Bugbears

## Background

Bugbears are great, hairy Goblinoid beasts that tower above their other goblin cousins. They possess a more humanoid appearance when compared to other goblinoids although historically they were found travelling within warbands alongside other goblins. Believed to have been brutish and dim-witted, it was rare for them to occupy any real positions of power within such bands.

Following the establishment of the Imperium within the Easterlands, many of the Goblinoid tribes within the region were subjugated and absorbed by the growing nation. These goblinoids were forced to adjust to a new way of life with many Bugbears taking on the role of slavers and overseers, because of this they earned a horrible reputation as cruel masters and were used by many of the common folk as a source of nightmarish tales. In the aftermath of the Eternal Ritual, the Elkud tribes of goblinoids led an uprising against the magisters of the Imperium, this uprising led to the abolishment of slavery within the Easterlands as well as the establishment of the Elkud Confederation along the northern edges of the Easterlands. The confederation was made up of the newly liberated Goblinoids, with many of them finding a new voice under the leadership of their Hobgoblin cousins.

Now finally able to shake off the more barbaric traditions of their ancestors, many Goblinoids were free to pursue lives that had at one point been seen as inconceivable. Along the centuries, a great many Bugbears have worked to shake the horrifying depictions of their race, establishing settlements and starting families of their own. Others have found a new purpose within the Hobgoblin legions of Elkud, where they are used for innate sneakiness as assassins, rangers or spies.

Although many Bugbears have adjusted to a more peaceful and orderly existence within the Elkud Confederation, there are still those who follow the "Old Ways", choosing to revere the old Orcish pantheon. These Bugbears, usually live out in the wilderness where they establish war parties alongside other barbaric greenskins. These warbands raid the surrounding areas, drawing more savage Goblinoids or Orcs towards them, the warband continuing to grow and becoming more of a threat to any surrounding settlements.

## Properties

* **Average Lifespan.** 60 to 80 years.
* **Size.** Medium.
* **Ability Score Increase.** Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
* **Speed.** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* **Darkvision.** You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
* **Long-Limbed.** When you make a melee attack on your turn, your reach for it is 5 feet greater than normal.
* **Powerful Build.** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
* **Sneaky.** You are proficient in the Stealth skill. In addition, without squeezing, you can move through and stop in a space large enough for a Small creature.
* **Surprise Attack.** If you hit a creature with an attack roll, the creature takes an extra 2d6 damage if it hasn't taken a turn yet in the current combat.
* **Languages.** You can speak, read and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for your character.