The Founding of Hammerheim
On the southern corner of the realm, where Mjolnir means the sea, the Human capital of Hammerheim can be found. While it is referred to as a city, it is in reality a gathering of the four great Jarls of the Hammerlands and their peoples. Five glorious longhouses form the foundation of the city, with many, many buildings surrounding them. Each Jarl takes residence in one, with the 5th used for communal meetings.
Originally, upon the realms creation, each of the original Jarls held a fair portion of land and ruled it as they saw fit. No Jarl would interfere in another’s kingdom and peace was held. However, with the rising threat that Nidhogg posed to the people of the realm, it wasn’t long before the
children of the four Jarls agreed to merge and govern the Hammerlands together, from the mighty city of Hammerheim.
One of these families was the Ursaborn clan. They ruled the northern portion of the Hammerlands, the territory now under Nidhogg’s dominion. Of the four great Jarls, the Ursaborn where the most hesitant to agree to joint rule, for while they had already been displaced by Nidhogg and his kin, agreeing to forge this alliance would symbolise the abandonment of their ancestral lands. Yet it was their burning hatred for the dragon that finally moved them to accept the alliance. More specifically, it was the opportunity to bring the full might of Norn society to bare against their foe.
This might, however, proved lacking when faced with the cunning and brutality of Nidhogg’s brood and so did the Norn fall from grace. There have been 3 moments in Norn history in which a catastrophe felled their population to 30% of its size. This was the second of these events. And so the Norn retreated to their new home, Hammerheim, to nurse their wounds and regain their former strength.
The Present Year: 1273
In the current year of 1273, the Ursaborn Jarl is aged man name Bjorn Ursaborn. An imposing individual, Bjorn stands at a height of 6’6″ (198cm) and is a mass of muscle and dark hair. His hair is a tangled dark brown mess, pulled back into a knot and fastened with a dragons tooth. A thick, braided beard tumbles down his chin and is decorated with ornate dragon ivory beads. He wears thick leather hides and age-worn chainmail. Atop his head sits a metallic helmet, forged to incorporate many dragon fangs and claws.
Sheathed upon his back sits his great grandfathers axe, Dragonfall. An impressively ornate yet functional weapon, it’s handle is carved from the magical wood of the Hammerlands enormous hilt and the blade forged of Mjolnir’s elusive metal fragments. It is a weapon designed with the soul purpose of ending dragon kind and has been passed down through the Ursaborn for four generations.
The most notable physical feature of Bjorn however, is the lack of both his left eye and left arm. Just 14 years ago, the Norn launched a full scale attack on the fortress of Trelleborgen, Nidhogg’s stolen home. The attack ended in failure and, once again, the Norn suffered heavy casualties. It was during this attack that Nidhogg himself claimed Bjorn’s eye and would have also ended his life, had Bjorn not taken his axe to his own arm in order to escape the crushing maw of the Dreaded Wyrm.
As a ruler, Bjorn is strict and hard on those around him. He expects everyone to work to the best of their abilities and doesn’t take failure or a lack of duty well. The Ursaborn clan are famous for hold a grudge throughout generations and Bjorn is no different. If you cross him, he will not easily forgive you. Despite this gruff attitude, he does care deeply for the people of his clan. He will consider the repercussions of an order extensively before giving it.
The only exception to this is when his insatiable hatred of Nidhogg clouds his judgement. All Norn have ample reason to hate the Dragon, yet for Bjorn, the rage is a blinding wrath. He would do anything and risk anyone to have his chance to slay Nidhogg once and for all. Bjorn will always back a proposed plan to attack Nidhogg, regardless of how feasible it is or the chances of success.
Blessing of the Bear
The Ursaborn family, as you might have guessed from the name, has a strong connection to bears. In the year 402, when the realm was finally finding its footing and the various races had established their territories, the head of the freshly formed Ursaborn clan had an unexpected encounter with a most unusual bear.
While hunting in the surrounding woodlands, she came upon a starved bear. The poor creature was weak and malnourished. For whatever reason, it had suffered terrible wounds to its paws and was unable to hunt and pursue its prey. The Jarls first instinct was to draw her bow and put the poor beast out of its misery, yet when it came to releasing the arrow, she hesitated. The bear was looking at her with sorrowful eyes. She could feel the pain and fear behind them. There was intelligence there. An awareness as to what was about to happen. And so she made a different choice.
