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Bugbear (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
The bugbear is a type of fictional monster for player character
s to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
.
A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid
distantly related to goblins
and hobgoblins
. Named for the bugbear
of legend, the bugbears of Dungeons & Dragons are goblinoid
creatures, larger and stronger than hobgoblins.
Gary Gygax
adapted the bugbear, and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk
supplement; the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game, including the game's first edition, second edition, third edition, and fourth edition.
According to Webster's Dictionary, a bugbear is "an imaginary goblin or spectre used to excite fear," "an object or source of dread," or "a continuing source of irritation."
and was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk
(1975). They are described as great hairy goblin-giants.
(1977, 1981, 1983). The bugbear was featured as a player character race in the gazetteer The Orcs of Thar
(1989). Bugbears were also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game
set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999 & 2000).
The bugbear of the Dragonlance
campaign setting
appeared in the Tales of the Lance boxed set, in the "World Book of Ansalon" booklet (1992).
The bugbear is detailed as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids
(1993). The bugbear is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
(1995).
The reptilian bugbear appeared in Savage Species (2003).
Races of Faerûn (2003) presented the bugbear as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting. The chameleon bugbear appears in Underdark
(2003).
The bugbear overseer and bugbear stonejack goblinoids appeared in Drow of the Underdark (2007).
and giant-kin.
Individual bugbears will sometimes work as mercenaries with other sorts of goblin-kin, acting as front-line muscle or even assuming leadership positions in hobgoblin
tribes. They assume mastery over goblins whenever it suits them. Goblins are always quick on their toes when bugbears are around, for the unwary are liable to end up in a bugbear stew-pot.
Bugbears are carnivores who survive primarily by hunting. They will eat anything they can kill, including sentient beings. Intruders are considered a valuable source of food, so bugbears rarely bother to negotiate with them. They have a fondness for glittery, shiny objects and weapons, however, so they will sometimes parley if they think they can get something exceptional. Bugbears also enjoy strong wine and ale, sometimes to excess. Rarely, they will take slaves.
Unlike their smaller cousins, bugbears operate equally well in daylight and great darkness. A bugbear is considered mature by the age of 11. They live for approximately 75 years.
Bugbear eyes are greenish white with red pupils, and their wedge-shaped ears rise from the tops of their heads. Most bugbears have hides ranging from light yellow to yellow brown and their thick, coarse hair ranges from brown to brick red. The bugbears of the Land of Black Ice are known to have blue fur.
Bugbears have exceptional sight and hearing, able to see in pitch darkness. They move with amazing stealth.
. Other members of the bugbear pantheon include Grankhul
and Skiggaret
. Other entities worshiped by bugbears include Erythnul
, Geryon
, and Iuz
, and Meriadar
often receives the worship of those bugbears who have forsaken evil. The bugbear gods are martial, but more diverse than those of the goblins and orcs
. Local bugbear pantheons also have minor deities of fertility, earth, and death; sometimes, the bugbears treat the demigod Stalker as their darkness/death god. Many bugbears of a more orderly bent serve Baalzebul
.
Bugbear priests and shamans tend to be more inventive in both their magic use and their myths than most goblinoids, as befits their chaotic nature (in the flexible/creative sense) and higher intelligence. Even so, their creator god Hruggek sits in a cave in Pandemonium
surrounded by severed heads, so there's little question of the fundamental bugbear attitude. Bugbears tend to be more subtle than other goblinoids, however. They are always watchful for omens from the gods, particularly in the form of lightning or violent weather changes. They seek to stay on the good side of Skiggaret, their god of fear, who sends omens in the form of sudden chills, the rising of hackles, and magical pools of darkness.
. There have been times when bugbears have made the difference in military engagements, however, such as the recent occasion when a phalanx of 40 bugbears decisively overwhelmed the grugach of Varnifane.
, from the Land of Black Ice to Hepmonaland
. They are relatively common in the Bone March, the Pomarj
, the Thillonrian Peninsula, and the Dreadwood. Bugbears prefer caves and other underground locations.
