Razorfang

Geographical isolation from the other Clans suits these goblins just fine.  They detest the other Clans, and resent the way they are looked-down upon as being somehow lesser.    Physically smaller than their cousins, the Razorfang are frequently pushed around by their bigger and stronger cousins.  Razorfang goblins are found as foot troops in every theatre of war, frequently towards the front, and are always assigned the most low-threat and low-priority guard and patrol duties (the thinking being they are not qualified for much else... a situation which suits them just fine.)  When not being driven by a superior other-clan goblin, Razorfangs will take their own sweet time when carrying out assignments.  Although Razorfang Warlords are the same, enormous, musclebound and violent specimens as found in the other clans, the average Razorfang is considered small by goblin standards (around 5' tall.)  They also tend to be not as aggressive and bloodthirsty as their kin, traits celebrated in other clans.  This does not mean they are not cruel, vicious predators who will kill in an instant... to the contrary.  They are passive only by goblin standards.
           
The Razorfang are clever, however, more-so than their average cousin.  This causes them, as a culture, to think a bit longer before rushing in, and perhaps come up with an alternative attack which still eliminates the opposition but spares widespread goblin fatalities.  It is this craftiness that arguably makes them the most dangerous of the Clans.  Their leaders are often thinkers, and they are masters of ambush, booby-trapping and outfoxing their opponents.  Razorfang sappers have a keen instinct for finding unseen weak points in an enemy's defenses.  The biggest problem with Razorfang goblins is that if they are not engaged in a Razorfang pursuit (that is, if they are being forced to do something by another Clan), they are lazy, slow, inattentive and unmotivated.  They engage in a sort of disobedience-through-lack-of-action.
           
Their true claim to fame is that of weapon makers.  Even the haughty Nine Fist acknowledge their skill in crafting arms, and nothing is so sharp and deadly as a Razorfang blade (not even those of mithril craftsmanship.)  The Razorfang guard the secret to their success jealously.  The secret is "Warpstone," a mineral found in The Seeche.
           
Razorfang goblins tend to wear more clothing than goblins of other Clans (perhaps to conceal the fact that they tend to be leaner and more athletically built than bulging with muscle.)  They participate in all the ritual piercing and tattooing of other clans.  Razorfang dead are buried under cairn stones.

TERRITORY
Isolated is an accurate term.  Their Clan lands are a narrow wedge between the Alps and the Shadowfahl Woods, then angling northwest across the southern tip of the forest, across the southern Westvahl, and into The Seeche.  Historically, they have been given the responsibility for defending and holding the mountain pass of Pire, a very low priority assignment (although field engagements are regular, battles at the pass are more guerilla-based.)  Recently, the Razorfang "accidentally" triggered a long-feared rockslide which sealed both sides off from the other for what could be years.

Razorfang tribes live along the fringe of the Shadowfahl, hunting and gathering in that dark place, but they know better than to venture deeper into the spider-infested forest.

Most of their population is based in and around Panaj, their Clan City.  This is a well built city of stone designed by clever planners, and architectural wonders can be found here that not even the Mighty Kurst can boast.  Aquaducts bring in fresh water, a well-designed sewer system takes away waste.  Rooftop gardens and arboreums provide vegetables and fruit, and stockyards on the edge of the city provide for the efficient processing of herd animals and game.  Fountains can be found in tiled plazas with statuary, and intricate, artistic ironwork decorates much of the city.  Doors and gates have clever mechanical devices to open them in interesting ways, and even the most basic Razorfang lock will give a rogue a run for his money.  Much to the delight of the Pah, Razorfang engineers have recently completed the first phase of a mass transit system which runs from one edge of the city to the other, a complex mechanical iron "ski-lift" with regular stops at "stations," powered by draft beasts.  Nine Fist liaisons and observers curl their lips and sneer at these "frivolities," but the average Razorfang is enchanted by mechanical works.  They are also very involved in art, literature and music.

