Baby owlbear
| Y baby owlbear (No tile) | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4 |
| Attacks |
Bite 1d4, Claw 1d4 |
| Base level | 2 |
| Base experience | 8 |
| Speed | 14 |
| Base AC | 7 |
| Base MR | 0 |
| Alignment | 0 (neutral) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 3 (Rare) |
| Genocidable | Yes |
| Weight | 1000 |
| Nutritional value | 450 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | None |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A baby owlbear:
| |
| Reference | EvilHack - monst.c, line 2599 |
A baby owlbear, Y, is a type of monster that appears in EvilHack and Hack'EM. It is a carnivorous apelike creature that is a juvenile owlbear - the baby owlbear lacks the adult owlbear's powerful holding attack, but is still strong and can be seen via infravision.
A baby owlbear has a claw attack and a bite attack.
Generation
Randomly generated baby owlbears are always hostile. Baby owlbears can hatch from owlbear eggs, and can grow up into owlbears.
The owlbear nest is a special room that contains several owlbear eggs and sleeping baby owlbears, along with an adult owlbear.
Strategy
While not as vicious and threatening as an adult owlbear, baby owlbears are faster and can still deal significant damage to early characters, and are an even greater cause for concern if their nests are encountered early enough.
Origin
The owlbear (also written as "owl bear") is one of many NetHack creatures that comes from Dungeons & Dragons, first appearing in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement for the original release. The owlbear and several other creatures in particular, such as the rust monster, were based on dime-store plastic toys that were used by Gary Gygax and other play-testers as monster figures, with their appearances based directly on the toys.[1] The owlbear has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game, as well as several other fantasy role-playing games, video games and fantasy media, and is widely considered one of the franchise's most memorable monsters.
As the name suggests, the owlbear is depicted as a cross between a bear and a giant owl that stands upright on two legs and has dark fur, feathers, and a yellow or ivory beak. It is a carnivorous creature known for aggression and ferocity, and attacks by using its beak, claws and grappling bear-like "hugs". Their in-universe origin is unclear, though the various Monster Manual editions indicate that it is believed to be the product of a wizard's experiments; in the 5th edition, some elves claim that owlbears have existed for millennia, while older fey say that they have always existed in the Feywild.
Owlbears live in temperate climes and forested areas, establishing their lairs in tangled woods, near-surface caves, within large hollow trees and stumps, and among ruins. Their favored hunting grounds are usually dense wooded areas that they were familiar with; they clawed at certain trees to both mark territory and sharpen their claws. Owlbear lairs often contain up to six eggs and/or six young owlbears; they are frequent hunters and usually appear alone, in mated pairs with a territory of 1-2 square miles, or in packs that consist of up to five or even eight owlbears.
Encyclopedia entry
Owlbears are probably the crossbreed creation of a demented
wizard; given the lethal nature of this creation, it is quite
likely the wizard who created them is no longer alive. As
the name might already suggest, owlbears are a cross between
a giant owl and a bear. They are covered with fur and
feathers.
