Imagine: you are walking through the woods. Huge firs and cedars - bigger around than the support beams of a cathedral - jut out of the loamy earth. Somewhere above the unseen canopy, it is raining, but all that reaches the dim undercroft of the forest is a steady grey mist punctuated by fat drops dripping secondhand from sodden boughs. Pushing through a dense stand of salmonberry and sword fern, you break into a clearing. Suddenly, the roar of the river ahead is all you can hear, even as the rain falls harder now, unimpeded by tree cover, plastering your woolen hood to your helmet. Huge salmon the size of dolphins lie beached on the scree of flat river rocks, gasping their last. You draw a long knife and make your way towards the closest. This one fish will feed you and your companions for days! But as you kneel by the fish to gut it, something catches your eye. Slowly, you turn your head. Twenty paces upstream, a pair of four-legged bear-men with matted brown fur eye you suspiciously. One of them has a dozen fillets of the giant fish draped and bound across his back. The other, wearing a porcupine pelt as a helmet, grips a long spear. His growl, resonant and bestial, reaches you clearly above the river's constant rush. This salmon is his. This river is his. And yet... you must eat.
So if your campaign has been wanting a species of six-limbed spear-wielding bears with humanoid intelligence (and I think you will find that it has), then you need look no further! Well, look a little further. You'll need to scroll down, at least.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2016 Jonah Bomgaars.
Ursotaur CR 7
XP 3,200
N Large monstrous
humanoid
Init +6; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception
+11
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+4
armor, +2 Dex, +6 natural, -1 size)
hp 85 (9d10+36)
Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +8
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee spear +14 (1d8+7/x3), slam +13 (1d6+5),
bite +8 (1d6+2),
or 2 claws +13
(1d4+5 plus grab), slam +13 (1d6+5), and bite +8 (1d6+2)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Ranged spear +10 (1d8+5/x3) 20ft.
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 11
Base Atk +9; CMB +15 (+19 grapple); CMD
27 (31 vs. trip)
Feats Endurance, Improved Initiative,
Run, Skill Focus (Survival), Weapon Focus (spear)
Skills Craft (weapons) +4, Intimidate +8,
Perception +11, Stealth +5, Survival +16, Swim +10
Languages sylvan
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Undersized Weapons (Ex)
Although an
ursotaur is Large, its upper torso is roughly the same size as that of a Medium
humanoid. As a result, their slam and
bite attacks deal damage as if they were Medium sized creatures and they wield
weapons as if they were Medium sized.
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate or cold forests
Organization solitary, pair, sleuth
(3-8), tribe (9-18 plus 3 hunters of 3rd level and 1 leader of 6th
level)
Treasure NPC gear (hide armor, 2 spears,
other treasure)
An ursotaurs
is a centauroid bear with the body of a grizzly and the upper torso of an
ursine humanoid, possessing near-human levels of intelligence. Their clawed hands are less dexterous than
those of most humanoids, but capable of crafting a spear or mending a fishing
net. They speak a rough dialect of
sylvan. Some ursotaurs are more social
than others, banding together in sleuths or tribes and living in small
villages. Others prefer a solitary life
in their den. Whether solitary or
tribal, ursotaurs are typically peaceful by nature but fiercely territorial,
lashing out with claw, spear, and tooth against those who blunder into their
land and threaten their families or hunting grounds. Like bears, ursotaurs are omnivorous, gorging
themselves on berries, fish, and fresh meat.
Ursotaurs are often seen with fishing nets, hempen rope, or baskets full
of berries across their back.
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-your ursine d20 despot
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