Owlbears are large predatory magical or fey beasts that are named for resembling a cross between an owl and a bear. Notoriously aggressive and ferocious, they are among the most feared predators in the wilderness.[4][2][3][1]
Description[]
Owlbears are monstrous beasts with the bodies of bears covered in thick shaggy coats of both bristly fur and feathers,[4][3][1] ranging in coloration from yellowish brown to a brownish black.[4] Their heads are avian, like those of owls, with large round eyes[4][1] with limpid pupils[1] and rimmed in red. Their beaks are hooked[4] or serrated[1] and have a dull ivory hue.[4] Being avian, their claws can be counted as talons.[3] Their terrible screeches are known to split the night and echo across the land as a warning to others.[3][1] Those who'd had run-ins with them and lived often described bestial insanity in its eyes. A fully grown male specimen stands 8 feet (2.4 meters) high and weighs 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms).[4]
Behavior[]
Little more intelligent than most animals,[1] with more cunning than an owl,[3] these creatures are incredibly aggressive and obstinate and are famous for their ferocity and foul temper. They will go so far as to attack almost anything that moves—anything larger than a mouse and anything they think they can kill—without any provocation.[4][2][3][1] A hungry owlbear fears nothing, not even superior strength and size or any other discouragement,[3][1] and with little instinct for self-preservation, they will fight to the death.[4][3] They hunt so heavily because of their insatiable appetites, more than that of a giant owl and a bear combined.[3]
Owlbears can be either diurnal or nocturnal, according to the habits of the local prey.[4][2] Nocturnal owlbears hunt from around sunset to the darkest hours before sunrise. They hoot or screech to signal their territory and to drive prey into their hunting grounds. Owlbears also screech as a way to attract a mate. When an owlbear successfully catches its prey, it tends to consume part of it on the spot, before dragging the rest back to its lair to be stored, with parts of the carcass stashed amongst or hanging on rocks, bushes, and trees. The scent of flesh that emanates from an owlbear's lair often attracts scavengers and, therefore, more prey, though it acts as a warning to other creatures.[3][1]
Abilities[]
An owlbear naturally has a keen sense of scent that it can use it to track prey[4][1] as well as sharp eyesight for finding prey in the dark.[2][3][1]
Despite their unnatural origins, owlbears possess no supernatural powers, though their calls are magical in nature. Different subspecies of owlbear hved different calls, and these can have different magical effects.[3]
Combat[]
An owlbear fights with both its beak and its claws. They will try to slash and grab prey with one or both their claws and bite it and rend it in twain.[4][2][3][1] They simply target whatever is closest.[2]
If wounded in a fight, they are known to screech so loudly it stuns nearby creatures, which the owlbear will then seize advantage of.[2][3]
Ecology[]
Living in temperate climes and forested areas, owlbears establish their lairs in tangled woods, in near-surface caves, and within large hollow trees and ruined structures. These lairs soon become littered with broken bones and gizzards.[4][2][3][1] Their favored hunting grounds are often dense wooded areas that they are familiar with and that prey cannot escape through.[3][1]
Owlbears lay eggs.[6] Adult owlbears dwell together as mated pairs, and have up to six young, which they keep in their lairs while they go hunting.[4][2] Despite this, young owlbears are significantly dangerous themselves.[3] Mated owlbears usually separate when the young are old enough to hunt, but if prey is readily available, a family can stay together for longer periods.[3][1] Young owlbears are called chicks.[7]
When out hunting, as they always are, owlbears can be encountered alone, in mated pairs, or in packs of up to eight.[4][3][1]
Although a beast of unnatural origin, the owlbear is a fully formed species that occupies the same niche as other predators.[3]
Lands[]
Owlbears may be found in Whisper Woods in northern Aundair.[5]
Usage[]
A young owlbear can be sold for 3,000 gp in civilized places where the market exists for them.[4][7][8] Owlbear eggs are sought after by House Vadalis beastkeepers.[6]
Owlbears are impossible to domesticate and very difficult to tame, but they can be charmed or trained to a degree,[4][2][3][1][7] through food (raw meat is preferred[7]), patience, and, above all, good luck.[3][1] While magic can briefly make an owlbear docile and receptive to training, it forgets everything it learned when the spell expires. But the most common training method is pain, particularly to have an owlbear serve as a mount. Although widely regarded by good folk as cruel for owlbear and trainer alike, repeated heavy beatings are used to discourage the owlbear from attacking its trainer and later a rider. This method is the one most often shown to work, but no matter how light or how heavy, how little or how often the beatings, these owlbears hold deep hatred for their trainers and riders and turn on them at the first sign of weakness.[8] Professional trainers demand 2,000 gp to rear or train one owlbear.[4][7][8]
