The Wolverine, a little bear

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

We are starting a new saga, and one of the players wants to have Bjornaer from Scandinavia/Russia with a Wolverine heartbeast. I whipped up some stats for him. Notes at bottom.

I leave the task of resolving the tough little bastard with the rest of the Bjornaer rules to the player.

Presented for entertainment and use:

A Wolverine

Characteristics: Cun: +1, Per 0, Pre -2, Com -5, Str -2, Sta +2, Dex 0, Qik +3
Size: -2
Confidence Score: n (n)
Virtues and Flaws: Ferocity, Tough, Greedy, Reclusive, Pungent Odor.
Qualities: Aggressive (improves Brawl to 5), Extra Natural Weapons (claws and bite), Grapple, Hardy, Large Claws, Large Teeth, Pursuit Predator, Thick Fur, Tough Hide
Personality Traits: Greedy +3, Aggressive +2
Reputations: Gluttonous 3, Ferocious 3 (in the north)
Combat:
Claws: Init +3, Attack +11, Defense +12, Damage +2
Teeth: Init +3, Attack +9, Defense +9, Damage +1
Grapple: Init +3, Attack +5, Defense +8, Damage n/a
Soak: +8
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, 0/0, -1/-1, -1/-1, -3/-3 -5, Unconscious *
Wound Penalties: -1 (1‒3), -3 (4‒6), -5 (7‒8), Incapacitated
Abilities: Brawl 5 (claws), Survival 5 (home terrain), Awareness 3 (food), Athletics 3 (running), Hunt 4 (prey)

The Wolverine, the Little Wolf, also called the Glutton, is a small bear of the far north. It is very fierce, and always hungry; a clawed and fanged beast and hunter for meat, but also a carrion-eater. They are strong and stocky, and with their great strength and great hunger do not fear to take the prey of a great bear. They are fiercest when squabbling for food, and will attack any who have food or threaten to take their meat. A Wolverine is known to attack a bear for the greater bear’s prey, and to fearlessly battle a pack of wolves when menaced.

Build notes:
Starting with Cun: 0, Per 0, Pre -2, Com -5, per Clawed Beast
Characteristic points: 3 for +2 Str: 3 for +2 Sta, Dex 0, 1 for Qik +1
Add twice Size (-2*2=-4) to Str (-2). Add Size to Qik (+3)

This results in a wolverine not as strong as expected, but comparing it to a wolf (Str -1) is not so bad. Declining to fiddle this and moving on.

Virtues and Flaws added from wolverine list. Enduring Constitution (decrease penalties for reduced Fatigue levels by 1 point and add +3 on rolls to resist pain); Ferocity (like Confidence, only when defending food), Tough (+3 Soak): Greedy (will eat and in quantify when given the chance), Reclusive (tends to want to be alone, cranky when in company), Pungent Odor (Effectively the Flaw Social Handicap, -3 penalty / +3 penalty to appropriate rolls) (optionally, this could be Loathsome Appearance)

Basic abilities added from Clawed Beast list

Qualities added from wolverine list: Aggressive shifts brawl to 5, adds 1 to Cun; Extra Natural Weapons adds either claws or bite; Grapple allows a grapple attack against opponent less than or equal to Size +1, and see rule on p. 42 Mystery Cults; Large Claws uses LC stats; Large Teeth uses LT stats; Hardy increases Survival to 5 and grants extra Fatigue level; Pursuit Predator adds Hunt 4 and adds another Fatigue level, Thick Fur +1 to Soak; Tough Hide +2 to Soak.

Natural Weapons and Combat: Holy Cow! These are big numbers! Note: The Damage is affected by Attack Advantage, which will be large.

+8 Soak. +8 Soak. Holy cow, +8 Soak. That's better than chain mail.

*Fatigue levels edited and corrected.

2

Yeah, I was under the impression that wolverines were of the "If you run them over with a lawn mower, they get grumpy and tear your arm off" kind of animals.

Them and badgers, I thought.

3

At a glance it looks fine to me.

4

I'd note that the name "wolverine" is an American one. In Europe in period they are called Gluttons, which is why the scientific name for the European subspecies is "Gulo gulo gulo" which shows that in both Latin and Greek they are called "Gulo", which is the Latin term for Gluttony.

When I built stats for them, I just gave them "Immune to Fatigue". Real life wolverines can drag a carcass for miles through the snow.

5

We are, all of us, Americans, and have the bad habit of speaking American English.

I suspect that in game the locals will call the animal a "small wolf" or "little bear." We are starting in Provence, foothills of the Pyrenees, an odd place for a Bjornaer, and very strange place for a wolverine. I suspect the local mundanes won't know what to do with the cranky, smelly giant weasel, other than run away. I foresee hunters, knights, and possibly magi investigating reports of a bear the size of a dog, with the appetite of a pack of wolves.

Why a Bjornaer of Scandinavian extraction has decided to settle in Roussillon, I have no good idea. New player. I may wind up dragging him off to North Africa, in due time, to completely turn him upside down.

6

I imagine a wolverine would have the Berserk Virtue, and perhaps Ferocity should include "combat" (not just fighting for food), or "food" (snagging it as well as defending it).

7

Given the wolverine attitude, fighting for food and combat may be the same thing, but I make note of it.

8

Take Ferocity twice? :smiling_imp: