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Gjallarhorn


The Gjallarhorns are proud, dedicated and pragmatic. They are protectors born and raised, they are ready to go any length to shield their companions, guiding them to fight as a single, cohesive force.   While they carry weapons clothes and armors of vastly superior quality to the Thunor's Eye, the Gjallarhorns tend to favor dark and simple design over lavish and shiny ones.   In everyday life and on the battlefield, a Gjallarhorn favor actions over words. While every Gjallarhorn desires to show her valor in a raid, they are all dedicated to protecting their homeland first.   A true Gjallarhorn is always ready to abandon any task to rush back and defend the homeland when it’s in peril.   Blood of the First Finnar King The Gjallarhorn clan, formed by the descendants of the first Finnar King, rules uncontested upon the peninsula and islands of Frostwater Lake. Despite the constant threat of an invasion, the "kingdom" of Jutland is, probably, the richest and most stable of the Unclaimed Land. Because of this, the royal family is very much loved by both the nobles and the population. This state of “peace” was born from many years of a bloody and brutal war that drove the opponents of the royal family almost to extinction.
The cheerful and kind ways, typical of the Gjallarhorn clan, are misleading. A visitor should not think that the clan lacks resolve, the royal family is ready to use the iron first when needed.   Defenders of the Northern Lands The ruling family didn’t become legend just because of its strength and wealth, it also built the Danevirke, a great and ingenious fortification system that stretches across the entire peninsula, protecting it and its capital Siste Festning from the assaults from the nearby Finnar clans, Saxa and the Anari from the Kingdoms of Shattered Moor and Seithrby   Legend says that it was the first queen herself that ordered the construction of this great fortification. To honor her memory, a force of Gjallarhorn’s shield maidens has always been deployed on the border to 'man' the fortification, all of them considered worthy descendants of the great heroine of ancient times.   The clan itself is named after the gigantic horn that sits in the capital. If the Danevirke should fall, a system of lighthouses across the peninsula would immediately alert the capital and the great horn will be heard loud and clear.   According to legend, the horn was sounded once and it’s so powerful that it can be heard in all of Rassilon.   The Gjallahorns, are more traditional than most of the other clans and then to pay more respect to the gods. According to legend, the clan descends from the god Rigr, The Vigilant Guard and took the name of his warhorn.   This belief gives their chosen task a divine aura, they protect the North as Rigr, The Vigilant Guard protects them.   Rich and Humble Besides the political stability and more fertile lands, compared to other regions of the North, the main source of wealth of the inhabitants of Jutland are the raids. The peninsula is perfect to send ships against the populations around the coasts of the Frostwater lake and the White Lake and the lands to the east inhabited by the Saxa and Anari.

Almost every important village of Jutland has stone buildings and the quality of life is far higher than the rest of the North. In spite of all this prosperity, the nobles of Jutland tend not to boast their wealth, especially compared to the Thunor's Eye Clan.   Ever since Hellfrost hit Jutland the situation has changed dramatically and most of the population wouldn’t have survived the first years without the help of the royal family and the great stashes of supplies.   The Queen of Legends During the last year, a great tragedy stroke the royal family: a furious sea storm destroyed the ship of King Horik Gottfredson, killing the King and his firstborn Erik Barn (“the Child”), while they were sailing toward HeillHofn to meet their ally Asbjørn the Red.   Apparently, nobody survived the shipwreck. The population feared a time of political turmoil would follow because the only living descendant was the king’s daughter, princess Thorunn. The young princess didn’t give up, showing to be a true Gjallahorn, she summoned her faithful men and women and, in a single night, eliminated all the nobles and leaders that conspired against her.   After this show of strength, it was simple to convince all the remaining sages to crown her Queen. She took a second name in honor of her late father becoming Queen Thorunn Horikdottir. After establishing her power, the Queen took up sword and shield and marched to Danevirke with her elite guard, fighting on the forefront against the invasion from the Saxa kingdom of Seithrby.   Covered in the blood of the enemies and surrounded by the superb warriors of the elite guard, the Queen demonstrated her great skills as a leader, earning her spot in legends and tales. It didn’t take long for the Skalds to start comparing Thorunn with the first queen of legends, she who started the construction of the Danevirke   Today, the people of Jutland, see Thorunn, their warrior queen, as a great omen and the incarnation of the faith and hopes of her Clan.
While the Queen keeps strict control over Jutland, she knows that tradition is against her and the court nobles, who never fully supported her, push so that she finds a husband worthy of the crown. Thorunn isn’t happy with this perspective, but she also knows that an alliance might help the Jutland rise again.   Beyond the Danevirke It’s not just the dreadful weather that bothers the Gjallahorns. While the attacks from Seithrby suddenly stopped, those few spies that returned from the enemy lands have gone mad. They keep blathering about a terrible disease, green lights and a terror that will soon arrive from the South.   Thorunn made sure that these men could find an honorable death and that their ravings didn’t circulate among the people.   The Queen doesn’t have resources to spare to discover what is really happening beyond the Danevirke, right now the only course of action is to keep the realm stable and survive the Great Winter. In spite of these precautions, the rumors have spread among the commoners fueling the collective hysteria. Thorunn will soon be forced to take action.

