Monster Monday: Drop Bear - Australian Tall Tale

Today's Monster Monday is the drop bear, a big mean koala that plummets out of the trees onto its hapless prey. Unlike regular koalas, these drop bears are carnivorous predators with a taste for human flesh. It's still pretty cute, though.

modified (by me) from a photo by JJ Harrison on Wikimedia

Drop bears were a joke that Australians played on outsiders, building off the fact that Australian fauna is terrifying and deadly. It is unclear whether this is an original Australian settler tall tale, or if it originated from a joke Australian aborigines played on the invading whites, or even if it might come from some Australian aboriginal myth. We know from the yara-ma-ya-who that the Australian aborigines were no stranger to reddish mythical creatures that come down from trees to mess people up.

In combat, this monster has a pretty solid opening move - it drops from above onto its presumably flat-footed prey, and if it hits with any of its three attacks it takes no falling damage and inflicts half of the falling damage it would have taken to its target. If hunting a lone target, this gives the drop bear a solid chance of knocking it out so that it can drag it up the tree to feed at its leisure. If fighting a group of targets (say, an adventuring party), the drop bear might be able to knock out the most dangerous looking one, giving it a chance to drive off the others with its clumsier, less gravity-aided attacks.

The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is ©2018 Jonah Bomgaars.

This dwarf-sized, reddish-furred koala snarls, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth

Drop Bear               CR 3

XP 800

N Medium animal

Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 natural, +2 Dex)

hp 30 (4d8+8)

Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +1

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4+3), bite +6 (1d6+3)

Special Attacks drop

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 8

Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 18 (22 vs trip)

Feats Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness

Skills Climb+15, Perception +5, Stealth +9

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Drop (Ex)

The drop bear can drop from a tree at any height as a charge attack, making a full attack against the target as if it had the pounce ability. If it hits with any of its attacks during the drop, it takes no falling damage, and deals half of the falling damage it would have taken to its target (up to a maximum of 4d6 with an 80-foot fall). If it misses with all attacks, it takes only half damage from falling.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate and warm forests.

Organization solitary

Treasure none

A distant cousin of the smaller koala, the drop bear is an arboreal predator four to five feet long with reddish fur and long claws. Unlike the eucalyptus-eating koala, the drop bear is a predator, leaping down from high tree boughs to pounce on unwary prey. The drop bear hits hard with its first strike – often the only strike it has to make. These creatures are slow and clumsy on the ground, so they rely on their surprise attack to kill or stun their prey so they can drag it up their tree and eat it at their leisure.

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Plot Hooks and Encounter Ideas

• The adventurers were warned that the forest between them and the ruins was drop bear country. They've heard this kind of thing before and dismiss it as local superstition, at least until they see the carcasses in the trees above them.
• A band of thieves has taken to wearing drop-bear pelts and attacking caravans from above.
• As the party climbs the cliffs, they are assaulted by drop bears from above.

-your thylarctos d20 despot

Ok, it is very important to me that you see this illustration of a "Koalo" that appeared in a book of recently discovered animals published in London in 1811:

via Wikimedia

That is all.