Converting prehistoric creatures

[freyar]

Con 19 is probably good enough. I'm ok with increasing NA by +1 and damage to match the dire bear. Probably don't need to increase Str if we're increasing damage, but I'd think about that, too. Shall we give these the dire property?

 

[Cleon]

Con 19 is probably good enough. I'm ok with increasing NA by +1 and damage to match the dire bear. Probably don't need to increase Str if we're increasing damage, but I'd think about that, too. Shall we give these the dire property?

Well historical cave bears weren't any bigger than a large grizzly or a polar bear so we could easily keep it at Str 27.

That wouldn't give it much to distinguish it from a standard Brown Bear, though.

Making it a Dire Animal would certainly help. We used that approach for the Short-Faced Bear.

Might as well start a Working Draft.

 

[Cleon]

Cave Bear Working Draft

Bear, Cave
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 7d8+28 (59 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 16 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +5/+18
Attack: Claw +13 melee (2d4+9)
Full Attack: 2 claws +13 melee (2d4+9) and bite +11 melee (2d8+4)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, rend 2d8+13
Special Qualities: Dire, low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +6
Abilities: Str 29, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +7, Swim +13, Survival +2* (+6 track by scent)
Feats: Endurance, Multiattack, Track
Environment: Cold forests and hills
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 8-12 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —

A massively built bear with a steep forehead and domed skull.

The size of the largest brown bears, these fearsome omnivores are named after their preference for hibernating in caves. Cave bears mainly eat plants, but will devour meat if they happen upon it. They rarely bother creatures that respectfully avoid them, but can be highly dangerous to anything that threatens their territory or food sources.

A typical cave bear is 10 feet long and weighs as much as 2,000 pounds. The largest specimens stand up to 12 feet tall when they rear up on their hind legs.

Combat
A cave bear mainly attacks by tearing at opponents with its claws, rending anything they hit with both paws.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a cave bear must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Rend (Ex): A cave bear that hits with both claw attacks latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d8+13 points of damage.

Skills: A cave bear has a +4 racial bonus on Swim checks.

*A cave bear has a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.

Originally appeared in Monster Manual (1977).

 

[freyar]

It's a good start. I'd think seriously about giving it rend but don't think I'd go for maul. BTW, where did the frightful roar come from?

 

[Cleon]

It's a good start. I'd think seriously about giving it rend but don't think I'd go for maul.

So base of 2d8 for the Rend damage?

BTW, where did the frightful roar come from?

It's from copy-and-pasting the statblock from the Bulldog Bear. I thought I'd got rid of it.

 

[Cleon]

Well historical cave bears weren't any bigger than a large grizzly or a polar bear so we could easily keep it at Str 27.

I'm still wondering about giving it a Strength bump. A Cave Bear was as big as the largest brown bears (e.g. a Kodiak bear), not an "average-sized" brown bear.

Hmm, although the SRD Brown Bear weighs "more than 1,800 pounds", which is very big for a Ursus arctos which implies its Str 27 is representative of said largest brown bears.

Further, Cave Bears were also about the size of a Polar Bear, which have Str 27.

It's just that an extra half-point (1d8 to 2d4) of average claw damage and an extra point (2d6 to 2d8) of average bite damage seems a little low relative to comparative proportions of the original.

AD&D 1d6 claws vs 1d8 claws (+29%), 1d8 bite vs 1d12 bite (+44%)
3rd Ed 1d8+8 claws vs 2d4+8 claws (+4%), 2d6+4 bite vs 2d8+4 bite (+18%)

The BECMI Grizzly/Cave Bears make a better comparison, though:

BECMI 1d8 claws vs 2d4 claws (+11%), 1d10 bite vs 2d6 bite (+27%)

 

[freyar]

Let's not over-think this too much. How about Str 29?

 

[Cleon]

Let's not over-think this too much. How about Str 29?

Suits me.

Updating Cave Bear Working Draft.

 

[freyar]

2d8 Rend and Imp Grab will work. Do these need anything else special? They're looking fairly good to me.

 

[Cleon]

2d8 Rend and Imp Grab will work. Do these need anything else special? They're looking fairly good to me.

I think that'll do for them mechanically apart from the skills. The rest is just flavor.

How about:

Skills: Listen +4, Spot +7, Survival +2
Environment: Cold forests and hills
Organization: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 5 [the Rend means they potentially do a LOT of damage and they have a Dire Animal's all-good saves]