The Unlikely Romance of Owls and Bears

1. Origin

• Origins of owlbear are a long-running argument among scholars. The most widely held theory is that it’s a product of a demented mage crossing a bear and a giant owl. The goal was likely to combine the bear's strength and claws and the owl's keen senses, but the experiment was likely a failure, given how bad-tempered and untrainable it turned out to be. In any case, the mage was most likely killed by it too.

2. Behavior

• Owlbears are known to live in caves or ruins. They communicate via hooting and screeching and are incredibly aggressive. However, an owlbear's ferocity is also its key weakness—they can be easily lured into a trap or tricked into charging off a cliff.

3. Diet

• The sole exception to their carnivorous diet is a liking for honey, which they inherited from regular bears. They could lap it up with their thick tongues and their thick coats protected them from angry bees. A jar of honey is an effective bait for owlbear hunters.

4. Commodities

• Although warm-blooded mammalian creatures, owlbears lay eggs. An owlbear egg could be sold for 500 to 2,000 gp.