In Ride Like the Wind, you share the valley with other clans—not only fellow Riders, but Wheels, who disdain your culture although they share most of your gods, and Rams, who worship an opposing pantheon.
There will always be 10 Rider clans, 5 Wheel clans, and 7 Ram clans in each game, but their names, descriptions, and locations are randomized, with certain restrictions—for example, the Rams are always across the river from the Wheels and Riders, but the Pure Horse Clan will not always hold the same territory. The Rider and Wheel clans are known when you start play; the Rams appear after a little while.
The descriptions aren't just flavor—the clan known for raiding really does raid more often and have more warriors, and the clan known for shamans will never have a pious (devoted to the gods) chieftain. The game also tracks clan wealth, and clans noted to be rich in food, goods, herds and horses really do start with more of these things and increase them more rapidly than other clans.
There are more descriptions (and many more names!) than there are clans. So, for example, three of the Rider clan descriptions will go unused in each playthrough. However, some descriptions (for example, the Pure Horse Clan) will always appear.
In Lights Going Out, clans work much the same, though Rams instead of Riders are now your cultural brethren. Other than the special Deleskaring clan, you and the other Ram clans in the valley all belong to the Berenethtelli tribe. Riders are considered foreigners, but closely related ones due to your shared history back in the days before Beren. Wheels, however, are stranger and more foreign than ever.
Riders[]
The culture to which the player clan belongs. There are always ten Rider clans besides your own in the valley, and all have their lands north of the Black Eel river.
Descriptions[]
Ride Like the Wind[]
The description for Rider clans in Ride Like the Wind are as follows:
- Known for following Pure Horse practices.
- The chief of this clan is always pious (Pure Horse ways are basically a religious movement) and always male.
- They start with twice as many horses as other Riders, and their horse herds grow twice as fast.
- On the other hand, they have no cows or goats.
- They raid often, and have more warriors.
- The Pure Horse Clan has their own page on this wiki.
- Known for their reliance on raiding
- The chieftain of this time is never cautious.
- This clan raids you more often, has more warriors, and has heavier patrols than the average clan (meaning it's harder for you to sneak up on them).
- In Ride Like the Wind, you may occasionally hear of this clan's victories against other clans in the valley. You may also hear of them suffering heavy losses from destroying a troll hideout.
- Known for avoiding conflict.
- The chieftain of this clan is never daring.
- This clan raids you less often. When they do, they like to parley. And they have relatively few warriors.
- Known for erratic chieftains.
- The chieftains of this clan will always skew to one extreme in terms of personality—no matter the trait asked about, the answer is never "sometimes one and sometimes the other".
- Some time over the course of Ride Like the Wind, you may hear of them picking a chieftain that truly embraces the tradition by interfering with legal cases as soon as they arise, without letting elders sort them out, as Rider law dictates.
- In battle, this clan will not parley. Their preferred options are "fight cautiously" and "berserk attack".
- In Lights Going Out, some of them may ask for your help with a troublesome chieftain.
- Known for their many shamans.
- The chieftain of this clan is never pious (since piety is defined as reverence for the gods, and this clan focuses on spirits instead).
- This clan has stronger magic.
- At one point in Ride Like the Wind, they hold a special spirit rite to increase their magic. A Raven trickster in your clan will want to smear dung on their spirit stones in order to steal that magic for your clan. (This can work, but is risky.)
- Known for their wealth.
- This clan has more goods, food, and herds.
- Known for their lush fields.
- This clan has more food than average.
- Over the course of Ride Like the Wind, you may learn of this clan even composing a song to celebrate the fine productivity of their fields. The song is slightly saucy, but fun as well as boastful, and become popular with all the Rider clans in the valley.
- Known for their poverty.
- This clan has fewer goods and smaller herds than average.
- Known for their aggressive pursuit of trade.
- This clan has extra goods.
- Known for their fondness for exploring.
- The chieftain of this clan is never cautious.
