Homebrew Abomobug Species Details

Don't go out into the mountains alone... better yet don't go out at all. — Ormund, Sherpa

Abombug Stalk the mountainous frontiers of N'dera — They are great, hairy beasts that creep through the snow as quiet as cats but almost as large as an ogre. If you walk alone in the tundra, an Abombug will reach out of the blizzard and strangle you. If you stray too far from the light at night, Abombugs will snatch you up to devour you in their den. If an Abombug cuts off your head, it'll be offered to their chief and used for primitive magics. 

Lurid tales such as these have flowered from the seeds of truth. Abombugs do rely on stealth and strength to attack, preferring to operate unseen. They do take the heads of enemy leaders, but they are no more likely to eat it than cast spells with it. Bugbears aren’t likely to attack lone travelers or wandering children unless they are unlucky in hunting more plentiful game. From the viewpoint of the rest of the world, their aggression and savagery are thankfully offset by their rarity and far off location.

Abomobugs are usually covered in a thick layer of gray/white fur. Their skin is usually pale/pink in color and they walk with a slight hunch. They have short, gnarled tusks on their lower and upper jaws that are found next to their canines. They typically have yellow or blue eyes.

Watchful, Savage Hunters

When they’re not in battle, bugbears spend much of their time hunting, stalking, and stealing. They don’t engage in crafting or agriculture to any great extent, or otherwise produce anything of value. They instead steal things from other races so they can use them for their own devises. When a superior force tries to intimidate Abomobugs, they will try to escape rather than perform the work or confront the foe. Abomobugs prefer the thrill of the hunt and are often spotted stalking outside villages.

Abomobugs are capable of bouts of incredible ferocity, using their muscular bodies to exact swift and ruthless violence. At their core, Abomobugs are ambush predators accustomed to restless nights of hunting  broken up by short bursts of murderous energy. Ferocious though they may be, bugbears aren’t keen on stand up fights.

Gang Mentality

Since Abomobugs aren’t a particularly fecund race, their overall population is small and spread over a mountainous areas. They live in family groups that operate much like gangs. The individuals in a group typically number fewer than a dozen, consisting of siblings and their mates as well as a handful of offspring and an elder or two. A gang lives in and around a small enclosure, often a natural cave or an old bear den, and it might have supplementary dens elsewhere in its territory that it uses temporarily when it goes on long forays for food.

In good times, an Abomobug gang is tight-knit, and its members cooperate well when hunting or Stalking other creatures. But when the fortunes of a gang turn sour, the individuals become selfish, and might sabotage one another to remove opposition or exile weaker or unpopular members to keep the rest of the gang strong. Fortunately for the race as a whole, even young and elderly bugbears have the ability to survive alone in the wild, and the cast-off members of a gang might eventually catch on with a different group.

Left to their own devices, Abomobugs have little more impact on the world than wolf packs. They subsist by crafting simple tools and hunting and gathering food, and gangs sometimes come together peacefully to exchange members and goods between them.

 

Abomobug Traits

Your Abomobug character has the following racial traits.

Born of the Mountains

You do not suffer movement penalties from terrain consisting of snow or stone

Blizzard Striker

You gain advantage on one attack role per short rest while obscured by a blizzard or rainfall

Ability Score Increase

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

Age

Abomobugs reach adulthood at age 16 and live up to 80 years.

Alignment

Abomobugs endure a harsh existence that demands each of them to remain self-sufficient, even at the expense of their fellows. They tend to be chaotic evil.

Size

Abomobugs are between 6.5 and 9 feet tall and weigh between 270 and 380 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

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.

Long-Limbed

When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Sneaky

You are proficient in the Stealth skill.

Surprise Attack

If you surprise a creature and hit it with an attack on your first turn in combat, the attack deals an extra 2d6 damage to it. You can use this trait only once per combat.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Giant.