Bear Tamer

*"Me and Bruno, we like brothers… share same food, share same bed… what so funny, eh, Empire-man?"*

## Basic

(RotIQ) The bear is sacred in Kislev. It features in the myths and legends of both tribes and is venerated by the powerful Cult of Ursun. Bears are perceived as living embodiments of the land’s enduring might and strength, and the struggles all Kislevites must endure. Therefore, boyars often recruit bear tamers to support their armed forces, keeping bears as inspiring mascots and sometimes for use in war. As Kislevites gather in great numbers to see bears, bear trainers are also common in Kislev’s famous circuses and on the streets during festival time, where they dance or show-wrestle for coin.

If you are rolling randomly for your starting career and are not rolling a Kislevite, you can substitute bear tamer for entertainer with your GM’s permission.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Animal Care (Int), Animal Training (Fel), Charm Animal (Fel), Consume Alcohol (T) or Gossip (Fel), Perception (Int) or Performer (any one) (Fel), Speak Language (Kislevarin) (Int)

**Talents:** Coolheaded or Very Strong, Lightning Reflexes or Public Speaking, Very Resilient or Wrestling

**Trappings:** Bear tamers find that a bit of armour goes a long way towards deflecting the claws of an unruly or grouchy bear and so most wear at least leather jacks. As well, every bear tamer needs a collar and chain for his beast, and a whip or goad can’t hurt. A starting bear tamer must also have a bear, which he can train over the course of his career.

### **Career Entries**

Entertainer, Initiate of Ursun, Priest of Ursun

### **Career Exits**

Animal Trainer, Entertainer, Initiate of Ursun, Pit Fighter, Soldier

## Taming Ursun’s Children

As a mark of respect to Ursun, Kislevite bear tamers prefer their bears companions to retain a spark of wildness, so they use bears captured in the wild rather than those bred in captivity.

The hunt for young bears begins in spring, when the cubs born at the end of winter emerge from their dens. The bear tamer joins the hunt, along with a priest of Ursun to bless the hunters. A mother bear is highly protective of her young, but killing her is prohibited, so cunning is employed to snatch a cub. Dozens of hunters perish each year, although there are many volunteers; it is a great honour to join a successful hunt.

While the hunters stalk their prey, the priest leaves offerings of food at the den to recompense the mother for her loss. In his prayers, he promises that her cub will be treated as a prince in its new life among humans.

A bear tamer regards a captured cub as his child. It undergoes a naming ceremony at a temple of Ursun, and will feed from the family table. When the bear grows to maturity, it is housed in a cage outside, decorated with household trappings to make it feel at home. The bear will be taught to dance or play-wrestle, skills that will attract crowds at fairs and festivals. Popular bears can become celebrities, and can earn their tamers a small fortune.

Although the bond between a tamer and his bear is strong, many a tamer has been killed by an over-exuberant display of affection. A killer bear is held in awe, its aggression seen as a gift from Ursun, and it is transferred to the bear-pit of the god’s temple. When a bear becomes too old to perform, its sorrowful trainer takes it to a priest of Ursun for slaughter. The bear’s flesh is consumed at a farewell meal, and its skin used for the family’s clothing. What cannot be eaten is burnt at Ursun’s altar, so that the bear’s spirit can rejoin its father.

## Warbears of Kislev

Many bear tamers are associated with a temple of Ursun, where they look after those bears consigned to the temple bear-pits on account of their size and ferocity.

The bears’ aggressiveness is encouraged, although priests of Ursun and bear-tamers can walk among them unharmed. To give them a taste for human blood, criminals are sentenced to be dropped into the bear-pits, and the ensuing carnage draws large crowds.

In times of war, to demonstrate that Ursun protects Kislev, the priests drive the bears to the battlefield, and set them loose against the enemy ranks, where they cause mayhem. Bears that die in the service of Kislev are given solemn military funerals.

Sometimes high-ranking Boyars commission bear tamers to train bears as battle-mounts, the ultimate symbol of power. These tamers are among the most well-paid and well-respected.