Owlbear

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox fictional race An owlbear (also owl bear) is a fictional creature originally created for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. An owlbear is depicted as a cross between a bear and an owl, which "hugs" like a bear and attacks with its beak. Inspired by a plastic toy made in Hong Kong,<ref name="hongkong">Greenwood, Ed, "Ecology of the Rust Monster." Dragon #88 (TSR, 1984). Account was later re-printed in the Ecology of the Rust Monster article in issue #346.</ref> Gary Gygax created the owlbear and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement;<ref name="Gygax 1975">Gygax, Gary and Robert Kuntz. Supplement I: Greyhawk (TSR, 1975)</ref> the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game. Owlbears, or similar beasts, also appear in several other fantasy role-playing games, video games and other media.

Creation

In the early 1970s, Gary Gygax was playing Chainmail, a wargame that also served as a precursor of Dungeons & Dragons. In order to give his players as many different challenges as possible, Gygax was always on the look-out for new monsters. Although he was able to draw on pulp fiction and sword and sorcery stories for many of them, he also looked through dime stores for figurines that could be used in battle. On one of those occasions, he came across a bag of small plastic toys erroneously labeled "prehistoric animals". Made in Hong Kong, the set included monsters from Japanese "Kaiju" films such as Ultraman and the Godzilla franchise. Several of these were odd enough to catch his eye, and he used them to represent several new monsters, including the owlbear, the bulette and the rust monster.<ref>Gygax: "There was a set of plastic toys laughlingly labelled as dinosaurs [if I remember right]. I frequented the local dime stores back in the late 60s and early 70s searching for toys that would suit tabletop fantasy gaming. The said bag contained three we incorporated—the bulette, the owl bear, and the rust monster."Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Concept

The owlbear is depicted as an Template:Convert cross between a bear and an owl. According to descriptions in Dungeons & Dragons source books, owlbears are carnivorous creatures, famed for their aggression and ferocity;<ref name="Owlbear in the d20 SRD">Template:Cite web</ref> they live in mated pairs in caves and hunt any creature bigger than a mouse.<ref name="Owlbear in the d20 SRD"/> They use a "hug" and their beak to attack. In the game's third edition, it was categorized as a "magical beast".

The actual in-game origin of the owlbear has never been definitively revealed, but the various Monster Manual editions indicate that it is probably the product of a wizard's experiments. Within the franchise's mythology, the lich Thessalar claims to have created them, but his insanity and egomania put the accuracy of this claim in doubt.<ref>Jacobs, James. "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure." Dungeon #134 (Pazio Publishing, 2006)</ref> In the 5th edition, some elves claim that owlbears have existed for millennia and older fey say that they have always existed in the Feywild.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Within the Dungeons & Dragons system and in other role-playing games, the owlbear usually serves as a monster.<ref name="monstermanual" /><ref name="Gygax 1975"/>

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 a miniature in a Chainmail game.<ref name="hongkong" />

Dungeons & Dragons

The owl bear was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975).<ref name="Gygax 1975"/> It is described as a "horrid creature" which "hugs" like a bear, and deals damage with its beak. The owlbear is also listed on random encounter tables in Eldritch Wizardry, the third supplement.<ref>Gygax, Gary and Brian Blume. Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry (TSR, 1976).</ref> The illustration shows a bear-like creature on all fours, and bears no resemblance to the plastic toy that had given Gygax his original inspiration.<ref name=aa>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Rp

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition

The owlbear appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977),<ref name="monstermanual" /> where it is described as a "horrible creature that inhabits tangled forest regions, and attacks with its great claws and snapping beak". The illustration of the owlbear shown in the Monster Manual was done by Dave Sutherland, and closely correlates to Gygax's original plastic toy.<ref name=aa />Template:Rp

Basic Dungeons & Dragons

This edition of the D&D game included its own owl bear, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1981 and 1983).<ref>Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Tom Moldvay. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1981).</ref><ref>Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by Frank Mentzer. Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules (TSR, 1983).</ref><ref name="HW">Template:Cite book</ref> The owl bear was also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1991),<ref>Brown, Timothy B., Troy Denning The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game (TSR, 1991).</ref> the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991),<ref>Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991).</ref> the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994),<ref>Brown, Timothy B., Troy Denning The Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game (TSR, 1994).</ref> and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999).<ref>Slavicsek, Bill. Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game (TSR, 1999).</ref>

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition

The owlbear appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),<ref>Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989).</ref> and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).<ref>Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1994).</ref>

The owlbear appeared in the Dark Sun setting in the adventure Black Spine (1994).<ref>Baas, Walter, Dustin Browder, Tom Prusa, Jonathan Tweet. Black Spine (TSR, 1994).</ref>

