Ursan

 

Physiology

Ursan are large, lumbering bear-folk, usually with thick fur coats in black, grey or brown, though sometimes they have white coats, bluish grey coats, or even patterned coats of different colors. A typical ursan stands 220 cm tall and weighs 150 kg, and the females are usually larger than the males.

Life Cycle

Ursan do not usually form bonded monogamous pairs. When females want to have children, they normally choose the strongest, healthiest male they can find to mate with, and once pregnant, they begin feeding excessively. A female ursan can gain more than 60kg in the first three months of her pregnancy, at which point, she will withdraw from society, and go into a denning behaviour where she rests alone in her home for almost six more months until she gives birth. Mother and baby remain in the den for another two to three months until the young ursan is able to follow the mother as she resumes her previous activities. The young ursan stays close to its mother, learning from her, for the first seven or eight years of its life, and even in organized society, ursan children will rarely attend school or take lessons or training from anyone other than their mother.

Most female ursan will have two or sometimes three children. They are almost always born seven to nine years apart. When a young ursan reaches seven or eight, if the mother wants to have another child, she will mate again, and the young ursan will stay with the mother through the denning behaviour until the new child arrives. In the subsequent two to three months, as the mother bonds with the new baby, the older one will go out on its own.

Ursan have a 3 year long life cycle, just as with avians, halflings, humans, porcine and taurans.

Culture

Ursan are well adapted to life in the wild, as they are physically formidable enough that most wild animals or creatures that might be a threat to other species will prefer to steer clear of an ursan - even if unarmed. Ursan who choose to live in large urban centers typically still prefer those that border on open wilderness, and ursan tend to get along better with 'simple folk'; halflings, porcine, canis and taurans. As ursan do not usually form bonded pairs, their social structure is matriarchal. Most ursan do not know, or care, who their father is, and ursan names are usually matronymic, or if the ursan family is tightly intergated into organized society they will have a family name passed down the mothers line, as well as a matronymic name - usually in the middle.

Adjustments

Ursan have increased Strength and Vitality and gain a bonus to their Health. They also have the Indomitable perk, which makes them exceeding hard to bring down in battle. Ursan do significantly more damage, but their size makes them easier to hit, and they suffer penalties to their dodge. Ursan have reduced Alertness, but this is partially compensated for by the fact that they have the Night Vision perk. They also start with Apprentice level of mastery and a free initial roll in the Outdoors skill field.