The Bearguana

Because we watched Godzilla last night and noted how bear-like the big guy was, and because, honestly, owlbears are kind of silly.

Source

The bearguana, a chimera of bear and reptile, was developed by the vivimancer Duil En'quae two generations back. He had hoped to sell the beasts as exotic cavalry mounts, but the creatures' intransigence showed this project to be folly. His breeding stock eventually escaped, and has been a terror of the local forests since then.

The bearguana have the head and body of a bear, with the iguana's claws and tail. Bearguana hide consists of a toughened combination of fur and scales, along with the reptile's signature spines. As such, it is in demand by exotic armor-makers as an alternative to simple leathers.  Adults weigh approximately 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, and stand up to 8 feet tall when rearing on their hind legs. Omnivorous opportunists, they will dig up both live prey and plants found via their acute sense of smell, or will chase other predators and scavengers from their claims. Their reptilian aspect will find them sunning themselves on rocks or in clearings.  Bearguana are very protective of their wide-ranging territories, attacking perceived interlopers aggressively. They are typically solitary, although mated pairs will comingle periodically, and sows with cubs are common.

 
The reptilian metabolism contributes to the bearguana being somewhat sensitive to cold, and the creatures tend to hibernate longer than their pure ursine cousins. Any hunter who happens upon a slumbering bearguana during the cold months must quickly take advantage of this, for although the bearguana may be initially sluggish, it will quickly recover and defend itself mightily (-2 attack for 1st two rounds, +2 rage attacks on subsequent 2d4 rounds). On an attack roll of 18+ (natural roll), the bearguana grabs its opponent and hugs it for an additional 1d8 points of damage.

Bearguana: HD 5+1; AC 4 [15]; Atk 2 claws (1d8), 1 bite (2d6); Move 12; Save 12; AL N; CL/XP 5/240; Special: hug for additional 1d8 if to-hit roll is 18+, bearguana awoken from hibernation attack at -2 for 1st two rounds, +2 rage attacks on subsequent 2d4 rounds.