral 9
04# Ghost Bear
Not a living creature but a ghost of one that was either a holy or totem animal that got murdered, a bear that was died from a grievous wound during a hunt instead of being hunted down, a summoned spirit bound to a place or totem or some other obscure netherworld phenomenon. They appear out of nowhere and attack without warning, attack man or animal, wreak havoc on camp equipment or means of transportation. No matter what their reason or source of existence is: they are all territorial and will not stop their attacks until and intruder has been driven away. A Ghost Bear cannot be killed by regular damage, be it mundane, magical or clerical it. It will just disappear and come back again and again and again.
Modifications: may count as undead; may be used as part of a Random Encounter Table. If a roll triggers the Encounter, ALL random encounter will from them on be with the Ghost Bear (as its haunting presence drives all other creatures away). It cannot be destroyed by weapons, neither mundane nor magical, and will always come back again. Disappears after taking damage equal to half its hit points, will have regenerated all hit points when it re-appears on the next encounter.
05# Foul Bear
An bear imbued with with unclean energies, either from having its lair magically contaminated or from being possessed by foul spirits. Flies and a smell of filth and illness surround it, lice infest its fur. Black ooze drips from its claws and its slavering maw, the flesh looks gray and unwholesome, the eyes have a sickly yellow coloring.
Modifications: Hit points are determined with a d6 instead of a d8; claw and bite attacks will deal a further 1d4 poison damage unless a saving throw is passed. Every wounded character must pass a saving throw at the end of the encounter or will be infected with a disease of the GM´s choice.
06# Beartaur
A bear with a further upper body half, and therefor and additional pair of claws. Usually, a result of mutating or warping magical effects or a creature of the fairy world. May or may not be more intelligent than a regular bear.
Modifications: gets an additional claw attack if a previous claw attack was successful (up to two additional attacks); therefore, more likely to catch opponents in a Crushing Hug.
07# Frost Bear
Its fur is a mix of ice gray and snow white, the snout and “face” are black and the eyes a clear blue. Frostbears are surrounded by a 10´aura of winter-like cold and hibernate during summer instead of winter. Claw and teeth seem to be made of sharp ice.
Modifications: Immune to cold and cold-based damage; gains +1 point of additional damage per die from all heat or fire based attacks; deals +2 points of cold-based damage with its claws and teeth; may sacrifice one attack per turn for an attack with a Sleet Breath (save or 1d4 points of damage; cone attack with a 15´ feet range).
08# Shadow Bear
A bear with jet-black fur, teeth and claw that may blend in with the darkness. Shadowbears shun daylight but not other light sources, which they actively seek out to attack and destroy. They can see perfectly in the dark and may create darkness at will.
Modifications: 30´ Heat Vision; counts as Invisible when in the dark and outside of melee range, may sacrifice all of its attack to cast Darkness on its turn (which is accompanied by a long roar); will attack those carrying a light source before all other; will attack unguarded/unprotected light sources (including camp fires).
09# Berzerker Bear
Also called Rage Bears, this creatures attack on sight and fight with insane savageness. Their eyes are bloodshot and their teeth and claws always red with blood. The frenzy they have in them is infectious and may befall those they fight.
Modifications: Moral 10; has a total of three claw attacks and gets a second bite attack if the first was successful, deals +1 damage with each attack; those wounded by its bite must pass a saving throw at the beginning of the own round or will attack a random target during it; wounded characters must pass a saving throw at the end of the encounter or get infected with rabies.
10# HoneyOoze Bear
Looks like a regular bear, but is in truth just a host that has been infected with a honey ooze. Instead of blood, the bear will bleed a honey-like substance (the ooze). When the bear is killed, the Honeyooze will seep out of the slain body within a round and attack the nearest target.
Modifications: the bear is just HD:3 and only has 3d8 hit points; the Honeyooze is HD:3, immune to normal weapons but gains +2 point of additional damage per die from fire based attacks; damage from the Honeyooze are not wounds but paralysis and are recovered within a turn (unless the ooze takes over the victim); Honeyooze may take over a “killed” character within three rounds unless disturbed/attacked; characters wounded by the Honeyooze must pass a saving throw or will be paralyzed for a number of rounds equal to half the damage sustained (round down).
