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Tell me of your clan.

Vaslov

Explorer
I have a party about to venture across the length of the Dwarven homeland and I would like some help fleshing out various dwarven clans.

The world is homebrew. The Dwarves of this world have a reputation of being Viking like and the area of their home land happens to be a lot like Scandinavia. Dwarven culture in this world breaks up relations by clan which is a superset of their family. These clans long ago learned to stop picking on each other (mostly) and go out by sea to raid the nearby Elves and Humans.

So, tell me of your clan.
 

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Herobizkit

Adventurer
Clan Stonebreaker

The Dwarves of the Stonebreaker Clan are very animal-like, sometimes little more than beasts on the battlefield. They do more than LOVE combat; they worship it. These Dwarves do not fight with axe and shield - no, they fight with their hands and fists. And heads. And teeth. And whatever else they choose to find along the way. By duplicating the tactics of the most powerful animals, they can become animals themselves.

(If you're a strict DM, this concept of Monks probably won't work. I envision this as a Barbarian/Monk combo, but alignments forbid this from ever happening. Plain ol' Fighters, OTOH, would use their specialty feats for Improved Unarmed Combat, Improved Grapple/Trip, and the other various hand-to-hand manoeuvres.)

Their 'wise persons'/storytellers are often Barbarian/Bards or Savage Bards who participate in battle just as or even more ferverently than their warrior bretheren. It is a sight to behold when a clan of Stonebreakers barrel down upon their foes, howling and snarling like a great pack of wolves, hungry bears, or angry lions. When the pack has finished with their hunt, the bodies of the dead are dragged back home where they are offered to their Warrior Beast God by burning them in a ceremonial pyre. A great feast is held afterwards, with the most powerful opponent (judged by the Wise One) is cooked and consumed by the Dwarves to gain their opponent's strength - a sign of great respect for the fallen, at least, in the Dwarves' eyes.
 

Clan Granitemind

Originally a group of cerebral sages and mystics, the clan learned long ago that brute force was the key to success. As such, shortly after the dawn of the modern age, they Dominated a nearby group of bloodthirsty (and nearly mindless) feral barbarians. The afore mentioned barbarians are trained from birth to be unthinking, unrelenting berserkers; killing at the whim of their Granitemind masters. Outside the clan, the sages are referred to as Mind Thieves whereas the berserkers are referred to as Stolen Mind.

-TRRW
 

Sparafucile

First Post
Clan Levinstg "The Beardless"

These ruddy-skinned dwarves spend their time basking in the heat of the weapon forges. Expert craftmen, they hone their axes and spears to razor sharpness, weaving intricate runes of battle and glory into the metal. They are completely hairless and darker skinned, and have legends speaking of their uncharictaristic appearance. Their clan's founder, ages ago, was bathed in flaming magma, receiving the blessing of master craftsmanship from the natural forges of mother earth's ancient core. Even in the cruelest winter, Levinstag dwarves sweat, as if heated by some inner fire.

At puberty, Levinstag dwarves perform a ritual scarring to their faces and chest, to simulate their patriarch's immolation. Their first masterwork weapon is made upon reaching full manhood, and if this weapon does not pass three tests of Strength (durability, balance, and sharpness), the dwarf is disgraced and outcast from the clan, given a surname based on their failure (Harak Brittleshield, Durvin Weakaxe, etc). In battle, Levinstag dwarves often bear heirlooms of great power, weapons bearing magical runes passed down for generations. To the clan, these weapons are worth more than the lives of the weilder, and new "blood feud" campaigns are often mounted against enemies who have taken them from the field of battle.
 

smootrk

First Post
This is the clan for Paul Grunyon, my Dwarven Lumberjack character (ftr/rgr axe specialist)

Clan Trefallen:
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 Trefallen 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 clan Trefallen tends to wear close fitting leathers or other heavy clothes for protection. These are often designed with tartan patterns to differentiate the distinct families, and it is considered bad-form to wear the patterns 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 Trefallen 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 mercantile. Even when there is a druid amongst the clan, the druid is not very interested in the balance of things, he is most likely just pursuing 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.
 
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Rechan

Adventurer
Clan Stoutheart

The opposite of the Stonebreaker clan, the Stoutheart are noble in baring. There is respect, reservation and tradition in every action, even to grave enemies. They are slow to act, but when they do it is with the solidarity of a mountain.

To the stoutheart, everything is a ritual venerating their god, reserving tradition, deserving precision. This includes combat: before the Stoutheart engage in war, they go about anointing their weapons, drinking the potent berzerker spirits brewed by their clerics, and blow a horn of challenge, alerting any of their intent.
 

Teflon Billy

Explorer
Clan Anvilcaster

Clan Anvilcaster is pretty much the "Boy's Town" of the Dwarven Clan structure.

When Oathbreakers, Thieves and Layabouts are exiled from their respective clan, those with a shred of honor remaining are sent to Dellin's Forge, seat of Dellin Anvilcaster (a Dwarven Paladin of some renown for both his skill in battle and his compassion for the downtrodden.

After a fairly exhausting interview involving use of Detect Evil, a Helm of Telepathy and a series of trick questions, exiles whom Dellin believes can be rehabilitated are invited into this brotherhood of outcasts for a period of one year.

After a year of good deeds, hard work and self-examination they meet again with the clan head. Those who pass their interview (and the only criteria are the Clan Jarl's own judgement) are brought into the clan fully, given Anvilcaster Heraldry and set about the tasks for which the clan determines they are best suited.

The clan's warrens are unspectacular given that, by and large, successful dwarven artisans are not as a rule the "Gypises, Tramps and Thieves" from which Clan Anvilcaster draws it's membership.

The Clan's greatest strengths lie in the diverse skillset that the outcasts bring to the table. No Dwarven clan sports as many Rogues, Sorcerors, Wizards or Clerics (of non-dwarven faiths) than Anvilcaster, and their leader's ability to Marshall extremely unorthodox and Task-Specific troops in times of war has heaped glory on the clan.

Dellin's Forge is ruled by a Council of 21 (including , and chosen by, Dellin himself) who vote on most issues to a simple mjority. Dellin chairs the councils and his vote serves only as a tiebreaker.

The Arms of Clan Anvilcaster are a golden Anvil on a Red and Greay Checked background.
 


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