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.<ref>Richards, Jonathan M. "The Ecology of the Owlbear." Dragon #214 (TSR, 1995).</ref> These variants were later reprinted in the Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (1996).<ref>Pickens, Jon, ed. Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three (TSR, 1996).</ref>

The greater owlbear appeared in an adventure in Dungeon #63 (July 1997).<ref>Doyle, Chris. "Hunt for a Hierophant" Dungeon #63 (TSR, 1997).</ref>

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition

The owlbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).<ref>Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).</ref>

The owlbear appeared on the Wizards of the Coast website for the Chainmail game, in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The winged owlbear in adult and juvenile form appeared in Dungeon #84 (January 2001).<ref>Doyle, Chris. "The Dying of the Light" Dungeon #84 (Wizards of the Coast, 2001).</ref>

The supplemental book Unapproachable East features a feat, an ability that player characters can obtain, named "owlbear berserker" that allows a player character to use a ferocious owlbear-like fighting style.<ref>Baker, Richard, Matt Forbeck, and Sean K. Reynolds. Unapproachable East (Wizards of the Coast, 2003).</ref>

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5

The owlbear appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003) as well as the owlbear skeleton under the skeleton entry.<ref>Williams, Skip, ed. Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III v.3.5 (Wizards of the Coast, 2003).</ref>

The ancient owlbear appeared in Dungeon #107 (February 2004).<ref>Brown, Rusell. "Mellorn Hospitality" Dungeon #107 (Wizards of the Coast, 2004).</ref>

The Ankholian owlbear appeared in the Dragonlance, Bestiary of Krynn<ref>Banks, Cam, André La Roche. Bestiary of Krynn (Sovereign Press, 2004).</ref> (2004) and the Revised Bestiary of Krynn (2007).<ref>Banks, Cam, André La Roche. Bestiary of Krynn Revised (Sovereign Press, 2007).</ref>

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

The owlbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008) along with the winterclaw owlbear.<ref>Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008).</ref> The flavor text mentions that owlbears can be tamed to serve as guards.

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials

File:The owlbear as shown in the D&D 4th Edition Essentials Monster Vault.png
The owlbear as depicted in the 4th edition Monster Manual and the Monster Vault.

The Monster Vault boxed set contains the owlbear as well as various subtypes like the young owlbear, trained owlbear, wind-claw owlbear and again the winterclaw owlbear.<ref>Thompson, Rodney, Logan Bonner, and Matthew Sernett. Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast, 2010).</ref> The cover of the monster book included in the box and the box itself feature an owlbear alongside other monsters.<ref name="Monster Vault - An Essential D&D Game Supplement at the Wizards of the Coast official website">Monster Vault – An Essential D&D Game Supplement at the Wizards of the Coast official website</ref>

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

In May 2012, Wizards of the Coast employee Jon Schindehette announced that the inclusion and design of the owlbear for the upcoming fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons was being discussed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The monster was included in the "bestiary" of the D&D Next Playtest Package,<ref>Official D&D Next Playtest Package Bestiary, version from January 28, 2013</ref> a compilation of files available for gamers interested in playtesting this Dungeons & Dragons version before its official release.

The owlbear is included in the Monster Manual of the full release of the game, published in 2014. The flavor text states that remote settlements have used owlbears for racing, and it also states the fact that owlbears are more likely to attack their tamer, than actually begin the race.<ref name=":0" />

In other role-playing games

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game

The owlbear is an official monster in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> that is based on Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition. It is included in the game's first bestiary, and elaborated on in Dungeon Denizens Revisited. Dungeon Denizens Revisited also includes a variant named siege owlbear.<ref>Boomer, Clinton, Jason Bulmahn, Joshua J. Frost, Nicolas Logue, Robert McCreary, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Sean K Reynolds, James L. Sutter, and Greg A. Vaughan. Dungeon Denizens Revisited – A Pathfinder Chronicles Supplement (Paizo Publishing, 2009)</ref><ref name="Official Siege Owlbear entry on Pathfinder SRD">Template:Cite web</ref> Furthermore, Paizo released a part of the series Behind the Monsters<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> dedicated to the owlbear, which features the bearowl, the possibly "even stranger offspring" of an owlbear.<ref>Boyd, Bret. Behind the Monsters: Owlbear (Paizo Publishing, 2007)</ref> Additional official Pathfinder variants of the owlbear are the arctic owlbear, Darklands owlbear, fruss owlbear, great hook-clawed owlbear, screaming owlbear, sleeyk owlbear,<ref name="Official Sleeyk Owlbear entry on Pathfinder SRD">Template:Cite web</ref> slime owlbear, sloth owlbear as well as the spectral owlbear.<ref name="Official Owlbear entry on Pathfinder SRD">Template:Cite web</ref>

