Bugbear Characteristics

Bugbears are a goblinoid race, but unlike most goblinoids, are tall, powerful and smarter than their kin. They are brutal warriors and excellent hunters. An average Bugbear stands at around 7 feet tall and can weigh from 350 to 400 lbs. Their bodies are covered with course patches of fur and skin color ranges from a sickly yellow to a dull green. These creature garnered the name Bugbear from their faces, hands and feet, which resemble those of a humanoid bear, particularly the nose. There also seems to be a correlation between a Bugbear's tremendous strength and that of an actual bears.

History

Bugbears seem to be almost as old a race as goblins, younger by perhaps a few centuries or so. It's generally accepted knowledge that bugbears are in fact an evolved or adapted species of goblinoid that originally held a direct bloodline with the more average variety of goblin. This also helps to explain why Bugbear's are so often seen commanding Goblin and Hobgoblin bands, given their superior abilities in just about everything as well as their apparent relation. Bugbears have been seen in many battles with Goblinoid armies over the years, and the amount of Bugbears present seems to have a direct correlation to the success of said battles.

Culture

Like most Goblinoids, Bugbears prefer temperate mountain regions for their dwellings, taking caves as their homes, dividing themselves into small tribes. Each tribe is typically led by the biggest, strongest and meanest of the clan. Bugbears have simple desires, considering shiny treasure and meat to be among the most important things in life. They are greedy creatures and will go to great length to procure such things for themselves, even slaying their own comrades if necessary. Most tribes survive by hunting game and ambushing their targets, ambushing being the preferred tactic of almost all bugbears.