Ursine

**Ursine** are powerful and stoic bear-like humanoids native to the harsh tundras, icy wilderness, and rocky mountains of Wyldcrown. They are shaped by their environments, ruthless and efficient, but have tight bonds of loyalty, honour, and pride with those they consider family.

## Culture & Society

Ursine are generally aggressively territorial, particularly those from harsher terrains such as the Arctic variant, and will fight tooth and nail for what they believe. The are also fiercely loyal to those they are close to, and have strict beliefs of fairness and discipline. Ill treatment is met with equal measure, no more and no less. However, their personalities when not in battle are often quite calm, practical, and efficient. They are also generally blunt, and will offer their truthful opinion on matters no matter how scathing it may seem to others. In general, do not anger easily unless their beliefs are questioned or they are provoked, but when this happens they are a true force of nature.

Ursine society is traditionally family-centric. Families would form large nomadic packs that would merge and morph over time as children married and joined families together. These packs would wander through their respective hunting grounds and very rarely travel much further. Packs would split off from each other when they grew too large, finding new hunting grounds to sustain themselves.

In Urskaya, this changed entirely with the advent of U.L.S.S, a coalition of several families that realised there was a far easier life possible with significantly larger packs to tame the harsh wilderness of Wyldcrown. The concept of family persisted, with members of the "super pack" measuring all actions against the good of the "family". As this coalition grew larger, the idea of a single family was replaced instead by the idea of a single unified state, where all members contributed equally to the good of their people. Modern Urskayan culture relies heavily on this concept still, with any one individual believing wholeheartedly that the state is the equivalent of family, and that the good of one benefits all the rest. Those that do not conform to this ideology are generally shunned and exiled from the state, if not outright killed.

## Subraces

### Arctic Ursine

Arctic ursine are strong and hardy, able to withstand cold climates and seas as a matter of course. The largest form of the species, arctic ursine usually stand around 8 feet tall and may weigh up to 800 pounds, although the average is closer to 600. Their white fur, resplendent in civilized areas or warmer climates, can provide useful camouflage in the tundras they often call home.

## Properties

### Arctic Ursine

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Bite & Claws.*** You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage (for bite) or 1d6 slashing damage (for claws). If you have grappled a creature, you may use your bonus action to bite them.
* ***Powerful Build.*** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
* ***Ice Born.*** You are naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the *Dungeon Master’s Guide*, and you have resistance to cold damage.
* ***Marine Hunter.*** You have a swimming speed of 30 feet, and you can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

### Forest Ursine

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Bite & Claws.*** You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage (for bite) or 1d6 slashing damage (for claws). If you have grappled a creature, you may use your bonus action to bite them.
* ***Powerful Build.*** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
* ***Climb.*** You have a climbing speed of 20 feet.
* ***Woodland Adept.*** You are most at home in forests and woods, and gain advantage on Stealth and Survival checks made in this type of terrain.
* ***Darkvision.*** You have a bear’s keen senses, and 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 color in darkness, only shades of gray.

### Mountain Ursine

* ***Ability Score Increase.*** Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1.
* ***Size.*** Your size is Medium.
* ***Speed.*** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
* ***Bite & Claws.*** You are proficient with your unarmed strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage (for bite) or 1d6 slashing damage (for claws). If you have grappled a creature, you may use your bonus action to bite them.
* ***Powerful Build.*** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
* ***Ursine Toughness.*** Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level.
* ***Unnatural Resilience.*** You know the resistance cantrip. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.