Relationships with Other Clans

  The Bear Clan
It’s rare to find any barbarian from the mountain in the Jutland, but not completely unheard of. Many inhabitants of the far North are skilled sailors, who dedicated their life to raiding and were “adopted” by a warlord of Jutland. The tales of the Skalds made these mighty warriors famous. A Bear Warrior will always be welcomed with kind awe and amazement by the people of these regions, who consider him a legendary warrior.     Arctic Crows
The Queen has conflicting opinions about the Icy Crows in her territory. On the one hand, they are very useful to help those in need and investigate the strange events of the last year.   On the other, they are a danger to the kingdom’s stability.   The Queen is perceptive enough to know that, behind their shows of goodwill, the Crows have a precise design and that myths and superstitions are much more effective than a sword to control her people. So, the Queen harbors some well-grounded suspicions about the Icy Crows. She won’t trust them fully until they show their real goals. Until then, Thorunn would much prefer to hang them, but she can’t risk creating some martyrs and keep with the tradition that the royal family has never allowed any kind of political interference.   Jötunn Sons
For the people of Jutland the existence of the outcasts’ clan is almost a myth. While Thorunn is a very “progressive” ruler, she will never be able to forge a true alliance with the Jötunn Sons, because her subjects are still very devout to tradition. This doesn’t mean that Queen cannot find a use for the Jötunn Sons and their unique abilities: the outcasts might take care of some delicate matters, like eliminating those few nobles that she doesn’t trust fully, yet.   Thunor's Eye
The Gjallahorns don’t know about the recent changes at the hall of King Asbjørn and, despite this lack of communication, believe that the Thunor's Eye will heed their call. The population – unaware of the recent marriage of King Asbjørn – hopes that the two clans might unite through the marriage between their heroic monarchs: King Asbjørn and Queen Thorunn. Due to the situation getting worse and worse, it’s probable that the Queen will soon send a delegation to ask the Thunor's Eye for help, crossing the islands of Jutland and the region of Svitjod.   Wolves of the Shadow
The Gjallarhorn clan never had any direct relationship with the forest clan. Some Wolves fought alongside the Gjallahorns during raids, but the differences between the Clans and the alliance with the Thunor's Eye Clan put a stop to any possible treaty.   Still, the Gjallahorns deeply respect the Wolves because of the prowess of their warriors. The current Queen is less traditionalist and might be incredibly grateful to the Wolves if they provide her the help she so desperately needs. She might even change her allegiance, although she has only heard rumors about what is happening oversea.

Traits

  All Finnar can choose between the Standard Human Traits and the ones corresponding to their Clan.   Ability Score Increase
Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.   Age
Gjallahorns mature at the same rate as the rest of the humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.   Size
Between 5'6" and 6'6" feet tall and weigh between 150 and 250 pounds. Your size is Medium.   Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.   Shield Defense
You can equip your shield as a bonus action if you have already used your free action. You can activate Shield Defense as an Action. Until you come out of Shield defense, you gain a +4 bonus to AC, and you have advantage on Strength and Constitution saving and contested throws. While in your Shield Defense, your speed is 0 and can’t increase, you have disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. You can still take reactions and bonus actions but you can't take actions while in Shield Defense. You need an action or a bonus action to come out of Shield Defense.   Martial Training
You are proficient with shields, two martial weapons of your choice and with light and medium armor.   Saving Face
Gjallahorns are careful not to show weakness in front of their allies, for fear of losing status. If you miss with an attack roll or fail an ability check or a saving throw, you can gain a bonus to the roll equal to the number of allies you can see within 30 feet of you (maximum bonus of +5). Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.   Languages
You can speak, read, and write Common and any other language of your choice

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