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Old 04-17-2019, 11:39 AM   #1
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default [Adventure Seeds] Bears

Continuing in the vein I began with Acid Spiders a few weeks ago, I offer up some adventure seeds for bears. I almost skipped them as too mundane and boring, hardly monsters at all, but while browsing my gaming library, I came across Alan Leddon's article, “The Bear Myth,” in Pyramid #3/38: The Power of Myth. It got my creative wheels spinning.

As with the spiders, please follow up with additional seeds, variations on these, or other related monsters and ideas. And don't hesitate to create new threads for other monsters.

Bear (Monsters, p. 16)
  • Bear Hunt. The King is mesmerized by reports of massive white bears that dwell on the distant polar tundra. Desiring a specimen for the royal menagerie, he posts a spectacular bounty. Multiple expeditions are aiming for the prize, with no scruples about sabotaging their competition. The lengthy journey involves dangers of the wild lands beyond the kingdom’s borders and survival in an unforgiving climate. The bears themselves are vicious and powerful, routinely hunting humans. The PCs may also face Frost Snakes, Ice Wyrms, and dreaded Ice Weasels. The people(s) of the tundra venerate the bears as sacred and will oppose attempts to kill or capture them. Managing to snare a live bear is only the first step of the perhaps more arduous task of returning it to the kingdom in good health, evading rival poachers and fanatical holy warriors from the northern tribes along the way.
  • Uneasy Slumber. A massive cave bear is rampaging among rural farmsteads and villages, slaying entire families in their homes as they sleep. The bear has a distinctive pale stripe on its snout and is a cunning opponent. The rub, however, is that if it is captured, injured, or slain, it vanishes at sunrise, only to return, whole, the following night to continue its depredations. Further investigation (e.g., Tracking, Research, contact with a knowledgeable NPC, etc.) reveals that this bear matches the description of a legendary barbarian chieftain’s spirit totem. The chieftain’s hitherto hidden tomb is nearby; something has disturbed his rest and his totem spirit reflects his disquiet. The bear can be banished for good if the chieftain’s spiritual woes are assuaged. This might involve resealing his tomb, recovering looted artifacts, or defeating his true spirit in ritual combat.
  • The Bear Myth. A blight is withering the kingdom’s crops. Sages, soothsayers, and priests have observed omens that suggest that the god of death is at the root of it. The harvest can be saved if heroes can retrieve a burning torch from the god’s palace in the underworld. The quest requires heroes to locate the legendary cave of the bear king in the mountains, far from the passes and fertile valleys. Sleeping among the bears in torpor will open a dream portal to the underworld. The first obstacle is to fight the bear spirit(s) – perhaps bare-handed. This instance (or region) of the underworld has an ursine theme, so other obstacles will relate to bears in some way. PCs may need to cross a raging stream, catch an unusual fish, fight various creatures with bear-like traits, engage in a wrestling match (using, perhaps, Douglas Cole’s forthcoming Fantastic Dungeon Grappling rules), or overcome similar challenges.

Last edited by Dalin; 04-17-2019 at 01:20 PM.
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