Clans of the Dinacoli

[m0n0cular]

What are the clans of the Dinacoli?

From the Coming Storm we have the Rain Blossom, Black Fox, Emerald Sword and Vanstach.

A Glorantha Digest post from 1999 mentions these: Boarhead, Brown Boar, Donalf, Emerald Sword, Fox 
& Rain Blossom.

I'm interested to know what the clans are northwest of those listed in The Coming Storm, particularly those in the areas of Blue Boar Fort, Herongreen and Chalk Man Vale. 

[Martin]

Blue Boar Fort is the heart of the Rainblossom Clan

[m0n0cular]

Thanks Martin - I've realised that becomes clear once I cross reference the map on p58 Coming Storm with p47 Wyrms Footnotes. I wonder which clan is to the north of Aroka Lake?

[jeffjerwin]

On 4/11/2018 at 12:01 PM, m0n0cular said:

Thanks Martin - I've realised that becomes clear once I cross reference the map on p58 Coming Storm with p47 Wyrms Footnotes. I wonder which clan is to the north of Aroka Lake?

Whatever it is, it is possibly a Helering clan. The closest settlement is Herongreen. I suggest this also suggests a watery clan.

[Ian Cooper]

I don't think canon really records that much. In essence, The Coming Storm has created canon through publication here. I was aware of Rain Blossom from the Blue Boar heroquest, and included them in the write up in Dragon Pass, Land of Thunder. I'm not aware of anything in the various bits of apocrypha from Greg that otherwise name any of the clans. But otherwise you can pretty much make them up, which is what I did.

 

[David Scott]

3 hours ago, Ian Cooper said:

But otherwise you can pretty much make them up, which is what I did.

My players have always enjoyed naming clans. If we discovered that a clan was called something else, they'd say that's not what we call them. Also bear in mind that the clans aren't static, they come and go leaving a lot of room for making up your own stuff.

Edited April 15, 2018 by David Scott

[m0n0cular]

Thanks all. WF#15 gives them 7 clans. Ian - thanks for doing the groundwork and making up the first four, I'll forge on and work on the remaining three to flesh out the tribe in my campaign.

[Ian Cooper]

51 minutes ago, m0n0cular said:

Thanks all. WF#15 gives them 7 clans. Ian - thanks for doing the groundwork and making up the first four, I'll forge on and work on the remaining three to flesh out the tribe in my campaign.

Share yours, someone else might like to borrow them

[m0n0cular]

Will do. I'll be sketching out some details of the clans too, I'll share those too when I've got beginning outlines of their characteristics.

[m0n0cular]

On 4/15/2018 at 10:45 PM, Ian Cooper said:

Share yours, someone else might like to borrow them

OK, here are some initial thoughts on the other 3 clans of the Dinacoli.

Ian - one thing which really struck me about the 4 clan locations in the Coming Storm is that they leave an awful lot of Dinacoli land to be occupied by the remaining 3 clans. I've dealt with this by doing 4 things:

• Considered the Woods of the Dead to be claimed by a clan, but in reality they haven't cut a sod there since Brangbane took up residence.
• Thought a similar situation to be prevalent in the southwest lands which border the Dragonewt Wildlands. Occupation of the land there is considered valid, but it's largely hunting territory rather than occupied and cultivated land.
• Extended the Vanstach into that southwest corner, taking the reference to them as monopolising Theatre Tradethink Market in King of Sartar as my cue.
• Considered the extent of Dinacoli control in Chalk Man Vale and towards Alone to be questionable post-Righteous Wind Rebellion, and instead suggested bloody strife between tribes as control of those areas remains under dispute.

  Given those things, here's an idea of how it''s looking so far:

Donalf (Golden Plow)

The fertile lands between the Bone Hills and the Donalf Stream are home to the Donalf. Chief Vadkalarg Ruddycheeks resides at Journey's End, which got its name because many of those who first migrated here from Tarsh saw how rich the land was and decided they needed to travel no further.

Their belief proved auspicious, for only a generation later Carostar Cuts-the-land found the Golden Plow. Lodril is worshipped heavily, and the Donalf were first among the Dinacoli to recognise the Golden Spearman as Yelmalio. 

Well fed and settled, there are those who accuse the Donalfi of being slovenly and indulgent. They are certainly comfortable in their fertile lands, but the existence of Sword Hill in their land means there are many Humakti drawn from the clan, and the Bone Hills and dragonewt settlements within their lands have required significant magical resources to resolve.

Ixobri

The wealthy settlement of Herongreen is the seat of Ixobri Chief Eosardes Open-Arms, who has welcomed Lunar Imperial influence and the rule of Harvar Ironfist with alacrity. The Ixobri profit enormously from both. Herongreen's position at the junction of the Pavis Road and King's Road has seen its market increase massively and wayfarer's inns open in the land around it. Like Blue Boar Fort it is becoming a small town. The village is famed for the Heron Green Dancers, who dance on stilts.

