This is an overview article which contains background information and cross-game comparisons. For game-specific information and stats, see the articles linked on the right.
Although generally found alone, yao guai exhibit a gentle, familial bond toward one another when found together, provided they do not feel threatened by the observer's presence. Yao guai will attack nearly any other animal or person they encounter, including deathclaws. However, yao guai have been known to be occasionally friendly towards bloatflies. There are tamed yao guai which can be seen following and protecting their masters in the Capital Wasteland. Yao guai are very dangerous, fast and attack quickly.
Yao guai are large, ursine animals that are descended from the bears that lived across America before the war. Due to their zombie-like appearance, yao guai may be the bear equivalent of a ghoul, however unlike human ghouls they are not sterile, as evidenced by the presence of cubs. This is further supported by Ruzka, the only yao guai in Point Lookout, who seems to be a ghoulifed pre-War circus bear judging by the ball found in her lair and the posters around the Pilgrim's Landing boardwalk.
He is the child of Fluffy, a bear that was experimented on before the Great War by Dr. Frank. He can be encountered during the Unsolved: Tracking Terror quest in the Fallout 76 add-on Wild Appalachia
In Mandarin, yāo guài (妖怪) translates as "monster" or "demon." In Chinese mythology, "yao guai" are usually physical manifestations of the spirits of mistreated animals or fallen divine animals.
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