Look up in the forest - the Dropbear

Based on my recent poll, I've decided to do a series of 5e/5.5e monsters based on Australian prehistoric animals, contemporary fauna, and a few well-known mythical beasts. Ultimately, they will be compiled into a small book.

Many of these will be posted to my Patreon for members to access.

This first creature is the infamous Dropbear; nemesis of bushwalkers everywhere and frequently used to baffle unsuspecting tourists. There are stat blocks below for both 5e and 5.5e.

If you'd like a Markdown file for the Dropbear, please message me on Mastodon or email me.

Dropbear

Around the size of a leopard or very large dog with coarse orange or grey fur with some darker mottled patterning (as seen in most Koalas), the dropbear is a heavily built animal with powerful forearms and talons for climbing and holding on to prey. It lacks canines, using broad powerful premolars as biting tools instead.

Dropbears hunt by ambushing ground dwelling creatures from above, waiting up to as much as four hours to make a surprise kill. Once prey is within view, the dropbear will drop as much as 8 metres to pounce on top of the unsuspecting victim. The initial impact often stuns the prey, knocking it prone, allowing it to be bitten on the neck and quickly subdued.

5e 2014 stat block

5.5e 2024 stat block