Bearfolk are massive people of iron resolve and deep nobility, resembling bears that walk upright rather than all fours. Hailing from the cold climates of Midgard’s Northlands, bearfolk put their trust in family and tribe to stand against the world. In defiance of their brutish appearance, they are deeply spiritual and artistic.
Bearfolk Traits
Your bearfolk character has certain characteristics in
common with all other bearfolk.
- Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.
- Age. Bearfolk come of age in their late teens and live around 80 years.
- Alignment. Bearfolk are predominantly good, mistrusting and shunning evil. While they hold rich traditions, they value their freedom and tend toward chaotic alignments.
- Size. Bearfolk can reach a height of over 7 feet, with thick, muscular builds. Your size is Medium.
- Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
- Bite. Your powerful jaws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If it hits, you deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier piercing damage.
- Natural Armor. Your hide is thick and tough, granting you a natural AC of 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
- Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
- Ursine Talent. You have proficiency in the Athletics and Perception skills.
- Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, and Northern (if you hail from Midgard).
- Subrace. Two main subraces of bearfolk exist in Midgard: grizzlehides and purifiers. Choose one of them.
Grizzlehide
As a grizzlehide bearfolk, you are thicker and hardier than
your cousins. Grizzlehide fur ranges from black to golden,
often with light gray or blonde tips. Tough and ferocious
grizzlehides are the original bearfolk stock native to the
colder northern climes of Midgard.
- Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.
- Bear Hug. When you take the Attack action, you can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. If you hit, you can grapple the target in addition to dealing damage to it. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
- Thick Coat. You are resistant to cold damage.
Purifier
As a purifier, you are slighter of build, with reddish or pale
fur and with a strong affinity for nature. Purifiers often
serve as spiritual anchors in their communities. Purifiers
are a recent branch of the bearfolk race.
- Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.
- Nature’s Gift. You know one cantrip of your choice from the druid spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability score for it.
- Stalwart Will. When you make an Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw, you can roll a d4 and add the result to your total. You can do this after the roll but before any effects occur. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Fearsome and Strong
Bearfolk are broad-shouldered, bipedal humanoids.
Although they strongly resemble upright bears, they have
longer legs than any bear and their massive hands are
more like a human’s hand than a bear’s paw. They lack the
bear’s sharp claws, but they’re as dextrous as any human
craftsman’s. Their muscles develop early in life, and most
bearfolk look it. Their physiques tend toward great bulk
beneath shaggy fur. Even the slenderest bearfolk are quite
strong. Bearfolk are over 7 feet tall when they stand at
their full height, but they often appear shorter because
of a natural forward roll to their shoulders. They weigh
between 250 and 350 pounds.
They’re covered in shaggy fur that can have a range of
colors. The most common colors are black and brown,
often with a lighter frosting or tip on the chest, shoulders,
and upper back. Coppery red, honey-colored, and even
pure white fur occur rarely. The color gives a clue to
the particular bearfolk’s heritage, but it’s not an exact
indicator. As they age, bearfolk tend to go silvery around
the muzzle, giving them a distinguished look.
Tribe and Family
The core of bearfolk society is the immediate family.
Parents care for their cubs until the young reach the
age of 5 or 6 years, when a precocious shift takes over.
Although they aren’t yet fully grown, the cubs are drawn
by a powerful urge to explore. They begin spending time
away from their family, treating their entire village (or
smaller neighborhood in a larger settlement) as a sort of
extended family. This can be surprising or even annoying
for nonbearfolk neighbors, who might discover a bearfolk
child rooting through their pantry for a snack, inviting
itself to dinner, or even adopting them as its new family
temporarily. This isn’t necessarily as inconvenient as it
sounds, since young bearfolk are also more enthusiastic
learners and harder workers around the house than most
other children their age.
Beyond immediate family, the tribe forms the majority
of bearfolk culture. Once bearfolk cubs start venturing
beyond their own homes, families intertwine. Each cares
for the cubs that happen by that day, welcoming the
wayward children to meal tables as their own. There’s no
choice but to know one’s neighbors in a bearfolk tribe, and
that brings them all closer together. Trade apprenticeships
and budding talents are identified early thanks to this
intermingling, and it helps find a suitable niche for a
young bearfolk’s path in life.
Elders are highly respected for their experience and
greater perspective, but practicality carries weight as
well. Being old doesn’t afford one unlimited leeway if
one makes questionable decisions or has a reputation for
foolishness. Building on this respect, bearfolk venerate
their ancestors at a nearly demigod level and believe the
spirits of their ancestors guide them. The tribe also holds
druids and clerics (particularly those that serve nature
deities) in high respect and looks to them for guidance.
Home and Honor
When establishing homes, bearfolk gravitate toward
striking a balance with nature and their impact on it.
Even the most urban-minded of them prefer parks and
greenery, and take pains not to disrupt the surrounding
countryside any more than necessary. Where possible, they
love to incorporate existing caves and rock formations
into their architecture. Settlements always hold a totem,
statue, or some other representation honoring an ancestor
of virtue at their center.
The bearfolk place a high value on honesty, trust, hard
work, and community. These are the virtues that bring a
bearfolk honor, and the same attributes make an outsider
welcome. Laws governing bearfolk life are simple and
loose. They trust in their core values to guide them
wisely when disputes arise. In the rare instance when a
disagreement can’t be settled according to custom, honor,
and common sense, the elders become involved. Defying
the judgment of elders for personal gain is a source of
great shame that can ruin a bearfolk in the eyes of his or
her tribe and family.
Passion and Wrath
Their intimidating mien is no veneer. Bearfolk have a deep
and impressive capacity for violence when roused to anger
or in defense of their own. Bearfolk passions run as strong
as their bodies, and banter that pushes the boundary into
insults and bruised honor often leads to more bruises.
Their great physical strength means they excel at battle,
and even relatively minor physical altercations can
inadvertently become serious. Many bearfolk wear scars
from physical contests, both simple competition and more
serious matters of wounded honor, that went a little too far.
Thanks to their physical prowess, many bearfolk follow
the path of the warrior. Barbarians and fighters are
common, with rangers and druids following closely.
When bearfolk go to war, they do so with the clear goal of
protecting their people in the moment and in the future. If
that means the destruction of a foe, then so be it. They are
adept at weaving their talents together in the same manner
they blend families into tribes. Spellcasters favor turning
the natural world against their foes with conjured beasts
and manipulating battlefield conditions through weather,
controlling plants, and even shaping the earth itself.
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