Send In The Clowns… (or, Converting the Oddballs)

[Cleon]

Well, it's smarter than a 3e owlbear, and the damage values are better. Sure, it'll be quick.

The AD&D owlbear has Low intelligence too, for what it's worth.

The original Dragon #214 version of this monster had 1d6 damage claws like a regular owlbear, but I like the more deadly claws.

It's also got a hefty surprise bonus which is worth including.

 

[Cleon]

Here's the original Dragon #214 version from Johnathan M. Richards "The Ecology of the Owlbear. The greater claw damage is the only real mechanical difference. Note there's a price listed for their young and eggs.

Winged Owlbear
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any nonarctic
FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Family
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Late afternoon/early evening
DIET: Carnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)
TREASURE: Incidental
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
NO. APPEARING: 1 (2-5)
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVEMENT: 12, Fl 18 (E)
HIT DICE: 5 + 2
THAC0: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug, surprise
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: L (8’ tall, 20’ wingspan)
MORALE: Steady (11-12) + Special
XP VALUE: 975

The winged owlbear is the ultimate synthesis of owl and bear. It looks like a standard owlbear, but in addition it has a pair of large wings growing from its shoulders. They are just as nasty-tempered as their ground-dwelling cousins, and speak the same language of screeches.

Combat: Winged owlbears fight as the wingless variety, utilizing their front claws, sharp beaks, and mighty hug. In addition, they are almost totally silent in flight due to the construction of their wing feathers, and this imposes a -6 penalty on opponents’ surprise rolls.

Habitat/Society: Winged owlbears can be found in almost any nonarctic environment (when they can be found at all—they are very scarce), but seem to prefer wooded forests and mountainous terrains. Due to their flight capabilities, winged owlbears tend to claim larger territories as “theirs”—usually ten to twenty square miles.

Winged owlbears live in mated pairs. If encountered in their lairs, there is a 25% chance there will be 1-3 eggs (20%) or young (80%) in addition to the adults. The young are identical to normal owlbear young, as their wings will not support them in flight until they are at full size.

Ecology: Winged owlbears tend to live slightly longer than the normal variety, often reaching 25 years or so. They are sought after by wizards, even though to date no one has managed to domesticate one; nonetheless, eggs can go as high as 4,000 silver pieces, while the price for live young can reach 10,000 silver pieces.

 

[freyar]

I guess we shouldn't increase the Int, then, but there seems to be some support for improved damage. I like the idea of a training section with a ridiculously high DC. Or perhaps a "berserk" SQ along the lines of a golem.

 

[Cleon]

I guess we shouldn't increase the Int, then, but there seems to be some support for improved damage. I like the idea of a training section with a ridiculously high DC. Or perhaps a "berserk" SQ along the lines of a golem.

What would you like to increase the damage to then?

I'd leave the training section out, since regular owlbears don't have it.

If we start giving the Berserk SQ to owlbears they should all have it, going by their descriptions the regular and arctic varieties are just as insanely violent as the winged ones.

 

[freyar]

Well, we could bump the damage up one die, but I think I just misunderstood your previous post. So maybe there's less to go with. Grrrmph.

Berserk was only for trained owlbears, if we go that route.

 

[Shade]

We could make them more like giant owls, noting in the flavor text that they were fused with these magical beasts rather than standard owls. That could explain slightly higher Int, and we could give them some of the following...

Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex): A giant owl can see five times as far as a human can in dim light.

Skills: Giant owls have a +8 racial bonus on Listen checks and a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.

*When in flight, giant owls gain a +8 bonus on Move Silently checks.

Owlbears already deal less claw damage than a similarly-sized (brown) bear, so we could boost the damage up to 1d8 safely.

 

[freyar]

Ahh, I like the giant owl angle. Ok, we can make that work. And for distinguishing these, I think 1d8 is a nice compromise between 3e owlbear (1d6) and the original 1d10 winged owlbear.

 

[Cleon]

We could make them more like giant owls, noting in the flavor text that they were fused with these magical beasts rather than standard owls. That could explain slightly higher Int, and we could give them some of the following...

Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex): A giant owl can see five times as far as a human can in dim light.

Skills: Giant owls have a +8 racial bonus on Listen checks and a +4 racial bonus on Spot checks.

*When in flight, giant owls gain a +8 bonus on Move Silently checks.

Owlbears already deal less claw damage than a similarly-sized (brown) bear, so we could boost the damage up to 1d8 safely.

That seems exceedingly well thought out.

...of course it's what I did in my own homebrew conversion of the Owlbears, so I would say that.

 

[Shade]

Great minds...

Added to Homebrews.

Skills: 8
Owlbear has Listen, Spot
Giant owl has Knowledge (nature), Listen, Move Silently, Spot

Feats: 2
Owlbear has Alertness, Track
Giant owl has Alertness, Wingover

 

[freyar]

Drop Know (nature) and go with Listen 3, Move Silently 2, Spot 3. Alertness and Wingover seem good feats. Or maybe change Alertness for FlyBy Attack.