History
The owlbears an ancient race, with their appearance in the material plane dating back well over 20,000 years. In approximately 21,000 BH, the numerous owlbear clans scattered across the Northland began to unify in order to survive attacks from their neighbors, the Arachne tribes. After the ensuing clan wars with the Arachne, these alliances began to decay until the emergence of a titanic leader known as Ascalphus. In a few short decades, Ascalphus succeeded in fully unifying all owlbear tribes into a single Owlbear Empire, with himself as the ruler under the authority of the god Autumno. "Ascalphus" becomes both a name and a title, and it is passed down through the centuries through all of his heirs.
In 17,700 BH, approximately 1,000 years after the founding of the Owlbear Empire, a plague begins to rip through the owlbear population, killing hundreds of thousands in just a few months and bringing an end to the owlbear golden age. Ascalphus is possessed by a vision of how to save his people: to construct a great hibernal vault where the owlbears could become dormant in an effort to outlast the plague. Ascalphus's brother refuses to stand by this plan, and a rift among owlbear society emerges; most owlbears ultimately side with Ascalphus and proceed into a deep hibernation, but some flee the infection into the forests to start new settlements.
Unfortunately for the owlbears that rejected hibernation, their new society did not include enough common folk with the basic survival skills necessary to survive in the Great Forest. Over a period of just a few years, their fledgling society collapsed, with many individuals dying to starvation, predator attacks, or tragic infighting. The owlbears that do not perish in this time become feral, reverting back to their animalistic nature. These are the owlbears that would first be encountered by humans settling the Northland thousands of years later.
As for Ascalphus's hibernating owlbears, their slumber had in fact been a trap laid for them by the chaos god Oorn who sought to use these owlbears as a weapon against Haven many millennia in the future (though no non-chaos scholars are aware of this information). In the year 20 HE, the Iron Helix Syndicate would discover the owlbears' hibernal vaults beneath the temple of Autumno in the ruins of Omphalos. Their exploration awakens the owlbears, and they emerge from the temple over one million strong and possessed by a rage seeded into them by Oorn. They surge northward and begin wreaking havoc in the southern lands of Haven, leading to the military conflict known as the Great Owlbear War.
The Great Owlbear War would last only a few days, but the fighting would become horrifyingly violent. The Haven Guard and civilian losses suffered by Haven in just the first few hours were so high that it would cause The Guild to intervene, with even their military might being tested by the owlbear forces. In the end, the Guild chooses to protect their interests in Haven with the full force they can muster, and they deploy two of their strongest weapons, a battleship capable of reshaping continents known as the
GLS Landbreaker, and Master Whittington's personal airship, the
GFS Halcyon. Under the concentrated fire of Guild war machines, Haven Guard reinforcements, Haven's adventurer's guilds, and the personal intervention of Master Whittington himself, the owlbear onslaught was finally brought to a halt.
It is estimated that by the end of the Great Owlbear War, only 5% of the original owlbear population remained alive; these 5% were the few able to break Oorn's hold on their minds and become coherent enough to surrender. The surrender was accepted by both Haven and The Guild, and a conference was held with representatives of the owlbears to draft a peace agreement, with Haven's mages acting as translators. Ultimately, it was agreed that the owlbears would be allowed to settle a small area of land to the south of Haven where they would be free to live as they pleased as long as they did so under the supervision of Haven and contributed to the rebuilding of the city. Haven's responsibility was to assist the owlbears in this task and to teach them the ways of the modern world.
Just under a decade passes with the Great Owlbear War peace agreement in effect, but owlbear society does not flourish; in their new society, a handful of tyrannical, authoritarian leaders take mob control of the owlbear lands and run them with an iron fist. These warlord-like figures made themselves friendly with Haven officials in the early days, and were largely allowed to do what they pleased due to the fact that their methods kept the owlbears controlled and kept the stream of goods heading into Haven flowing. However, after years of this unjust and unequal rule, a political movement forms with the goal of returning owlbear society to its roots, with an emphasis on connecting with nature and not on production for Haven, and rule by Autumno and not by these local despots. The most vocal proponent of these reforms is a scrawny but strong-willed owlbear by the name of Masio, an owlbear tired of the oppression suffered by his family at the hands of one particularly violent ruler by the name of Ciccaba. Over the course of several months during the year 30 HE, Masio convenes numerous secretive nighttime meetings to rally more and more owlbears to his cause to overthrow Ciccaba. Despite violent persecution from Ciccaba and his enforcers, Masio's movement would reach a critical mass, culminating in a night of violent riots in which the owlbear populace marched from street to street to the owlbear rulers' manors to gut and disembowel them. In just one night, each of these leaders was torn to shreds, including the much-hated Ciccaba. The people would lift up Masio as the new owlbear ruler, a role which he would reluctantly accept.
After this Haven Owlbear Revolution, the owlbears would assert themselves as equals to the then-dominant humans of Haven and would eventually recognized as such, becoming one of Haven's major races. From this point forward, the history of the owlbear people is largely interwoven with the history of Haven, and they would rejoice and suffer through all of Haven's historical milestones, including the Haven Inferno and the Leviathan Impact. Today, the owlbears are more prosperous than ever, their society resurging along with the rest of the city.
