As a bear, I've seen a lot of human-like behaviors that often get scolded upon by players and staff. Bears are different, they aren't violent to be violent, they're animals, they should be played as such. This guide is to show my fellow BearRP'ers how to do it RIGHT without the added drama.
Common and Unrealistic Actions
Starting off with some common actions I've seen over the years regarding bears (and humans). These are unrealistic, so I've come up with different approaches you can use instead!
Theft: A bear's true motivation is food and keeping their young safe. Approaching humans and trying to steal their shoelaces, shoes, hats, etc. is not normal.
Another Approach: Campsites, dumpsters, trash, bushes, and bee hives! Raid those for food! Even when alone, nothing is stopping you from tipping over a trash can and going to town on some leftovers. If you have access to eating with commands (ie. /feed), grab yourself some berries off a bush or hunt for fish before using it. It adds depth, and people may spot you from far away. Quite the experience for people and a good use for those binoculars.
Human Style Fighting: When fighting, a bear doesn't aim for knocking humans out. Don't aim for the KO points. Yes, while roleplaying a fight with a human, you can use bear attacks to do so, but don't make it your main focus. When a human is KO'd, however, bears would often leave them alone unless their food is nearby. Remember the saying "If it's brown, lay down"? Just like that! Brown bears lose interest when humans are laying 'dead', go ahead and approach, sniff, or raid their backpack for snacks with your nose, but there's no need to start going crazy.
Another Approach: Keep reading, a variety of bear fighting styles are listed in the 'DEFENSE/ATTACK MOVES' section.
Kidnapping: Bears enjoy going on a nice stroll through the forest when they come across a human. "Let's kidnap it, bring it to our cave!" No no, that's no good. Hostage situations shouldn't happen on your bear character! They don't get anything out of it (humans usually have a motive, like money, or revenge).
However, bears do tend to drag their prey to secluded places to feast without being disturbed. For bears, humans aren't a primary food source. And for SRP-sake, you won't gain KPS on someone just because they smell like honey.
Another Approach: If you have hunted fish or ItemRP-style animals (or get a fellow animal roleplayer like a bird to give you KPS), when you kill prey you can drag it to your cave or anywhere (secluded preferably). Put on a big show, use pathways near the lake to drag prey from a distance, just don't show it off to humans. It's best for them to observe you from a safe ways away.
Hanging Around Populated Areas: Although it's true that bears like to use human-made pathways, it's unrealistic for bears to enter a crowded area, like the fishing lake. Bears typically want to be left alone, and unless babies or food is involved (or they feel threatened in general), bears don't seek out humans to attack.
Another Approach: Find lakes in less populated areas to find food and swim in. Use human-made paths, but aim to go around large group of people when able. Find areas other animals hang out in.
Taming Bears: Bears should not get along with humans! They are wild animals and should not be considered pets or part of your SRP family. I see bears getting along with some people just because they gave them food. Bears are unpredictable, and can cause injury if you get too close.
Feeding wild bears can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans. This does not mean they get along, it actually means the opposite. Bears may enter populated areas and damage property in search of food. This may include campsites, the fishing pond, and cabins. You teach the bears to look at humans as a food source. It's not good! There are laws around this in many places, it's bad news. Because of these things, bears will be even more aggressive and unpredictable.
Another Approach: If bears (you) want to be friendly or start families, turn to your fellow woodland friends. Having a bear family to play around with or chasing frogs or birds would be more realistic than choosing an SRP gang to be apart of. Hang out in the wildlife sanctuary and wrestle your fellow bear friends. Talk to each other and be the lovely family Goldilocks came across in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Language Learning: Bears shouldn't be learning commands/words like dogs. Bears don't know what "I'm friendly, I'm only giving you fish" means. There's a reason why they speak their own language ingame. Bears shouldn't be pointing to things, nodding, or shaking hands with people.
Another Approach: It's sounds, tones, and body language. When a human speaks to another in conversation, bears may feel indifferent. However, when humans yell, bears may get overwhelmed (good time to FearRP right?). Harsher tones will be received differently than a soft spoken one.
**A bear's body language is a great way to roleplay emotions!
ex. When overwhelmed, a bear may tuck their ears back, huff, or stamp a foot as a warning. Baby bears may stick close to their mothers.
SchoolRP Specific Rules
Here are some SRP specific tips for roleplaying as a bear.