The adventure module Pathfinder #7 – Curse of the Crimson Throne Chapter 1: "Edge of Anarchy"<ref>Logue, Nicolas. Pathfinder #7 – Curse of the Crimson Throne Chapter 1: "Edge of Anarchy" (Paizo Publishing, 2008)</ref> originally published by Paizo Publishing for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition under the OGL<ref name="Pathfinder #7 - Curse of the Crimson Throne Chapter 1: Edge of Anarchy at Paizo.com">Template:Cite web</ref> contains a taxidermic owlbear. It is a regular owlbear with the skeleton template allowing the game master to turn a regular monster into an undead one.<ref name="Official Owlbear Skeleton entry on Pathfinder SRD">Template:Cite web</ref> A skeletal owlbear illustration was also done by Goodman Games artist Nick Greenwood.<ref name="Skeletal owlbear illustration by Nick Greenwood">Template:Cite web</ref>

Retro-clones and OSR RPGs

As only the design of a role-playing game, not the rules are protected by U.S. copyright law,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it is possible for third-party publishers to release RPG systems based on the rules of Dungeons & Dragons without using the actual name or trademarks associated with the brand. These systems are referred to as "retro-clones" or "simulacra".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Games not directly using rules of a Dungeons & Dragons edition but claiming to capture the style are often called Old School Renaissance (OSR) games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The following retro-clones and OSR systems feature the owlbear as an opponent:

  • Swords & Wizardry, modelled after the original Dungeons & Dragons from 1974 and published by Mythmere Games.<ref>Finch, Matthew J. Swords & Wizardry Monster Book (Self-published, 2008)</ref>
  • Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games.<ref>Proctor, Daniel. Labyrinth Lords – Classic Fantasy Roleplaying Game of Labyrinths, Magic, and Monsters fourth revised edition (Goblinoid Games, 2009)</ref>
  • Dark Dungeons, Darker Dungeons and Darkest Dungeons (later renamed Blood, Guts and Glory) by Gratis Games all include the owlbear in their bestiary.<ref>Blacky the Blackball. Dark Dungeons (Gratis Games, 2010)</ref><ref>Blacky the Blackball. Darker Dungeons (Gratis Games, 2011)</ref><ref>Blacky the Blackball. Darkest Dungeons (Gratis Games, 2012)</ref>
  • OSRIC, a system emulating Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.<ref>Marshall, Stuart. OSRIC – Old School Reference and Index Compilation v2.2 (Knights & Knaves, 2011)</ref>
  • Mazes & Perils, inspired by the 1977 Holmes version of Dungeons & Dragons.<ref>Florio, Vincent, Bryan Manahan, Mike Stewart and Michael Thomas. Mazes & Perisl (Wild Games Productions, 2012)</ref>
  • Adventurer Conqueror King by Autarch.<ref>Allison, Tavis, Alexander Macris, Greg Tito. Adventurer Conqueror King System (Autarch, 2012)</ref>
  • Dungeon Crawl Classics by Goodman Games.<ref>Curtis, Michael, Joseph Goodman, Harley Stroh, Dieter Zimmerman. Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game (Autarch, 2012)</ref>
  • In Basic Fantasy, the owlbear appears<ref>Gonnerman, Chris, Ray Allen, William D. Smith, Jr., Nick Bogan, Evan Moore, Stuart Marshall, Emiliano Marchetti, Antonio Eleuteri, Luigi Castellani, Michael Hensley, Nazim N. Karaca, Arthur Reyes, Todd Roe, and Jim Bobb. Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game 2nd Edition (Release 75, 2008)</ref> together with the fire-breathing owlbear.<ref>Gonnerman, Chris, Ray Allen, Ola Berg, James D. Jarvis, R. Kevin Smoot, Omer Golan-Joel, D. Bamberger, MtBlack, Maliki, Bill Beatty, Sidney Parham, and J. D. Neal. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign (Release 2, 2010)</ref>
  • Microlite74 Basic, Standard and Extended all have owlbears as monsters.<ref>Stukey, Randall S. Microlite74 Basic Version 3.0 (Self-published, 2011)</ref><ref>Stukey, Randall S. Microlite74 Standard Version 3.0 (Self-published, 2011)</ref><ref>Stukey, Randall S. Microlite74 Extended Version 3.0 (Self-published, 2011)</ref>
  • For Gold & Glory, emulating Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition.<ref>Brown, Justen. For Gold & Glory (Self-published, 2011)</ref>
  • Castles & Crusades by Troll Lord Games.<ref>Chenault, Stephen, Robert Doyel. Castles & Crusades Monsters & Treasure (Troll Lord Games, 2005)</ref>
  • Burning THAC0,<ref>Crane, Luke, Thor Olavsu, Anthony Hersey and Peter Tierney. Burning THAC0 (Self-published, 2005)</ref> a variation of The Burning Wheel.

