Bear climbing a rope?

[Tom Cashel]

My players think a bear can climb a rope.

I say no (lack of opposable thumbs).

What say you, the deciders of all that is good and right?

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

The real question is: does a bear sh*t in the woods?

 

[Tom Cashel]

Further info: one of the PCs was reincarnated as a bear, and wants to climb into a rope trick spell.

And yes, he sh*ts in the woods!

 

[Kamard]

A bear can't grasp nearly as well as a human, not to mention I am not terribly sure a bear is strong enough to pull itself up using only its front paws.

As a DM, I would be highly inclined to say no.

 

[Sejs]

Bear + Rope + Climbing = False.

Bear + Woods + Poo = True.

I think the real issue here is: can a bear poo while trying to climb a rope in the woods?

 

[Oskar]

If the bear can use it's hind legs there shouldnt be a problem. They climb trees...

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

If the bear can use it's hind legs there shouldnt be a problem. They climb trees...

Yes.

However, I note in all objectivity that a tree is not a rope. Unless we are talking about a rope that is two meters in diameter.

 

[Tom Cashel]

I note in all objectivity that a tree is not a rope.

My players are going to be so surprised. Seriously, this is the kind of detail they tend to overlook.

 

[jlhorner1974]

I agree with everyone. Bears can't possibly climb a rope.

Bears, in general, just aren't good climbers, even under ideal conditions. Although all but the largest bears are capable of climbing trees in real life, their stability in climbing (i.e., their grip strength) largely depends on digging their claws into the wood of the tree. (Pandas and the other arboreal bear sub-species are the exception to the rule.)

A rope is just too small in diameter for a black or brown bear to effectively grasp with claws, and the lack of an opposable digit combined with their massive bulk means that a bear just cannot grip an average-sized rope well enough to climb at all (it's an impossible task).

If you could somehow make the rope at least 6 inches thick, I would allow an attempt to climb (with a near-impossible DC). A rope at least 12 inches thick would give a better chance (very difficult DC), and one at least 18 inches thick would give the best chance of success (but still at a difficult DC).

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

I agree with everyone. Bears can't possibly climb a rope.

Bears, in general, just aren't good climbers, even under ideal conditions. Although all but the largest bears are capable of climbing trees in real life, their stability in climbing (i.e., their grip strength) largely depends on digging their claws into the wood of the tree. (Pandas and the other arboreal bear sub-species are the exception to the rule.)

I agree .. bears can't climb ropes.

But you're wrong about them being bad climbers... at least in the world of D&D. They get like +10 or so to climb checks.