Owl Bear

Lore
Rumored to be a creation of the last great wizard Vex, the Owlbear is not some mythical beast or a demonic monster, it is simply an owl that was magically fused with a bear in a horrific abomination of nature, which has since integrated into the wildlife of Crywolf with only minor damage to the ecosystem. These are the apex predators of whatever they chose to make their homes and rarely have challengers besides dire wolves and more sentient primal hunters. Owl bears travel solitary, in a mating pair or in large packs of anywhere from three to eight. These beasts weight over a thousand pounds and on their hind legs stand at eight feet, when on all fours, four and a half at the shoulder. some owlbears have been trained and used as exotic pets or warmounts, however these beasts are expensive and are rarely found. Their favored food is elk and their favored hunting ground is dense forests. When cornered by an owlbear do not anger it. Unlike normal bears they will fight to the death, a normal bear will back off at the risk of injury, an owlbear heals much faster than an average bear and has reckless abandon to charging and weak targets.

Stats
Cr.4 Exp 1600

Hp: 47 (5d10+20)

AC: 15, touch 10  flatfooted:14  (10+1dex+5natural-1size)

Speed: 30 feet

Offensive: 2claws +8 (1d6+4 +grab) Bite +8 (1d6+4)

Str 19 dex 12  con 18  int 2  wis 12  cha 10

CMB +10   CMD 21 (25vsTrip)

Story Significance
1. Two Owlbears have been killed as the first encounter of the 'Crying wolf' party. They were slain and cooked, skinned and worn. The party proved they could work together against the odds of a high failure rate fight. 2400 exp was gained, 600 per party member.