BEARS, BEORNINGS

Beornings are fierce Men from the northern Vale of Anduin. They are rumored to descend from great mountain bears, or perhaps from the first Men who ever lived between the Misty Mountains and Greenwood the Great.

In MUME, all player-controlled Beornings can shapeshift to bear form.

Bears cannot cast spells, and they have severe restrictions on what equipment they can use. On the other hand, they are definitely stronger than Men, and have greater endurance and agility; their bare paws can cause vicious damage, and they can bash their opponents with their own bulk.

Due to their fearsome appearance, bears appear as -a Bear- to Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits and non-Beorning Men (unless they're members of the same group). For the same reason, certain mobiles might be friendly to a Beorning in human shape and hostile to the same Beorning in bear shape.

In order to change to bear form, use the metamorph command (no arguments). The outcome is not guaranteed: the chance of a successful change depends on several factors, such as:

• level
• distance from the Carrock
• current mana
• time of day
• moon phase

Bears return to human form automatically after some time (which depends on the same factors as above). A bear can try to return to human form before the time limit expires; failed attempts can cause fatigue.

Beornings fight with little regard to their own life, and they're not used to wearing shields (they would prevent shapechanging). Therefore, their ability to parry enemy blows is slightly reduced (compared to other races).

When they find themselves in the Halls of Mandos, Beornings can choose to be transported to their village of Ingrove, in the Anduin Vale.