History Main / MamaBear

* Persephone's mother Demeter, goddess of the harvest, refuses to allow any growth of crops until her daughter is returned to her from the Underworld, resulting in many mortal deaths. Made more interesting in that Persephone's kidnapper/husband is also her uncle, Demeter's younger brother Hades, and that in several versions Persephone was ''not'' kidnapped, but actually ''eloped'' with him to put herself beyond [[MyBelovedSmother her mom's reach]].

* Durga from Myth/HinduMythology. She is a nurturing mother goddess, but she is also a ''very'' [[ActionMom powerful warrior]]. As TheBerserker Kali, she takes this to a dangerous extreme.
* Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire. According to legend, she regards all the volcanic rocks on the shores of the Big Island to be her children, and will inflict a horrible curse on any tourist who dares to take one of the rocks home with them as a souvenir.
* In [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2 Samuel 17:8]], when Ahithophel plans to attack King David, Hushai warns against it, noting that David and his mighty men will turn fierce like a bear robbed of her cubs.
** According to [[Literature/BookOfProverbs Proverbs 17:12]], it is "better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly." [N.I.V.]
** A literal example occurs in 2 Kings 2:23-24, as the prophet Elisha is going from Jericho to Bethel after Elijah ascends to heaven in a fiery chariot, some young men mock him for his baldness and tell him to go up; Elisha calls for a curse, and two female bears attack forty-two of the youths immediately afterwards.
** Since Proverbs was written during the reign of King Solomon, and the 2 Kings example occurred some time after Solomon's era during the reigns of King Jehoram of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, these examples are OlderThanDirt.
** In [[Literature/BookOfHosea Hosea 13:8]], God plans to meet the proud-hearted with the fury of a bear robbed of her cubs, tearing their rib cages open and devouring them like a lion.

Like many other mammals depicted throughout history as predators, bears are actually passive animals, and won't attack humans unless provoked. Despite this, if you even ''think'' about getting [[CubCuesProtectiveParent between a mother bear and her cub]] [[BearsAreBadNews she'll tear straight through you]]. Threaten her [[{{Protectorate}} children]], and you are in for a world of hurt. Righteous awesomeness(and ''pain'') will ensue, and the heroine reclaims her child with a tearful embrace.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Bestiary'', a sidebar makes it very clear why you shouldn't get between a mother animal and her young.

* Midkemia Press's supplement ''TabletopGames/HeartOfTheSunkenLands''. If two of the monsters known as Purples are encountered, they will be a mated pair. One quarter of mated pairs will have a cub with them. If so, each Purple will make attacks at +4 "to hit" while the cub is present.

* MamaBear/WebOriginal

Like many other mammals depicted throughout history as predators, bears are actually passive animals, and won't attack humans unless provoked. Despite this, if you even ''think'' about getting [[CubCuesProtectiveParent between a mother bear and her cub]] [[BearsAreBadNews she'll tear straight through you]]. Threaten her [[{{Protectorate}} children]], and you are in for a world of hurt. Righteous awesomeness will ensue, and the heroine reclaims her child with a tearful embrace.

* "Harper Valley PTA," a 1968 country song sung by Jeannie C. Riley, tells the story of Mrs. Johnson, a young widow living in the sleepy little town of Harper Valley with her teenage daughter (named "Dee" in the movie based on the song). One day, Dee comes home from school with a note from the PTA addressed to her mother, in which the members lecture Mrs. Johnson about how her outlandish behavior, such as drinking in public, dating multiple men, and (GASP!) wearing mini-skirts is setting a bad example for her daughter. In response, an unamused Mrs. Johnson attends the next PTA meeting [[RefugeInAudacity (while wearing a mini-skirt)]] and proceeds to air each member's dirty laundry, exposing them as {{Hypocrite}}s who are in ''no'' position to judge her abilities as a parent. The song ends with the narrator revealing herself to be Dee, who describes the event as "the day my momma socked it to the [[TitleDrop Harper Valley PTA]]."

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Valaya is the dwarf ancestor goddess of hearth and home, healing, and brewing. It's a [[TheCommandment tenet of her faith]] to tend to the needs of the young, and Valaya herself wields a legendary runic axe for [[BewareTheNiceOnes those occasions]] when her more peaceful arts are under threat.

* ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'' has the Mother archetype. High-level Avatars of the Mother get huge bonuses in combat when they're either defending a child, or pregnant. The phrase "mama bear" even shows up in the rulebook description of their second Avatar channel.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' invokes this with the "Mommy" card. When someone is in combat with a weaker monster or one that's been turned into a Baby, you can play this card to summon the monster's mother, who is ten levels higher. And woe is you if the Baby + Mommy combo is applied on a Lv. 20 Plutonium Dragon...

