Bugbear Warrior
Medium Fey · · CR 1
- Fey
- Medium
- Tier 1
Bugbear Warrior, CR 1, fills the medium fey role with chaotic evil disposition. Encounter regions: forest, grassland, planar, and underground. Sourced from Monster Manual (5.5e 2024).
Stat Block
- Challenge Rating
- 1
- Type
- Fey
- Size
- Medium
- Alignment
- —
- Speed
- —
- Habitats
- Forest, Grassland, Planar, Underground
- Sources
- Monster Manual (5.5e 2024)
Ecology
Bugbear Warriors are the larger fey cousins of goblins and hobgoblins — hairy, broad-shouldered, surprisingly stealthy. They live in clans of 10–40 in forests, hills, planar wilderness, and underground caverns, often allied with goblin tribes as enforcers. They eat what they kill: deer, sheep, smaller humanoids. They prefer ambush to open battle, valuing the **first strike** above all military virtues.
Behaviour
Bugbears are **patient, brutal, and hierarchical**. A warrior earns rank by ambushes succeeded and trophies taken. They use stealth disproportionate to their size — Stealth +6 at this Tier — and move through forest brush almost silently. In combat, they grapple-and-drag, isolating prey from allies. Off-duty, they tell long boasting stories, gamble loudly, and bully their goblin allies for amusement.
Origin
Bugbears are fey-touched goblinoids, distantly related to goblins and hobgoblins through a shared ancestor in the Feywild's wild-hunt courts. Some scholars believe bugbears were once the **stealth-hounds** of a hobgoblin warlord-court, bred for ambush. Today they live in mixed warbands or independent clans; a bugbear warrior in a goblin tribe is usually the second-most-feared individual after the goblin boss.
Related Monsters
Frequently Asked Questions about Bugbear Warrior
- What is the challenge rating of Bugbear Warrior?
- Bugbear Warrior is rated CR 1. The rating suits an early or mid tier-1 group.
- What type of creature is Bugbear Warrior?
- Bugbear Warrior is classified as a fey in D&D 5e, medium size.
- Where does Bugbear Warrior live?
- The bestiary places Bugbear Warrior in Forest, Grassland, Planar, Underground.