D&D General The Owlbear Druid: How Would You Do It? (A Poll)

[Olgar Shiverstone]

As a few others have posted, I'd allow it by just using bear stats.

For fun ... 'cause I just watched the Disney movie Red ... a druid with a magical curse/disease/lineage who can only become an owlbear, and does it anytime they become stressed and fail a Will save. Comedy ensues.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

By that logic do you also include hippogriffs as beasts? They are even more stupid that owlbears (INT 3 vs INT 2), are just a mixture of two beasts: eagle and horse (similar to the mixture of owl and bear). Pretty underwhelming as a monstrosity, right?

I think the fact that it would be by far the largest flying creature on earth makes the hippogriff a touch different than a creature which, functionally is just a bear.

I have no idea what INT scores have to do with anything here, though I am reminded by that tangent that this edition did allow in bizarrely intelligent flying cats in as "beasts". An owlbear certainly feels more mundane than a tressym.

 

[tetrasodium]

I think the fact that it would be by far the largest flying creature on earth makes the hippogriff a touch different than a creature which, functionally is just a bear.

I have no idea what INT scores have to do with anything here, though I am reminded by that tangent that this edition did allow in bizarrely intelligent flying cats in as "beasts". An owlbear certainly feels more mundane than a tressym.

In the past int3 was the divider between beast & other stuff iirc. I forget the specifics

 

[DND_Reborn]

I think the fact that it would be by far the largest flying creature on earth makes the hippogriff a touch different than a creature which, functionally is just a bear.

So, in a world of magic size is the limiting factor? And, this isn't "earth", is it?

Owlbear = owl + bear
Hippogriff = eagle + horse

Functionally, the hippogriff is just a giant eagle, but weaker in many ways, despite the same CR.

The hippogriff is:

• Less dexterous
• Less intelligent
• Less wise
• Less charismatic
• Lower AC
• Less HP
• Slower flight
• Doesn't understand any languages

While better at:

• Slightly stronger (same modifier, though)
• Walking speed
• Perception (hippogriff has expertise, apparently)
• Better peak damage

Yet the giant eagle is a beast which a druid can wild shape into, nearly better than the hippogriff in all ways, but you don't want to allow hippogriffs? Interesting.

I have no idea what INT scores have to do with anything here, though I am reminded by that tangent that this edition did allow in bizarrely intelligent flying cats in as "beasts". An owlbear certainly feels more mundane than a tressym.

that is just a dumb animal with no special abilities

I brought up INT scores because as a qualifier you said the owl bear as just a dumb animal. The monstrosities I cited are even less intelligent so would seem to meet that qualifier, certainly.

 

[Maxperson]

"Corn" was any grain. Maize (what we generally call corn today) hadn't been discovered yet.

A Martian was any being from another planet.

 

[Undrave]

Owlbears are animals.

Stop making non-superpowered fantastic animals not animals.

This! It's just a bear but it has a beak, how is it more dangerous or more special than a grizzly?

 

[Maxperson]

Remember wen 3x make dinosaurs Beasts just to hose druids?

No. They are animals in 3e. I remember when 3e gave me a druid prestige class to allow me to turn into giants, humanoids, monstrous humanoids, fey, vermin, aberrations, plants, oozes, elementals and dragons. Pretty sure Owlbear was covered in there somewhere.

 

[Leatherhead]

The downside to changing Owlbears into beast is that it takes something special away from the Owlbear.

The upside to giving druids a Circle of Monsters is that they can also change into the new Cranium Rat, or Displacer Beasts.


But the real answer is they are highly likely to just use Generic Stat Blocks (à la Tasha's Pets) for the Druid Wildshape going forward. In which case, the Owlbear is merely an aesthetic choice. Which is fine, because honestly aesthetics are the main draw of the Owlbear to begin with. It's not like they can fly or get special powers like echolocation.

 

[Mistwell]

I'd let them play an owlbear with the stats of a polar bear. Which...is pretty close to an owl bears stats.

 

[Stormonu]

I'd change Circle of the Moon to allow Monstrosities, but I'd have a curated list. I wish 5E hadn't dropped Magical Beast and Monstrous Humanoid, it'd make things easier in that regard.