Personality
The owlbears are, by and large, a strong and stoic people. They believe that actions speak far louder than words, and when actions will suffice nobody should bother with words at all. Though they typically move quietly and discretely, they can become a spectacle to see if provoked; angry owlbears are known to enter a furious, feather-spiked rage that can usually only be sated by blood. In everyday life, such rages essentially never occur, but just the possibility of such an event causes most other races to choose their words carefully when conversing with an owlbear.
Physical Description
Owlbears vary in size depending on their lineage. Most average, mixed-blood owlbears have a similar height, weight, and build to humans. Their bodies are covered by a combination of fur and feathers, large talons for feet, and clawed paws for hands. The coloration and patterning of their feathers can vary greatly between individuals. Their heads can rotate over 180 degrees, they can see perfectly in the dark, and they have an innate awareness of forested environments, especially the Great Forest.
Strigidine Owlbears are an ancient lineage of owlbears that was once a separate clan in ancient days. They are significantly larger than average owlbears, standing 7-9 feet tall and weighing substantially more. Notably, they possess large wings that allow them to fly at great speeds. The strigidine owlbears occupy an informal, unofficial role as the warriors of owlbear society, and they use the speed their wings provide to dive into combat and overpower their foes. Physically, strigidine owlbears tend to resemble the large predatory owls of the forest such as the horned owls, great owls, and eagle owls.
Tytonidine Owlbears are another ancient lineage of owlbears that were their own clan many millennia ago. They are physically smaller and frailer than their kin, standing about as tall as a human but with very lean builds. However, what they lack in stature is made up for by their deep and powerful connection to Autumno, which grants them powerful divine magic. Tytonidine owlbears of all walks of life, including civilians, are capable of manifesting low-level divine magic thanks to their gifts of Autumno. Physically, tytonidine owlbears usually resemble barn owls and bay owls.
| Lineage |
Typical Build |
Wings |
Darksight |
Forest Awareness |
Innate Divine Magic |
Abilities |
| Common |
Average |
Very rare |
Perfect |
Yes |
No |
+2 STR, +2 CON, +2 WIS |
| Strigidine |
Large, muscular |
Universal |
Perfect |
Yes |
No |
+4 STR, +2 CON, -4 INT |
| Tytonidine |
Average, lean |
Very rare |
Perfect |
Yes |
Yes |
+4 WIS, +2 CHA, -2 STR, -4 CON |
Left to Right: Common, Tytonidine, Strigidine
Relations
Though early in their days in Haven the owlbears universally despised humans, their attitudes have cooled over the many decades and they now view most humans with only a mild annoyance, though most owlbears tend to have a fondness for humans that seek a connection to nature, especially druids and rangers. The owlbears also have a fondness for the phulubits, as they admire the phulubits' connection to the world around them and the simplicity of their lifestyles. They share a faint kinship with the arachne due to their shared history as peoples of the Great Forest, though (like most other races when encountering arachne) they feel like they can somehow not fully trust their arachnid brethren.
As one of the four major races of Haven, along with the Fjordsson humans, phulubits, and arachne, the owlbears control the Verdant Throne, one of the four seats on Haven's Tetrarchy. This position is currently occupied by Lord Tenebric, a stern and powerful strigidine owlbear whose primary goal is the preservation of owlbear culture and tradition, and the conservation of their ancestral lands in the Great Forest. These aims routinely cause a great deal of tension with the rest of Haven's government, as the city is desperate for land in which to expand into and many factions are hungry to claim space in what little remains of the Great Forest.
Alignment
Owlbears cannot be easily identified as aligning themselves with any particular alignment, as they are a large and diverse population. However, many owlbears (such as their leader, Lord Tenebric) adhere to a strict cultural code set at preserving owlbear land and heritage, and so such owlbears are typically Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good.
Lands
The Owlbears historically resided in the Great Forest, and currently occupy the Haven district of Omphalos, named after the ancient Owlbear Empire capital that was located in the same general geographic area. Unlike most other districts in Haven, Omphalos contains very few tall buildings or wide roadways, and its streets and neighborhoods are lush and green with plant life. In many areas of Omphalos, one would assume they were not in Haven at all, as there are large stretches of quiet wilderness complete with rivers and wild animal life. Intense efforts are made to keep Omphalos as natural and reminiscent of the Great Forest as is possible.
Religion
The owlbears worship Autumno, the great owlbear god of the sun, the forest, and the hunt. Even despite all they have endured, most owlbears still have a deep faith in Autumno, and even the most nonreligious of owlbears will offer him respects at ceremonies and when passing shrines or temples. Most owlets born in Omphalos learn of Autumno during their upbringing and education, and are expected to complete a number of rites of passage to prove themselves in owlbear society.
Language
All owlbears are fluent in Common and Owlbear.
Adventurers
Owlbear adventurers are highly diverse and owlbears of every class can be counted among Haven's adventurers guilds. However, owlbears are most commonly observed following the paths of the Fighter, Barbarian, Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, and Druid.
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