Since a great deal of my ramblings got lost in the recent ENWorld database crash, I had to try to recover some of my thoughts and put them down again. Maybe this post can fuel another round of interest and suggestions. I still havn't had the opportunity to play or incorporate the ideas into our game, so I can still take commentary from everyone.
Here it is... the Trefallen Clan (or possibly a name change to Clan Bunyan).
I have to recreate from memory all the little details that I lost on the ENWorld Thread, but essentially this clan of dwarves works around the wood trade. Families within the clan specialize in Woodcrafts (Wheel and Wainwrights, charcoal makers, carpentry, lumber supplies (supports for mines, and other mundane crafts), and in mercantile endeavors that deal in the trade of lumber & woodcraft. Some deal in secondary tree products like nuts and syrups made from tree saps. The clan is surprisingly well off, because unlike many dwarven clans, the clan deals in renewable resources that year after year are available while other clans may have most or all their resources tied up in a mine where a particular vein may run out at any time - a reason that many dwarven clans seem to disappear from time to time.
Militarily, the clan produces a number of wilderness warrior types (rangers, scouts, wilderness-rogues, etc.) and the military units are some of the most effective protectors of the dwarven lands surrounding the deeper mountain retreats. The siege engineers excel at producing traps that can reduce attackers quickly. Huge log traps roll down the mountain, and areas that are designed to hold reservoirs of rocks that produce effective landslides when the supporting structures are pulled away (think of the ewok traps in RotJ). The warriors tend to wield axes and dwarven urgoshes, but unlike typical dwarven warriors they tend to wear light armors such as leathers & padded armor to allow better movement in the mountain forests surrounding the more rooted dwarven nations.
The standard Dwarf member of the clan tends to wear close fitting leathers or other heavy clothes for protection. These are often designed with tartans patterns to differentiate the distinct families, and it is considered bad-form to wear the pattern of other families (think flannel shirts with leather or heavy denim/canvas type pants combos - the Paul Bunyan type or Canadian lumberjack style). Unlike most dwarves who pride their beards so much, the members often keep their beards short, often having only rough stubble type beards - more of a safety precaution (when dealing with the saws & woodworking tools) that has become standard fare of the clan members. The clan heraldic device would incorporate an Axe and a Saw (or maybe a tree figure).
Clan members are quite loyal and tend to be very honest when dealing with either dwarves (keeping a LG, NG or LN alignment typically - usually LN). Their ability to deal with other races including elvenkind has proved to be a boon for their wealth as they will trade more readily than their more anti-social brethren.
The clan houses are large lodge style structures high in the mountains with heavy wood & stone structures (think old-fashioned ski resorts or hunting lodges). The structures are well defended, and some of the clan are mounted on Griffons as aerial defenders.
Although they generally get along with other races including the elvish, the clan is definitely not the tree hugging nature types. Their interest in nature and the wilderness is decidedly merchantile. Even when their is a druid amongst the clan, the druid is not very interested in the balance of things, he is most likely just persuing a vocation that grants the most advantage in the regions of interest. Generally, these dwarves don't give a rat's a$$ about conservation. They see the forests as a source of income that keeps growing back (from the longer dwarven life point of view). They enjoy the forested mountains but are often at odds with the conservation-minded folk. These dwarves think nothing about logging areas almost clean or building long log chutes, or jamming the rivers & streams with masses of logs.
