Recently I've been reviewing the four basic bear species as listed in the
AD&D, Second Edition Monstrous Manual, as I wanted to add the Giant Short-faced Bear to the collection. As I did the review, I found a few characteristics of the listed bears that didn't match current knowledge. For instance, did you know the Cave Bear (cf.) was a herbivore, not an omnivore? I'm sure the cave bear supplemented its diet by occasionally predating on small creatures, but by in large its diet was herbivorous. Not only that, the cave bear's size was between the brown and polar bears, not the huge brutes listed in the text. Another factoid: The largest polar bear on record is just a shade over eleven feet tall, not fourteen as listed. Regarding comparative sizes of bears, there is considerable overlap between the species. As a result, I re-edited the statistics of the listed bear species, then added the giant short-faced bear. As you read, you'll see I've made few changes; only the ones I thought were necessary. The following is my edited versions given in second edition format.
Bears -- General Characteristics
Bears are omnivores unless otherwise indicated. If encountered in a group, it will normally consist of one female, and one or more cubs. Females, being smaller, will be one less hit dice and will do one less hit point damage per attack. Cubs will range from one-half to two hit dice, and will not attack. All bear cubs can climb trees, so they will climb the nearest tree when danger threatens leaving the mother to defend her offspring -- she will be at plus two "to hit" on all attacks. Most bears will avoid human contact whenever possible, so bear-human confrontations are uncommon at the most. The most frequent occurrences of bear-human confrontations are when humans encounter bear cubs. These confrontations usually end badly for humans. Despite "common wisdom", most bears don't hibernate throughout the entire winter, but will occasionally waken to feed. Another characteristic contrary to "common wisdom", bears are faster than most people believe, and much faster than humans. Brown bears have been known to run down elk and antelope in an ambush attack. When bears find food, they will go to impossible lengths to acquire it.
Black Bear
Climate/Terrain: Tropical to temperate land
Frequency: Common
Organization: Family
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-3
Armor Class: 7
Movement: 14
Hit Dice: 3+3
THAC0: 15
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage per Attack: 1-4/1-4/1-6
Special Attacks: Hug for 2-8 hp
Special Defenses: Nil
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: M (4.5-6.5 ft. long)
Morale: Average (8-10)
XP Value: 175
Description: The most widespread species of bear, black bears are intelligent,
strong and voracious eaters. These bears avoid human contact whenever
possible; they prefer to run away rather than having confrontations. If
cornered without an escape, these bears are able to inflict grievous
wounds to most humans.
The
“Black” Bear's coloration ranges from black to light brown. Some bears have "spectacles" of a contrasting color. It is among
the smallest species of bear regularly encountered by men.
Combat: Aside from the normal damage this bear can do, if it scores a hit of eighteen plus, it also hugs for an additional 2-8 hit points of damage.
Habitat/Society: Like most bears, black bears have poor eyesight, but have an excellent sense of smell even better than a bloodhound's. The size listed represents the great percentage of size varieties of this bear. Like all bears, this bear lives in small family groups.
Ecology: These bears literally eat anything they deem edible, and are very clever in their attempts to acquire it. Their intelligence also allow them to be tamed as cubs, and trained by humans as companion animals.
Variants: Nil
Brown Bear
Climate/Terrain: Temperate to subarctic land
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Family
Diet: Omnivore
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-6
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 13
Hit Dice: 5+5
THAC0: 15
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage per Attack: 1-6/1-6/1-8
Special Attacks: Hug for 2-12 hp
Special Defenses: Continue fighting at negative hp
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (7-10 ft. long)
Morale: Average (8-10)
XP Value: 420
Description: These bears are very aggressive in disposition, and tend to be more carnivorous than their black bear cousins. These bears are able to take down large game like elk and deer.
Combat:
Aside from the normal damage this bear can do, if it scores a hit of
eighteen plus, the bear also hugs for an additional 2-12 hit points of
damage.
These bears will
continue fighting for 1-4 rounds after reaching zero to negative eight
hit points. At negative nine hit points, they die immediately.
Habitat/Society:
Like most bears, brown bears have poor eyesight, but have an excellent
sense of smell even better than a bloodhound's. The size listed
represents the great percentage of size varieties of this bear. Like
all bears, this bear lives in small family groups.
Ecology:
These bears literally eat anything they deem edible, and are clever in their attempts to attain food. Their great strength (19+) makes almost any container susceptible to raiding. Although intelligent, these bears are considerably less trainable due to their ferocious natures. Human tribal hunters regularly track down and kill these bears for their thick fur coats.
