Transform Your Dungeons & Dragons Monk Into an Owlbear

A new Dungeons & Dragons monastic tradition allows players to follow the path of the owlbear, giving them the ability to adopt this unique monster’s powers and strengths. The owlbear is one of Dungeons & Dragons‘ most beloved creatures, a strange and terrifying hybrid that can easily rip a group of low-level adventurers to shreds. The owlbear is often one of the first creatures a Dungeons & Dragons player faces in the wild and is usually a great test for adventurers wanting to test their mettle and a reminder of how strange and magical the world of D&D is.

Last month, Jeff Stevens published Way of the Owlbear, a new monastic tradition for Dungeons & Dragons. Stevens created the Way of the Owlbear as a monastic tradition to acknowledge how many martial art fighting styles were inspired by the movements and actions of different creatures. Followers of the Way of the Owlbear revere the owlbear and adapt their fighting style to match those of the powerful creature. At first, an Owlbear Monk only adopts the owlbear’s hoot and growl in their actions, but at higher levels, they can temporarily mimic the owlbear’s fury, growing in size and having their attacks do more damage. Eventually, the Owlbear Monk even adopts the physical aspects of an owlbear, gaining its claws, feather, or beak that come with additional benefits. When an Owlbear Monk reaches Level 17, they can choose to either fully transform into an owlbear or gain the owlbear’s protective instinct, allowing them to take their reaction to attack an opponent whenever one of their allies within 5 feet is attacked.

While other DMs Guild creators have built owlbear-themed subclasses before, the Way of the Owlbear is one of the first that doesn’t involve either barbarians or druids. Gradually transforming into an owlbear makes a lot of sense given that the monk focuses the mind to perfect the body. Plus, who wouldn’t want to play as an actual talking owlbear that can beat a foe into submission?

Way of the Owlbear is available on the DMs Guild. The supplement usually costs $1.00, but it’s currently available for $0.75 as part of the site’s Play It Forward sale.