To the Andashi people, a Tribe is your close family and some chosen additions, such as very close family friends or adopted allies. Unlike other cultures, Tribes are formalised groups, seldom larger than a dozen. You know which Tribe you are in, and you are very aware of who your loyalty, aid and charity is owed to. On the road, surviving the world and its weather, it can be very useful to divide the social group in this manner. Your tribe’s tithe is your tithe, your tribe's supplies are your supplies and so on.
But a Tribe is seldom large enough for safety, success, and prominence to be attained. A tribe is too small to defend a territory, too few to exploit a vein of ore or herd two thousand head of cattle and too short in reach to control a merchant Empire. When multiple tribes come together and forge a bond of loyalty, they are known as a Clan.
Clans vary widely in size and power. The smallest Clans could be two tribes banding together to open a small merchant enterprise, while the largest might be made up of dozens of Tribes and hundreds of members. Old Andashi wisdom had it that if you can’t recall the names of all the Tribes in your clan, your clan is too large. Clans also vary in intention and duration. It wouldn’t be uncommon for a Clan to form to defend a location during a raiding season, only to disband once the weather and violence shifts. By the same token, a Clan formed to raise a powerful trading fleet could still be present centuries later.
With this variety in mind, the Andashi have a shorthand categorisation for Clans.
A Lightning Clan
Any Clan less than two years old is considered a Lightning Clan. Lightning Clans are dynamic and active, their impact being felt sharply at their point of interest but seldom marking the world around them. If your Clan is a Lightning Clan it may be young, working on making its influence felt or responding to an acute opportunity or threat.
A Storm Clan
Any Clan between two and five years old is considered a Storm Clan. Storm Clans are of the world and fed by it. Their influence spreads far and leaves their mark on the world. Storm Clans tend to form the core of Andashi Society as people band together and shift over the course of their lives.
A Tempest Clan
Any clan that is older than five years is considered a Tempest Clan. Tempests leave deep chasms through the foundation of the world. Any Clan that survives and thrives this long is likely central to the social structure of the area in which they reside, if not to Andash themselves. Their power is immense, even where it is not actively seen.
This shorthand is irrespective of scale or focus and is largely relative. An army of thousands raised to defend the frontier may only be a Lightning Clan, but a local café that has been the centre of local social celebrations and life for decades may be a Tempest Clan. It speaks more so to the influence and role in society that a Clan may have, rather than what weight it can throw around. All this being said, power and age often go hand in hand when it comes to organisations and that includes Clans.
The core of a Clan falls to four principles: Fire, Blood, Colour and Law
Fire
This refers to the intention of a Clan, what its purpose and goals in the world are. Clans are not formed idlily, but either in response to crisis or in pursuit of a goal. This intention could be specific (“To defend the Frontier of Mukarrem against the Trade Principality of Aprivano”), broad (“To defend the Frontier of Mukarrem against all foes'') or all encompassing (“To defend the Frontiers of Andash against all foes”). What is important is that it is known and the light it casts should guide the way for all the Clan’s members. It is a fire that they all feed and protect together.
Blood
This refers to the loyalty of the Clan, how it binds itself and its members together. While a tribe is an extension of the self, often sharing much of what they have, a clan is less simple. Each Clan at its founding will have to define the intensity of its loyalty. While betraying the Clan and its fire are always forbidden there are many other questions. Are goods held in common? Funds? Are you expected to die for the Clan? Are you expected to kill? How much blood will you give and take for the Clan?
Colour
This refers to the identity of the Clan, how it shows itself to the world and how its members identify each other. At the simplest level this would be what colours and symbols identify the Clan but beyond this it includes the Clans name, any special greetings shared by its members and any secret traditions held within.
Law
This refers to the internal function of the Clan, how it achieves its goals, how it rewards its members, punishes its enemies, and conducts itself. For the most complex Clans this could delineate a half dozen leaders of endeavours, tithe expectations and personal duties. While a simple clan might only note when the Clan Council meets.
The Fire, Blood, Colour and Law of a Clan often forms together into its Oath, which guides the clan and forms the centre of its binding ceremony.
Creating a Clan
Out of Character
Deciding on your Fire, Blood, Colour and Law for the Clan should be the most important parts of creating your Clan.
The Andashi people are dynamic and action-driven. It is this deliberate nature that comes to the fore in your Clan’s Fire. It is the ‘why’ of your clan. It should be something that can be actively pursued by all members of the Clan (in their own way) and that they enjoy as players. Work with your other members to target an element or elements of Concord that you want to focus on and move constantly in that direction with a burning intensity.
