Dire Badger, The Burrowed Fury
“Unleash the fury of the Dire Badger—this monstrous, burrowing beast will tear through anything in its path!”

The Dire Badger is a fearsome, oversized relative of the common badger, reaching up to 6 feet in length and weighing around 200 pounds. Its muscular, compact body is covered in coarse, bristled fur, which is a mix of deep browns, sooty blacks, and ash grays, with white streaks along its face and back. Its claws are long, sharp, and slightly curved, ideal for both digging and combat. The creature’s wide, flattened face is adorned with piercing, glowing amber eyes that radiate a primal intelligence. Its powerful jaws are lined with jagged teeth capable of crushing bone. Scars often mark its hide, evidence of a life filled with battles.
Behavior:
The Dire Badger is highly territorial and aggressive, attacking anything it perceives as a threat without hesitation. Solitary by nature, it prefers to operate alone, though it will fiercely protect its offspring. Known for its determination and stubbornness, a Dire Badger will fight relentlessly, even against larger and stronger opponents. When enraged, it enters a state akin to a berserker fury, becoming even more dangerous and seemingly impervious to pain. Despite its ferocity, it is a highly intelligent creature, capable of setting traps and using its environment to gain an advantage.
Habitat:
Dire Badgers are typically found in dense forests, rocky hillsides, and sprawling grasslands. They prefer areas with loose soil or soft rock, ideal for their burrowing habits. Their lairs are often complex tunnel systems, complete with multiple entrances and chambers for resting and storing food. These lairs can extend deep into the earth, providing both a safe haven and a strategic ambush point for intruders.
Modus Operandi:
Dire Badgers are ambush predators. They use their powerful forelimbs to dig silently beneath potential prey, erupting from the ground to surprise and overwhelm their targets. Their sharp senses, particularly their keen sense of smell and hearing, allow them to track prey over long distances. If stalking proves unsuccessful, they will rely on brute strength and relentless aggression to bring down their quarry. They often dig escape tunnels during combat, disappearing only to reappear in an unexpected location for another strike.
Motivation:
Survival and dominance drive the Dire Badger. It is fiercely protective of its territory and resources, viewing any intrusion as a challenge to its authority. It hunts for sustenance but also fights to maintain its status as the apex predator of its domain. While its actions may seem purely instinctual, the Dire Badger’s intelligence suggests a deep-seated need to assert control over its environment, ensuring both its survival and the perpetuation of its lineage.
Dire Badger 5e
Dire Badger Pathfinder
Dire Badger

Large Beast, Unaligned
Armor Class: 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 75 (10d10 + 20)
Speed: 40 ft., burrow 20 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 (+4) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 3 (–4) | 12 (+1) | 7 (–2) |
Saving Throws: Strength +6, Constitution +4
Skills: Perception +3, Stealth +3
Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., Tremorsense 30 ft., Passive Perception 13
Languages: —
Challenge: 3 (700 XP)
Traits
Keen Smell. The Dire Badger has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Furious Resilience. When the Dire Badger takes damage, it can use its reaction to gain resistance to all damage types except psychic until the end of its next turn.
Burrower. The Dire Badger can burrow through soil, sand, and loose earth at its full burrow speed, leaving a 5-foot-diameter tunnel in its wake. It cannot burrow through solid rock or hard-packed materials.
Burrow Ambush. If the Dire Badger uses its burrow movement to end its turn underground, it can burst from the ground on its next turn in a space within 10 feet of its original position. Creatures within 5 feet of its emergence must make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 9 (2d8) bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone.
Actions
Multiattack. The Dire Badger makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (1d10 + 4) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Rageful Dig (Recharge 5–6). The Dire Badger digs ferociously into the ground, creating a 10-foot radius of churned earth centered on itself. This area becomes difficult terrain for all creatures except the Dire Badger until cleared. Creatures within the area must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the loose soil. A restrained creature can use its action to make a DC 14 Strength check, freeing itself on a success.
Tactics
The Dire Badger employs brutal tactics, using its burrowing skills and raw power to dominate:
- Ambush Tactics: It often starts encounters with Burrow Ambush to disorient foes, aiming for clustered groups or vulnerable targets.
- Divide and Conquer: It isolates prey by creating areas of difficult terrain with Rageful Dig, focusing on restrained or prone enemies.
- Relentless Aggression: The Dire Badger attacks the weakest or most threatening targets with Multiattack, relying on its durability and Furious Resilience to absorb counterattacks.
- Tactical Escape: If overwhelmed, it uses its burrow speed to retreat, collapsing part of its tunnels behind it to hinder pursuit.
Dire Badger

A tremendous badger snarls and scrapes its wicked, shovel-like claws. Stocky muscles ripple beneath its streaked and shaggy fur.
A relentless predator, the violent and territorial dire badger hunts frequently, killing and devouring a variety of easy prey such as rabbits, deer, and occasionally livestock. These creatures are unafraid of attacking creatures larger than they are, drawing upon an almost legendary tenacity that has won them honor and respect among many races, particularly forest-dwelling gnomes.
Dire badgers reside in deep burrows and warrens dug with their monstrous claws—but unlike typical badgers, a dire badger’s claws are capable of tunneling through solid rock. Dire badgers possess little patience for disturbances or interruptions. Utterly fearless creatures, when confronted they attack brutally, and if injured, they violently erupt into a killing frenzy.
Dire badgers stand 4 feet tall at the shoulder, and weigh 500 pounds.
Dire Badger CR 2
XP 600
N Medium animal
Init +6; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +10
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 22 (3d8+9)
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +2
Defensive Abilities ferocity
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft.
Melee bite +4 (1d4+2), 2 claws +4 (1d3+2)
Special Attacks blood rage
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 15, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 9
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16 (20 vs. trip)
Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Escape Artist +6, Perception +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Escape Artist
ECOLOGY
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary, pair, or clan (3–5)
Treasure incidental
Section 15: Copyright Notice
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis, Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean, Martin Mason, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L. Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.