Main Character Profile: "Balder"

Physical -

• 30 years old
• Aryan viking = long-ish Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin
• Tall, muscly, strong, broad build
• Looks something in between Alexander Skarsgard (Viking/Vampire Eric Northman from "True Blood"), Karl Urban (Viking in "Pathfinder") and Jack Huston (Viking in "Outlander")
• Handsome = was the god of beauty
• Maybe has a beard?
• Has a cool scar from where the mistletoe had pierced him

Personality -

• Has an invincibility complex (due to the fact that he had once been an invincible god and has returned to Midgard as a mortal being)
• This also makes him careless and reckless
• His frustrations make him have anger outbursts (has some kind of anger management issue, but this can be used for good in combat)
• Loves the old Norse ways and the ways of the Vikings during the Viking era - makes him very closed minded and opinionated about anything different.
• Doesn't want to accept change
• Starts off unsympathetic
• He is charismatic

History -

• Norse Æsir god
• Son of Odin the "All-father" and Frigg
• Was the god of beauty
• Was the most loved of all Norse gods
• Had a prophesy that he was going to die. As a result, his mother Frigg went around the world and made every being, plant, animal, inanimate object etc swear that they wouldn't harm her son
• No oath was gotten from the mistletoe plant as it was seen as completely harmless.
• In Asgard, the gods would play a game of throwing things at Balder because nothing could kill him. Only his blind brother Hod didn't play. Loki tricked his brother into throwing mistletoe at Balder during one of these games and the Mistletoe pierced Balder and killed him.
• Hel agreed to release Balder from the underworld if every single thing on earth shed at least one tear for him, but one giantess (some say it was Loki in disguise) refused so Balder was trapped.
• Is reborn at the end of Ragnarök to herald a new age, but is reborn as a mortal, not the invincible god that he had once been, but has some special abilities.

Motives -

• Returns to a destroyed Scandinavia as a mortal. Main goal is to find the sacred Mjollnir which is the only artifact that can raise up the other old Norse gods.
• Wants to resurrect the other gods in an attempt to recreate the Viking world in its prime
• Also doesn't like being a mortal and knows that his father and mother, if resurrected, will be able to restore him to his status of god
• Later on he wants to help the race in North America to stand up against their enemies and wants to create a better world and life for them.
• He wants to make their difficult lives easier in any way possible and wants to strengthen them as a colony by pushing things like building and training an army, rebuilding houses, building machines to help with daily lives, building a better transport system for them etc.
• When the Mjollnir has been stolen by their enemies, he aims to steal it back and to overthrow the evil leader of the enemy
• At the end of the game his motives are compromised when he gets the choice of returning with his god pals to Asgard or to stay on Midgard as a mortal with the woman he loves.

Special Abilities -

• Is now mortal but some of his godly strengths and attributes have left a bit of a mark
• Charismatic/persuasion
• Has some acute senses - sight - very good at tracking
• Has super-human strength, especially when he gets his rage on
• Mistletoe is his kryptonite - it drains his power very quickly

Weapons -

• Very traditional Viking weapons to start off with
• Viking broadsword
• Hunting knife
• Shield
• Viking armour (metal, leather, chain-mail, helmet etc)
• Battle axe
• Later in Vinland he sees the effects of the Industrial revolution and creates custom viking guns, grenades, canons etc

Relationships -

> The People

• Isn't very empathetic to start off with because he is only really interested in achieving his goal
• As an ex-god he finds it hard to relate to mortals in the beginning
• Finds them infuriating a lot of the time. Thinks that they are pathetic for having turned so much from the old ways and for having no faith left
• Thinks that being the dominating race is their right and doesn't like the fact that they are trying to peacefully hide away in the mountains
• Comes to understand their ways, rituals, beliefs, gods etc and appreciate them
• In the end he embraces them and befriends them before taking actions to enrich their lives.

> Ingrid

• In the end their stubborn close-minded nature makes them clash a bit
• Her lack of information about the Mjollnir and unwillingness to discuss much of the old Norse ways frustrates him
• She seems to just be letting her people be terrorised, seems to be weak and this angers Balder as well
• However, he will see her softer side and will fall in love with her when he realises why she is doing what she is doing - her past, her parents, her secret project etc.
• She eventually teaches him about their Native American ways and he begins to appreciate it and respect it.
• After that he wants to protect her and her people and slowly becomes more and more a part of their society.
• He falls in love with her but is torn between his old motives of wanting to become a god again and the new option he has of staying with her and the people in Midgard as a mortal.
• The decision will be up to the player.