Bugbears were one of the monsters in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
, Temple of Elemental Evil, Icewind Dale
, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights
as well as in Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
There are several Bugbears in D&D Miniatures, appearing in the following expansions: Dragoneye (Bugbear), Giants of Legend (Bugbear Footpad), Angelfire (Bugbear Champion of Erythnul), War Drums (Blood Ghost Berserker), Unhallowed (Bugbear Gang Leader), Dungeons of Dread (Bugbear Headreaver), Against the Giants (bugbear Lancebreaker), and Demonweb (Bugbear Warrior, Bugbear Strangler).
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s to encounter in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
.
A bugbear is depicted as a massive humanoid
Humanoid (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, humanoid is a type of creature, or "creature type". Humanoids are any creature shaped generally like a human , of Small or Medium size, with few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities...
distantly related to goblins
Goblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, goblins are a very common and fairly weak race of evil humanoid monsters. Goblins and Kobolds are commonly non-human monsters that low-level player characters will face in combat. In D&D, goblins aren't smaller cousins of orcs, but are a part of...
and hobgoblins
Hobgoblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, hobgoblins are a larger, stronger, smarter and more menacing form of goblins. They are smaller and weaker than bugbears, but better organized. Hobgoblins are humanoids that stand nearly 6'6" tall on average, a little taller than orcs...
. Named for the bugbear
Bugbear
A bugbear is a legendary creature or type of hobgoblin comparable to the bogeyman, bogey, bugaboo, and other creatures of folklore, all of which were historically used in some cultures to frighten disobedient children. Its name is derived from an old Celtic word bug for evil spirit or goblin...
of legend, the bugbears of Dungeons & Dragons are goblinoid
Goblinoid
Goblinoids are a category of humanoid legendary creatures related to the goblin. The term originated in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, in which goblins and related creatures are a staple of random encounters. Goblinoids are typically barbaric foes of the various human and...
creatures, larger and stronger than hobgoblins.
Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
adapted the bugbear, and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk
Greyhawk (supplement)
Greyhawk is a supplementary rulebook written by Gary Gygax and Robert J. Kuntz for the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
supplement; the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game, including the game's first edition, second edition, third edition, and fourth edition.
Publication history
A bugbear, also called a "boogerbear," is a legendary creature comparable to the bogeyman, bogey, bugaboo, hobgoblin and other creatures of folklore, all of which were historically used in some cultures to frighten disobedient children. In medieval England, for instance, the Bugbear was a creepy and gigantic bear that lurked in the woods; children were warned not to stray too far from home or misbehave, for "the Bugbear will get you." In a modern context, the term bugbear serves as a metaphor for something which is annoying or irritating.According to Webster's Dictionary, a bugbear is "an imaginary goblin or spectre used to excite fear," "an object or source of dread," or "a continuing source of irritation."
Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
The bugbear as it exists in the D&D game was created by Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
and was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk
Greyhawk (supplement)
Greyhawk is a supplementary rulebook written by Gary Gygax and Robert J. Kuntz for the original edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1975). They are described as great hairy goblin-giants.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The bugbear appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977), where it is described as a larger cousin of the goblin.Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)
This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the bugbear, in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic SetDungeons & Dragons Basic Set
The original Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set boxed set was first published by TSR, Inc. in 1977, and comprised a separate edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, distinct from the first edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, which was initially published in the same...
(1977, 1981, 1983). The bugbear was featured as a player character race in the gazetteer The Orcs of Thar
The Orcs of Thar
The Orcs of Thar is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:This book covers the Broken Lands that are inhabited by humanoids such as orcs, goblins, and bugbears...
(1989). Bugbears were also later featured in the Dungeons & Dragons Game
Dungeons & Dragons Game (1991 boxed set)
The New Easy to Master Dungeons & Dragons Game is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991....
set (1991), the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game set (1994), and the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game set (1999 & 2000).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The bugbear appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).The bugbear of the Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
appeared in the Tales of the Lance boxed set, in the "World Book of Ansalon" booklet (1992).
The bugbear is detailed as a playable character race in The Complete Book of Humanoids
Complete Book of Humanoids
The Complete Book of Humanoids is a sourcebook for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Bill Slavicsek for TSR, in 1993....