Other systems

A male half-owlbear, half-blue dragon hybrid named Dragore is featured as an antagonist in the Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 supplement Foul Locales: Beyond the Walls by Mystic Eye Games.<ref>Boyd, Bret, Charles W. Plemons III, John White. Foul Locales: Beyond the Walls (Mystic Eye Games, 2002)</ref>

The Manual of Monsters for Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game suggest to use the owlbear as an opponent.<ref>Borgstrom, Rebecca, Eric Brennan, Genevieve Cogman, and Michael Goodwin. Manual of Monsters (Sword & Sorcery, 2003)</ref> A Warcraft-exclusive owlbear-like creature named wildkin is included as well.

Later on, Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game was renamed World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game. This edition's Monster Guide, equivalent to the Manual of Monsters, includes the owlbear-like "wildkin" described as a benign creature and associated with the game's Night Elf faction. A larger and more ferocious subtype listed is the "owlbeast".<ref>Cassada, Jackie, Brandon Crowley, Richard Farrese, Bob Fitch, Bruce Graw, Luke Johnson, Adam Loyd, Andrew Rowe, and Amber E. Scott. Manual Guide (Sword & Sorcery, 2007)</ref>

A third-party Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition quick reference card for the owlbear has been published as part of a series of Monster Knowledge Cards.<ref>Thomson, Connie J., Robert W. Thomson. GM's Aid IV: Monster Knowledge Cards Volume 2: Gargoyle to Owlbear (4 Winds Fantasy Gaming, 2009)</ref>

The owlbears appears in the HackMaster 4th edition Hacklopedia of Beasts Volume VI<ref>Blackburn, Jolly R., Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, and David S. Kenzer. Hacklopcedia of Beasts Volume VI (Kenzer & Company, 2001)</ref> and the HackMaster 5th edition Hacklopedia of Beasts.<ref>Blackburn, Jolly R., Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, and David S. Kenzer. Hacklopcedia of Beasts (Kenzer and Company, 2011)</ref> Variants included are the lesser owlbear, great horned owlbear and the spotted owlbear.

The HackMaster adventure module Little Keep on the Borderlands features owlbears as enemies and an owlbear on the cover.<ref>Blackburn, Jolly R., Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, David S. Kenzer, Noah Kolman, Jamie LaFountain, and Don Morgan. B2: Little Keep on the Borderlands (Kenzer and Company, 2002)</ref>

Blood & Treasure, modelled after Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition, features the owlbear as an opponent.<ref>Stater, John. Blood & Treasure: Treasure Keeper's Tome (Self-published, 2012)</ref><ref>Stater, John. Blood & Treasure: Complete Game (Self-published, 2012)</ref>

In video games

Dungeons & Dragons-licensed games

File:Owlbear as shown in D&D Tower of Doom.png
The owlbear as an opponent in Tower of Doom.

Several video games based on Dungeons & Dragons feature the owlbear:

Warcraft franchise

File:Wildkin as shown in WoW.jpeg
The Wildkin as an NPC enemy in World of Warcraft.

Adaptations of the owlbear appear in the Warcraft universe in several forms:

  • Non-player characters known as "wildkin" appear in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Variants are the enraged wildkin and berserk wildkin. The actual term "owlbear" is only used in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its manual,<ref>Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos User Manual (Blizzard Entertainment, 2002)</ref> and not used in its expansion.
  • The MMORPG World of Warcraft contains a variety of owlbear-like creatures named "wildkin", mostly as NPCs. The alternative term "owlkin" is used of wildkin living in the fictional Ammen Vale. A variant is the mutated owlkin. A more powerful wildkin is the owlbeast, with deranged owlbeast and raging owlbeast being subtypes. Some wildkin are also called "moonkin", which is also a creature players of the druid class can transform into.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A quest for players with the druid class involves defeating a moonkin named Lunaclaw.

Other games

In other media

Reception

Chris Sims of the on-line magazine ComicsAlliance referred to the owlbear as "the second-greatest monster in the history of D&DTemplate:-".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Dave Chalker from Critical-Hits.com, a RPG blog which won the Ennie Gold 2011 Ennie Award for Best Blog,<ref name="2011 Noms and Winners of the Ennie Awards">Template:Cite web</ref> recommended the use of the owlbear as a monster.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rob Bricken from io9 named the owlbear as the sixth most memorable D&D monster,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the game's chroniclers Witwer et al. counted the owlbear among the "iconic D&D monsters".<ref name=AA/>Template:Rp

References

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