Bugbear

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Bugbear is squat and bulky standing 1.5 meters ( roughly between 4 and 5 ft). The head is bare orange to yellow, or with red and rarely white with relatively small high placed pointed ears, a flat wide nose and wide mouth that opens across the whole width of the face. The flesh of the head is swollen and lined top to bottom in sections bulging from narrow bands. The stout body is stronger than a human and tougher, with powerful arms that hang almost to the ground and short thick bandy legs ending in flat pedestal feet with vertical button nails on the almost fused toes. The body is covered in fur, shaggy to smooth and typically black, dark brown, sometime agouti or white. The eyes are luminous green in red skinned sunken triangular sockets.

Growth Rate & Stages

The young are born with a more narrow face and skull.  The skin is brown but darkens over the first few years. The swollen and bright colored head appearance occurs with sexual maturity at about age 10.  Littermates will fight and sometimes kill eachother during the first few weeks, and there is a high level of maturnal neglect.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Bugbears are omnivores but value meat as a sign of dominance and superiority. Eating other intelligent creatures is a mark of status as only the weaker eat plants or animals.

Biological Cycle

Bugbears usually have a litter of 3-4 pups. They mature rapidly and are independent within a year. Young frequently run away or attach themselves to more powerful patrons. Reproductive maturity is by age 10.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Bugbear life is defined by patronage. Everything points toward the more powerful bosses for most Bugbears. Avakiki is personage and is a mark of leadership. It is power, charisma and leadership and exceptionalism. Species doesn’t matter. The young turn to the more aggressive as "boss". The adults likewise. Bosses keep loyalty with pay, wine, jewelry, "partying" and offering of captives for playings, fights, sex, or food (or all of the above), threat and beating any disloyalty. They destroy treasures to keep them from rivals. They must prove they are strong and in control constantly and Bugbear Bosses will kill any potential rivals or threats. Captives don't have a status as slaves..they are only things.
For the young Bugbear, mother is the first patron, and they instinctively follow her. For many young females this may be their first experience of being a Boss and it is not uncommon in female gangs to produce a group of young as followers. The young are told that the world is crap and they must take the beatings until they can give them. Their instinct is to turn to power, control and influence for protection and purpose. All Bugbears know that they must be hard and turn on any who show weakness.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Bugbear has darkvison and spectrum into ultraviolet. Hearing is slightly better than humans.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Bugbears believe that words have power. Names especially. Repulsion and disgust are powerful even with the colonizers. The Bugbears are crap and will remind everyone that they are as well. They chose names that provoke reaction. Foul, disgusting, nasty. "Shit Head", "Blood Fart", "Drool", "Squirts", "Snot", "Maggot"

Major Organizations

Each band is unique and related to who they serve (Avakiki). The only universal organization is the cult called The Pure. This sect rejects anything that they see as making Bugbears weak. Religion, alcohol or drugs, family. They worship hate and advocate destruction of weakness, of difference, of anything not under their control. Rules are foreign and apply only to those below, so you reject as many as you can. The body is meat. Pain is transitory. Embrace it.

Beauty Ideals

Power is attractive to them as is scar, disfigurement or other things that cause discomfort or revulsion. They accentuate this with paint, makeup, scars and tattoo. Face and head painting is common. Their large round, hairless heads have a wide mouth, orange to yellow puffy skin with creases that makes them look like pumpkin heads. The skin is thick and swollen and lends itself to scar and tattoo.
Displaying wealth and power is attractive, as anything that inspires greed and desire.

Gender Ideals

Bugbears worship power. Avakiki is personage and is a mark of leadership. It is power, charisma and leadership and exceptionalism. Avakiki is one of the few words of theirs that they still have. The society segregates into male and female gangs, with a few of the other gender in the gang.
The females put more value cunning. They pass down oral traditions of poisons and plants that stop them from bearing young, that allow them to escape or kill male enemies. Conversely, fertility and producing pups is a source of labor, trade and power for older Bugbears. So hips and fat are desirable. Bugbears equate desirability with beauty. Female Avakiki will have clothes of the best available fabrics, jewelry, chains of gold, gold and silver platters. This shows their power. Females will produce young if under strong protection or if in strong positions. Many are seen as of no greater use than breeders.
Males value strength, machismo, display of wealth and influence.

