Bugbears

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by OldSchoolDL

Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Strength (maximum 19), -1 Intelligence (maximum 16), -1 Charisma (maximum 14).

Player Classes: Bugbears can be fighters, barbarians, clerics, shamans, witch doctors, and thieves.

Hit Dice: Bugbears receive Hit Dice by class. In addition, they receive 3 bonus hit points at 1st level.

Alignment: Bugbears tend towards chaotic evil. Bugbear PCs are often neutral, and occasionally good.

Natural Armor Class: AC 10.

Monstrous Traits: Monstrous appearance, snarling language, long sharp claws.

Superstitions: Bugbears are ever watchful for omens from their gods. They have simple superstitions involving lightning and violent weather; bugbears who retain their dark religions of Takhisis or Sargonnas would take these weather events as signs that they must do tasks to appease their gods. If the bugbears have fled their clans and the worship of Dark gods, they could take these signs as expressions of anger of those deities. In these cases the bugbears would exhibit paranola and refuse to venture outdoors during these storms, unless they have found sanctuary amongst the other clerical orders for protection.

Racially Preferred Weaponry: Throwing maces (footman maces used as missiles), goblin sticks, hand axes, morning stars (great clubs for the more tribal groups), spears, warhammers, and mauls.

Racially Preferred Nonweapon Knowledges: Close quarter fighting, eating, hunting, intimidation, looting, natural fighting, wild fighting.

Special Advantages: Bugbears have infravision/dark vision to 60 feet. Their stealth gives opponents a -3 penalty to their surprise rolls.

Special Disadvantages
Bugbears take damage as large creatures.

Background
Bugbears are giant hairy relatives of goblins. They are large, standing about seven feet tall, with muscular frames and the look of a true carnivore. They have light yellow to yellow-brown hides, with thick coarse hair that ranges in color from brown to brick red. Bestial eyes of greenish white with red pupils stare out from their savage faces. Wedge-shaped ears rise from the top of their heads, and their mouths are full of long sharp fangs. Bugbears have exceptional sight and hearing, and they can move with amazing stealth. They live in caves and underground lairs populated by goblins. Those bugbears not enlisted in the Dragonarmies before the War of the lance stayed settled in places like Northern and Southern Ergoth, Abanasinia, Throt and other areas that are also populated heavily by their smaller cousins.

Bugbear females are not given the same opportunities as their male counterparts in the tribes and societies of bugbears, so a good many bugbear adventurers encountered are often female. These large humanoids live by plundering and ambush. They sometimes take slaves, and are often cruel and mean-spirited. They are excellent hunters. They eat anything they kill, including humans and humanoids smaller than themselves. Some adventuring bugbears leave their lairs because they cannot stand to eat intelligent creatures.

Those bugbears who are more tribal than the more civilized will have amongst them shamans or "witch doctors". These individuals are the tribal equivalent of clerics and adepts of both mystism and sorcery. Witch doctors are usually seen more on the fridges of bugbear tribes and only called upon when omens of danger or perceived by the tribal populace. Regardless of each class is in these tribes, the shamans and adepts are far weaker than the clerics that are amongst the more civilized settlements of bugbears.

Languages: Bugbears speaks their own crude language and are capable of speaking Common, Goblin, and Hobgoblin.

Role Playing Suggestions

Bugbears speak a foul-sounding language punctuated by gestures, grunts, and snarls. They even use these bestial habits when talking in common, making other races doubt their intelligence. Even the bravest bugbear PC has trouble breaking away from its tribe. They prefer to ambush their foes rather than attack head on. If outnumbered or overmatched, most will retreat to fight another day.

Adventuring bugbears remain territorial even after leaving their lairs. They mentally mark out territory wherever they go, even when traveling. Anything which comes into this space becomes their property (at least in their own minds), or the property of their new tribe (their pc companions). They are natural bullies, forcing their wills on weaker companions. They are an opportunistic race, prone to temper tantrums and violet outbursts.

Bugbears enjoy wine and strong ale-often to excess. They are stubborn by nature, finding it difficult to negotiate or compromise. Greed courses through their bodies like blood, even the most noble bugbears covets glittery, shiny objects and weapons.

The bugbear society worships the dark gods of Takhisis and Sargonnas as their primary deities. The powers of darkness and vengeance these gods represent are very well received by the Bugbears of both the civilized and tribal varieties. PC bugbears' motivations on leaving the tribes or clans of their kin can easily be explained as they perhaps reject these gods and wish the freedom to worship others; even if that means falling into the other dark religions.

This item has been published here with permission from the author(s) and may not be reproduced without permission. This is a fan submission and its contents are completely unofficial. Some characters, places, likenesses and other names may be copyright Wizards of the Coast.