Monster Monday: Honey Badger and Dire Honey Badger

In celebration of my 50th blogpost, today's Monster Monday is the honey badger, the fierce predator that just takes what it wants.  Honey badgers, also known as ratels, are quite distinct from actual badgers, and they deserve to be statted up separately.  They are known for their resistance to poison that lets them fight and eat cobras and bees, the loose skin on their neck that lets them keep attacking whoever tries to grab them, and the fact that when they attack they go straight for the nuts.

source

I am also including the Dire Honey Badger, also known as al-girta, a fierce, man-eating honey badger the size of a black bear.  Al-girta is the name for the honey badger in southern Iraq, where they made headlines in 2007 thanks to a rash of reported attacks in Basra by mysterious man-eating monsters that turned out to be regular, not-man-eating honey badgers.  The locals blamed occupying British forces for the animal attacks, leading to my favourite quote from the Iraq War: "We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."

And of course, I've made it so that you can have a honey badger/al-girta as an animal companion.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2014 Jonah Bomgaars.

This short creature hunches its gold-furred back and bares its teeth at your approach

Honey Badger       CR 1

XP 400

N Small animal

Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +1

DEFENSE

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)

hp 10 (1d8+6)

Fort +5 (+7 vs. poison), Ref +4, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.

Melee bite +2 (1d4+1), 2 claws +2 (1d3+1)

Special Attacks blood rage

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6

Base Atk +0; CMB 0 (+4 to regain control of a grapple); CMD 12 (16 vs. trip and grapple)

Feats Toughness

Skills Escape Artist +6, Perception +1, Stealth +6; Racial Modifiers +4 Escape Artist         

ECOLOGY

Environment any warm

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure incidental

Honey Badgers as Animal Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.; AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 claws (1d3); Ability Scores Str 13, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6; Special Attacks blood rage; Special Qualities low-light vision, scent, +2 save vs. poison.

   4th-Level Advancement: Size Medium; Attack bite (1d6), 2 claws (1d4); Ability Scores Str +2, Con +4.

Honey badgers are ferocious animals known for raiding beehives, chasing off much bigger predators, and eating highly venomous snakes.  When wounded, they fly into a rage, becoming even more dangerous.  Honey badgers are feared for their ferocity and their tendency to attack the testicles of their enemies - even lions have been known to retreat at the growl of an enraged honey badger. 

   Honey badgers are less stocky than true badgers.  They have black fur with a broad yellowish-white stripe running from forehead to tail, although there are reportedly species with completely black fur.  

Honey Badger, Dire (al-Girta)             CR 4

XP 800

 N Medium animal

Init +7; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +7

DEFENSE

AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex, +7 natural)

hp 50 (4d8+32)

Fort +11 (+13 vs. poison), Ref +8, Will +4

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft.

Melee bite +8 (1d6+5), 2 claws +8 (1d4+5)

Special Attacks blood rage

STATISTICS

Str 21, Dex 17, Con 24, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 10

Base Atk +3; CMB 8 (+12 to regain control of a grapple); CMD 21 (25 vs. trip and grapple)

Feats Toughness, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative

Skills Escape Artist +11, Perception +7, Stealth +8; Racial Modifiers +4 Escape Artist       

ECOLOGY

Environment any warm

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure incidental

The dire honey badger is even larger and more ferocious than its smaller cousin.  These bear-sized animals are accustomed to eating whatever they want, whenever they want.  

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There you have it - the fiercest little guy in the animal kingdom.

source: honeybadger.com

I originally statted the honey badger up along with several other animals native to India when I was preparing to run an Indian-themed campaign, and you can imagine how pleased I was when one of the players decided to play a druid.  His honey badger animal companion became the mascot of the adventuring party known as the Bloody Badger Band.

Apart from India, honey badgers are native to Arabia and much of Africa, so there should be plenty of opportunities to use them in less Euro-centric campaign settings.

-your mellivorous d20 despot