Family Units

Despite their dour reputation, dwarves enjoy a good celebration

elder charged with running the militia, taking their orders directly from him.

The position of clanwarden is one of great prestige within the clan. An individual has to be greatly trusted and must have proven his prowess in battle before being allowed to hold such a post. For more than one dwarf, the road to chieftain has started in the militia, with his elevation to clanwarden as his fi rst real taste of responsibility.

The Clanless

Even in such a tightly knit society as the dwarves possess, some simply cannot fi t in. Frequently, these dwarves cannot subjugate their needs as individuals to the needs of the group as a whole. Others cannot easily withstand the rigid rule of law, chafi ng under the restrictions it requires or simply choosing another way to live. Still others are thrust unceremoniously from the bosom of the clan in payment for crimes they have committed. These groups all form the lowest rung of dwarf society: the clanless.

Clanless dwarves come from all manner of backgrounds— criminals, rebels, the dispossessed, and the orphaned. They have no hall to welcome them, no patriarch to give them succor. They often live in the poorest section of the dwarf cities, often in the industrial districts near their businesses or jobs. They sometimes work as common laborers, though those with a more adventurous spirit usually head for the surface world and try to make their fortunes there. Because of the affi nity the clanless have for the adventuring life, most clanholds look upon adventuring dwarves (or those without an obvious affi liation) with suspicion. Because they are suspected to be misfi ts at best and criminals at worst, any offers of hospitality to clanless dwarves are usually made with one hand outstretched and the other resting meaningfully on the nearest weapon. No dwarf will turn away another in need, but the clanless typically receive a much shorter invitation and much less comfort than any other. Because of this treatment, some groups of clanless dwarves are rumored to have set up surface freeholds in the style of their clan cousins. Since no clan member would be invited to such a place, however, much less willingly set foot inside it, the rumors are diffi cult to substantiate.

Dwarf family life is very full, made up not only of the immediate relatives but also the extended family. Each family begins with a married couple and their children, and often encompasses grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and grandchildren. A dwarven home is considered to be the property of the couple to whom it was first granted. Those individuals are guaranteed a home for the rest of their lives. Their children are also allowed to live there as long as they wish, even after they take spouses and have children of their

Illus. by J. Nelson