- You may hear of how they keep finding new treasures, and how they went east and encountered strange outlanders who gave them a mighty blessing to aid their dealings with dwarves.
- They maintain the only temple to Zarlen in the Black Eel Valley.
- In Lights Going Out, they took up Redalda worship after Zarlen died.
- Known for their large herds.
- This clan has more herds (cows and goats) than average. (Their horse herds are not larger than those of other Riders.)
- Known for hunting prowess.
Lights Going Out[]
Lights Going Out adds the following:
- Known for hiring Uroxi war bands.
- This clan produces more food than any other clan.
- This clan may ask you for help compensating Uroxi mercenaries, in exchange for a favor.
- Profaners of the dead.
- This description can be gained by a clan of any culture.
- This clan is sometimes known as the Skull Clan.
Names[]
- Amber
- Arrowstone
- Blackspear
- Blue Crest
- Brighteyes
- Brilliant Hoof
- Burnpeak
- Eyes of Gold
- Fireflower
- Flame Singer
- Flint Heart
- Four Drum
- Gold Milk
- Greenrock
- Grey Wing
- Gryphon
- High Stallion
- Honey Mane
- Jade Colt
- Old Eagle
- Red Feather
- Ruby Gate
- Seven Stars
- Shining Blossom
- Sky Racer
- Starshine
- Sun Bow
- Tricorn
- Twinsong
- White Fox
- Yellowhill
- Zar Hawk
Lights Going Out adds:
- Blazing Run
Wheels[]
Though the Wheels, or Samnali, are cousins to the Riders, the two seldom get on well. There are five Wheel clans, usually with one or two on the south of the Black Eel River and the rest to its north with the Riders.
Descriptions[]
Ride Like the Wind[]
The description for Wheel clans in Ride Like the Wind are as follows:
- Known for their close descent from Elmal.
- This clan's chieftain is never impious.
- This clan has stronger magic than average.
- The hero Autronos is the son of this clan's chieftain, and is born during Ride Like the Wind. Your clan may hear of his exploits.
- Known for their hawks.
- Known for unusual beadwork.
- This clan has more goods than average.
- A some point in Ride Like the Wind, they may catch the eye of the king of Naztalvan, who pays even more for their beadwork than it is in fact worth.
- Known for their large herds.
- This clan has larger herds than average.
- They owe their large herds to secret rites that keep its numbers from dwindling.
- In Ride Like the Wind, they may make you an offer of forty cows later in exchange for twenty cows now. They usually follow through on the deal, but not always.
- In Ligths Going Out, if you denounce their goats, they will say that—because they have more goats than anyone else—they can say with confidence that you are wrong.
- Known for being the last to leave Nivorah.
- The chief of this clan is never daring.
- In battle, this clan likes to parley.
- At some point in Ride Like the Wind, they may hold a rite against darkness; if you donate ten cows you might share in its benefit, or not.
- Known for being extraordinarily haughty.
- In Ride Like the Wind, you may hear of this clan being denied permission to pass through your lands on the way to trade outside the valley, due to a display of their haughtiness and arrogance.
Lights Going Out[]
Lights Going Out adds the following:
- Known for being extraordinarily rude.
- Known for their rigid adherence to tradition.
- Known for their caution
- Known for vowing to pierce the choking clouds.
- Known for supporting Berenstead when its own clans didn't.
- They may offer you a solar blessing, by reenacting their vow to King Brolarulf.
- Founded the Wheel Kingdom.
- Profaners of the dead.
- This description can be gained by a clan of any culture.
- This clan is sometimes known as the Skull Clan.
Some of the descriptions from Ride Like the Wind also always go unused in this game.