Commands:
/animal baby - Baby bear! Type again for the big guys.
/animal stand - Appear tall and threatening. Or just observe your surroundings.
/setheight - Animals are affected by this command too. It may not be noticeable for you, but it makes a difference.
/spawn - You'll spawn in one of the bear caves. Bears must stay in the forest, try not to linger near the outside gates.
Character Creation Tips:
Do some research! Google is good for looking up size, lifespan, fur texture/patterns, eye color, region, etc. of the specific species. Since SRP's bears are brown, Brown/Grizzly bears are preferred! Use these in your description, and don't forget to /setage!
Get creative on names, there are a lot of bear-related characters/figures like Winnie The Pooh or the classic Teddy Bear. Names aren't required either, 'Big Bear' or 'Wild Bear' are allowed too. As long as your fellow animal friends can identify you, you'll be in good shape.
Add something unique, but avoid obvious accessories. Bears shouldn't wear bandanas or collars. Instead, try a fur pattern (such as a darker face) or a scar or bald spot from a previous encounter. If your bear has a certain personality, add it to them. Whether it's the way they walk, smell, or look.
Extra Comments:
Problem - Rolling 100: Many human players roll over 100. Bears, baby or not, are stuck with 100. You may wonder: How is that fair? I do too, but there's no need to protest. Many suggestions have been made, and all of them were denied. However, don't get your hopes down, try p2l instead!
Solution - P2L: Play to lose! No rolling involved, just a bit more detailRP. If both parties agree on p2l (preferably in /looc), the bears should realistically come on top when no weapons are involved. Each party involved should be okay with the outcome (broken bones, scratches, etc.). Don't argue, talk to each other! No one should be over powered, but when a bear is involved, keep in mind its size and its pure muscle strength. And bears, keep in mind your motivations as well. Getting away to take care of your young is more important than getting revenge on a human half your size who wants to start fights.
FearRP: Bears must fearRP like the rest of us. Weapons, such as katanas, tazers, etc. should be feared. Remember, FearRP can look like a lot of things. For bears, this can look like hiding, climbing trees (to escape), running off, making verbal noises (huffing, growling, or whining), or bluffing (covered soon!).
**Don't forget fellow bears, we must follow SRP's rules too!
Defense/Attack Moves
Defensive attacks often occur when bears are protecting cubs or their food. Attacking should only occur once you have IC motive. However, defensive moves preferably should come first to assure you at least tried to warn them.
Warning Signs: Simple yet intimidating actions such as huffing, low growls, snorting, and swatting at the ground. In other words, behaviors that don't involve physical contact.
Bluff Charges/Bluffing: Bounding towards a human then suddenly stopping and veering off as a way to access the situation or intimidate.
Swiping: This move is used as a warning sign. Whether it's a light scratch on your arm or a deep wound on your chest, bears will do this to get you to back off.
Knocking Victims Down: Similar to the classic '/me tackle' move. Bears can use their large bodies to knock a victim down. Simple as that.
Biting: A bear's jaw is powerful! Bears often aim for arms and legs. They may bite multiple times with significant force. Remember humans, when you're being attacked by wasps, you run, you don't hit them with a bat. A bear's bite HURTS, and tough or not, your number one priority is fighting back in order to get away from the danger! Fight or flight, get that 'I'm about to die' adrenaline going.
Snap to the Head: Snapping implies a quick, sharp movement using the paw to inflict serious damage to a person's head. Doing this to a human can lead up to skull fractures, lacerations to the face, and even eye damage.
Some Notes for Humans
If it's brown, lay down: Stay calm and play dead. Don't yell, it only intimidates the bears and makes them angrier. Before venturing out in the forest, have your character research animal/bear encounters. Knowing these tips can be useful for their survival and can even impress their friends!
They're animals: If they attack, it's nothing personal. If you ignore the warning signs, it's fair game.
PainRP: Bears are huge, even the babies can get pretty big. Make sure to PainRP properly, bear attacks are no joke. After an attack, feel the shock; Play into it, because guess what? You just survived a BEAR attack! Get up (or be rushed out by EMS) and take this as a lesson.
Thought Process: When you see a bear, your character should observe it from a distance. Think about your character's thoughts! Put yourself in their shoes. If you see a bear, what would you think? Even if you're a tough and fearless gang member, you should have that natural fear and common sense that you shouldn't approach a bear and start petting it.
