Welcome to Things That Might be True, a new series of articles about monsters, magic, and more in the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons. In this series, I’m going to lay out 5-10 things about something (like an Owlbear) that might be true in your world. This is meant to be mined for your use, in your games. Some of the things in these posts will contradict each other. That might mean that only one is true, or it might mean that they are all true but for different parts of the world (or, in this case, different kinds of owlbears). Feel free to use what you like!
Before we get to things that might be true about it, maybe I should say what an owlbear is? I mean, I doubt I need to if you are reading this, but I guess it’s possible. An owlbear is a creature that has the body of a bear, and the head of an owl. It is an apex predator, fearing few other creatures.
Created by a Wizard
Owlbears were created by a wizard to guard their lands. The name of this wizard is lost in time, but we know that they controlled a large keep and the lands around it. They found humans and others to be unreliable guards, since they were easily bored or bribed, or killed. One day, they were in the woods and saw a bear. They captured the bear and brought it back to their lab, where they just so happened to be experimenting on owls and using them to increase their own sight and hearing. While experimenting, the bear and owl ended up merging. The resulting creature was controllable, and vicious. The wizard spent months making more and more of them, setting them “free” (not really free, he controlled how far they could go) on their lands, and just generally being pleased with their effectiveness. Unknown to them, they were able to breed, and the resulting cubs were not under their control. It is likely they died at their hands, freeing their parents, though that part of the story is unclear.
No, They are Fae
Another theory is that owlbears are fae (or fey). Apex predators from the land of Faerie. That might explain why they love to eat sprites. Hard to say, maybe sprites just taste good? Anyway, supposedly a group of sprites created a gate from their land to the world, and some owlbears that were hunting them followed them through. It is possible that if one closed that gate, the world could be rid of owlbears. There is an entire cult of halflings that believe this and are looking for clues as the the gate’s whereabouts.
Servants of the Beast God
Both of those are bunk. Bunk I tell you. Owlbears are servants of the Beast god(dess?). We know this because her priests can turn into owlbears.
Actually, They are Afraid of One Thing
Turns out, owlbears are afraid of wolverines and weasels of all kinds. No one is sure why, but people that live in owlbear country rarely travel without a weasel or ferret or similar animal.
Winged Owlbears
It is true, some owlbears can fly! Thankfully, these owlbears are quite rare. They are generally smaller than other owlbears, but they can fly (silently, like an owl).
Fur and Feather
Some owlbears have fur on their bodies, and some have feathers. Really, some have no fur at all, and if you didn’t know they were owlbears you’d swear they were just really big, flightless, birds. With large, sharp, beaks, who liked to hunt.
Favorite Food
There is great debate about an owlbear’s favorite food, but one thing is sure, they love halflings and sprites. If given the chance, owlbears will always attack one of those first, and will carry the body off as fast as they can.
It’s Honey, Idiot
Look, the one thing an owlbear loves more than meat is honey. You want to distract an owlbear, have A LOT of honey with you.
They are Vulcan, I tell you
I don’t know that a Vulcan is, but apparently like an owlbear, they have a membrane under their eyelids. They can use this to protect their eyes from debris, and excessive light.
Blood for Power
Wizards and others use the fur and feathers of owlbears to create magical items, everyone knows that. What few know is that they use the blood of an owlbear to create potions that allow humanoids to enter a beastly state that makes them very deadly in combat (though they are also more likely to be killed, what can you do?).
Can’t Climb
Shockingly, owlbears are terrible climbers (well, that’s what some would have you believe).
Love Whistles
No one is sure why, but whistles (with just the right pitch) seem to be the only things that calm down owlbears. One theory is that their creator used them to control them. Another is that their home world had hollow trees and that when wind blew through them, owlbears entered a mating phase. I mean, you could carry a whistle and a weasel…..
Druids, Man, What Were they Thinking?
The druids of the Forgotten Forest, all of whom are dead for some reason…..awakened a family of owlbears and taught them to read and write. NO ONE goes in that forest anymore, because no one ever comes out alive.
Hugs and Screeches!
Owlbears love to grapple their foes and bite and claw them. They also have a screech that hurts the brain and can frighten or stun humanoids. Halflings are immune to the screech.
Druids, Again
Some druids can change into owlbears.
New Owlbear Traits and Attacks
This section gives you some new traits and attacks you can add to your games if you want.
Traits:
Can’t Climb: The owlbear cannot climb.
Experienced Hunter: The owlbear has advantage on initiative rolls.
Favorite Prey: The owlbear always attacks halflings or sprites over other creatures.
360 Vision: The owlbear can turn its head 270 degrees, and cannot be flanked.
Clumsy Flyer: The owlbear has a fly speed of 20. It has disadvantage on Dexterity checks while flying. Attacks aginst it have advantage while it is flying.
Loves Whistles: Creatures using special whistles can attempt to use Animal Handling to calm an owlbear. Such checks have advantage.
Attacks:
Screech (Recharge 6): Each creature within 10 feet of the owlbear must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. (feel free to add or not: Creatures that fail their save are also Frightened until the end of their next turn). Halflings are immune to Screech.
Hug: The owlbear can choose to cause half damage on a successful Claws attack. The target is grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the owlbear can bite only the grappled creature. The bite automatically succeeds. In addition, the owlbear has advantage on claws attacks against a grappled creature.
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