Owlbear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Type | Magical beast |
| Image | Wizards.com image |
| Stats | OGL stats |
The owlbear is a magical beast in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Owlbears, or distinctly similar beasts, also appear in several other fantasy role-playing games.
[edit] Publication history
The owlbear is among the earliest monsters in Dungeons & Dragons and like the bulette and the rust monster, was inspired by a Hong Kong-made plastic toy purchased by Gary Gygax for use as miniature in a Chainmail game.[1]
[edit] Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
The owl bear was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975).[2] It is described as a horrid creature which "hugs" like a bear, and deals damage with its beak.
[edit] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The owlbear appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977),[3] where it is described as a horrible creature that inhabits tangled forest regions, and attacks with its great claws and snapping beak.
[edit] Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)
This edition of the D&D game included its own owl bear, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1981 & 1983).[4][5] The owl bear was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991),[6] the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999).
[edit] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The owlbear appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),[7] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[8]
The owlbear was detailed in Dragon #214 (February 1995), in "The Ecology of the Owlbear", which also included the arctic owlbear and the winged owlbear.[9] These variants were later reprinted in the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996).
[edit] Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The owlbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).[10]
[edit] Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The owlbear appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).[11]
[edit] Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The owlbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), along with the winterclaw owlbear.[12]
[edit] Description
Owlbears are approximately eight to ten feet (2.5–3 meters) tall and resemble a cross between an owl and bear. Owlbears are carnivorous creatures famed for their aggression and ferocity[13]; they live in mated pairs in caves and hunt in packs[citation needed], attacking any creature bigger than a mouse[14]
The actual origin of the owlbear has never been definitively revealed, but the various Monster Manual editions indicate it is probably the product of a wizard's experiments. The lich Thessalar claims to have created them, but his insanity and egomania put the accuracy of this claim in doubt.[15]
[edit] Owlbears in other media
Various kinds of owlbears appear as mobs in the MMORPGs EverQuest, and EverQuest II.
Owlbears can be found in the roguelike computer games NetHack and ADOM.
[edit] Owlbears in the Warcraft Universe
Adaptations of the Owlbear appear in the Warcraft universe in two forms:
- As NPCs known as wildkin in Warcraft III[16]
- As both NPCs (known as owlbeast or wildkin) and players of the Druid class (known as moonkin[17]) in World of Warcraft
[edit] References
- ^ Greenwood, Ed. "Ecology of the Rust Monster." Dragon #88 (TSR, 1984). Later re-printed in the Ecology of the Rust Monster article in issue #346.
- ^ Gygax, Gary and Robert Kuntz. Supplement I: Greyhawk (TSR, 1975)
- ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
- ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Tom Moldvay. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1981)
- ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules (TSR, 1983)
- ^ Schend, Steven E., Jon Pickens, and Dori Warty (Editors). Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991)
- ^ Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
- ^ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1994)
- ^ Richards, Jonathan M. "The Ecology of the Owlbear." Dragon #214 (TSR, 1995)
- ^ Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ^ Williams, Skip, ed. Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III v.3.5 (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
- ^ Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
- ^ Owlbear in the d20 SRD
- ^ Owlbear in the d20 SRD
- ^ Jacobs, James. "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure." Dungeon #134 (Pazio Publishing, 2006)
- ^ "Wildkin". Mojo StormStout's Warcraft III Strategy Guide. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ "Balance talent tree of the Druid class in World of Warcraft". Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
