| Class: | Beast |
| Hab: | Dark and wild places, from tropics to arctic |
| Fre: | Somewhat rare |
| Num: | Solitary bull or bull + 1-6 females (+ young) pr nest, 3-18 nest pr tribe |
| Lair: | Lone bull: 10%, nesters: 95% |
| Size: | = big bear; 1,300-2,000 lbs (tropical lighter, arctic double sized) |
| Move: | Waddle upright or charges on all fours |
| Def: | Very tough hide = chain or splint mail, arctic tougher, well padded |
| Att: | Like bear, but twice as fearsome |
| Int: | Medium beast to dim Human |
| Spec: | Some domesticable |
| Posns: | Incidental + shiny trinkets; eggs, chicks, cubs marketable |
In his Monster Manual, D' Andy maligns the magnificent owl-bear by reducing it to being merely a bear with an owl's head; the statistics, including the famous crushing "bear hug," are all taken from those of the three bears D' Andy lists in that same volume, save for a more effective bite and an intelligence raised from "semi" to "low." One might think D' Andy ignorant of hibernation or denning amongst bears, as he give a zero percent chance of finding bears in their lairs, while the owl-bear is to be expected at home 30% of the time.(SEE AD&D Monster Manual, by Gary Gygax, referred to hereafter as D' Andy.)
The mention of a 25% chance of discovering eggs (20% of the time) or young (80% of the time, 40 to 70% grown, with appropriate fighting ability) is not credited with being the reason for the "aggressiveness" of the owl-bear; even when D' Andy lists the value of these eggs and young on the market (eggs at $2,000 and young under 50% grown at $5,000 each), he does not acknowledge that it might have been past encounters with egg-poachers which has made those owl-bears closer to "civilization" so "aggressive."
D' Andy's illustration seems inspired as much by a hunchbacked, beetle-browed and pig-eyed Neanderthal Human as by an actual owl-bear; it, and the brief reference to yellow-brown (generally females) to dark brown or black (generally males) fur and feathers and eyes "red-rimmed and exceedingly terrible to behold," do not begin to describe the beautiful and majestic creature which is the owl-bear. His range of 1,300 to 1,500 lb. suggests that he only knew undernourished individuals, as the temperate owl-bear generally ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 lb.
The owl-bear's head appears large in proportion to its body, due to its thick feathers. These are sculpted into "sound scoops," like broad adjustable fans on either side of the head, allowing the owl-bear to hear the faintest sound. Like the owl, the owl-bear is able to rotate its head almost completely around, allowing it to use its wonderful hearing to precisely locate prey even in complete darkness or behind sheltering objects.
Of course, with its fantastic huge yellow-green eyes, it can see in ranges of light invisible to most creatures, even by the merest background radiation or the invisible glow of a single thread of phosphorescent fungal growth in a huge cavern. For its prey, these hypnotic eyes are indeed terrible to behold, as their gaze paralyzes ("fear check" or "will check"), but any fellow hunter must admit admiration, however grudgingly.
The owl-bear is a tender and devoted parent; both sexes take equal turns incubating their treasured eggs. While D' Andy's statistics may be accurate in areas frequented by poachers, in their natural state, a pair of gown owl-bears will have 2-7 eggs, a like number minus one "chicks-of-the-year" and 1-3 "yearling cubs;" the young are hatched in early spring, just as food begins to become abundant again, so whatever moth it is, that it the age of the chicks, while the cubs are that plus one year old. Owl-bear young mature at the age of twenty months; each month represents 5% growth.
Owl-bears are somewhat more intelligent than dogs, and have a strong inclination to cooperation; they hunt as a family or, if the local fauna is rich enough, as a pack, with a few of the weaker, often older adults minding the eggs and chicks while the adults and cubs of 3-18 families hunt together.
These characteristics make owl-bears fairly easy to domesticate. They are loyal, easily trainable, and fiercely protective of their "adopted family;" more thoroughly domesticated breeds have been described as "teddy-owl-bear-dogs." However, their reactions towards strangers may remain unpredictable.
Domestication must be begun early, which is why eggs and chicks are valuable. Cubs are also saleable, but have a lower value; they can learn commands, but it is too late to train out their fierceness, so they are liable to turn upon their handlers if not treated with great care.
Arctic owl-bears shed and grow new fur and feathers by the season, so they are white, brown, or mottled as is the landscape. They are up to twice the size of their temperate cousins, with a commensurately stronger bite and claw. Curiously, the arctic owl-bear has developed a pseudo-pouch; the male carries the eggs and, when they are not outside playing, the chicks-of-the-year of 1-6 females; this reduces the workload of the females, allowing them greater success in producing more viable eggs. The yearling-cubs help their father hunt for enough food to keep their chick-siblings well fed.
Tropical owl-bears tend to be darker, leaner, and glossier. Their young grow twice as fast (10% per month) and are considered adults of the pack as soon as their mother has her new eggs. These tropical owl-bears are lighter, as little as half the size of their temperate cousins, but they are lanky and able to branchiate; they swing through the jungle canopy as readily as the monkeys they hunt. SEE the illustrations in Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are" (1963). Tropical owl bear packs are larger, with 5-30 individuals. They engage in the same communal nesting habits as their temperate cousins, with the weakest elder or injured resting while tending the eggs and chicks while the stronger hunt for them.
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