Most Norn can use the Bear Form skill, and will typically do so whenever challenged to a fight.
Jora, a female Norn.
The Norn are a race of shape-shifting half-giants who dwell in the Far Shiverpeaks.
Concept art depicts the Norn as stocky, muscular humanoids with thick red or blonde hair and tattoos or body paint resembling Celtic knot designs.
In the Eye of the North expansion pack, Norn appear as NPCs through much of the Far Shiverpeaks, where they guard resurrection shrines and portals. Typically, the Norn will challenge the player's party to a fight, and the Norn will only talk to them after he or she is defeated, earning the party a number of Norn reputation points. A typical Norn NPC will be defeated automatically when their health has decreased to a certain percentage. Norn guarding resurrection shrines will typically give the Norn hunting party blessing.
Prominent Norns
- Jora, the Norn hero who appears on the Eye of the North box art
- Magni the Bison
- Sif Shadowhunter
- Olaf Olafson
- Gunnar Poundfist
Norn in GW2
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The Norn are planned as a playable race in Guild Wars 2.
According to the May 2007 issue of PC Gamer the Norn will get a race-specific skill which allows them to transform into a half-bear form, increasing melee damage and Health.
External links
From official sites:
From other sites:
- IGN - Guild Wars: Eye of the North Dungeon Crawl
- IGN - screenshot of a Norn standing next to an Assassin
- Kotaku - concept art: Norn tower
Trivia
- Much of the Norn culture seem to be inspired by the Norse (this is maybe linked with the fact that they are living in the north)
- Norn are likely based on the Berserkers, Norse warriors that wore bear skins into battle. During battle, these warriors were reported to have flown into a rage (The Berserkergang) that supposedly made them very strong or almost invincible in battle, believing that they were being possessed by the animal's spirit, berserkir meaning bear-skin.
- It is also likely that they are based on Beorn, a character from J. R. R. Tolkein's book The Hobbit. Beorn was a big man who lived in peace with animals and had the ability to transform into a bear.
- Norn is also now-extinct Germanic language once spoken on the Orkney and Shetland islands off the shores of mainland Scotland.
- Many Norn names are based of Nordic names and words: Olafsson = son of Olaf, Olafsdottir = daughter of Olaf [1]
- The Norn are the sisters of fate in Norse mythology, numerous females who controlled the fate of various races.