The Jarl made note of the bears location and sped off into the forest. She hunted and slew a large deer and dragged her prize back to the hungry bear. The creature was cautious but its hunger proved stronger than its fear and it began to gorge itself on the gifted meal. Over the next few days, the Jarl would hunt a meal worthy of a bear and nursed the animal back to health. On the 8th day, when the Jarl arrived with her prize, the bear was missing. She was relieved that she’s managed to save the creature yet felt a pang of sadness that their time together had been come to an end.
As she gathered her things and prepared to drag her hunt home, the sound of crashing vegetation and splintering wood broke the silence. A heavy impact knocked her off her feet and a large clawed paw pinned her down with it’s crushing weight. The bear she had nurtured back to health growled and closed in on her face with its toothy jaw. The Jarl cursed her foolishness. How could she have assumed this wild animal would see her as anything other than a meal?
With a heavily sigh she closed her eyes and braced for the end. Yet instead of excruciating pain, she felt a sudden warmth and softness. She felt strong. Stronger than she’d ever felt before. Opening her eyes she noticed she was no longer lying on the ground put stood, tall and powerful. She could feel the dirt beneath her feet sinking under her strength. Upon looking down, she saw not her own body, but that of the bear she had saved…
From this moment on, direct descendants of the Ursaborn family have had the inexplicable power to take the form of a large, brown bear. This is a power that Bjorn shares, as does his son, Bo.
Bo, Son of Bjorn
Bjorn’s wife fell in battle 16 years ago. Before her death however, the couple had a son, Bo the Brazen. Like many young Norn, Bo is eager to prove himself equal to his families deeds. He dreams of forging a legacy that will carry his name forward as an equal to the heroes of old.
This desire has made him reckless, and much to Bjorn’s disapproval, placed him in no small number of life threatening situations. He has time and again returned home from an adventure direly wounded and in need of magical healing.
Bjorn fears for his sons safety and is angry about his recklessness. In his eyes, Bo is his wife’s final gift to him and he begrudges the boy for being reckless with this ‘gift’. This has caused a divide between father and son. Bo has wrongly identified this rift as his father not thinking he’s a worthy heir and as such his desire to prove himself a man fit of legends has ever increased, which in turn grows the true problem further.
Roleplaying as Bjorn
When roleplaying Bjorn, there are a few features of his past and personality that you’ll want to keep at the front of your mind. Firstly, his hatred for Nidhogg is his primary guiding focus. Every decision he makes is done so to further the goal of slaying Nidhogg. Secondly, he holds grudges from before even his lifetime. Consider what these might be and how he’d react to being ask to look past one of these slights. Finally, he expects everyone to put their best foot forward. Plan for his reaction to failure or how he might respond to seeing someone goofing off. With these three basic rules you should have an easy enough time RPing the moment to moment conversations as Bjorn, however for a more detailed breakdown of how to roleplay Bjorn, read on!
Personality Traits:
- Bjorn does not take kindly to someone making light of a situation and is intolerant to jokes.
- He considers himself stronger in his human form than his bear form so rarely uses it.
- The grudges past down to him by his forefathers are even stronger than those against someone who wronged him directly.
Ideals:
- Action: Bjorn believes in actions over words. He’d rather prove he can do something than convince you.
- Legacy: He worries that his reckless son will die in his pursuit of glory and leave his clan as nothing more than a memory.
- History: The past has a heavy hold over Bjorn’s heart, whether it be Nidhogg’s crimes or his late wives memories.
Bonds:
- Bjorn cares deeply for his people and will consider the effect on them before issuing an order.
- He still loves his deceased wife and will not take another.
- He cares for his son and wishes the best for him.
Flaws:
- Bjorn’s hatred for Nidhogg clouds his judgement and makes him reckless.
- He refuses to accept that his injuries have weakened him.
- He disregards words as a way to solve problems and this leads to unresolved hurt feelings.
- He holds grudges from his forefathers and doesn’t even know what caused them in the first place.
Bjorn as an Ally/Retainer
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed the lore surrounding this NPC and can find a place for him in your own games! Bjorn is one of 4 rulers of Hammerheim so I hope in time to do a breakdown like this for each of them. If you like these NPC breakdowns or can think of additional information that would make them even more useful to you please leave a comment below!
As always, much of the content on these blogs is worked on during my streams at twitch.tv/skoll_thenorsewolf. Please feel free to come by and hang out. I’d love to chat with you guys!
Veneon Reforged 
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