(1993). The bugbear is later presented as a playable character race again in Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers
Player's Option: Skills & Powers is a supplemental sourcebook to the core rules of the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. This 192-page book was published by TSR, Inc. in 1995. The book was designed by Douglas Niles and Dale Donovan...
(1995).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The bugbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).The reptilian bugbear appeared in Savage Species (2003).
Races of Faerûn (2003) presented the bugbear as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting. The chameleon bugbear appears in Underdark
Underdark (supplement)
The Underdark sourcebook for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.-Contents:...
(2003).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The bugbear appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).The bugbear overseer and bugbear stonejack goblinoids appeared in Drow of the Underdark (2007).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The bugbear appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), under the goblin entry, including the bugbear warrior and the bugbear strangler. The first recorded death of a player character in 4th edition was against a Bugbear Strangler during the D&D XP Convention in February, 2008.Ecology
Bugbears live a life based around survival, often becoming rogues. Bugbears also make excellent barbarians. They tend to be sound military tacticians, and individuals can be highly intelligent. Bugbears are less fertile than other goblinoids, however, and have a smaller population. They have to compete with races their smaller cousins don't, such as giantsGiant (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, giant is a type of creature, or "creature type." Giants are humanoid-shaped creatures of great strength and size.-Dungeons & Dragons :...
and giant-kin.
Individual bugbears will sometimes work as mercenaries with other sorts of goblin-kin, acting as front-line muscle or even assuming leadership positions in hobgoblin
Hobgoblin (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, hobgoblins are a larger, stronger, smarter and more menacing form of goblins. They are smaller and weaker than bugbears, but better organized. Hobgoblins are humanoids that stand nearly 6'6" tall on average, a little taller than orcs...
tribes. They assume mastery over goblins whenever it suits them. Goblins are always quick on their toes when bugbears are around, for the unwary are liable to end up in a bugbear stew-pot.
Bugbears are carnivores who survive primarily by hunting. They will eat anything they can kill, including sentient beings. Intruders are considered a valuable source of food, so bugbears rarely bother to negotiate with them. They have a fondness for glittery, shiny objects and weapons, however, so they will sometimes parley if they think they can get something exceptional. Bugbears also enjoy strong wine and ale, sometimes to excess. Rarely, they will take slaves.
Unlike their smaller cousins, bugbears operate equally well in daylight and great darkness. A bugbear is considered mature by the age of 11. They live for approximately 75 years.
Typical physical characteristics
Bugbears resemble hairy, feral goblins standing seven feet tall. They take their name from their noses and claws, which are similar to those of bears. Their claws are not long and sharp enough to be used as weapons, so bugbears often armor and arm themselves with a variety of purloined gear. Most often, this gear is second-rate and in poor repair.Bugbear eyes are greenish white with red pupils, and their wedge-shaped ears rise from the tops of their heads. Most bugbears have hides ranging from light yellow to yellow brown and their thick, coarse hair ranges from brown to brick red. The bugbears of the Land of Black Ice are known to have blue fur.
Bugbears have exceptional sight and hearing, able to see in pitch darkness. They move with amazing stealth.
Society
Bugbears live in loose bands. Bands of 24 or more will be led by a chief and a sub-chief. Females are not given the same opportunities as males. Bugbears are less preoccupied with mass battles than most goblinoids, partially because they can't as easily afford the losses, and partially because their chaotic nature makes organizing them in armies difficult.Religion
Bugbears have their own pantheon, led by HruggekHruggek
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Hruggek is the chief deity of bugbears, the deity of violence and combat. His symbol is a morningstar.-Publication history:Hruggek was created by James M...
. Other members of the bugbear pantheon include Grankhul
Grankhul
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Grankhul is the bugbear deity of hunting, senses, and surprise. Grankhul's symbol is two eyes that are ever open in the darkness.-Publication history:...
and Skiggaret
Skiggaret
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Skiggaret is the half-mad bugbear deity of fear. Skiggaret's symbol is a black claw.-Publication history:...
. Other entities worshiped by bugbears include Erythnul
Erythnul
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Erythnul is the Oeridian god of hate, envy, malice, panic, ugliness, and slaughter. He is known as the Many, and is worshipped by many gnoll,...
, Geryon
Geryon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Geryon was an Arch-Devil of Hell , also known as the "Wild Beast."-Creative origins:...
