This dark-furred creature raises a spiked morningstar, its tiny, milk-white eyes glittering with the thrill of the coming kill.
The evil personified by the bugbear may be the most terrifying, for they actively seek to inflict pain and suffering in the most destructive ways possible. The bugbear is the largest of the goblinoid races, a lumbering brute that stands at least a head taller than most humans. They are loners, preferring to live and kill on their own rather than form tribes of their own kind, yet it isn’t uncommon to find small bands of bugbears working together, or dwelling in goblin or hobgoblin tribes where they function as elite guards or executioners
Bugbears, when they turn to religion, favor gods of murder and violence, with various demon lords being favorites. A typical bugbear stands 7 feet in height and weighs 400 pounds.
Alignment: Most bugbears tend towards evil, but that can take different aspects, from the dominating warlord who brooks no disobedience, to the gleeful serial killing stalking a village.
Bugbear Racial Traits[]
• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Charisma:
Bugbears are big and tough, but brutish.
- Medium: Bugbears are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
- Goblinoid: Bugbears are humanoids with the goblinoid subtype.
- Normal Speed: Bugbears have a base speed of 30 feet.
- Darkvision (Ex): Bugbears can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.
- Innate Bully (Ex): Bugbears gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate checks.
- Predator Skill (Ex): Bugbears gain a +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks.
- Languages: Bugbears begin play speaking Common and Goblin. Bugbears with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Draconic, Elven, Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, and Orc.
Hit Die: d8.
Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
CLASS SKILLS[]
The bugbear’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.[]
CLASS FEATURES[]
All the following are class features of the bugbear racial class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A bugbear is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the morningstar and javelin. It is also proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
Ability Score Increases: As a bugbear gains levels, its ability scores increase as noted on Table 1-1: Bugbear. These increases stack and are gained as if through level advancement.
Natural Armor (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a bugbear gains a natural armor bonus to its AC equal to its class level.
Stalker (Ex): Starting at 1st level, Perception and Stealth are always class skills for bugbears.
Scent (Ex): At 2nd level, a bugbear gains the scent special quality, allowing it to detect creatures within 30 feet by sense of smell. If the creature is upwind, the range increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice these ranges. Overpowering scents, such as skunk musk or troglodyte stench, can be detected at triple normal range.
When the bugbear detects a scent, the exact location of the source is not revealed—only its presence somewhere within range. The bugbear can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. When the creature is within 5 feet of the source, it pinpoints the source’s location.
In addition, the bugbear can track by sense of smell, making a Wisdom (or Survival) check to find or follow a track. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 (no matter what kind of surface holds the scent). This DC increases or decreases depending on how strong the quarry’s odor is, the number of creatures, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail is cold, the DC increases by 2. The ability otherwise follows the rules for the Survival skill. While tracking in this manner, the bugbear ignores the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
Stalker Skill (Ex): At 3rd level, a bugbear’s racial bonuses on Stealth and Intimidate checks increase to +4.