(This page is about the mammal. For some reason "badger" is also on the list-of-all-occupations - presumably meaning someone who made badges. If you know anything about this, feel free to create another page and/or disambiguate) Also note that there is no direct connection to the con known as a badger game
Basic Information
Badger refers to 11 species of short-legged burrowing mammals that are omnivorous. They are related to the weasel and ferret. They can be quite fierce.
In North America, Badgers have a weird mutualism relationship with coyotes. Both species have been seen attacking and sometimes even eating each other, but they have also been observed hunting cooperatively. They hunt prairie dogs and squirrels this way. Such animals are generally too fast for a badger alone, and capable of escaping into burrows where a coyote can't follow them. The two predators are still competitive, they don't share the prey once of them actually gets it's jaws on the target, but the same animals will engage in this semi-cooperative behaviour repeatedly, and as a result both seem to enjoy greater hunting success over the long term.
Being quite tough and aggressive, they are also well favoured for the sport of badger-baiting where badgers are made to fight - usually against one another or against dogs for spectacle.
In Japanese Mythology and folklore, Badgers (which are called mujina in Japan) are said to have all manner of magical powers, shapeshifting and general troublemaking.
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Game and Story Use
- That bit about badger-coyote hunting partnerships is pretty interesting. It might serve as a model for mixed "teams" of predatory animals in a fantasy setting. See Mutualism for more ideas along those lines.
- "Badgermen" are an interesting possible beastman subtype. (I think Gamma World had them.) Tough, belligerent burrowing humanoids.
- Given how fierce they can be, Badgers can be an interesting encounter for a low level party. The PCs invade a dungeon or monster lair that is also being raided by a badger (so they accidentally corner it). Could be a cute little spotlight moment for your starting Ranger or Druid.
- Giant badgers are not an impossible idea - one the size of a large dog would be a serious threat to humans, one the size of a bear a high tier predator.
- WHFRP includes halflings riding badgers … in some settings, this is done by gnomes instead.