Ecology of the Care Bear

"The Care Bears have a very special mission, and that mission is to help everyone share their feelings with others."

- Mr. Cherrywood, The Care Bears Movie

Many monsters feed on pain and misery. Acts of evil and despair seem to nourish their very bodies. But for everything, there is an opposite. There are creatures that seem to live on joy and happiness. For them, evil is a poison that drains their vitality. The care bears are such creatures.

History of the Care Bear

The exact origins of the care bears are shrouded at best. Captured specimens speak of a kingdom known as Care-a-Lot, a vast land filled with solid clouds, located somewhere in the Positive Energy Plane. Some have even spoken of a being known as the Cloud-Keeper, who may be responsible for their existence.

Historians have found but scant references to this 'Cloud-Keeper', a wizard of no small skill. It is believed that his work focused on extracting the essence of the Inner Planes. If that is true, then Cloud-Keeper may have infused positive energy into the bodies of ordinary bears and carefully molded their bodies into less threatening forms.

The history of the care bears on the Material Plane is better known. They started to appear in small numbers, often in pairs or larger patrols about a century ago. They invariably locate a person or creature in distress, either physical or emotional, and attempt to assist them.

It is unknown how exactly care bears travel to and from the Positive Energy Plane. Many wizards theorize that the creatures have a series of portals connecting their home plane to the Material Plane. The care bears themselves claim to possess chariots made of clouds that help them to travel, but most scholars scoff at the very notion.

Although care bears appear to be cute and cuddly, they are extraordinarily dangerous. Their presence or interference may exacerbate an already precarious situation, such as increased aggression from a horde of orcs towards a small farming village. What may have been only a raid is certain to become a massacre after the care bears attempt to become involved. Even in more mundane situations, their naivety and child-like natures can cause them to interfere where they're not needed and cause trouble.

Physiology of the Care Bear

Care bears are short, bipedal, bear-like creatures. They stand approximately three feet tall and weigh about 30-50 pounds. They lack claws or strong jaws and appear to be unable to defend themselves physically. Their diminutive size means that they are far less strong or tough than ordinary bears, but their connection to the Positive Energy Plane makes them insightful and charismatic.

Care bears are covered in fur, which is often bright and colorful. Their fur is usually a bright, unnatural color like pink, purple or blue, except around their muzzles and on their stomachs, where it is white.

The care bears possess a large symbol on their stomachs, which they refer to as a tummy symbol, or alternatively, a belly badge. These symbols are unique to each care bear and can serve as a way help identify them as individuals. The images themselves appear to relate to the care bear's vocation, hobby or personality and the care bears often name themselves after them. It is unknown if the symbols are a result of the care bears' particular personality or if the personalities are driven by the symbols.

The symbols themselves also serve another purpose. The care bears can utilize them to project a ray of positive energy that they can use as a weapon. Alternatively, they appear to be able to alter these so-called 'stares' into a morale-boosting energy. These stares appear as beams of bright light that arc out towards their targets.

Care bears possess a simple digestive system that is unremarkable. In fact, most of their organs are closer to what would be expected in a small humanoid, like a halfling or human child, than in an ursine. They prefer prepared human-cooked food to the simple omnivorous diet of the common black bear.

Psychology and Society of the Care Bear

Although no exploration of their home land of 'Care-a-Lot' has been performed, investigations with care bear specimens seem to suggest that they live in a shared collective, not unlike those of elves. Their land appears to be peaceful, and the lack of competing species in the Positive Energy Plane means that they have little to fear from predators.

Care bears are highly sensitive to the emotions of other creatures, though they don't possess any psionic abilities. They appear to be preoccupied with the concepts of empathy and friendship. Some captured specimens have remarked about a care meter having dropped, which suggests that they possess a device capable of determining to total amount of caring on the Material Plane.

