As you mention I have used "Houses" in Carmania. I chose the word House instead of family because it resonates with sources like Dune and the Daughter of Empire series by Feist/Wurtz to give players some idea of the level of treachery and backstabbing between noble families. I have defined the Carmanian House as an extended family, in the sense of the roman famiglia, and believe that it is a pelorian tradition that was adopted by carmanian invaders. I believe they changed it from a matriarchal family to a patriarchal one, but that otherwise it is essentially identical to the pelorian original.
> (Does Plentonius mention clans in ancient Dara Happa? He
> seems to talk more about "families".) How are they different from an
> Orlanthi clan?
Speaking anthropologically, an exogamous clan (as I believe orlanthi clans to be) often consists of several (usually from 5 to 7) bloodlines. Slaves, servants, and employees are not part of the clan. A tribe consists of several clans. A nation consists of several tribes. A family in the pelorian sense consists of a single bloodline, plus those who are attached to it (slaves, servants, employees, adoptees, etc). Orlanthi clans have a council of seven, led by a chief who can be outvoted by the rest of the council. Pelorian families are led by a single person, the eldest or wisest or most powerful, who listens to input from everybody in the family but makes the decisions on his/her own.
Note the parallels to the myths of Yelm and Orlanth, and how Pelorians would think that Orlanthi were constantly getting into trouble because of their clan leadership structure, while Orlanthi would say that Pelorians are unable to get out of trouble when it comes, as it must inevitably do, because their leadership structures are so fossilized.
> Loren has built Carmania on "Houses", great extended families, like the
> Houses in "Dune". Might Lunar clans be similar?
I certainly think so.
> Are the clans rural based, or do they also dominate the cities? How
> does a clan hold up in a city? (Do they become smaller "houses",
> like in Carmania?)
This is a good question. I tend to think that clans in cities fall apart from the much higher death rate, or form fraternal/sororal organizations such as guilds and companies to try to stay together.
Can't think any more.
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