Celebrating the new Kickstarter for Bears Want to Kill You, we continue to build on our partnership with Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle in an effort to warn of the impending bearmageddon as well as bring nightmarish inspiration to your DCC table.
Bear bat
“The Nocturnal bear bat is known for its massive black leathery wings. Bear bats cannot see very well in light and have sensitive ears that can follow the echoes of their roars. The creatures sleep in large caves or hollowed out buildings while hanging upside down. They sleep in groups of ten or more.”
– Dickinson Killdeer, Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse
These fierce and feared creatures descend from the night sky on leathery wings to bring chaos and death in their wake. Even their cubs are known for their especial cruelty, carrying humans aloft only to drop them screaming earthward to their deaths. Frequently encountered in groups of ten or more (referred to as “devastations”) these creatures are reputed to have been magically engineered by a mad wizard determined to commit suicide in the most horrific manner imaginable. If the legend is true, it appears that he succeeded.
Bear bat: Init +3; Atk bite +4 melee (1d14 + poison) or grab +2 melee (1d10 + grab); AC 15; HD 8d8; MV 40’ or fly 60’; Act 1d20; SP breath weapon, poison; SV Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +3; AL C.
Breath weapon: These arcane horrors produce chloroform, which coats their teeth. Once per round a bear bat may exhale at a target within 5′. The victim must make a DC 10 Fort save or be groggy for 1d3 rounds and suffer a -1d penalty to all actions.
Grab: Victims grabbed by the bear bat must succeed in a DC 18 Strength check to break free. While the victim is held, the bear bat automatically hits with its bite attacks.
Poison: Victims bitten by the bear bat must succeed in a DC 15 Fort save or be knocked unconscious for 2d6 rounds and, after waking, continue to be groggy for an additional 1d3 turns.
Bear bat (both art and concept) are the creation of Axe Cop co-creator Ethan Nicolle (@axecop) and is used with his kind permission. These, and a slew of other ursine horrors can be found in the pages of Bearmageddon as well as within Dickinson Killdeer’s Guide to Bears of the Apocalypse. You may follow the nightmarish story of the bearboon at Bearmageddon News Network.
