Ursoi

Ursoi are bears that have become a thinking, social people. An adult is a shaggy bear standing as tall as nine feet upright, but its forepaws have long, nimble digits for gripping tools. They wear jewelry and leather belts, and ceremonial garb on special days.

Though able to wield weapons, an ursoi does better with claws and fangs, making three attacks per round, all at one foe. If both claws land, there is a 50% chance it tries a hug the following round, needing a fresh attack roll and using its whole turn. A hugged creature takes 2d4 crushing damage each round after, can neither attack nor cast spells, and can be bitten at +4. Only creatures smaller than the ursoi can be hugged, and it lets go only when the victim dies or its own hit points fall below 10. Ursoi never refuse a challenge but have the sense to retreat rather than die against hopeless odds.

The only known tribes dwell in remote caves on the outskirts of a cavern homeland beneath the south pole, though they could live on the surface, ideally in arctic or temperate woods. A chieftain leads each tribe, aided by subchieftains and a shaman; some sages think the shamans will soon learn spells. Hunting is their chief work. They are omnivores but much prefer fresh meat.

Personal honor matters deeply to them. A person who saves an ursoi and claims the debt might gain its service as a guard or warrior, but only for a short, set term of a year or less, with respectful treatment and no suicidal orders. Magic is needed to talk with them, since their language has never been learned by outsiders and their mouths cannot form human words. In theory they could understand Common, but none is known to have learned it.