11# Silver Bear
A bear with silver fur, claws, tooth and eyes that is an embodiment of anti-magic. It hates anything magical on an instinctive level and smells magical energies like blood in the wind. The only exceptions are druids, which it will never attack unprovoked. Casting spells in its vicinity is a provocation to it.
Modifications: Immune to magic; may cast Dispel Magic for free once each round (accompanied by an angry roar); its claws and bite count as magical weapons; senses magic; will attack those that have active spells on them first followed by those that have cast a spell last in its vicinity followed by those with the most magic items/weapons.
12# Dancing Spiral Bear
A bear whose pelt shows a multitude of overlapping spiral patterns in brighter or darker color which will get on its hint paws as soon as it encounters intelligent beings… and begins to dance in spirals. Will not attack unprovoked, but expose any intelligent being it encounters to its confusing dance. Dancing Spiral Bears are believed to be linked to the fairy realms.
Modifications: Saves as Elf; my sacrifice all of its attacks on a given turn to cast Confusion on every present intelligent being that is looking at it (by dancing for them).
13# Lava Bear
An elemental in the shape of a bear, made of cooling lava with a thick black crust. Lavabears move slowly, but are a nigh unstoppable force.
Modifications: Moral 9; will set burnable objects in contact with it on fire after a round; Move is reduced to 20´; AC is equal to plate armor; attacks have 4 in 6 chance to set flammable objects on fire and deal +3 heat/fire damage per die; Immune to Fire; casts Heat Metal on any weapon it was attacked with successfully; only has 2d8 hit points (as the Lavabear breaks apart into a pool of lava once the outer crust is broken up;
14# Tangelthorn Bear
A nature spirit that is a mix of thorns, vines and a bear. These creatures are found only in woods and forests with something magical in them. Less aggressive than a real bear, yet territorial. The creatures seems to be made of thick tangles of vines and thorns, with particular large thorns for claws and teeth.
Modifications: 5D8+5 hit points; Moral 7; may immediately cast Hold Person on an opponent it has wounded (with -3 penalty on the save if the damage was from a Crushing Hug); when not engaged in melee, it may sacrifice its other attacks to attack everyone within a 20´ radius by shooting thorns from its body at them (1d4 damage)
15# Bear Hive
A symbiosis and fusion of a bear and beehive, with a hive of flesh in the form of a large hunchback only sparsely covered by fur. Small and flesh-hive clusters exist at the corner of the bears mouth (which feed it honey). If the bear is attacked, the hive strikes back.
Modifications: 4D8 hit points; as long as the creature has more than half of its hit points left the hive is intact and the swarm will attack those in melee range with the bear; those attacked by the swarm suffer a -2 penalty on their attacks.
16# Absorbear
Once a bear, now an abominable fleshy, throbbing growth that has taken over and largely absorbed a bear. It still looks like it, and something of the animal is still part of the thing: in pain, maddened but largely subsumed. The monstrosity moves erratic and sluggish.
Modifications: 5D8+8 hit points; AC as unarmored; Moral 10; victims of a Crushing Hug must pass a saving throw or a stuck and partial merged with the Absorbear. The creature will then try to disengage form combat and flee while the victim stuck into it is slowly absorbed (1 point of damage per turn).
17# Terror Bear
A particularly large bear with shaggy furs, an oversized maw and fearsome teeth whose true terror comes from its magic ability to strike fear into the heart of men.
Modifications: Moral 7; 1d8+1 bite damage; may use one gaze attack each round which will cause Fear for 1d4 rounds if no saving throw is passed.
18# Charming Bear
A magical bear with beautiful champagne colored fur, warm brown eyes, black snot and paws that will use its power to have sentient beings surrender their food to it. Will fight if the magic does not do the trick.
Modifications: may cast Charm Person once per round and once per person as a free action; charmed characters will surrender all their rations to the bear and defend it against attackers
19# Deathbear
A large, shaggy black bear with white fur markings on the face that look like a skull, as well as shocking white teeth and claws. These creatures are an embodiment of death and able to negate even powerful healing magic; an anti-version to the bear as a healing-centered totem animal.
Modifications: +2 damage per die; wounds caused by it cannot be healed by magic but may only heal naturally (through rest); characters killed by a Deathbear cannot be resurrected.
20# Zombie Bear
….because… !!!ZOMBIES!!!
Modifications: 5d8+8 hit points; counts as undead.
Gregorius21778 