Clans of the Red

There's something comforting about Dwarf culture to those of us raised in the Midwest. The Sons of Moria pancake (or lutefisk) feeds, the charity drives for appropriate-sized clothing for metahuman orphans, the curling leagues (what IS it with midwestern Dwarves and curling?) and the sort of charming mish-mash of northern European cultures and myth that make up the classic 'Dwarf' identity up here. Not as threatening as Orks, as exclusionary as Elves, or as exhausting as Trolls. Respectable. Reliable.

And then there's these guys.

So, the thing is this: Elves came pre-loaded with a language and a culture (from WHERE is a question that still puzzles you, me and a whole field full of experts) and Orks got handed one in Big D's will, which left Trolls and Dwarves kind of flailing around in the dark. In this region, a lot of the Trolls have taken up the whole "Viking" thing and Dwarves usually forgo having a distinct culture in favor of just Being Good At Stuff. But for some guys that's not enough and the Clans of the Red fall into that category.

Springing from the intersection of Dwarves in the Craftpunk militias and the more Out There fringes of the Sons of Moria, the Clans of the Red claim to be 'Forging the Dwarven Way', which seems to be a weird stew of Tolkien-esque (some even use Khazdul for ritual purposes, although some can't stand this), bodybuilding culture, a buffet of global warrior codes from Chivalry to Bushido, Asatru and a disturbing variety of bizarre pseudo-scientific notions (the most common concerning Dwarves as the original rulers of Eurasia, with a lost capital, usually somewhere in the Ural Mountains) married to extreme fantasies of Dwarven nationhood. Needless to say, a lot of these guys were heavily involved in the North Star's branch of the New Revolution back in the 60's.

Most members of the 'Clans' are part-timers, training with ancient weapons with the Clan and going on weekend hunting trips up north. A lot of these guys were recruited online on the World of Neil's 'Barsaive' Server. It gives them an identity and is a good excuse to work out and play with axes. But there is a hard core of Clan Warriors who live the life. This inner group is more like a militia or gang than a fraternal organization like the Sons of Moria. Some of them take Khuzdul names. They run salvage operations and do the occasional bit of strong arm work for extra money. They buy and restore military grade hardware and are heavily involved in the underground politics of secessionist movements. They feud with other, similar, groups, including a famous long-standing feud with the primarily Trollish Heathens go-gang and at least one of them I've talked to claims to have a collection of 'round ears' from fights with theJacks in the wilds.

As a Policlub, they tend to side with anyone backing regional independence, with a less-than-secret agenda of establishing some kind of Dwarven Homeland, somewhere, somehow. In the past this has meant the North Star, but they're also willing to work with the Separatist faction of the Nonpartisan League, although the NPL is really reluctant to side with any current or former North Star allies and for good reason.

Never underestimate a Dwarf. But never underestimate the crazy of the Clans of the Red, either.

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