Whatever method is used, an owlbear can learn to know and obey a master and serve as a guardian or mount.[7][8][3][1] One raised from a chick can become quite loyal to a trainer, but to anyone else they will remain surly at best.[7] Owlbears do not need to be trained to attack, as they do that regardless, and they are considered not much good for other tasks, which they perform quite begrudgingly. If ordered not to attack, they can well ignore their master and attack anyway.[7] They can protect a master to a point, by attacking those who attack their masters, and they can be trained to make even louder, thunderous shrieks that can bowl enemies over[3] or distinct alert noises when fighting non-owlbears.[7]
Trained owlbears are typically used as free-ranging guardians in enclosed or strategic areas, which they see as their territory. They tirelessly chase after all trespassers[4][7][2] and fresh meat is thrown to them as needed.[7]
Owlbear mounts are ridden only by the brave, the reckless, or both. As such owlbears have often been beaten, they will struggle against their riders when they see them seriously injured or weakened in battle, try to throw the rider out of the saddle, and then savage them with no thought for any other foe. Only a highly skilled rider can keep control of an owlbear.[8]
Elven treetop communities can sometimes encourage owlbears to lair under their homes, so that they serve as a defense at night. Hobgoblins may employ them as war beasts and hill giants and frost giants night have them as pets. In some frontier lands, owlbears might be trained for racing, with bets made on both which would win and which would savage its handler. Some gladiatorial arenas can keep starved owlbears for especially savage opponents.[3][1] The Glitterdust Nightclub in Sharn invites patrons to battle captive creatures including owlbears, which are brought there by big-game hunters from such places as the Shadow Marches and Xen'drik.[9]
A druid with a primal aspect can adopt the semblance of an owlbear for their wildshape, as they can many other creatures, though this is no true transformation.[10] Incarnum-using totemists can bind an owlbear avatar to their arms to gain their grappling power.[11]
The Wayfinder Foundation has several stuffed owlbears on display in the trophy room in its headquarters in Fairhaven, Aundair.[12]
History[]
How the owlbear came to be is a long-running argument among scholars. The mostly widely held theory is of course that the first owlbear was the product of a demented mage crossing a bear and a giant owl.[4][1] Some accounts reject this notion, but still cannot explain them.[3] The oldest elves recall that owlbears have been around for many millennia and a few fey claim owlbears have always been found in the Feywild.[1] If this is correct, owlbears may have originated as Feywild predators before somehow finding their way into the material world in ancient times.[2]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
- Novels
- Skein of Shadows (mentioned only)
- Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
- Blind Man's Hunt
External Links[]
- Owlbear article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Owlbear article at the Ravenloft Wiki.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014). Monster Manual (5th Edition). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 249. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt (2008). Monster Manual (4th edition). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 212. ISBN 0-7869-4852-3.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 Rodney Thompson, Logan Bonner, Matthew Sernett (November 2010). Monster Vault. Edited by Greg Bilsland et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 234–237. ISBN 978-0-7869-5631-9.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual (3.5 edition). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 206. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bill Slavicsek, David Noonan, and Christopher Perkins (2005). Five Nations. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 34. ISBN 0-7869-3690-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Keith Baker, Ari Marmell, Michelle Lyons and C.A. Suleiman (2006). Dragonmarked. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 131. ISBN 0-7869-3933-8.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, Jeff Quick, and James Wyatt (March 2003). Arms and Equipment Guide 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 73, 75. ISBN 978-0-7869-2649-7.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, Jeff Quick, and James Wyatt (March 2003). Arms and Equipment Guide 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 82. ISBN 978-0-7869-2649-7.
- ↑ David Noonan, Rich Burlew, & Frank Brunner (2005). Explorer's Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 90. ISBN 0-7869-3691-6.
- ↑ Rob Heinsoo, Mike Mearls, and Robert J. Schwalb (2009). Player's Handbook 2. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 83. ISBN 0-7869-5016-1.
- ↑ J. Wyatt, R. Baker, F. Brunner, S. Schubert (September 2005). Magic of Incarnum. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7869-3701-7.
- ↑ David Noonan, Rich Burlew, & Frank Brunner (2005). Explorer's Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 47, 49. ISBN 0-7869-3691-6.