Beorning

A grizzly bear roaring

Beornings, also known as Bears, are a race of men who are capable of transforming into huge, powerful bears. The most notable and well-known Beorning in Tolkien is Beorn who appears for his most notable role in The Hobbit. Beornings live in the Anduin Vale, at the foot of the Misty Mountains.

Beornings in MUME

In MUME, Beornings are very similar to other white side races of men, except for their ability to metamorph into bears.

At higher levels, Beornings will preferably fight in their bear form, unarmed, and with little need for equipment.

Beornings have a bonus on the wilderness skill (+25% without any pracs) and they are the only race which can start the game in the Andiun Vale.

Metamorph

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, among which

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

Under ideal conditions (high level, max mana, night or darkness, full moon) bears can metamorph as far as Bree or Tharbad, but more realistically the range is Rivendell, Moria, Fangorn, and for lower levels limited to the Anduin Value.

Bears automatically return to human form 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.

While in bear form, Beornings have increased strength and other "physical" stats:

STR	CON	DEX	PER	INT	WIS	WIL
+4	+2	+3	+2	-4	-2	-4

This makes the maximum strength a near rival for that of Trolls. Also, like trolls, bears do not have mana, and are incapable of using weapons or spells. Many skills have no effect on the character in bear form. They use their paws and claws to fight, and their bulk to bash.

Bears have a special forage command which will provide food and water from the current room.

They also get OB bonuses for being in the same room with other friendly bears (mobs or players): 1 bear +3ob, 2 bears +5ob, 3+ bear +6ob. This however only applies for other bears that are either higher level than the player's character and/or which are legend level.

External Information

How bears roar. An advanced guide by Fayth the Bear