Bears: Huggy or Swatty?

[NewJeffCT]

Never before has this been more appropriate to a thread:

YouTube - &[URL=http://www.enworld.org/forum/misc.php?do=dbtech_usertag_hash&hash=x202a]#x202aboxing bear&#x202c‏[/url]

the bears of MMA

 

[NewJeffCT]

Having spent some time with NA black and grizzly bears I'm going with swatty hands down. When a bear hugs it isn't to squish the victim like an anaconda, it's to keep it still while the bear bites.

Be mean, if the bear grapples give it a flurry of bites or some sort of rip a large piece off ability. That will shake the players up and make for a different encounter.

I think something where it's bite either gets a bonus to hit, or auto-hits, if it successfully grabs a target... (I think the owlbear already has similar?)

 

[Croesus]

Bears chase, swat, knock down or slow down, then bite and drag with their teeth while occasionally swiping apart the prey's flesh.

I was researching how polar bears kill for my LOST game.

I've been reading about fur trappers in early North America and this is exactly right. Several accounts of the above, zero accounts of constriction, aka hugging.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I've been reading about fur trappers in early North America and this is exactly right. Several accounts of the above, zero accounts of constriction, aka hugging.

You're looking for accounts during the wrong historical era. There are countless stories of bears with hug attacks in later periods, especially on Saturday mornings during the 80's and 90's. Photographic evidence follows:

It's also notable that such late-era fur trappers are responsible for pink Uggs.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Real bears are swatty.

Game bears can be whatever seems coolest at the time.

Yup.

For me it depends on the bear and the target, sometimes I want more lethal, sometimes I want less. And sometimes I want 'just playing' which isn't too healthy for the 'toy'.

The Auld Grump

 

[I'm A Banana]

The huggy variety is just another Gygaxian pun.

A "bear hug" is a wrestling hold, named because it's basically the same thing as a normal hug, but friggin' aggressive. It's a poetic name for a human grappling move.

Personally, I am in favor of puns at the game table, so I'm all for bear hugs.

But, sometimes, that's not cool, and swatty is fine, too.

Also, while we're shattering our illusions about the natural world, wolves aren't really great at pack-hunting (compared to hyenas or lionesses), and kill mostly via gradual blood loss and exhaustion. So, y'know, if realistic hunting strategies are key...

 

[Celebrim]

Never really given it much thought. It's been a while since a bear showed upi in a campaign. But, ok, I'm thinking mythic huggy bears in fantasy worlds, and mutant swatty bears in post apolyptic ones.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Answer: Kodiak Bear

 

[Mark CMG]

I have always said they are the perfect RPG monster. And our good friend and gamer Stephen Colbert would remind you they are godless killing machines.

Exclusive - Godless Killing Machines Mash-up - The Colbert Report - 2008-01-12 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

 

[Relique du Madde]

Real bears are swatty.

Game bears can be whatever seems coolest at the time.

Boris the Atomic Bear... I wonder if I can ever use him in a php.. the "coolest" thing he was able to do is cold fusion.