Bio

Pathmaker Clan- “Freedom is Strength”

Pathmakers are usually encountered by other dwarves in one of two contexts; As seasonal traders-The majority herd animals in far off valleys and ranges and bring them in at harvest time to trade. A minority live underground in hidden communities and bring rare foodstuffs and captured creatures to markets seasonally. Or as professional trackers, trainers or scouts- Pathmakers raise the best rangers and scouts in dwarfendom and most of them ply those trades in the larger dwarven community.

Their relative isolation for mother dwarves created a cultural gap. Most dwarves see them as archaic or strange. They hold some old formal attitudes as sacred and tend to use words gone out of fashion. They also generally dislike tinkers or formal religion, something out of pace with otherwise older style customs. Also contradictory, they get along fairly well with other races at least more often than most dwarves.

Pathmakers don’t have the typical dwarven holds, as far as most know. The they tend to move their whole communities seasonally, twice a year above ground, four times a year below. The truth is a bit more complicated. Most ‘favored’ Pathmaker regions are favored because they hold one or more “Zufluchtzort”, the hidden cities.

The hidden cities aren’t really cities in scale but are built to be used as cramped quarters in emergencies. Most of the Zufluchtzort are linked by underground passes and tunnels that are well hidden. The main task of the underground communities in the clan is to maintain these warrens for the use of the larger overland communities. Their ‘mushroom’ farming and seasonal migrations are a cover to keep an eye on the assorted hidden cities.

Jäger Longstrider

Jager is a typical ranger of his clan. He has served in both overland and underground communities and abroad outside of the clan. Also a veteran of service in the armies of other clans, he is a well traveled Dwarf, even for a Pathmaker.