I created a character that’s as fierce as a mama bear and twice as big. This is her story and the music that she uses for inspiration. Read below for the Inspiration Songs of my Were-Bear Barbarian GURPS Character!

Introducing Lilja Dalgaard

My name is Lilja Dalgaard. Some people call me half-fish. I was born in the north in a village called Oland. It had short harsh winters, mild summers, and long rainy seasons. I remember playing in the rain as a cub. Our village bordered a river. We had an abundance of ships and an almost endless supply of fish. My mouth waters just thinking of a great white tuna. I know that it may seem as if we just open our doors to pillaging, but what can I say we welcomed a challenge. Our village is one of were-bears. We weren’t concerned. Since we are all bears, we have a sense of community that no other Norse village could have. We belonged and were understood with more than just mere understanding but a twin-like empathy.

Family Life

They say home is where the heart is and with our village it couldn’t be truer. I lived in the longhouse with my parents and my siblings. My brother, Yorick, is just as strong as I am. We are about the same age give or take a few moon cycles.

We always got along like we were best friends. He is the darkest were bear of our family, with a pelt as dark as cold molasses. My father says that he gets the color from his father. My sister has a light tan coat just like my father. She has proven herself as a skilled archer. She is the baby of the family, for now. On my last visit home, my parents told me they are preparing for another baby. The child should be born in about four moons from now. My mother and father met during one of my father’s pillages. He went Viking and came upon her village. Their eyes met and it was love at first sight. She went with my father willingly, and they have been madly in love ever since. I and my mother share the same deep red pelt. Father says that her deep red is one of the things that he fell in love with. My mother, Ronia, and my father, Henrik, are the best that I could ever have asked Odin for.

I chose to leave my village, not because something was wrong with it, but because I wanted more. I found less and less challenges and inspirations. Freya and Thor aren’t impressed with meagre stories of an easy victory. I needed a new spark. That spark came at the ceremony of my second decade.

Celebration of my Second Decade

There were many others in the village celebrating their second decade. The whole village gathered around the fire and had a feast. We took turns telling stories while we passed around delicious food. It came time for my parent’s story of me.

Story Time: The Monster Under My Bed

When I was little, I was convinced there was a monster under my bed. I was a bit afraid, but I was mostly annoyed.

My parents went back and forth, telling the story. They finished each other’s sentences. They spoke together, with one voice. I found this fascinating. I wanted a love like that; I was convinced I would not find it here.

Anyway, my father had tried to tell me there was nothing there; he tried to scare it away. Still, I was sure it was there. My mother then came in and sat down and told me about a place to the south where girls are told they are weak and need to be protected by men. She laughed and said that we are not those women. We will be handmaidens of Freya and we can’t be afraid. They left and I was alone. Unknown to me at the time, they had stayed by my door to see what I would do. They heard me talking to the monster, telling it to get out from under my bed because it was bothering me and my brother’s sleeping. I put my hands on my hips and told it that if it didn’t stop bugging us, I would turn into a bear. So, I did, I turned into a bear and growled at my bed. With the minster vanquished, I went to bed in bear form.

The circle roared with a chorus of chuckles and cuteness noises. I was a bit embarrassed but there were worse stories.

On The Way Home

While we were on our way home father handed me a leather strap. Dangling from the strap was a large cleric gobbling tooth. It was polished and tattooed with goblin magic runes. He said that when I was a wee babe, a large party of goblins raided the village. In the heat of the battle, I was separated from my mother, who was pregnant with my brother. They found me after the fight was over. I was contently sitting between corpses. holding the tooth and one of the eating knives from that night’s feast. There I was, waving them around, and occasionally sticking the dagger hilt in my mouth. He told me that this was the first of many Freya-worthy stories. From then on, I knew that I wanted to gather honour and victories. Unfortunately, I did not know where.

Starting my Adventures

I had heard of adventurers of distant lands, but I didn’t dwell on them. One day that changed. I met a traveller one day; he was in the inn of our village. We had taken a liking to him even though he was a foreigner. He told such grand stories; the entire inn was listening. I heard tales of ferocious creatures I had never encountered. I had found a spark. There was a land beyond our borders full of stories worthy of Freya and I was going to get them.

Inspiration Songs for Lilja Dalgaard, my Were-Bear Barbarian GURPS Character

There’s a long list of adventuring music that all adventurers share. There are battle songs and clerical hymns that all characters can relate to. But we’re not talking about any adventurers here. The playlist below is curated for a hardened Norse barbarian with everything to prove.

“If I had a heart” by Colm McGuinness

“Surface Pressure” By Our Last Night Originally By Jessica Darrow

“My Mother Told Me” by Peyton Parrish

“Wolf Totem” Originally by the Hu

“Carry on my Wayward Son” covered by Anthrax Originally by Kansas

“Far over the Misty Mountain Cold” by Geoff Castellucci

“The Call” Originally by Regina Spektor

Final Thoughts

What are your thoughts on these songs? Are these the songs of a Were-Bear Barbarian GURPS Character? Whose battle ballad held the most pizazz for you? Let us know in the comments below!