Strangely enough, care bears appear to have an irrational fear and hatred of arcane spellcasters, especially wizards. They will go out of their way to cause trouble for a wizard. Care bears seem to see such arcane practitioners as evil or as an antithesis to caring. The exact number of care bears in existence is unknown, but wizards who have studied the creatures (often under the aegis of a protection from positive energy spell) have expressed concerns about a possible future invasion of care bears intent on the destruction of all wizardry.

Care bears are almost universally good, and their lack of exposure to other cultures makes them child-like and naïve. In turn, they are usually fairly easy to manipulate or capture. They often travel in groups to reduce the likelihood of their being abducted or forced into slave labor.

Other Care Bear Species

Other creatures, similar to care bears have been hypothesized. These 'cousins' to the care bears could potentially come from any kind of animal, such as a lion, rabbit, monkey or even an exotic creature like an elephant. No care bears have confirmed if such beings exist, but neither have they denied the possibility.

There have been rumors of creatures referred to as 'dire care bears'. The overwhelming life-force of the Positive Energy Plane appears to have the ability to alter a care bear into a more primal form. These creatures can grow up to 12 feet long and weigh several thousand pounds, but without any of the good nature or ability to reason of their kin. Like ordinary care bears, dire care bears possess an irrational hatred of wizards and will attack them without mercy. Thankfully dire care bears are as rare as they are dangerous.

It is also rumored that the mysterious Cloud-Keeper may have accidentally transported a werebear to the Positive Energy Plane while conducting his bizarre experiments. It is possible that the resulting creature could possess all of the abilities of both a care bear and of a lycanthrope, a frightening combination. Luckily, there has yet to be a single sighting of a were care bear.

New Material

Care Bear

Small Monstrous Humanoid (Extraplanar)

Hit Dice: 1d8-1 (3 hp)

Initiative: +5

Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)

Armor Class: 12 (+1 size, +1 Dexterity), touch 12, flat-footed 11

Base Attack/Grapple: +1/-4

Attack: -

Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks: Care bear stare

Special Qualities: Darkvision, tummy symbol

Saves: Fort -1, Ref +3, Will +3

Abilities: Str 8, Dex 12, Con 9, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12

Skills: Diplomacy +5, Heal +3, Hide +5, Listen +5, Perform (sing) +3

Feats: Improved Intitiative

Environment: Positive Energy Plane

Organization: Pairs, care patrol (2-3), happiness gang (4-8), emergency crew (9-15), doom squad (16-100)

Challenge Rating: 1/2

Treasure: None

Alignment: Neutral good

Advancement: By character class

Level Adjustment: +1

A small bear-like creature covered in brightly colored fur stands before you. On his stomach is the image of a star, which begins to glow brightly as he pushes it out towards you.

Care bears are small ursine (that means bear) like creatures that exist to further the amount of caring on the Material Plane. Hailing from the Positive Energy Plane, they claim to live in a kingdom known as Care-a-Lot. Seriously, why are you even reading this small description? It's just a short recap of what's above. Oh, and care bears speak Common, but after five minutes of hearing their saccharine views on the world, you'll wish they couldn't.

Combat

Care bears are fairly weak and lack any natural attacks. They instead possess a powerful 'care bear stare' ability that allows them to blast an opponent with positive energy.

Care Bear Stare (Su): As a standard action, a care bear may make a ranged touch attack against a single target within 30 feet. If successful, this attack deals 1d6 points of positive energy damage. Unlike normal other sources of positive energy, such as cure spells, this energy deals damage to both living and undead targets.

The damage dealt by the care bear stare may be either lethal or non-lethal at the care bear's discretion.

In addition, a care bear can channel their stares into a good hope effect, which acts like the spell (Will DC 11; save is Charisma-based) except that it has a duration of 1 round.

Once a care bear has used their stare ability, they may not do so again for 1d4 rounds.

Multiple care bears can concentrate their stares together in a single attack. A concentrated beam deals 1d6+1 points of damage per care bear participating (minimum of two care bears are required to concentrate a stare) to a single target. For example, if five care bears decided to concentrate their stares on a raging barbarian, they would deal 5d6+5 points of damage if they struck.