, and Iuz
Iuz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
, and Meriadar
Meriadar
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Meriadar is a deity of patience, tolerance, meditation, and arts and crafts...
often receives the worship of those bugbears who have forsaken evil. The bugbear gods are martial, but more diverse than those of the goblins and orcs
Orc (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, orcs are a primitive race of savage, bestial, barbaric humanoid.-Publication history:The orc was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game. The D&D orc is largely based upon the orcs appearing in the works of J.R.R...
. Local bugbear pantheons also have minor deities of fertility, earth, and death; sometimes, the bugbears treat the demigod Stalker as their darkness/death god. Many bugbears of a more orderly bent serve Baalzebul
Baalzebul (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Baalzebul is a fictional character, described as an Arch-Devil of Hell , also called the "Lord of the Flies."Baalzebul is lord of Maladomini, the Seventh Plane of Hell...
.
Bugbear priests and shamans tend to be more inventive in both their magic use and their myths than most goblinoids, as befits their chaotic nature (in the flexible/creative sense) and higher intelligence. Even so, their creator god Hruggek sits in a cave in Pandemonium
Pandemonium (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the standard cosmology of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Pandemonium is the Outer plane where Chaotic Evil and Chaotic Neutral petitioners are sent after death. Pandemonium is a large, complex cavern that never ends. Compounding this problem, howling winds drive most of its...
surrounded by severed heads, so there's little question of the fundamental bugbear attitude. Bugbears tend to be more subtle than other goblinoids, however. They are always watchful for omens from the gods, particularly in the form of lightning or violent weather changes. They seek to stay on the good side of Skiggaret, their god of fear, who sends omens in the form of sudden chills, the rising of hackles, and magical pools of darkness.
Language
Bugbears speak the Goblin tongue. As spoken by bugbears, it is a foul-sounding mix of grunts, snarls, and gestures that causes many outsiders to underestimate their intelligence.Bugbears in Greyhawk
Averse as they are to mass combat, bugbears, or buchveer, have seldom taken any great role in the evil humanoid armies that have occasionally ravaged OerikOerik
In the Dungeons and Dragons World of Greyhawk Campaign setting, Oerik is the largest continent on the world of Oerth, where the Greyhawk campaign takes place.Oerik is named after the Oeridians, a human people who settled much of the continent...
. There have been times when bugbears have made the difference in military engagements, however, such as the recent occasion when a phalanx of 40 bugbears decisively overwhelmed the grugach of Varnifane.
Environment
Bugbears are found throughout the FlanaessFlanaess
The Flanaess is the eastern part of the continent of Oerik, one of the four continents of the fictional world of Oerth in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The Flanaess has been the setting of dozens of adventures published between the 1970s...
, from the Land of Black Ice to Hepmonaland
Hepmonaland
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the continent of Hepmonaland is Southeast of the Flanaess. Hepmonaland was created as a in-game region where the Aztec culture is dominant and dinosaurs are very common monsters.Hepmonaland is the Suel and...
. They are relatively common in the Bone March, the Pomarj
Pomarj
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, the Pomarj can refer either to a large peninsula located in the central Flanaess, or to the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj, located in the same region....
, the Thillonrian Peninsula, and the Dreadwood. Bugbears prefer caves and other underground locations.
Bugbears in other media
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an action role-playing game developed by Snowblind Studios for the PlayStation 2; later released for the Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. It was re-released on the PlayStation 2 as a Greatest Hits title...
, Temple of Elemental Evil, Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment. Released on June 30, 2000, it takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition...
, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
as well as in Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is a video game that was released in 2004 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows PC. It is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons , but the gameplay only vaguely models D&D's structure. The story was written by R.A...
There are several Bugbears in D&D Miniatures, appearing in the following expansions: Dragoneye (Bugbear), Giants of Legend (Bugbear Footpad), Angelfire (Bugbear Champion of Erythnul), War Drums (Blood Ghost Berserker), Unhallowed (Bugbear Gang Leader), Dungeons of Dread (Bugbear Headreaver), Against the Giants (bugbear Lancebreaker), and Demonweb (Bugbear Warrior, Bugbear Strangler).