TEXT: Panserbjrn
  "When bears act like people, perhaps they can be 
  tricked. When bears act like bears, perhaps they 
  can't.”
  	
  Philip	Pullman,	Northern	Lights
  Historically	solitary	and	primitive	in	nature,	panserbjørn	
  have,	under	recent	leadership,	begun	forming	increasing-
  ly	larger	communities.	This	burgeoning	civilisation	has	
  begun	adopting	social	norms	and	morals	much	closer	
  to	those	found	within	‘civilised’	cultures.	Indeed,	magi-
  cal	universities	now	include	panserbjørn	amongst	their	
  alumni,	and	remote	mountain-top	temples	highly	prize	
  these	bear-people	as	monks	and	clerics.	Even	the	more	
  solitary	panserbjørn	are	sought	after	as	guides	for	trad-
  ing	caravans	or	adventurers	delving	into	the	tundra.
  Fluffy and Fierce
  As	quarry,	panserbjørn	are	prized	for	their	thick,	water-
  proof,	insulating	fur.	However,	as	predators,	they	are	un-
  matched	amongst	the	hunter-folk	of	the	northern	wastes.	
  It	is	not	unusual,	during	the	deep	polar	winters,	to	hear	
  tell	of	skaeling	clansmen	disappearing,	the	only	trace	of	
  their	fate	a	deep,	clawed	footprint	in	the	snow.
  Panserbjørn	place	great	store	beside	honourable	
  conduct.	Disagreements	between	the	bear-folk	are	often	
  decided	in	single	combat,	a	trait	inherited	from	their	days	
  of	innate	territorial	conflict.	However,	unlike	their	bestial	
  cousins,	the	polar	bears,	panserbjørn	duels	are	never	to	
  the	death.	To	kill	another	panserbjørn	is	to	invite	exile.	
  In	fact,	many	exiled	panserbjørn	work	skaeling	forges	in	
  exchange	for	liquor	to	numb	the	pain	of	their	loneliness.	 
  Awakening
  Legend	says	that	panserbjørn	were	awakened	from	a	
  race	of	opposable-thumbed	polar	bears	by	the	giant	ord-
  ning.	Initially	kept	as	companions	by	frost	giants,	interest	
  in	this	malleable,	yet	ferocious,	beast	was	quickly	piqued	
  in	the	other	giant	races.	Stone	giants	taught	them	the
  way	of	carving	and	spirituality,	so	that	they	might	sculpt	
  homes	within	the	ice	mountains	and	connect	with	the	
  divine.	Fire	giants	taught	them	the	art	of	the	forge	and	
  fostered	within	them	a	sense	of	reverence	for	the	sky-iron	
  armour	they	now	wore.
  Cloud	giants	saw	them	only	as	play	things,	tricking	them	
  with	liquor	and	false	words	into	fighting	for	the	giants’	
  entertainment.	The	bear-folk	broke	with	the	giants	after	
  the	panserbjørn	king	was	so	tricked	into	slaying	another	
  of	his	kin,	leading	to	his	exile.	However,	a	storm	giantess	
  name	Aixocolotl,	angry	at	her	kin,	took	pity	on	them.	She	
  blessed	them	with	speech	and	the	ability	to	sense	decep-
  tion,	such	that	they	might	not	be	tricked	again.
  Workers of Metal
  Meteoric	sky-iron,	found	in	the	ice	mountains,	forms	the	
  principle	material	with	which	panserbjørn	hone	their	
  craft.	From	weaning,	panserbjørn	are	taught	how	to	fold	
  and	forge	this	unique	metal	into	plates	of	bespoke,	artic-
  ulated	armour.	Once	they	reach	maturity,	they	set	about	
  painstakingly	crafting	their	final	suit	of	armour,	a	process	
  that	can	often	take	a	lifetime	to	perfect.
  Panserbjrn Traits
  Your	panserbjørn	character	has	certain	characteristics	in	
  common	with	all	other	panserbjørn.
  Ability Score Increase. Your	Constitution	and	Strength	
  scores	increase	by	1.
  Age. Panserbjørn	mature	at	the	same	rate	humans	do,	
  and	are	expected	to	become	independent	in	their	mid-
  teens.	They	can	live	to	80	years.
  Alignment. Panserbjørn,	by	nature,	care	mostly	about	
  their	own	survival,	and	tend	towards	neutral	alignments.	
  Wild	pansebjørn	gravitate	towards	chaos	and	value	their	
  freedom	above	all	else.	Cultured	panserbjørn,	conversely,	
  lean	towards	lawful	habits,	seeking	to	become	a	member	
  of	wider	civilised	society.
