The 'bear-dogs' included the ancestors of both bears and dogs. The earliest examples were small, low-slung animals which vaguely resembled civets or mongooses. They were likely tree-dwelling omnivores. The earliest known is the North-American Gustafsonia cognita. Slightly later examples with essentially similar body-plans and lifestyles include the Eurasian Cynodictis lacustris and the North-American Daphoenus hartshornianus. Larger relatives of the latter include the coyote-sized D. vetus and D. ruber.
Early amphicyonid
ST 5; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 5; Will 11; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 9.
SM −2, 12-20 lbs.
Bite (14): 1d-5 cutting.
Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; Limited Camouflage; Night Vision 3; Parabolic Hearing 1; Quadruped; Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Climbing-14; Stealth-14; Survival (Woodlands)-14.
Larger species (25-30 lbs.) would have ST and HP 6, SM −1.
Later species tended to be larger, more carnivorous, and more adapted to life on the ground. Daphoenodon were wolf-like pursuit predators. They appear to have been eventually out-competed in this niche by canines, who were even better adapted to running.
Daphoenodon
ST 11; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 11; Will 12; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 8.
SM 0, 150-190 lbs.
Bite (14): 1d-2 cutting.
Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1; Enhanced Move 1 (Ground Speed 16); Limited Camouflage; Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Quadruped; Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Skills: Brawling-14; Stealth-14; Survival (Plains)-14.
Ysengrinia was a genus of pure carnivores, although their relatively short legs suggest they may have had to rely on ambush and scavenging rather than long-distance pursuits. The overall appearance seems to have been that of a very robust big cat with a dog-like head. European species such as Y. gerandiana, Y. tolosana, and Y. valentiana were the size of large jaguars, while the North-American Y. americana was a massive creature the size or a black bear or lion. Magericyon was a later European genus which had a similar size to Y. americana and competed with saber-toothed cats for the role of apex predator. Magericyon was closely related to the diverse and wide-spread genus Amphicyon, the smallest of which (A. astrei) was similar to the European species of Ysengrinia, while larger ones were the size of a tiger (in the case of A. gutmani), polar bear (A. frendens), or kodiak bear (A. ingens). Ischyrocyon was another genus which achieved sizes similar to A. frendens.
Amphicyon astrei
ST 12; DX 12; IQ 3; HT 12.
HP 11; Will 12; Per 12; FP 12; Speed 6.00; Dodge 9; Move 5.
SM +1 (2 hexes), 200-240 lbs.
Bite (14): 1d-2 cutting.
Traits: Bad Sight (Low Resolution); Born Biter 2; Discriminatory Smell; DR 1; Enhanced Move 2 (Ground Speed 20; Costs Fatigue, 1 FP/second); Limited Camouflage; Night Vision 2; Parabolic Hearing 1; Quadruped; Ultrahearing; Wild Animal.
Use the same profile for European Ysengrinia species. For Y. americana, Magericyon, or mid-sized species of Amphicyon (400-450 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 15, which changes bite damage to 1d. A. gutmani (550 lbs.) increases ST and HP to 16 (bite damage 1d). For A. frendens or Ischyrocyon (950 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 20 (bite damage 2d−2) and DR to 2. For A. ingens (1,200 lbs.) increase ST and HP to 21 (bite damage 2d−1) and DR to 2.