Lycanthrope, Giant Werebear (Polarwere)

Giant werebears are frost giants born with the ability to change into giant polar bears. Unlike their good-aligned lycanthrope cousins, polarweres are bitter, selfish creatures who care only for their next meal and a warm lair in which to sleep.

In giant form, the polarwere looks like a frost giant, albeit an especially broad-shouldered, hairy one. The polarwere rarely assumes this form, as frost giants are tribal and stand-offish. In ursine form, the polarwere resembles a giant polar bear, 10 feet tall at the shoulder and 20 feet tall when rearing on its hind legs.

Combat: Polarweres do not like combat and rarely attack unprovoked. When they fight - usually to feed - it is in bear form. Should a polarwere desire to fight in giant form, it usually wields weapons common to frost giants (throwing stones and battle-axes). In bear form, the polarwere attacks with two swiping claws and a devastating bite. Creatures of size Medium or smaller hit by the polarwere's claws must also roll a successful Dexterity check or be knocked down; creatures of size Medium or smaller bitten by the polarwere's bite must roll a Dexterity check at a -2 penalty or be snatched up in its jaws and crushed between its teeth every round thereafter for 3-30 points of damage. This attack requires saving throws vs. crushing blow for equipment and clothing. Unlike most lycanthropes, polarweres do not pass on their affliction to injured creatures unless the creature is a frost giant; frost giants suffer the normal 1% per hit point of damage chance of contracting the disease.

Polarweres share the typical lycanthropic immunities to normal weapons (in bear form only) and can be harmed only by silver or +1 or better magical weapons. Polarweres cannot summon normal bears like their smaller lycanthropic cousins, but they do share the werebear's ability to heal at three times the normal human rate. Polarweres are impervious to all forms of cold. They revert to bear form at death.

Habitat/Society: Polarweres mingle briefly with the tribal societies of frost giants. Indeed, some have lived among frost giant tribes for years, but normally they are solitary. They prefer to find huge caves hidden in arctic mountain ranges, far from even frost giant settlements; they are happiest when the only other living things they see are the ones they are about to eat. Mating occurs on a haphazard basis, and only one young is ever produced from such an encounter. Females care for the young only until they can fend for themselves, at which time they either leave or are turned out by the mother.

Adventurers encountering polarweres can never be sure what to expect; the bear's reaction often depends on whether or not it is hungry, and whether or not the PCs look appetizing, but normally an unprovoked polarwere will not attack. A polarwere is extremely protective of its lair, however, and will chase invaders several miles across the arctic wastes if it catches them inside or nearby.

Ecology: Polarweres are at the top of their food chain. Their only natural enemies are the frost giants, who covet the huge pelts a dead polarwere provides, but a hungry polarwere will attack a frost giant if it is hungry enough. The land a polarwere hunts tend to be even more devoid of life than arctic areas normally are, as it takes a lot to fill a 21'-long bear; for this reason, polarwere territories tend to be many miles in radius, often taking the polarwere several days to roam them.