The Bear Clan

(Birnir Rekkar)

Berserkers. Bear-men. Savages. There are a number of epithets to define the folks from the Grey mountains and they all describe their lifestyle pretty accurately. The Bear Warriors don’t talk much. They are practical, spontaneous and tend to solve every problem with brute strength. Almost nobody can stop them once they commit.
A true Bear Warrior will never pass a chance to show his or her strength and will always be at the forefront against any opponent. The Bears tend to wear heavy furs – usually bears’ or from other mountain animals – and wield heavy weapons to maximize their strength advantage with devastating effects. Those who are skilled in magic wears totems upon totems, made of bone, wood or any other material available at the top of their mountains.
An ancient motto of the lands of the North says: “It’s not important to be friend with a Bear, what’s important is that the Bear is on your side of the shield wall”.
The King of the Mountain
The Bear Warriors are not exactly organized like other clans, but they are identified as such by the other denizens of the neighboring regions. They prefer to live in the mountains in or around the Unclaimed Lands; mainly the Grey mountains, Jotunvalk mountains, and Sigil Peaks. People of the nearby lands consider them primitive, savages, violent and with little time or interest for politics.

Like the Gjallarhorns, they have a king, a ruler over all the other clans no matter how far they live from their capital Skogahrefi.
Skogahrefi which used to be near the highest peak at the Grey Mountains recently moved to Skarstind, the highest mountain on the northern rim of Sigil Peaks
The current “King of the Mountain” is Gamallbjarki (“old little bear”) of the Snjallrson family, who has been providing kings to the Bear Clan for over a hundred years.
Strength is the only law on the mountains, and anyone can challenge the King during the Festivals to Tiw, yet despite many families trying it has always been a Snjallrson that has been able to defeat a Snjallrson for as long as anyone alive can remember.
Cold as a Glacier
The Great White Mountains are cold, inhospitable and the resources are scarce. The inhabitants struggle to survive each passing day. Over time, this extreme lifestyle transformed these people into mighty creatures with a strength vastly superior to the dwellers of the valleys. At the same time, their temper changed, the mountain-folk are cold and distant like their homeland.
Natural Raiders
Since time immemorial, the lack of natural resources has driven the mountain clans to come to the valleys during the milder seasons, when their’ not blocked by ice. Only the most ferocious and powerful warriors undertook this journey and their objective was to raid everything in their path.
After many years of conflicts, this tradition mellowed out, as the other clans started offering the Bears to participate in the spring raids. Over time, this new custom became more and more common, up to the point that no raid started without at least a couple of Bears. Eventually, they became a curiosity in the Unclaimed Lands thanks to their fame of mighty warriors.
The Priests of the Mountain
Contrary to popular opinion, the mountain dwellers aren’t just mighty warriors. every village hosts at least one priest that is skilled in the ancient rituals to commune with the spirit of the mountain and harness its power.
These seers and sorcerers are highly respected and they often clash with those Icy Crows that visit the Bears’ villages.
While the Bear Warriors are, in their own way, followers of Tiw and Thunor, they also practice many rituals to cuddle the favors of the Mountain, which they worship as a true deity (An Aspect of Ertha).
These barbaric religious practices are blasphemous in the eyes of the Crows, who do their best not to speak about them, because abusing the Bears’ hospitality might have lethal consequences.
The Curse of the Bear
Recently, the snowstorms have become more and more powerful, blocking many mountain passes, but strange rumors started to circulate between the high-altitude villages. They spoke of a terrible curse that turns warriors into bloodthirsty monsters.

Many were cast out of their villages under the suspicion that they were “cursed” and, according to other rumors, they founded their own village beyond Fjalltindr, in the uninhabited part of the mountain.
Some villages literally disappeared overnight, as if they were swallowed by the mountain itself. According to the Bears’ sages, the Mountain is angry and it lust for blood has to be satiated before Ragnarok.

Relationships with Other Clans

Gjallarhorn
These people with fancy clothes are great warriors, but none of Mountain-folk have seen one of them in a very long time. It’s possible that the Great Winter killed them all. They should have worn thicker clothes.
Arctic Crows
The Crows are considered wise and welcome. They know the tales of Tiw and the other Gods. They can figure who is right without resorting to a battleaxe.
Unfortunately, many of them are weak and haven’t survived this winter season that grows ever stronger. They died of cold or they were offered as sacrifices to quench the craving for the blood of the Mountain. Some of them decided to become a voluntary sacrifice, they climbed to the top of the Mountain to beg for an audience but never returned.
Jötunn Sons
The folks of the swamp talk too much and they words are empty. It’s better to shut their mouths before they utter a curse.
Thunor's Eye
The people of the great hall and ships were always kind to the Bears and allowed them to cross the sea. This doesn’t mean that the Bears are ready to kneel and kiss their boots or follow their orders: if the people of the great hall push their luck too far the Bear will show them the fury of the Mountain.
Wolves of the Shadow
The Wolves are trustworthy warriors, they are not as powerful as the Bears, but they show honor on the Guàrdinjandr, Chieftain of the Cursed Bears battlefield. This is the greatest praise a Bear can offer.

Bear Clan Traits

All Finnar can choose between the Standard Human Traits and the ones corresponding to their Clan.
Ability Score Increase
Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Age
While Bear Clan members could live as long as any other human, they rarely do.
Size
Bear Clan people are between 6 and 7 feet tall and weigh between 200 and 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.
Speed
Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Natural Athlete
You have skill proficiency in Athletics.
Rend! Tear!
When you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Bear's Endurance
You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Mountain Born
You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.