If Not Friend, Why Friend Shaped?: The little round ears and faces aren't an invitation for hugs. Sorry, but you've been warned.
Common and Unrealistic Actions
Starting off with some common actions I've seen over the years regarding bears (and humans). These are unrealistic, so I've come up with different approaches you can use instead!
Theft: A bear's true motivation is food and keeping their young safe. Approaching humans and trying to steal their shoelaces, shoes, hats, etc. is not normal.
Another Approach: Campsites, dumpsters, trash, bushes, and bee hives! Raid those for food! Even when alone, nothing is stopping you from tipping over a trash can and going to town on some leftovers. If you have access to eating with commands (ie. /feed), grab yourself some berries off a bush or hunt for fish before using it. It adds depth, and people may spot you from far away. Quite the experience for people and a good use for those binoculars.
Human Style Fighting: When fighting, a bear doesn't aim for knocking humans out. Don't aim for the KO points. Yes, while roleplaying a fight with a human, you can use bear attacks to do so, but don't make it your main focus. When a human is KO'd, however, bears would often leave them alone unless their food is nearby. Remember the saying "If it's brown, lay down"? Just like that! Brown bears lose interest when humans are laying 'dead', go ahead and approach, sniff, or raid their backpack for snacks with your nose, but there's no need to start going crazy.
Another Approach: Keep reading, a variety of bear fighting styles are listed in the 'DEFENSE/ATTACK MOVES' section.
Kidnapping: Bears enjoy going on a nice stroll through the forest when they come across a human. "Let's kidnap it, bring it to our cave!" No no, that's no good. Hostage situations shouldn't happen on your bear character! They don't get anything out of it (humans usually have a motive, like money, or revenge).
However, bears do tend to drag their prey to secluded places to feast without being disturbed. For bears, humans aren't a primary food source. And for SRP-sake, you won't gain KPS on someone just because they smell like honey.
Another Approach: If you have hunted fish or ItemRP-style animals (or get a fellow animal roleplayer like a bird to give you KPS), when you kill prey you can drag it to your cave or anywhere (secluded preferably). Put on a big show, use pathways near the lake to drag prey from a distance, just don't show it off to humans. It's best for them to observe you from a safe ways away.
Hanging Around Populated Areas: Although it's true that bears like to use human-made pathways, it's unrealistic for bears to enter a crowded area, like the fishing lake. Bears typically want to be left alone, and unless babies or food is involved (or they feel threatened in general), bears don't seek out humans to attack.
Another Approach: Find lakes in less populated areas to find food and swim in. Use human-made paths, but aim to go around large group of people when able. Find areas other animals hang out in.
Taming Bears: Bears should not get along with humans! They are wild animals and should not be considered pets or part of your SRP family. I see bears getting along with some people just because they gave them food. Bears are unpredictable, and can cause injury if you get too close.
Feeding wild bears can cause them to lose their natural fear of humans. This does not mean they get along, it actually means the opposite. Bears may enter populated areas and damage property in search of food. This may include campsites, the fishing pond, and cabins. You teach the bears to look at humans as a food source. It's not good! There are laws around this in many places, it's bad news. Because of these things, bears will be even more aggressive and unpredictable.
Another Approach: If bears (you) want to be friendly or start families, turn to your fellow woodland friends. Having a bear family to play around with or chasing frogs or birds would be more realistic than choosing an SRP gang to be apart of. Hang out in the wildlife sanctuary and wrestle your fellow bear friends. Talk to each other and be the lovely family Goldilocks came across in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Language Learning: Bears shouldn't be learning commands/words like dogs. Bears don't know what "I'm friendly, I'm only giving you fish" means. There's a reason why they speak their own language ingame. Bears shouldn't be pointing to things, nodding, or shaking hands with people.
Another Approach: It's sounds, tones, and body language. When a human speaks to another in conversation, bears may feel indifferent. However, when humans yell, bears may get overwhelmed (good time to FearRP right?). Harsher tones will be received differently than a soft spoken one.
**A bear's body language is a great way to roleplay emotions!
ex. When overwhelmed, a bear may tuck their ears back, huff, or stamp a foot as a warning. Baby bears may stick close to their mothers.
SchoolRP Specific Rules
Here are some SRP specific tips for roleplaying as a bear.
Commands:
/animal baby - Baby bear! Type again for the big guys.
/animal stand - Appear tall and threatening. Or just observe your surroundings.