*** ''Magazine/{{Dungeon}}'' magazine #18 adventure "Crocodile Tears". A female wana (50 foot long crocodile) has buried its eggs underground and is resting nearby. If the {{PC}}s try to dig up the eggs, she will attack them with great ferocity.
*** ''Magazine/{{Dungeon}}'' magazine #28 adventure "Pipes of Doom". The PlayerCharacters may encounter a family group of werewolves. If the {{PC}}s attack any of the young werewolves, their mother will attack the {{PC}}s at +3 to hit and do maximum damage for each attack.
*** ''Magazine/{{Dungeon}}'' magazine #38 adventure "Things That Go Bump in the Night". The firbolg giantess Lieulg is very protective of her twin sons. If the {{PC}}s attack her sons in front of her, she will become enraged and attack them with a +2 bonus on her "to hit" and damage rolls.

* Creator/{{Chaosium}}'s generic RPG supplement ''All the Worlds' Monsters''
** Female bears and tigers: if cubs are attacked, they fight at +2 to hit.
** Elder Daughters of Kali do double damage to anyone attacking her children.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' Organization Book ''The Circle and M.E.T.E.'', adventure "The Hatching". The M.E.T.E. (Metropolitan Extra Terrestrial Enclave) receives a large spherical object (called Case 39) that was found in a national park. The object eventually hatches out an alien BlobMonster which goes on a rampage. Three months later the alien's mother shows up and tries to rescue its child, and heaven help any superhero who gets in its way.

* ''Encounter Critical'' supplement ''Asteroid 1618''. Inside the Vanishing Pyramid, the {{PC}}s can find eggsacs laid by a GiantSpider. If an eggsac is broken open (from prodding or gunfire) 1-20 baby spiders will emerge and attack the {{PC}}s. If {{PC}}s kill any of them, the mother spider will smell the babies' blood on the {{PC}}s, track them down relentlessly and ferociously attack them, doing double damage.
* ''TabletopGame/HollowEarthExpedition'' main rules sample adventure. When the {{PC}}s first arrive in the Hollow Earth they will encounter a herd of triceratops, including a mother and her child. If the {{PC}}s get too close, the mother will charge them, and if they attack the child, she will become enraged.
* [[http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Aletha_Kabrinski Khan Aletha Kabrinski]] of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Clan]] Ghost Bear in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' demonstrated her Mama Bear credentials when Clan Blood Spirit dared to attack an unarmed Ghost Bear ship full of retreating civilians, killing thousands while they were helpless in the ship. An enraged Kabrinski ordered ''every single vessel she had'' to attack the enemy flagship, including her own warship, regardless of the risk. Kabrinski and her Ghost Bears then tore the Blood Spirit's 810,000-ton heavy battlecruiser to pieces within ''minutes.'' Then there was the time that [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] threatened Ghost Bear holdings, suicide-bombed their previous Khan, and attacked civilians with NBC weapons. Kabrinski led Ghost Bear forces to personally grind anything and everything between her and the Word of Blake into paste--even Draconis Combine forces who were also fighting the Blakists were trampled underfoot by a wave of angry Ghost Bears led by the de-facto Mama Ghost Bear.

* ''SmashUp'': One of the factions introduced in the ''What Were We Thinking?'' expansion pack is the Grannies. It has an action card called "Get Away From My Babies!", which protects all of the player's minions from other player's cards. The art on the card features an elderly lady fearlessly beating away a werewolf with her HandbagOfHurt.
* Midkemia Press's supplement ''TabletopGames/HeartOfTheSunkenLands''. If two of the monsters known as Purples are encountered, they will be a mated pair. One quarter of mated pairs will have a cub with them. If so, each Purple will make attacks at +4 "to hit" while the cub is present.

-->-- '''Emily''', ''Series/Revenge2011''

* Primordial Greek goddess of darkness Nyx, according to Homer, to the extent that Zeus was afraid of incurring her wrath by harming her son, Hypnos.

-->-- '''Emily''', ''Series/{{Revenge}}''

* In 2 Samuel 17:8, when Ahithophel plans to attack King David, Hushai warns against it, noting that David and his mighty men will turn fierce like a bear robbed of her cubs.
** According to [[Literature/TheBible Proverbs 17:12]], it is "better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly." [N.I.V.]

** In Hosea 13:8, God plans to meet the proud-hearted with the fury of a bear robbed of her cubs, tearing their rib cages open and devouring them like a lion.

** The 3rd Edition Splat book ''Tyrants of the Nine Hells'' gives a strange example; [[HornyDevils erinyes and their evolved form, brachina]], the only devils who can bear children (other than unique female devils) are said to be ''fiercely'' protective of their offspring, raising them in hidden and well-guarded enclaves in parts of Hell that are the most hostile to beings other than devils.