  Size. Panserbjørn	are	over	7	feet	tall,	when	erect,	and	
  average	in	excess	of	300	pounds.	Your	size	is	Medium.
  Speed.	Your	base	walking	speed	is	30	feet.
  Design: Humperdink’s Wares
  Page 1 of 2
  Art Credit: DongjunLu
  Version 1.0
  
  Ursine Claws. Your	claws	are	as	long	as	a	child’s	hand,	
  and	a	natural	weapon	you	can	use	to	make	unarmed	
  attacks.	If	you	hit	with	them	you	deal	slashing	damage	
  equal	to	1d6	+	your	Strength	modifier,	instead	of	the	
  bludgeoning	damage	for	an	unarmed	strike.	In	addition,	
  if	you	are	not	wearing	footwear,	you	can	move	across	
  non-magical	difficult	terrain	made	of	ice	and	snow	with-
  out	expending	additional	movement.
  Olfactory Hunter. You	have	advantage	on	Wisdom	
  (perception)	checks	that	rely	on	smell.
  Forgers of Sky-iron.	You	have	proficiency	with	smith’s	
  tools	and	craft	a	bespoke	suit	of	armour,	as	important	
  to	you	as	your	own	soul.	This	magical	armour	can	be	
  enchanted	and	is	not	destroyed	by	disenchantment.	
  Whenever	an	increase	to	your	proficiency	bonus	would	
  lead	to	an	increase	in	your	AC,	you	must	purchase	sky-
  iron	with	a	gold	cost	of	100	x	your	character	level	and	
  spend	8	hours	at	a	forge	in	order	to	gain	this	benefit.		
  You	tailor	this	metal	to	the	armour	style	with	which	you	
  are	proficient:
  Armour Proficiency Base AC Calculation
  None
  11 + Dex
  Light
  13 + Dex
  Medium
  13 + Dex (max. 2) + half your proficiency bonus*
  Heavy
  16 + half your proficiency bonus*
  *Round this value down.
  Powerful Build. You	count	as	one	size	larger	when	
  determining	your	carrying	capacity	and	the	weight	you	
  can	push,	drag,	or	lift.
  Languages. You	can	speak	read	and	write	Common	
  and	Giant.
  Subrace.	Two	subraces	of	panserbjørn	are	found	in	the	
  world:	nomadic	wild	panserbjørn	and	civilised	cultured	
  panserbjørn.	Choose	one	of	these	subraces.
  Cultured Panserbjrn
  As	a	cultured	panserbjørn,	you	seek	to	integrate	yourself	
  into	civilised	society	through	study	and	communication.	
  As	a	rarity	anywhere	but	in	the	tundra,	common	folk	
  have	heard	only	tales	of	the	ferocious	and	primitive	
  beasts	of	the	ice.	Challenging	this	misconception	is	a	
  constant	task.
  Ability Score Increase. Your	Charisma	score	increases	
  by	1.
  Studious. You	are	proficient	in	one	of	the	following	
  skills	of	your	choice:	Arcana,	History,	Investigation,	Med-
  icine,	or	Nature.
  Linguistic Assimilation. You	can	speak,	read,	and	write	
  one	additional	language	of	you	choice.	Additionally,	you	
  can	cast	the	comprehend languages spell	once	with	this	
  trait,	requiring	no	material	or	somatic	components,	and	
  you	regain	the	ability	to	cast	it	this	way	when	you	finish	a	
  long	rest.
  Wild Panserbjrn
  As	a	wild	panserbjørn,	you	are	a	acclimated	to	life	in	the	
  tundra,	and	are	often	suspicious	of	conurbations,	only	
  visiting	them	when	needs	must.	Historically	more	numer-
  ous,	wild	panserbjørn	have	seen	a	steady	decline	in	the	
  number	of	young	panserbjørn	adhering	to	the	old	ways.	It	
  is	said	you	cannot	trick	a	wild	panserbjørn.	
  Ability Score Increase. Your	Wisdom	score	increases	by	
  1.
  Iceborn Predator. 	You	are	adapted	to	travel	in	sub-zero	
  conditions.	You	are	resistant	to	cold	damage	and	have	ad-
  vantage	on	Dexterity	(stealth)	checks	in	snowy/icy	terrain.
  Eye for Deception. You	have	proficiency	in	the	Insight	
  skill.
  Page 2 of 2
  Design: Humperdink’s Wares
  Art Credit: DongjunLu
  Version 1.0
  @humpswares
  @HumpsWares
  r/HumperdinksWares
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Homebrew/Humperdink's Wares - Panserbjorn Race v1.2.1.pdf