/setheight - Animals are affected by this command too. It may not be noticeable for you, but it makes a difference.
/spawn - You'll spawn in one of the bear caves. Bears must stay in the forest, try not to linger near the outside gates.
Character Creation Tips:
Do some research! Google is good for looking up size, lifespan, fur texture/patterns, eye color, region, etc. of the specific species. Since SRP's bears are brown, Brown/Grizzly bears are preferred! Use these in your description, and don't forget to /setage!
Get creative on names, there are a lot of bear-related characters/figures like Winnie The Pooh or the classic Teddy Bear. Names aren't required either, 'Big Bear' or 'Wild Bear' are allowed too. As long as your fellow animal friends can identify you, you'll be in good shape.
Add something unique, but avoid obvious accessories. Bears shouldn't wear bandanas or collars. Instead, try a fur pattern (such as a darker face) or a scar or bald spot from a previous encounter. If your bear has a certain personality, add it to them. Whether it's the way they walk, smell, or look.
Extra Comments:
Problem - Rolling 100: Many human players roll over 100. Bears, baby or not, are stuck with 100. You may wonder: How is that fair? I do too, but there's no need to protest. Many suggestions have been made, and all of them were denied. However, don't get your hopes down, try p2l instead!
Solution - P2L: Play to lose! No rolling involved, just a bit more detailRP. If both parties agree on p2l (preferably in /looc), the bears should realistically come on top when no weapons are involved. Each party involved should be okay with the outcome (broken bones, scratches, etc.). Don't argue, talk to each other! No one should be over powered, but when a bear is involved, keep in mind its size and its pure muscle strength. And bears, keep in mind your motivations as well. Getting away to take care of your young is more important than getting revenge on a human half your size who wants to start fights.
FearRP: Bears must fearRP like the rest of us. Weapons, such as katanas, tazers, etc. should be feared. Remember, FearRP can look like a lot of things. For bears, this can look like hiding, climbing trees (to escape), running off, making verbal noises (huffing, growling, or whining), or bluffing (covered soon!).
**Don't forget fellow bears, we must follow SRP's rules too!
Defense/Attack Moves
Defensive attacks often occur when bears are protecting cubs or their food. Attacking should only occur once you have IC motive. However, defensive moves preferably should come first to assure you at least tried to warn them.
Warning Signs: Simple yet intimidating actions such as huffing, low growls, snorting, and swatting at the ground. In other words, behaviors that don't involve physical contact.
Bluff Charges/Bluffing: Bounding towards a human then suddenly stopping and veering off as a way to access the situation or intimidate.
Swiping: This move is used as a warning sign. Whether it's a light scratch on your arm or a deep wound on your chest, bears will do this to get you to back off.
Knocking Victims Down: Similar to the classic '/me tackle' move. Bears can use their large bodies to knock a victim down. Simple as that.
Biting: A bear's jaw is powerful! Bears often aim for arms and legs. They may bite multiple times with significant force. Remember humans, when you're being attacked by wasps, you run, you don't hit them with a bat. A bear's bite HURTS, and tough or not, your number one priority is fighting back in order to get away from the danger! Fight or flight, get that 'I'm about to die' adrenaline going.
Snap to the Head: Snapping implies a quick, sharp movement using the paw to inflict serious damage to a person's head. Doing this to a human can lead up to skull fractures, lacerations to the face, and even eye damage.
Some Notes for Humans
If it's brown, lay down: Stay calm and play dead. Don't yell, it only intimidates the bears and makes them angrier. Before venturing out in the forest, have your character research animal/bear encounters. Knowing these tips can be useful for their survival and can even impress their friends!
They're animals: If they attack, it's nothing personal. If you ignore the warning signs, it's fair game.
PainRP: Bears are huge, even the babies can get pretty big. Make sure to PainRP properly, bear attacks are no joke. After an attack, feel the shock; Play into it, because guess what? You just survived a BEAR attack! Get up (or be rushed out by EMS) and take this as a lesson.
Thought Process: When you see a bear, your character should observe it from a distance. Think about your character's thoughts! Put yourself in their shoes. If you see a bear, what would you think? Even if you're a tough and fearless gang member, you should have that natural fear and common sense that you shouldn't approach a bear and start petting it.
If Not Friend, Why Friend Shaped?: The little round ears and faces aren't an invitation for hugs. Sorry, but you've been warned.