Variants: Nil
Cave Bear
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Family
Diet: Herbivore
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 15
Hit Dice: 6+6
THAC0: 13
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage per Attack: 1-8/1-8/1-6
Special Attacks: Hug for 2-16 hp
Special Defenses: Continue fighting at negative hp
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (8-11 ft. long)
Morale: Average (8-10)
XP Value: 650
Description: These bears are large herbivores that aggressively defend their territories, and will attack with little provocation. Their coloration varies between individuals, but usually run from very dark to light cinnamon brown, some with “spectacles” of a contrasting color.
Combat:
Aside from the normal damage this bear can do, if it scores a hit of
eighteen plus, the bear also hugs for an additional 2-16 hit points of
damage.
These bears will continue fighting for 1-4 rounds after reaching zero to negative ten hit points. At negative nine hit points, they die immediately. Due to their herbivorous diets, the teeth of these bears are duller than their cousins. Hence the lower hp value of their biting attack.
Habitat/Society:
Like most bears, cave bears have poor eyesight, but have an excellent
sense of smell even better than a bloodhound's. The size listed
represents the great percentage of size varieties of this bear. Like
all bears, this bear lives in small family groups.
Ecology: These bears' primary diet is made up of various plant species. Cave bears' main source of protein are insects, usually ants and termites, but will eat an occasional small mammal. The bears' aggressive natures make them ill suited for taming and training. Human tribal hunters regularly track down and kill these bears for their thick fur coats.
Variants: Nil
Polar Bear
Climate/Terrain: Arctic land or icepack
Frequency: Rare
Organization: Family
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-6
Armor Class: 6
Movement: 15, Sw 9
Hit Dice: 8+8
THAC0: 13
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage per Attack: 1-10/1-10/2-12
Special Attacks: Hug for 3-18 hp
Special Defenses: Continue fighting at negative hp.
Camouflage, see below.
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L (9-12 ft. long)
Morale: Average (8-10)
XP Value: 2,000
Description:
These bears are powerful swimmers and eat mostly marine mammals, particularly any seal species. Due to the reflectivity of their translucent fur, their coloration is white which blends very well into any snowy surroundings.
Combat:
Aside from the normal damage this bear can do, if it scores a hit of
eighteen plus, the bear also hugs for an additional 2-18 hit points of
damage.
These
bears will continue fighting for 2-5 rounds after reaching zero to
negative twelve hit points. At negative thirteen hit points, they die
immediately.
Due to their fur color, these bears are 75% undetectable in snowy surroundings with normal eyesight.
Habitat/Society:
Unlike most bears, polar bears have excellent eyesight, and have an excellent
sense of smell even better than a bloodhound's. The size listed
represents the great percentage of size varieties of this bear. Like
all bears, this bear lives in small family groups.
Ecology: These bears' primary diet is made up of various seal species, as the blubber from their usual prey provide the concentration of nutrients the bears need to survive in such an inhospitable climate. The bears' aggressive natures make them ill suited for taming and training. Human tribal hunters regularly track down and kill these bears for their thick fur coats.
Variants: Nil
Giant Short-faced Bear
Climate/Terrain: Any land
Frequency: Uncommon
Organization: Family
Diet: Carnivore
Intelligence: Semi- (2-4)
Treasure: Nil
Alignment: Neutral
No. Appearing: 1-2
Armor Class: 5
Movement: 18
Hit Dice: 10+10
THAC0: 11
No. of Attacks: 3 (claw/claw/bite)
Damage per Attack: 1-12/1-12/3-18
Special Attacks: Hug for 3-18 hp
Special Defenses: Continue fighting at negative hp.
Magic Resistance: Nil
Size: L-H (11-14 ft. long)
Morale: Average (8-10)
XP Value: 3,000
Description: Huge carnivorous bears whose appearance, aside from their short snouts, resemble brown bears. Some of these bears have “spectacles” of a contrasting color.
Combat:
Aside from the normal damage this bear can do, if it scores a hit of
eighteen plus, the bear also hugs for an additional 3-24 hit points of
damage.
These
bears will continue fighting for 3-6 rounds after reaching zero to
negative fourteen hit points. At negative fifteen hit points, they die
immediately.
Habitat/Society:
Unlike most bears, Short-faced bears have excellent eyesight, and have an excellent
sense of smell even better than a bloodhound's. The size listed
represents the great percentage of size varieties of this bear. Like
all bears, this bear lives in small family groups.
Ecology: These bears' primary diet is made up of large herbivores. The great size and strength of these bears allow them to take down prey as large as rhinos. Their great speed allows them to run down deer and antelope. They will even prey on their smaller cousins, and any other smaller predators they come across. A few have been known to regularly prey on hominid species. These bears' aggressive natures make them ill suited for taming and training. Human tribal hunters regularly track down and kill these bears for their thick fur coats.
Variants: Nil
