FREQUENCY: Rare ([Temperate Wilderness Mountains], [Temperate Wilderness Forest], [Temperate Wilderness Swamp])

FREQUENCY: Uncommon ([Dungeon Level IV])
 

NO. APPEARING: 2-5
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 12"
HIT DICE: 5+2
% IN LAIR: 30%
TREASURE TYPE: [C]
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 ~ 15
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/2-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Hug (2-16) with paw hit of 18
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Low
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: L (8' tall)
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV | 225 + 8

SAVES: 11.12.13.13.14

The horrible owlbear is probably the result of genetic experimentation by some insane wizard.
These creatures inhabit the tangled forest regions of every temperate clime, as well as subterranean labyrinths.
They are ravenous eaters, aggressive hunters, and evil tempered at all times.
They attack prey on sight and will fight to the death.

The owlbear attacks with its great claws (two inches long on large males), its snapping beak,
and then grasps a victim and squeezes and bites it to death.
If it scores a paw hit of 18 or better with either of its forelimbs, the owlbear has dragged the victim to itself;
and the opponent wil take an additional 2-16 hit points damage from the hug, that melee round and every melee round thereafter until the owlbear is killed.
(Note that if the armor class of an opponent is such that an 18 is insufficient to hit, the hug is not effective, and no damage is taken.)

Lair: If encountered in their lair there is a 25% chance there will be 1-6 eggs (20%) or young (80%) in addition to the adults.
Young owlbears will be from 40% to 70% grown, and they will fight accordingly.
Eggs are worth 2,000 g.p., young under 50% are worth 5,000, on the open market.

Description: Owlbears have brownish-black to yellow brown fur and feathers.
The 1,300 to 1,500 pound males will be the darker colored.
The beaks of these creatures are yellow to ivory.
The eyes are red-rimmed and exceedingly terrible to behold.

I fear that all but the lizardmen are unique to the AD&D game and can not be properly replicated, as is true of the owlbear. 
Blame me for that, even though Terry Kuntz conceived the original model for the beholder

Lizardmen are in the Manamilia category and likely covered by the Travail therein.

Cheers,
Gary

AFAIK the monster figures were imaginary creatures...e,g. the ones we named bulette, owl bear and rust monster.

Cheerio,
Gary

As for the owlbear, I used the Oriental plastic figure sold in a package of various other "monsters" as the basis for it's appearance, then made up its specs.

<place image here>
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridureyu
...

...

As far as game-related questions go:

I remember hearing that you designed certain monsters in the game after dime store dinosaurs. I, like a lot of people my age (mid-twenties), actually hd those dinosaurs when I was a little kid. I remember the ones that probably inspired the Rust Monster and the Bullete, but I'm wondering: Which monsters in all were inspired by those figures? if you remember?

Merry Christmas!

Yuletide Felicitations!

Many dime store figurines were made to do for fantasy monsters when we played Chainmail Fantasy miniatures back in c. 1970, as no one made metal ones based on games then.

In addition to the rust monster and the bulette the owl bear came from that pack of weird figurines I found and converted to the FRPG monster roster. There might have been another, but I can't recall all the critters in that mix <confused>

Christmas cheer,
Gary

Quote:
Originally Posted by Napftor
Cheers to your continued good health, Gary. Glad to see you around again.

My question concerns the owlbear. Where did the inspiration come from for this monster?

Heh!

The owlbear came from a plastic toy, one of a bag of "monsters" that also inspired the bulette and rust monster.

Cheers,
Gary