Bugbear

Bugbears are 7-foot, heavily muscled giants of the goblin family, usually found wherever their smaller kin live. Their hides run from pale yellow to yellow-brown under coarse hair of brown to brick red. Though humanoid in build, they look as if some big predator's blood runs in them: greenish-white eyes with red pupils, wedge-shaped ears high on the skull, and a mouth packed with long fangs.

Their name comes from a bearlike nose with a bear's keen scent, though they have no bear ancestry; their leathery hide and long nails also look ursine but are far more nimble. Their eyes and ears are excellent, including 60-foot infravision, and they can move with startling agility when needed. Their own speech mixes grunts, snarls, and gestures, which leads many to think them stupid; most also speak goblin and hobgoblin.

Ambush is their favorite opening, imposing -3 on opponents' surprise rolls. Scouts who spot a dangerous group will go back for reinforcements. Their tactics are solid if not inspired: they hurl maces, spears, hammers, and other small weapons before closing to melee, and if they feel outnumbered or outclassed they fall back to fight another day.

Bugbears favor caves and underground places, whether a single big cavern or a cluster of them, and function just as well by day as in darkness. A lair with 12 or more includes a leader (22-25 hp, AC 4, attacks as 4 HD, +3 melee damage). A lair of 24 or more adds a chief (28-30 hp, AC 3, attacks as 4 HD, +4 melee damage) and a sub-chief equal to a leader. Half the population is females and young, who fight only for their lives: females as hobgoblins, young as kobolds.

Territory size depends on the band and its surroundings, from several square miles of wilderness to a tight stretch of tunnels. Intruders are seen as food and loot; bugbears seldom bargain unless something exceptional is on offer, and they sometimes keep prisoners as slaves. They are greedy for shiny things and weapons and always want more coins, gems, and arms through raids and ambushes.

Bugbears live mainly by hunting and will eat anything they kill, humans and goblins included, along with any monster smaller than themselves. They also love wine and strong ale and often overindulge. Survival and treasure are their two aims, and as predators they cull careless adventurers, monsters, and animals alike. Goblins stay alert around them, since the slow and the stupid end up in the stewpot.