Homebrew Owlbear Species Details

Appearance

Owlbears are immediately recognizable to any who have heard of them, and those who have not heard of them could likely guess their name at first glance. Despite their owlish face, they are primarily bear-like in appearance, with large, sturdy bodies and huge paws. Their fur is course and resilient, and fades almost seamlessly into the feathers on their forearms. Owlbears are most commonly brown, but come with different markings and patterns that largely resemble the colors of common owls. Either due to their unnatural origins or perhaps the introduction of unexpected genes, some owlbears have other colors such as purple or green. In the tundra, snowy white owlbears are not uncommon.

Fierce Predators

A monstrous cross between giant owl and bear, an owlbear’s reputation for ferocity and aggression makes it one of the most feared predators of the wild. They are famous for their large claws and relentless crushing attacks that render their prey immobile. Owlbears typically hunt alone, but may sometimes hunt in mated pairs. Awakened Owlbears are no less fearsome; rare and often turned away by society, these loners combine their tremendous physical force with intelligence, and often a sense of revenge against humanoids who cast them out as monsters.

Origin

Through means that may or may not be known to you, you've been awakened with greater intelligence than the average owlbear. This may have happened as the result of a Druid's spell, a wizard's experiments, or a mysterious act of the fey. No matter the case, you've been left to face the world as a unique being, with all the benefits and challenges that may entail.

Despite their appearance, Owlbears have a reasonable level of manual dexterity. With training, tasks such as wielding weapons or weaving spell signs are possible for Owlbears who are both intelligent and diligent enough to make the attempt.

Owlbear Traits

An awakened Owlbear lives between three worlds, first created as a hybrid by some unnatural means, then subjected to intelligence that beasts and monstrosities alike are unaccustomed to. Your existence is a unique one, and most other creatures express concern, fear, or occasionally fascination with you.

Creature Type

You are a Monstrosity. You are also considered a Beast for the purposes of determining the outcome of spells and other effects.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

Similar to many animals, Owlbears mature quickly, reaching adulthood in about 5 years. They can live to be about 50.

Size

Owlbears are burly, lumbering predators. As adults, they stand around 6 to 8 feet at the shoulder, and weigh between 900 and 1500 pounds. Females tend to be visibly smaller than males. Your size may be Medium or Large.

Speed

You can switch between walking as a biped and a quadruped. As a biped, your base walking speed is 25 feet. As a quadruped, your speed becomes 40 feet.

To walk as a quadruped, you must have both hands free. You can still gain the benefits of a shield while moving in this way.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Armor

You have thick fur and tough skin. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC is 13 + your Constitution modifier. You can use your natural armor to determine your AC if the armor you wear would leave you with a lower AC. A shield’s benefits apply as normal while you use your natural armor.

Keen Sight and Smell

You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception), Wisdom (Survival), and Intelligence (Investigation) checks that rely on sight or smell.

Natural Weapons

Your beak and talons are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. Your unarmed attacks deal piercing or slashing damage respectively.

The damage is equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier. At level 5, the damage die increases to a d8. At level 11, it increases to a d10.

When you take the Attack action on your turn and use your Natural Weapons to attack, you may make an additional Unarmed Strike with your Natural Weapons as a bonus action.

Menacing Predator

You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common. Writing is clumsy and difficult with your large claws, and a special implement is required for it to be possible. Acts and features that involve writing take twice as long as usual for you.
Using gestures and sounds, you can also communicate simple ideas with owls, bears, and owlbears.
MicahCharacterMan

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