Names[]
- Ar-Tarima
- Aryash-Tev
- Char-Orisa
- Chov-Ashda
- Dar-Shama
- Er-Charkar
- Ku-Rander
- Lo-Arish
- Mor-Kagin
- Nar-Onon
- Oro-Tagin
- Paral-Un
- Sa-Gorin
- Tor-Ashda
- Varn-Rash
- Yu-Mergin
Lights Going Out adds:
- Ya-Zaran
Rams[]
The Rams, or Vingkotlings, are traditional foes to both the Riders and the Wheels, and worship a completely different pantheon. They are all located on the south side of the Black Eel River,and a few are actually on the other side of the Oslira from the player clan.
Descriptions[]
Ride Like the Wind[]
The description for Ram clans in Ride Like the Wind are as follows:
- Known for strong magic.
- This clan does indeed have more Clan Magic, as well as more magic dedicated to Ritual.
- Known for their powers of thunder.
- The chief of this clan is never impious—probably because his clan owe their thunder powers to Orlanth.
- Known for their wealth.
- This clan has more goods and food than average (but not larger herds).
- In Ride Like the Wind, you may hear of this clan becoming even wealthier by sending a mission to the south, where they fight trolls and find bones made of either silver or bronze (it varies) from a deity slain in the Gods War.
- Known for their many cows.
- This clan does indeed have larger herds than average.
- In Ride Like the Wind, you may hear of them going into the Gods War to perform a daring deed protecting their cow goddess, earning them another fifty cows.
- Known for black-fleeced sheep.
- This clan has a bit of a rivalry with the one known for white-fleeced sheep.
- Known for white-fleeced sheep.
- This clan has a bit of a rivalry with the one known for black-fleeced sheep.
- Known for throwing axes in combat.
- This clan gets war magic from a wooden man named Duref.
- Known for hurling javelins in combat.
- This clan earns a javelin war blessing from Orlanth himself.
Lights Going Out[]
Lights Going Out adds the following:
- Known for still growing acceptable barley.
- This clan produces significantly more food than most other clans.
- This clan was known for their wealth in Ride Like the Wind.
- Known for eating rocks when hunger strikes.
- This clan was formerly known for black-fleeced sheep.
- This clan may try to share their edible rocks with you.
- Known for worshiping Valind Winter-King.
- This clan was formerly known for their powers of thunder.
- This clan may try to extort you with the threat of ice demons.
- Known for giving up on kings when Vinglanth died.
- This clan was formerly known for white-fleeced sheep.
- Your clan's royalist faction does not like this clan, and will probably be upset if you ally with them.
- This clan may brag about them breaking the tribe to other Berenethtelli clans.
- Known for being the first clan to join Beren's fight.
- This clan was formerly known for hurling javelins in combat.
- This clan may ask your assistance in a rite to recreate the deeds of their Berenguard ancestors, who aided Beren in his making of the tribe.
- They may also ask you for Venef's assistance in a rite commemorating the day when they recognized Beren as king.
- Known for maintaining the Healthy Cow Secret.
- This clan was formerly known for their many cows.
- Known for keeping slaves.
- Known for harboring outlaws.
- This clan was formerly known for throwing axes in combat.
- This clan has also taken up Valind worship.
- Another clan may ask you to intercede on their behalf to convince this clan to stop harbording bandits.
- Known for strong magic.
- This clan's reputation has remained unchanged.
- You may hear of this clan attempting to travel deeply into the Other Side to reenact a sacred story, either "Rise of the Storm Tribe," "Elmal the Vigilant," "Inilla's Cache," or "Dostal's Great Hunt." They may either succeed or fail, but just the fact that they have a good chance of success conducting a ritual during the Dark Age at all is a testament to their skills as magicians.
- Profaners of the dead.
- This description can be gained by a clan of any culture.
- This clan is sometimes known as the Skull Clan.
- Known for tending the Arrowbush.
- This description will always belong to the Deleskarings.
Names[]
- Andayling
- Barmering
- Erthaling
- Genadari
- Irnathi
- Jernelthi
- Kastwalting
- Kestangi
- Lastraling
- Orlmarth
- Ornolsting
- Orvisi
- Porganosi
- Soranding
- Urkarning
- Varleving
- Walakering
- Zethmaring
Lights Going Out adds:
- Deleskaring (fixed clan)
- Hulmafing
Special Clans[]
There are a few "special" clans in each game, which can overlap with the others above.