Chalk Man Vale is a melting pot of tribes. Ixobri lands extend up its southeast flank as far as Loch Lake, with the Vantaros on the other side and the High Vale occupied by the Tovtaros. Since the Righteous Wind Rebellion the newly formed Tres have claimed part of the vale beyond the lake, a claim vigorously denied by the Ixobri. All four tribes wrestle over this area, and the disputes over its ownership become more bloody and intractable as the years move on.

Korolain

Occupying the dangerous territory between Aroka Lake and the Woods of the Dead, the Korolain are custodians of the Pavis Road between the Creek and Herongreen and defenders against the horrors of the Woods of the Dead. Though they claim the Woods of the Dead as clan lands no steads have been cut there since Brangbane's awful occupation. 

Chief Hoftar the Gruff leads this bloody clan, whose fierce countenance is conditioned by the ever present threat of Brangbane's ghouls. They are the most uncompromising of the Dinacoli, and hold to traditional Orlanthi ways in the beleaguered defence of their land. Extended families live in highly fortified stone steads, much like those in parts of the eastern Far Place. Hunting is important, for the depredations of the undead render agriculture and herding difficult. The high tariff they exact from those who seek aid through their lands helps to feed the clan.

Vanstach

Lands extend west of the Donalf stream. They have a monopoly at Theatre Tradethink Market where they trade foodstuffs, especially black-eye peas and beef from red cattle. Known for Dragon Bread which may be imbued with many qualities from the strange things which the dragonewts trade.

Other than the market there are few steads east of the Donalf Stream due to incursions of quakebeasts from the Dragonewt Wildlands.

Edited May 6, 2018 by m0n0cular

[Ian Cooper]

@m0n0cular Nice work, and I agree that the Woods of the Dead were probably formerly claimed by the Dinacoli, but since Foul King Brangbane's exile have not been occupied by 'people'. I also had not noted the KoS reference, so great work, and the Alone issue makes sense considering the clans there are very new and post-Grizzly Peak.

Maybe you should think about writing up the Clans of the Dinacoli to submit to Wyrm's Footnotes.

[m0n0cular]

@Ian Cooper Thanks for the compliments, I shall put more work into it and pull together a submission. Are you at Schloss Neuhausen in a fortnight? Would be great to discuss there if you are.

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, m0n0cular said:

Chalk Man Vale is a melting pot of tribes.

Also keep in mind that Chalk Man Vale has strong spirit connections including Chalk Man himself (from whom you can get Good Luck charms - SKoH p.74), Kolat (since Chalk Man is part of the Kolating tradition - SC p274), and probably others.  There are likely to be shamans there regularly.

There's a bit more on Chalk Man Vale in HQ1 p.148: "Chalk Man is an Earth spirit that rose up from the ground from near Donalf Flats, and left behind him the great outline still visible there where no plants ever grow."

Also SC p.275: "Chalk Man retired to an underground chamber, whose invisible entryway is someplace near where he raised himself from the ground. He now rules over the hillsides north of Donalf Flats."

[Grievous]

I have a map drawn which places a Black Fox Clan to the north of Emerald Sword, around Aroka Lake, where you have the Korolainn. Not exactly sure why I placed them there, but the Coming Storm does say that "[t]o the north of the Creek is the Fox clan of the Dinacoli tribe."

Edited May 7, 2018 by Grievous
Checked my sources

[m0n0cular]

@jajagappa The significance of Chalk Man and his importance in Kolating tradition is one of the big things which has led to Chalk Man Vale being such bitterly disputed territory. 

SC p271 tells us that Chalk Man Hill is in Tovtaros territory, which is on the northwest side of the valley above Loch Lake. The Tovtaros are in disarray following the failure of the Righteous Wind Rebellion (WF #15 p45). Just across their borders are the ascendant Vantaros, wealthy and powerful Dinacoli and new upstarts the Tres. All are vying for support from the powerful spirit of the Vale.

[m0n0cular]

2 hours ago, Grievous said:

I have a map drawn which places a Black Fox Clan to the north of Emerald Sword, around Aroka Lake, where you have the Korolainn. Not exactly sure why I placed them there, but the Coming Storm does say that "[t]o the north of the Creek is the Fox clan of the Dinacoli tribe."

I've followed the map in the Coming Storm (p58) which indicates the Black Fox are north of the Emerald Sword, but southwest of Aroka Lake. I do extend their land to the lake, where in the Coming Storm it appears to end just shy of it.

Overlaying the territory of each clan on Argan Argar Atlas hexes indicates the Black Fox are the smallest clan of the Dinacoli, though like the Rain Blossom they share no borders with other tribes.

Aroka Lake is a meeting point of 4 Dinacoli clans: Emerald Sword, Black Fox, Rain Blossom and Korolain. It has great significance in maintaining coherence of the tribe, and there is a celebration there every year. The red tinge of Aroka's blood has in recent years been seen as an auspicious sign of Lunar benevolence, and Lunar priests are now invited to the ceremony.

[Ian Cooper]

On 5/6/2018 at 8:39 PM, m0n0cular said:

@Ian Cooper Thanks for the compliments, I shall put more work into it and pull together a submission. Are you at Schloss Neuhausen in a fortnight? Would be great to discuss there if you are.

Can't make it, too many other travel commitments. I will be there later in the year.