Owlbears: Egg-layers or Live Birthers?

[Coidzor]

Or are they... MARSUPIALS!?

Just came up in the game session I'm in.

Thoughts?

[Temotei]

It's possible that they'd be unable to produce offspring. I...kind of hope that's the case, while at the same time hoping it's not.

[Pokonic]

I always assumed they where egg layers like, say, griffens or manticores.

[Coidzor]

It's possible that they'd be unable to produce offspring. I...kind of hope that's the case, while at the same time hoping it's not.

We're in that first Age of Worms adventure where there's an owlbear mama or something that had her offspring stolen to become zomblebees or something by the local necromancer at Diamond Lake, I believe.

So I believe that standardly they can reproduce, hence why they're non-unique monsters...

Unless they were like, the equivalent of a master's thesis for transmutation specialist wizards...

[Tvtyrant]

We're in that first Age of Worms adventure where there's an owlbear mama or something that had her offspring stolen to become zomblebees or something by the local necromancer at Diamond Lake, I believe.

So I believe that standardly they can reproduce, hence why they're non-unique monsters...

Unless they were like, the equivalent of a master's thesis for transmutation specialist wizards...

I thought that was the original fluff of the half-creatures. They combined things to learn how to manipulate bodies without harming them.

[Zaydos]

I'd go for egg-layers making them similar to echidnas and platypi.

[Coidzor]

I thought that was the original fluff of the half-creatures. They combined things to learn how to manipulate bodies without harming them.

As far as replenishing their population in the wild, I meant.

[Drglenn]

Budding

[Jude_H]

They birth eggcubs. Obviously.

[BlueInc]

Pathfinder SRD specifically says they have young.

No word on the original question. You might say that because it doesn't mention eggs, that's a point for live birth /shrug.

[Okizruin]

I'd say that would be up to the GM.

[Ravens_cry]

They are mostly bear in appearance, with the exception of the claws and head. I would say they are placental or perhaps marsupial. I can so imagine a owlbear with a 'roo style pouch with a little owlbear poking out, looking fluffy and adorable.

[MesiDoomstalker]

In my group we decided that the result would be something like this:

• 25% Male Owlbear via mamalian birth
• 25% of Female Owlbear via mamalian birth
• 12.5% Male Brown Bear via mamalian birth
• 12.5% Female Brown Bear via mamalian birth
• 12.5% Male Owl via aviary birth
• 12.5% Female Owl via aviary birth

I was going to make the appropriate punnet square we made (we have a geneologist in the group) but wasn't sure how to format it.

[Divide by Zero]

Binary fission?

[OracleofWuffing]

Well, in comparison, Raptorans (who are sort of Eaglehumans) are egg-layers.

That said, a wizard did it.

[Ravens_cry]

Well, in comparison, Raptorans (who are sort of Eaglehumans) are egg-layers.

That said, a wizard did it.

I know they are a canonical example of that trope, but I personally like to think of them as a separate creature altogether that humans call owlbears, because humans tend to create common names based off of superficial appearance and not relation.
Like how there are animals commonly called civet cats that are neither civets nor cats.

[Ardantis]

I figured that since they were half-owl, half-bear originally created magically rather than genetically, and their reproductive half seems to be on the bear half, they probably mate and have live birth like a bear does. That being said, Mommy Owlbear better be careful of Baby's hooked beak during the delivery...

[CockroachTeaParty]

During a live birth, a beak would be a dangerous thing; it could easily injure the mother or lead to other complications. I imagine hatching them from an egg avian-style would be safer.

[Kosjsjach]

The Arms and Equipment Guide has prices for mounts and pets and such, and lists a price for a owlbear young (3'000gp, if you were wondering); elsewhere, it lists a price for other creatures' eggs. This suggests owlbear young do not come from eggs.

[MesiDoomstalker]

During a live birth, a beak would be a dangerous thing; it could easily injure the mother or lead to other complications. I imagine hatching them from an egg avian-style would be safer.

I would think for a mamalian birth to be possible, either the beak would be not fully developed or born in such a way that the beak would not be a problem. Like the head tucked in towards the baby's body.

[a_humble_lich]

I would think for a mamalian birth to be possible, either the beak would be not fully developed or born in such a way that the beak would not be a problem. Like the head tucked in towards the baby's body.

I can only assume horned animals work the same. I hope a unicorn colt is born without a fully developed horn.

[HalfDragonCube]

The babies claw their way out of the mother and devour her alive.

Dang, now I want to make an impregnation spell in homebrew.

[BobVosh]

I'm going with mammal birth, as I don't want to imagine a bear trying to lay an egg.

[OracleofWuffing]

I can only assume horned animals work the same. I hope a unicorn colt is born without a fully developed horn.

Speaking of horselike births, I've been wondering where the the fetus of a centaur is stored prior to birth. Is it in the human half and it sort of blasts through the horse-parts in labor, or is it in the horse half and the human parts are mostly uninvolved in the process?

...Or maybe the human part gets the human half of the baby, and the horse gets the baby's horsey parts, and they both get sqished together as they come out?

[Crossblade]

I would think for a mamalian birth to be possible, either the beak would be not fully developed or born in such a way that the beak would not be a problem. Like the head tucked in towards the baby's body.

Tucked in head could risk hurting the baby, soft beak could misformed too easily.

Also, beak usually means egg tooth. An egg tooth is a sharp pointed tip used by offspring to bust through eggs from the inside.

Alternatively, there are also mammels that lay eggs, like the Platypus or Echidna; so it's not just birds, fish and reptiles that lay eggs.

Another thing to address is feeding habits of young... typically creatures that give live birth feed young with milk. This too could be dangerous for the mother with a hard beak clamping down to try to suck milk (also noting that beaks can't suck well)

So, I'd vote that Owlbears lay eggs, and given their carnivorous nature, parents may also regurgitate food for newborns.

I'm going with mammal birth, as I don't want to imagine a bear trying to lay an egg.

You'd rather imagine a bear giving live birth to something with an owl head?

Speaking of horselike births, I've been wondering where the the fetus of a centaur is stored prior to birth.

In the area where the genitals are located. :p

[BobVosh]

You'd rather imagine a bear giving live birth to something with an owl head?

Yes, but not by much.

[Otacon17]

I was always taught than when a mommy owlbear and a daddy owlbear love each other very much, they ask the storkbear to bring them a baby...

[Drelua]

Speaking of horselike births, I've been wondering where the the fetus of a centaur is stored prior to birth. Is it in the human half and it sort of blasts through the horse-parts in labor, or is it in the horse half and the human parts are mostly uninvolved in the process?

...Or maybe the human part gets the human half of the baby, and the horse gets the baby's horsey parts, and they both get sqished together as they come out?

I actually used to live on a horse breeding farm, and you'd be surprised how big a foal is at birth. They're born with their legs 3/4 the length that they will be when the horse is fully grown, according to a book I read. There's no way that a centaur fetus could fit in the human body, so it would have to be in the horse body. This brings up some other interesting questions, such as, what does the human part have where an actual human's organs would be? Their lungs would have to be in the horse part to be able to hold enough air for something that size, meaning the throat would heve to guy all th way through its human torso. Maybe they have both human and horse organs? 2 hearts, 2 livers, 4 kidneys, etc. Or maybe the human part holds a large stomach, mostly? I should have taken biology last year...

[NNescio]

In the area where the genitals are located. :p

On a related note, I wonder how their spines are supposed to look like. Do they have an extra pelvis? Or can their vertebrae turn a sharp 90 degrees due to some fiendish joint they have?

[HalfDragonCube]

While we're on the subject, how would mermaids work?