Ride Like the Wind[]
- The Ram Killers: A Rider clan whose ancestors adopted the last survivor of Elempur, now known for their unrelated hatred of Ram People. They will become hostile to you if you are too friendly with Rams.
- The Pure Horse Clan: A Rider clan that herds no animal other than horses and is the only Rider clan to keep slaves. Always appear.
- The Dara Happan Hating Clan: A clan whose ancestral enemies are the Dara Happans.
- The Water Hating Clan: A clan that hates Water People. They menace the Weeders from time to time.
- The Daughters of Vingkot Clan: One Ram clan will eventually become known for having three powerful sorceresses who are said to be the daughters of Vingkot, one of whom is the mother of Redalda .
- The Hillfort Clan: One of the Ram clans will control a hillfort. This can be the same as the Daughters of Vingkot clan. Their hillfort will indeed make this clan more difficult to loot.
The clan destroyed in the skyfall is chosen at random, but the special clans (with the exception of the hillfort clan) are safe, as is the clan of Beren the Swift.
Lights Going Out[]
- The Deleskarings: The one Ram clan in the valley that is not a part of your tribe. Their name is set.
- The Pure Horse Clan: As in the previous game, this clan keeps no animal other than horses.
- "Rival Clan": a random clan will declare themselves to be your rivals. Many events center on this rivalry. Part of their clan's description will say "They strive against us." It is possible for them to give up their opposition towards you, but if they do, another clan will likely take their place in time.
- The Skull Clan: One of your neighbors may become known as profaners of the dead. If so, they'll be the Skull Clan.
Others[]
The Wandering Riders[]
In Ride Like the Wind, You may also encounter a clan of wandering Riders, who either have yet to find a good place to settle or have decided to become permanent nomads. This clan only appears in the relevant event, and do not have ongoing relationships with your clan as the others do; you cannot form an alliance or a feud with them, for example. They will never be the Ram Killers.
They have a separate pool of possible names:
- Dark Seers
- Horizon Seekers
- Zarleni
Father Clan[]
Your Father Clan—the Rider clan from which yours split immediately before the game—also appears occasionally in Ride Like the Wind, most notably the Father Clan Wants Swords event.
They'll be known by one of the Rider clan-names not used during that particular game. For example, if none of the Rider valley-clans in a particular play-through uses the Flint Heart name, then it may be assigned to your Father Clan instead.
Through Ride Like the Wind, you may hear the following:
| “ | I came upon a part of <Father Clan> traders skirting our border on the way to trade with the <Other Clan>. The <Father Clan>s are the clan we split from before our arrival in the valley. So when they looked askance at me, as if our ties embarrassed them, I felt a sting of reproach. They clearly think we've taken the wrong path since we parted ways. We must do more to make others in the valley respect us, thus winning our way back into their hearts. | ” |
Split Clan[]
Your clan may split into two if it becomes too large: see Getting Crowded (Ride Like the Wind) and Too Many People (Light Going Out). The new clan will leave the valley and settle elsewhere. You will occasionally hear of their progress from passing travelers and traders; depending on the news, this may affect Mood positively or negatively.
A Lights Going Out example of such an update is:
| “ | <Other Clan> traders who had been to the distant <direction> said that they had visited a <sorry/wretched> <Split Clan> settlement. They had lost most of their <cows/sheep> to <a horde of broos/trolls>. Still they had hope for the future. | ” |
— Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out | ||
A drop in Mood accompanies this report.
Possible names for this new clan include:
Ride Like the Wind:
- Cloud Breaker
- Fire Dancer
- Golden Colt
- Sapphire Arrow
- Sunflower
- White Hoof
Lights Going Out:
- Blue Horse
- Ice Breaker
- Sapphire Ram
- Starflower
- Storm Eagle
- Thunder Dancer