Multiple care bears can also concentrate their stares together to improve their good hope ability. Each additional care bear provides an additional round to the duration of the effect. For example, if five care bears concentrated their good hope effects on a gloomy necromancer, the total duration would be for 5 rounds instead of the normal 1 round.

Tummy Symbol (Ex): Each care bear possesses a symbol on their stomachs which is unique to them and is often what they derive their names from. The symbols appear to drive their personalities, focusing their interests in a particular direction. This culminates in a +2 racial bonus to a single Craft, Knowledge, Perform or Profession skill.

For example, a care bear with a guitar as their tummy symbol would likely have a +2 racial bonus on Perform (Guitar) checks.

In special circumstances, a particularly lucky Care Bear might have an extra powerful tummy symbol that provides them a +2 racial bonus on a different skill, such as Survival, but this is up to the dungeon master's discretion.

Skills: +2 racial bonus to Listen and Diplomacy checks. Care bears preach that listening to others and negotiating is the best way to solve problems.

Care Bear Characters

Rogue care bears who have lost the ability to return to Care-a-Lot may turn to adventuring as a way to improve caring around the world. Their favored class is bard.

Dire Care Bear

Large Magical Beast (Extraplanar)

Hit Dice: 12d10+39 (99 hp)

Initiative: +6

Speed: 40 ft.

Armor Class: 17 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 15

Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+25

Attack: Claw +21 melee (1d6+9)

Full Attack: 2 claws +21 melee (1d6+9) and bite +15 melee (2d6+4)

Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.

Special Attacks: Care bear stare, improved grab

Special Qualities: Darkvision, low-light vision, scent

Saves: Fort +11, Ref +10, Will + 6

Abilities: Str 28, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 12

Skills: Hide +3, Listen +9, Spot +9

Feats: Alertness, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Armor, Toughness

Environment: Positive Energy Plane

Organization: Solitary or pair

Challenge Rating: 7

Treasure: None

Alignment: Always neutral

Advancement: 13-16 HD (Large); 17-36 HD (Huge)

Level Adjustment: -

A huge, brightly colored bear lumbers towards you, it's back and head adorned with bone ridges. Noticing you it stands up on its hind legs, revealing a white stomach adorned with a skull and crossbones symbol. Suddenly it drops to all fours and begins to charge, it's stomach glowing with energy.

The larger, more aggressive and infinitely more deadly dire care bear is the result of oversaturation of positive energy in an ordinary care bear. The creature stands approximately 12 feet long and can weight up to 7000 pounds. They are just like normal care bears except that they possess powerful physical capabilities, they lack the ability to speak and they have a burning desire to eat you.

Combat

Dire care bears are huge, hulking monstrosities. They start battle by identifying any wizards that might be nearby and attacking them without mercy. Once the wizard has been destroyed, they work on any other threats, generally pinning them to the ground in a grapple before unleashing their care bear stare.

Care Bear Stare (Su): As a standard action, a dire care bear may make a ranged touch attack against a single target within 30 feet. If successful, this attack deals 2d6 points of positive energy damage. Unlike normal other sources of positive energy, such as cure spells, this energy deals damage to both living and undead targets.

Once a dire care bear has used their stare ability, they may not do so again for 1d4 rounds.

Multiple dire care bears can concentrate their stares together in a single attack. A concentrated beam deals 2d6+1 points of damage per care bear participating (minimum of two care bears are required to concentrate a stare) to a single target. For example, if two dire care bears decided to concentrate their stares against a hapless wizard's apprentice, they would deal a total of 4d6+2 points of damage.

While grappling, a dire care bear may use their care bear stare on their opponent in the grapple without penalty.

Unlike normal care bears, dire care bears cannot choose to affect their target with a good hope effect, they cannot choose to deal non-lethal damage with their stare, and they do not receive a racial skill bonus from their tummy symbol.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a dire care bear must hit with a claw attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.