A Little Exercise, Dwarf Style

Okay, so I'm always complaining that I don't get enough exercise.  So I decided I'd do an exercise and use the new Stonach (Dwarf) Clan Builder for Old School Hack to make up a clan.  First, my roll results:

1. “Age and Pedigree.”
First Generation, hopeful Founders, clanless community struggling with its shame. (-2)

2. “Sacred Purpose.”
Where once all below the earth bowed to the Deep Goblins, they will revere your clan instead.

3.  “Why is your Founder Famous?”
Came to an area infested with a threat, and beat it down, establishing a guard against its return.

4. “Pride” and “Shame”.
Victorious warrior tradition (+3)
Magnificent home (+3)
Lost their detailed founding records (-3)
Mercenary culture (-3)

5. “Empowered Calling.”
 Runics. Runesmiths, mystics, scholars.

7.  “Traditional Allies” and “Traditional Enemies”
Traditional Allies: Shokoro (+1)
Traditional Enemies: Elves (-1)

8. "Wealth" Hard times. Starve, sell services, or beg. (-3)

9. "Safety" Established. Able to hold territory, respected. (+0)

10. Final background score: -5
Background disadvantage buyoff:
Hungry Beast - A big predator has settled nearby, and any time your clan steps out you are hunted by the beast and those that wish to please it. It loves the taste of you. (3)

Discrimination - The locals have marginalized your people, changing the laws so they can charge more money for less services. Everyone seems to be in on it. (2)

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Some years ago a group of stonach outcasts came to this rugged valley, led by Markkus the Black.  Markkus led his small band of followers and their families here after being driven out after losing out in a major power struggle in their old clan--the the name of which they are forbidden to speak again.  The valley was the lair of the dragon lord Stonespite and his shokoro slaves.  Markkus refused to be daunted by the presence of the evil drake and he advanced towards its lair with a band of his finest.  They encountered a lone shokoro and took it captive.  The creature implored them to free its people from the domination of the dragon.  Reinforcing his warband with some shokoro he laid the beast low and became master of the valley.  Markkus named his newly established clan Drakemeister in honor of the event.  They set about renovating the dragon's lair, originally an ancient elven temple, into a masterpiece of dwarven engineering.  The primitive shokoro helped where they could, particularly in sharing ancient lore which enhanced traditional dwarf runelore and other mystical lore.

Eventually word of the fall of the dragon reached the pointy ears of the elves of the woods beyond the valley.  The elves sent a delegation to the clan and demanded they stop "defacing" their ancient temple and return it to proper elven care.   Markkus was outraged and had them stripped, bound, and whipped all the way back out of his valley.  The elves returned in force and assaulted the bearded and scaled squatters defiling their precious holy temple.  The elves were driven back by the allies but the war has simmered on for years now.  The dwarves and their shokoro allies are too well fortified to be dislodged by the elves and their patrols hold the other denizens of the nearby mountains at bay as well.

However, the elves then convinced the local human potentate that the dwarves had struck it rich in mines below the former temple and should be paying him proper tribute.  He built a fort to command the ford on the only road out of the valley and began levying a toll on all traffic in and out.  The dwarves did not actually have any mines at all.  In fact their only source of income was exports of artisan goods.  The toll bit deep and the clan was forced contract out mercenary warbands of stonach and shokoro to make ends meet.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, the dragon's sister recently returned to visit her brother and was greatly grieved to find his skull on display over the front gate of Clan Drakemeister.  Although not as large and fierce as her elder brother, Cloudspite is extremely cunning.  Her constant ambushes of anyone attempting to enter or leave have the clan trapped and desperate.