Clanless

"I'm too calm t'be Dark Iron, too sensible ter be Bronzebeard an' I bloody hate burds too much to be Wildhammer. Clanless fer life, that's me!"

―Gladnar Brightfist

The Clanless, also known as the Clanless Dwarves, are a sect of Dwarves who have disconnected themselves from any of the established Dwarven clans, particularly the three most prominent Dwarven clans of Azeroth. This is done both willingly (with families eschewing their previous familial ties by choice) or through a form of punishment such as exile for certain transgressions (chiefly homicide, failure of duty or transgressions against the Clan leaders). Some Dwarves also combine the two - becoming Clanless due to a self-perceived failure to their families.

Due to the Clanless often originating from such exiles, a social stigma arose among the three main Dwarven sects to see the Clanless as ill-educated, stubborn country bumpkins, and this stigma still persists in the modern day. This in turn makes it difficult for a lot of Dwarves from Clanless families to reintegrate into other Clans successfully.

Clanless communities have no Kings or Thanes among their number, each Dwarf of adult age collectively act as their communities guardian in times of need and though children are primarily homed with their families, the community as a whole takes care to help in rearing them. Some Dwarves among the Clanless continue to adopt familial names but most are abandoned after one or two generations for a new name and it is uncommon for children of a Clanless family to keep their childhood surnames after their parents have passed on.

Dwarves raised in such communities consider them far more important to their personal identity than the Clans they initially originated from. To have Dark Iron and Wildhammer Dwarves living as neighbors is a common occurrence. Due to the stigma against them, Clanless will usually choose to live away from the main Dwarven settlements, forming their own hamlets and villages around Khaz Modan, Grim Batol and Blackrock Mountain. These settlements are rarely officially recognised by their respective governments and many of the Clanless choose a nomadic lifestyle - traversing the land as the seasons change.