Bugbear

Bugbears were a massive humanoid race distantly related to, but larger and stronger than, goblins and hobgoblins.

"One useful trick: if ye face bugbears who have severed heads on spikes as trophies, cast a spell to make the heads speak. After that, ye can cozen the bugbears into doing almost anything.” — Elminster

Neither bugs nor bears, bugbears are the hulking cousins of goblins and hobgoblins. With roots in the Feywild, early bugbears resided in hidden places, in hard-to-reach and shadowed spaces. Long ago and from out of the corner of your eye, they came to the Material Plane, urged to spread throughout the multiverse by the conquering god Maglubiyet. Centuries later, they still bear a fey gift for lurking just out of sight, and many of them have sneaked away from that god's influence.
They are long of limb and covered in coarse hair, with wedge-shaped ears and pointed teeth. Despite their formidable build, bugbears are quiet skulkers, thanks to a fey magic that allows them to hide in spaces seemingly too small for them.
Bugbears are born for battle and mayhem. Surviving by raiding and hunting, they bully the weak and despise being bossed around, but their love of carnage means they will fight for powerful masters if bloodshed and treasure are assured.
Goblinoids. Bugbears are often found in the company of their cousins, hobgoblins and goblins. Bugbears usually enslave goblins they encounter, and they bully hobgoblins into giving them gold and food in return for serving as scouts and shock troops. Even when paid, bugbears are at best unreliable allies, yet goblins and hobgoblins understand that no matter how much bugbears might drain a tribe of resources, these creatures are a potent force.
Followers of Hruggek. Bugbears worship Hruggek, a lesser god who dwells on the plane of Acheron. In the absence of their goblinoid kin, bugbears form loose war bands, each one led by its fiercest member. Bugbears believe that when they die, their spirits have a chance to fight at Hruggek's side. They try to prove themselves worthy by defeating as many foes as possible.
Venal Ambushers.Despite their intimidating builds, bugbears move with surprising stealth. They are fond of setting ambushes and flee when outmatched. They are dependable mercenaries as long as they are supplied food, drink, and treasure, but a bugbear forgets any bond when its life is on the line. A wounded member of a bugbear band might be left behind to help the rest of the band escape. Afterward, that bugbear might help pursuers track down its former companions if doing so saves its life.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Bugbears resembled hairy, feral Goblins standing 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall. They took their name from their noses and claws, which were similar to those of bears. Their claws were not long and sharp enough to be used as weapons, so bugbears often armored and armed themselves with a variety of purloined gear, which was normally second-rate and in poor repair.

Biological Traits

Distinctions:
Large, hairy, wedge-shaped ears, heightened sense of smell, tough hide, claws, strong but nimble

Dietary Needs and Habits

Carnivore

Behaviour

Bugbears, like other goblinoids, had a reputation for being dim-witted and brutish. This claim was not unfounded, and like their kin bugbears had easily provoked tempers and were prone to rages. Few bugbears overcame this flaw and their culture's brutal nature. Many bugbears were chaotic evil in alignment, favoring stealth and surprising their opponents.
Bugbear heroes, though rare, were heard of and could acquire significant renown if successful. Often the motivation for this change of heart came from the rewards earned from virtue, which in the long term were more pleasing than the short-term pleasures of evil behaviors.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Religion

Bugbears once had their own pantheon, led by Hruggek. Bugbears often decapitated their enemies as a way to honor Hruggek, who was said to do the same. From the Spellplague to the Second Sundering, the power of Hruggek was diminished and the god served as an exarch of Bane, the god of tyranny. However, after the Second Sundering, bugbears began to follow bugbear-specific deities such as Hruggek once more.
Other bugbear deities included Grankhul, the bugbear deity of hunting, senses, stealth, and surprise; and Skiggaret. Local pantheons often included a god of earth, a god of fertility, and a god of death.

Facial characteristics

Eye Colors: Yellow, orange, red, brown, greenish white

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Common, Goblin

History

Many scholars of the late 14th century DR believed that bugbears and goblins were both bred by the hobgoblins as slave races, with bugbears serving as elite soldiers.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Bugbears were often found in the company of other goblinoids, particularly goblins, since tribes made up mostly of hobgoblins and bugbears tended to be wiped out quickly by other races as a precaution. Some bugbears also operated independently, though tribes ruled by hobgoblins were better organized and less savage. This was in part because bugbears had little patience for diplomacy or negotiation, preferring violent solutions to conflicts unless obviously overpowered.

Lifespan

80 years

Average Height

6‒8 ft (1.8‒2.4 m)

Average Weight

250‒350 lb (110‒160 kg)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Skin: Yellow to reddish brown
Hair: Brown, red

Related Organizations

• Cragmaw tribe

Ability Score Increase
Choose one of: (a) Choose any +2; choose any other +1 (b) Choose any +1; choose any other +1; choose any other +1
Age
Lizardfolk reach maturity around age 14 and rarely live longer than 60 years.
Alignment
Lizardfolk only goal in life is survival and will do anything to achieve it.
Size
Lizardfolk are a little bulkier and taller than humans, and their colorful frills make them appear even larger. Your size is Medium.
Darkvision
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Speed
Your walking speed is 30 feet, and you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Fey Ancestry
You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the charmed condition on yourself.
Long-Limbed
When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Sneaky
You are proficient in the Stealth skill. In addition, without squeezing, you can move through and stop in a space large enough for a Small creature.
Surprise Attack
If you hit a creature with an attack roll, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage if it hasn't taken a turn yet in the current combat.
Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.