Bears

This uses information from Anon's Animal Album. It may also contain canonical material.

Bears are medium to large, bulky predators appearing in many forests of the world. Because of this, larger bear species make fairly good monster encounters. The American Grizzly, the water-travelling Polar Bear, and the Russian Ussuri are modern examples, but adventures in the ice age (such as Mammut-1) could involve all manner of massive mammals, including the legendary Cave Bear.

Bears can walk upright for extended periods of time, when they need to, and this posture may be the source of countless "upright forest monster cryptid" sightings, such as bigfoot.

Other Bears of GURPS

• The Guardian Bear of Transhuman Space is a beefy biotech protector, meant to guard homes, pets, and children. They are designed with the best instincts of a protective "mama bear".
• Nightstalkers, a one-ton megabear from Banestorm that haunts the forests of Megalos and Caithness.
• Cave bears are massive, prehistoric omnivores.
• Bear mounts, the Great Bears
• Fanon: Hivebearer -- A nightmarish, fey-touched (or wizard-made) dire bear with a beehive on its body.

Anon versions

American Black Bear

American Black Bear

American Black Bear
Monster Class				Mundane
ST	13	HP	10	Speed	5
DX	11	Will	12	Move	8/12 (land)
IQ	3	Per	10	Weight	250 lb
HT	13	FP	13	SM Size	0 6′ long
Dodge		9		Parry	N/A	DR	2
Attacks		Bite or Claw (13): 1d cutting. Reach C
Traits		Bear (anon); Fearfulness 3; Temperature Tolerance 1.
Skills		Brawling-13;Climbing-11; Intimidation-11; Stealth-11; Survival-12
Habitat		Woodlands
Bestiary Origin		North America
Notes		Females (5′ long; 170 lbs.) have ST and HP 11. Reduce damage for bite and claw to 1d−1.
CER		Not yet calculated

Variants

Asian black bears are similar. For a sloth bear, change claw damage to crushing and exchange Fearfulness for Bad Temper (9).

Brown Bear

Brown Bear
Monster Class				Mundane
ST	15-19	HP	15-19	Speed	6
DX	11	Will	11	Move	5/15 (land)
IQ	4	Per	10	Weight	480 lbs
HT	13	FP	13	SM Size	+1 8′ long
Dodge		9		Parry	N/A	DR	2
Attacks		Bite or Claw (13): 1d+1 cut. Reach C, 1
Traits		Bear (anon); Bad Temper (9); Temperature Tolerance 2.
Skills		Brawling-13; Intimidation-11; Stealth-11; Survival-12.
Habitat		Plains, Woodlands
Bestiary Origin		Europe, northern Asia and North America
Notes		Sexual Dimorphism: Females (7′ long; 340 lbs.) have ST and HP 14 and Bad Temper (15). Reduce damage for bite and claw to 1d. Exceptional Individuals: The largest subspecies of brown bear is the Kodiak bear, which can grow very big indeed (11′ long; 1,500 lbs.) with ST and HP 23, SM +2, and DR 3, doing 2d+2 damage with a bite or claw.
CER		Not yet calculated

Polar Bear

Polar Bear
Monster Class				Mundane
ST	21	HP	21	Speed	5.75
DX	11	Will	11	Move	G6 W12
IQ	4	Per	10	Weight	1,100 lbs.
HT	12	FP	12	SM Size	+1 9′ long;
Dodge		9		Parry	N/A	DR	2
Attacks		Bite or Claw (13): 2d+1 Cut; Reach C, 1.
Traits		Bear (anon); Limited Camouflage; Long Neck 1; Temperature Tolerance 4; Terrain Adaptation (Ice).
Skills		Brawling-13; Climbing-11; Stealth-13; Survival-13; Swimming-13
Habitat		Arctic Circle
Bestiary Origin		Arctic
Notes		Sexual Dimorphism: Females (7′ long; 450 lbs.) have ST and HP 15. Reduce damage for bite and claw to 1d+1. Exceptional Individuals: A very big polar bear (11′ long; 1 ton) would have ST and HP 25, SM +2, and DR 3, doing 2d+3 damage with a bite or claw.
CER		Not yet calculated

Cave Bear

For a Cave Bear from Classic: Ice Age (which can also stand in for D&D's Dire Bear) do it as a lens of the Polar Bear:

• ST+4; DX+1; remove Long Neck 1, Limited Camouflage and Terrain Adaptation (Ice); lower Temperature Tolerance to 2

See also

• Bear Form
• Semi-Upright