Your Clan's Blood is a measure of intensity and trust. The baseline is assumed to be cooperative, in that the members of the clan will work towards the overall Fire of the clan most of the time and can trust each other most of the time. However, this can be made more intense if you wish by adding obligations on trust and communal nature. Perhaps in your clan death can only be repaid by death and all members are obliged to seek revenge for any slayings of another clan member. Another Clan might pursue their Fire with a single-minded intensity, assuming that nearly all their time is directly related to it. These are examples of determining your Blood.
The Colour is often the most fun and will have some of the clearest impact on your Clan. At the simplest level you want to select a few colours to represent and a symbol that evokes your clan. This should form an identifiable part of your equipment and be worn with pride. Beyond this, you could decide upon a custom greeting and any other secret traditions.
Your Clan’s Law is a functional piece of organisation. The simplest question is ‘How often does your Clan council meet to make decisions?’ and ‘who gets to sit on the Clan Council?’. Our recommendation is that your Clan Council should sit once every six months (allowing you to meet at The Summit) and be organised in such a way that allows every PC member to partake, as a baseline. However you may wish to expand on this, meeting multiple times a year (giving great opportunities to hold a small event yourselves) or even multiple times a Summit. Your Clan’s law is also a great chance to consider internal titles. Perhaps the Clan member responsible for managing the funds has a special title, or perhaps the Clan healer gains additional votes at the Council. All valid examples of variation of law. It is also good to determine how a Clan Council can be called if needed, since events can often necessitate a formal meeting to make decisions.
This should leave you with a firm understanding of your Clan, its purposes and methods. The remaining touches may be a decision about which Region your Clan is based in and what your starting goals are.
You may submit your Clan through the Band submission link found Here. Your Clan may both be a Band and a Sect. A Clan requires a minimum of three founding members to complete the Bless the Warhost Ceremony to be recognised by both the event and to be a functional Clan in-world.
In Character
Clans form often across Andash and there is no functional record or need to record them. As such the most important elements of forming a Clan in Andash is that you create an impact upon your arrival. None will be tracking your efforts to form, but they will know that mark you leave on the world.
Joining a Clan
While each Clan holds true to its own Law and Blood in regards to bringing in new members, there are a few constants.
The Andashi phrase “No one is truly one only” refers to the fact that every individual is made up of their interwoven relationships for both good and ill. Any new tribe to join a Clan is not just one individual, but all of their enemies become the Clan's enemies and all of their allies become allies of the Clan. Because of this, caution demands that every new member be presented to the Clan Council for interview to ensure that they will bring both prosperity and no undue danger to the Clan. When the interview is complete a vote is held on the members entry. A successful vote brings the member’s entire Tribe into the Clan, not just the individual.
Leadership in a Clan
Each Clan is led by a Clan Council, a formal body of respected members who meet to discuss issues and opportunities. By default a Clan Council is made up of all adult members of the Clan, with meetings of the Council being organised well ahead of time to facilitate those members arriving with a council of less than two thirds of available members being considered invalid.
But as a Clan grows it may become unwieldy for every adult to meet and vote. Each Clan tackles this growing pain in their own way, influenced by their fire and their own unique traditions. Examples include:
- Representatives. There is a set number of members elected yearly, every member gets one vote, those Representatives then sit on the council.
- Tithe Speaks. A seat at the Council costs a certain amount of money, paid into the Clans coffers.
- The Young and Old. The youngest members of the Clan and the Oldest sit on the Council in balanced numbers.
Each Clan may have its own internal leadership, but it is accepted that the Council is the highest point of leadership. This belief traces back to a nomadic belief that individuals can be led astray or blinded by circumstance. When the survival of all hangs in the balance, multiple voices must be heard. But for the sake of ease, most Councils will elect a Speaker to represent the Clan in matters, often an individual speaker for each matter or exterior group.
Important Notes
Tribe Vs Clan
Your character likely has a tribe made up of played characters and off screen characters. Your tribe is generally composed of your immediate family but could also contain adopted family or similar. Being in a person's Tribe is the highest honour and trust, with all belongings and burdens shared. Tribes can only belong to one Clan at a time and move as a cohesive unit through the social webs of Andashi society.
Clans on the other hand are a looser social format while still being driven by Andashi decisiveness. This flexibility makes them a better choice for a Band since it allows your character's unique circumstance to exist and be experienced while still adding to the overall group.