Courtship Ideals

Bugbear "society" is all about who has power and who doesn't. It is a literal rape culture worsened by female estrus heat cycles 3-4 times per year. When females are in season neither sex possesses much self control, though higher ranked, more powerful tend to have their choice of mates. Scent, hormones and pheremones crush out conscious thought for most. Out of season, males or females are subject to sexual desires of the more powerful. Rape and child abuse are normal - the rights of the powerful, until or unless they are made to stop.

Relationship Ideals

The weaker, subordinates and underlings do as told or face beatings, punishment or torture. Torture is a very popular pastime as it makes the torturer feel more powerful and obviously harms the subject who is under total control.  Bugbear behavior is dominated by their simple world view: Fear of retribution on disapproval, or tangible reward for successful obedience, plus whatever they think they can get away with.

Average Technological Level

Bugbears may make simple items and weapons, but like stealing or being given them better. Bugbears crafts are crude and functional. They do not farm - preferring to hunt, scavenge and forage. Regular labor is anathema as they would rather take, bully or threaten for what they want.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

There are only a few words of the bugbear language that still exist.  The Buhig view is that it was garbage that held them back.  Now they speak whatever language is used in their locality or by the "Bosses".

Common Etiquette Rules

Bugbears initial greetings and encounters involve a haka display that they call Bann: snarling, foot stomping dance, tongue out, brandishing weapons, thumping chests. The intent is to intimidate the other side.  Bosses do not need to Bann to lessers and once relations are established a simple chest thump is sufficient to show the superior is a threat .  The Bann frequently causes other species to assume they are being attacked....which they likely are after a Bann.  Bugbears like to mock any who back down or run away.

Might makes right, and determines obedience - never loyalty, a Bugbear is only ever loyal to his or herself. They are touchy about respect from lessers and show off any wealth or power.

Common Dress Code

Bugbears dress reflects wealth and power.  The lowest are naked, covered only by their shaggy fur. Higher status will have better clothes and materials, better weapons and armor. The strong take what they want or desire.  Sometimes they take just to keep it away from others.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The Bugbears are crap and will remind everyone that they are as well. In names, in dress and grooming and behavior. This is the resentment and anger they carry. Nhilism. Antipathy. Habits of cutting and self injury, sadism and masochism, heavy drinking and use of any other mind altering drugs.
Bugbears don't have Gods. They will adopt the Gods of Bosses or worship powerful supernatural Bosses.

Common Taboos

The untolerated thing to Bugbears is weakness. Kindness is weakness. Sympathy is weak. Surrender recognizes the stronger and is a strong move to try to rise another day.

History

They say they were the first speaking physical species in the world. It was their domain and dominion. Then the invaders started to arrive. They started driving back and destroying the Buhig ( The Bugbear name for themselves). The Buhig were steadily destroyed and everything taken from them until finally they sought protection and aid by serving Demons, Sidereals and other great powers. This is where they recovered and grew back as the minions of the invaders. Their servants. Their armies. Their enemies.
Eventually the overlords fell or were overthrown and the good places and things went to the new younger races while Bugbears lingered in the ruins of their former masters. The world is unfair and wrong, and when destroyed, will be remade with bugbears reaping the reward of the ruins. The old Gods will return and scour the world, leaving the Bugbears to take the remains.

Historical Figures

That is stupid.  The past is gone and who cares? There is nothing worth remembering.

Bugbear commentary

Common Myths and Legends

The Bugbear culture was nothing. It was wiped away by the invaders. The Gods of the Bugbear were crap, otherwise they would have done something and they would still be worshipped.  Everything was taken and destroyed. Knowledge and life is a curse.  To know your life and yours lives, are limited, unfair and ruled by chance and circumstance. Take your fleeting pleasures, that is all you get. Most are only fit to be slaves and followers.
Life is a charnel house and all are just meat for the grinder. Take what you can, hold yourself from the grinder and throw any others in first to delay your time.
They believe in reincarnation until they have power to refuse rebirth and escape the cycle of pain.

WARNING: Bugbear are nasty and evil. The article has material that will be offensive and potentially triggering ( assault, abuse, cruelty). Read at your own risk.

Bugbear by Mutterwolf

Lifespan

30-40 years

Average Height

5 ft