To the northwest, the Great Western Road travels through the Shadowfahl, and the Clan has erected fortifications along its route to keep the road open.  Sometimes these garrisons are found deserted or shrouded in webs, goblins cocooned and huge spiders waiting hungrily for fresh prey.  The battle for dominance of this area is fierce, and the Razorfang intend to win.
Beyond is the southern tip of the Westvahl.  This region is historically a hunting ground for both the Razorfang and the Vorsemen of the Westvahl, so battles are regular and deadly, with both sides evenly matched; the Vorsemen in skill and speed of horse, the Razorfang in numerical superiority.  There is no honor or respect between these factions (as there is with the Viking-goblins in the north)... no quarter is asked or given, and both sides deal with the other in the most barbaric terms.  Goblins raid Westvahl villages, Vorsemen raid Razorfang tribes and prey upon caravans returning from the Seeche.  Razorfangs take human captives to use as meat or slaves.  Vorsemen take goblin captives to torture for intelligence and either use them for cavalry practice or feed them to their great wulfhounds.  The Razorfang consider the Vorsemen a very real threat to the Clan and the Grimme as a whole.  High-handed Nine Fist visitors view these humans as "scattered leftovers from tribal days, beneath contempt and unworthy of the attention of real goblins... a small, regional problem." (they feel the same way about Hack Sling stories of the very same Vorsemen in the north...)  Of course the dominant clan has no real knowledge of these humans, and has no idea how organized, numerous and dangerous they are.  The Razorfang know better, but they wouldn't give a Nine Fist a bucket of warm spit, much less try to educate them on the realities of a near and very dangerous adversary.

Beyond the hunting lands of the Westvahl is The Seeche, a desert wasteland which extends to the north and theoretically borders the "Deep Waters" to the west, as well as plunging down into the former human lands of Madrigal.  It is vast, unknowable in size, harsh and brutal.  The Clan "claims" only a small corner of it, maintaining garrisoned mining operations and patrolling the road in and out.  It is from these small mines that the Razorfang pull their secret substance, "Warpstone."  This mineral is malleable under intense heat, much as steel, and is used to edge or tip weapons (it is far too precious to craft an entire weapon out of warpstone, although gossip claims the Razorfang Pah wields just such a sword, the equivalent of a +10 weapon...).  The average warpstone-treated weapon is the equivalent to a +3 weapon (though without magical properties.)  Craftsmen have also had success fashioning armor (coating it, actually) out of the stuff, creating impenetrable breastplates which can 100% resist arrows at any range, and even reduce the impact of a direct-hit ballista strike.  These are well-kept secrets, and the pompous Nine Fist don't have the first clue about how far Razorfang craftsmen have pushed this technology.  A group known only to the Pah is actually currently exploring the use of Warpstone as a "fuel..."

CELEBRATIONS
Razorfang goblins observe the common holidays, and have two of their own;

• High Panaj:  A week-long festival in May which is completely ethnocentric, involving great feasting, drinking and dancing, musical and theatrical productions, "expos" on gadgetry and mundane technology, and a "freeing-of-the-slaves," where all human Vorsemen held in captivity are publicly executed, to the delight of the crowds.
• Silence:  In mid-September, a solemn, two day event where Razorfang goblins do not speak, dress in black, drink only water and eat only hard bread.  There are no gatherings or speeches.  This is to honor those Razorfangs who have fallen under the hooves, arrows and blades of the hated Vorsemen.  At the end of the second day, a black-garbed raiding party launches a strike against a pre-chosen Vorseman village, the goal being the annihilation of every living soul.  The Vorsemen are well aware of when the Razorfang celebrate "Silence," and prepare for it well in advance...

WHAT'S ON THE MENU
 The Razorfang have perhaps the strangest diet of all the clans.  Although they will eat nearly anything, and their hunting parties on the southern Westvahl bring back wild bison and antelope while hunters along the Shadowfahl bring down deer, they have some regional specialties; "Oysters" (a generic term for the roasted testicles of any mammal), "Pancakes" (a term for flattened and marinated internal organs, pan-fried), lizards, mountain goats and plenty of Wattish gruel.  "Wench Bugs" (fist-sized white grubs dug from the ground and crushed to a paste), "Pit Truffles" (dung maggots, skewered and roasted, mashed to paste or boiled), and "Prickly-Poppers" (hedgehogs, eaten live, whole and squealing.)

ELITE MILITARY