Bear, Grey

Appearance: Grey Bear are a massive beast, the largest such animal ever found on the face of Cyuk. The Grey Bear, apply named for it's Grey coat, is the true king of any forest which happens to be lucky enough to be graced by these creatures. The Grey Bear is massively muscled, and is able to uproot or break lesser trees without much exertion. The creature's head is around three to four feet in length, and its jaw is filled with crushing molars more aptly applied to eating a diet of vegetation. Grey Bears, much like other varieties of bear, is covered with a dense fur which serves to protect the bear from the elements. These creatures are thankfully extremely rare, as only a handful of sightings and reports have been known to exist.

Combat: Grey Bears are extremely territorial, and attack creatures that it does not recognize, or wish to reside, in its portion of the forests. Strange looking creatures such as men, demihumans, and any humanoid creature are generally viewed with suspicion for a time, until the beast grows tired of the creature, and either attacks to eat, or if it's curiosity is sufficiently sated, will leave the prey intact. When Greys do attack, they generally attempt to charge a victim, due mainly to the tendency of most creatures to run from the Grey. The Grey will swipe at prey that does not run from it with their paws, causing 1-10 (1d10) points of damage. Victims that the Grey is forced to run down will usually be pounced upon when the beast catches up to it, at which point the bear will attempt to bear hug the victim, requiring a successful attack roll of 18 or higher, which will cause 3-18 (3d6) points of damage until the hold is released. The beast can also maul victims with its powerful jaws, which cause 2-16 (2d8) points of damage.

Habitat / Society: Grey Bears roam the forests in which they live as the true king, and none that are aware of it's presence dare to challenge it. They generally live in the densest of forests, which is probably why so few sightings have been made of the Grey Bear, at least that have lived to tell the tale. Much like any bear, the Grey has an excellent sense of hearing and smell, but slightly below average vision. The size shown for the Grey is an average, larger beast can and do exist, and will be correspondingly more powerful.

Ecology: Although the Grey is omnivorous, the gigantic bear tends toward a diet of meat. Grey Bears generally accept the presence of wildlife in it's territory, as long as they are no threat to the bear and as long as they remain a far enough distance. Due to the Grey's extreme rarity, and its dangerousness, the pelts of these creatures will fetch upwards of a thousand gold pieces per yard.

Climate / Terrain:	Any / Below Ground
Frequency:	Very Rare
Organization:	Solitary
Activity Cycle:	Any
Diet:	Earth Wyrms
Intelligence:	Semi (2-4)
Treasure:	None
Alignment:	Neutral
# Appearing:	1
Armor Class:	6
Movement:	12, Br 6 (9)
Hit Dice:	5+5
THAC0:	15
# Attacks:	3
Damage / Attack:	1d10 / 1d10 / 2d4
Special Attacks:	Hug
Special Defenses:	None
Magic Resistance:	None
Size:	L (8' + tall)
Morale:	Average (8-10)
XP Value:	650

Appearance: The Tunnel Bear is a large beast, some eight feet long, although larger have been known to exist. They are much skinnier than their surface bear counterparts, so that they are able to squeeze themselves through tunnels an ordinary bear cannot, and so that it does not have to dig quite as big a hole to traverse through. When seen above ground they appear almost disproportional, with a long thin stomach and powerful legs. These legs are ended in large paws, which in turn end in long claws, measuring in lengths of six to eight inches, which are used for tunneling. On the few occurrences that the bear has been seen outside of their tunnels, their fur has been described as being a dull brown to grey color, caked with dirt and mud from it's underground endeavors.

Combat: In combat the Tunnel Bear will generally use it's long claws with the intention of rending a victim, which will cause 1-10 (1d10) points of damage. When the creature makes a successful attack roll of 18 or higher, the bear has successfully bear hugged the victim, in which the bear uses its powerful arms to squeeze the life from its prey. This attack causes 3-18 (3d6) points of damage per round until the hold is relinquished, which requires a successful bend bars / lift gates roll in order to break. When encountered the Tunnel Bear has been known to disengage combat when it experiences the scent of it's precious Earth Wyrm, at which time the bear will simply walk away, much to the bewilderment of it's aggressor.

Habitat / Society: Tunnel Bears live in the tunnels they create with their long claws. They dig very quickly for something of their size, and often dig into underground caverns and pre-existing tunnels in their search for food. They will generally dig for about eight hours, or until they find food, at which time they will rest in their tunnel for about the same length of time. As Tunnel Bears are fairly scarce, they are rarely in the presence of others of their kind. When these encounters do occur, however, it is either to mate, or the very infrequent incident when two Tunnel Bears happen upon the same earth wyrm prey. Such occasions are anything but peaceful.

Ecology: Tunnel Bears have adapted their long claws and lean bodies to better hunt for their favorite food, the elusive earth wyrms. The bear will not rest when the scent of this food has been picked up, instead setting off a frenzy in which the bear digs furiously at a movement rate of 9, until it's prey has been found. The bear tracks its prey through a very keen sense of smell, which is used to catch the very feint pheromones excreted by the earth wyrm.