Nevill said:
Who are these guys and what are their relations to each other?
Okay, get ready for a lot of info you will never need to know...
Blackrock Rodents 101:
First off the clans can be divided into two large groups based on species:
The Soft Paws, Long Tails, Blind Brothers, Three Families, Ratguard and Observers are all mouse clans.
The Clan of the Coin, Shell, Seed, Ninety Nine Thieves and the Greys are all rat clans.
These clans are also further divided by geography into Inner and Outer clans. The Inner clans tend to be wealthier but the outer clans tend to be more hardy.
The Soft Paws, Long Tails, Blind Brothers, Three Families, Observers and the Clan of the Coin are all Inner Clans.
The Clan of the Shell, the Clan of the Seed, the Ninety Nine Thieves, the Greys and the Ratguard are all Outer Clans.
As should be clear the mice dominate the compound while the rats rule the outer buildings and courtyard. Each group is ruled by the head of the largest family in the clan. Leaders are chosen by popular acclaim and can be deposed by a majority vote. Sex is irrelevant when it comes to choosing a leader but all leaders must at least have one litter of pups. The logic is that a mouse or rat without children has no stake in the future of the clan and so can not be trusted to lead the clan.
Clan Specifics:
Inner Clans:
The Inner Clans tend to be wealthier and have access to specific resources that grant them an important place in the larger rodent society.
The Soft Paws are a large clan that claims the kitchens and adjoining storerooms of the compound as their territory. This grants the clan a great deal of power within the larger rodent society which they do not hesitate to exploit when they deem it necessary. They are big on soft power though and you will rarely see them go to war with another faction as they have far more to lose from hostilities than they have to gain. They were the driving force behind ending the war and establishing the Rodent Commonwealth that would govern the fort as a whole.
The Long Tails claim the cellars as their own and this gives them access to all the alcohol stored in the fort. They have built upon this fact to become the entertainers of the Rodent Commonwealth, they are master performers (singers, dancers, jugglers and the like). If a clan or group of clans plan to hold a festival or party then they will contract the Long Tails to provide the beverages and the entertainers. Some whisper that the Long Tails also have a darker side to them, it is said that if someone wants an assassin or a poisoner then one only has to go to the cellars and wait. If the Paws are the face of the Commonwealth then the Tails are its hands, they keep everything running smoothly.
The Blind Brothers occupy the fort's library and archives. They are not actually blind though most of them suffer from myopia to one degree or the other. They are the storytellers and the memory of the Fort, while most of the Clans know their own histories to a degree it is the Brothers (and Sisters) of this clan that keep the old stories of the mouse clans alive. They maintain strict neutrality in political affairs as they are often required to serve as judges and arbiters in matters that effect multiple clans or the fort as a whole. They are another 'pro-Commonwealth' faction.
The Three Families used to be the leaders of the entire fort. Each of the families controlled a single section of the fort (the towers, the compound and the courtyard). The Rat Invasion, the wars the followed and the new peace brought by the Commonwealth all served to greatly reduce their power base and they have lost all their territory with the exception of the armoury. At one point they attempted to reignite the wars and drive out the rats using dwarven explosives. Commonwealth agents, the Ratguard in particular, managed to stop this plot and secure the peace of the fort. The old leaders of the Three Families were exiled into the wilderness for their crimes and new leaders were elected. The new leaders have attempted to reform the reputation of their faction by utilizing the scrap metal they have easy access to, to improve the lives of all rodents. Their first invention 'the kernel popper' has been a resounding success.
The Observers are the scouts and spies of the Commonwealth. They are a small and nomadic clan that has been given the right to freely roam through the compound as they see fit by ancient rights. They know the tunnels better than any mice and if one needs to get around the fort quickly and avoid its dangers then one needs to hire an Observer. Beyond that little is known of them as they are very secretive. During the war with the rats it was their presence alone that prevented the fall of the compound when the fort was breached but no one knows how they fought off the much larger and more numerous rats and the Observers are not telling.
The Clan of the Coin is the only rat clan to live in the compound and they claim the treasury as their own. Most rodents care little for gold as it has few actual uses for them but the Gold-diggers love it. Supposedly they are the descendants of an expedition that attempted to dig into the compound during the wars. They got as far as the treasury and have spent years down their alone hunting insects and the like. They actually do quite a good trade digging out insects from the tunnels in the mountain and trading them to the mice above them for stolen gold and other necessities. As they rely on the mice to get them more gold they are strong supporters of the Commonwealth.
Outer Clans:
The Outer Clans tend to be the 'warriors' of the Commonwealth. They protect the fort and the other clans from cats, birds and other 'hated enemies', they also prevent infiltration or invasion by 'foreign' species.
The Clan of the Shell and the Clan of the Seed are the largest of the 'warrior' clans and they guard the walls in exchange for food and ale from the Inner Clans. They are large, fierce, but not terribly bright. In most other aspects they are completely average though they have historically occupied slightly different roles (The Clan of the Seed were at one point scavengers while the Clan of the Shell were robbers). They suffered heavy casualties during the war and are only now, nearly recovered.
The Ninety Nine Thieves are exactly what their name implies. The Thieves are small for rats and quite cunning, they are old rivals of the Observers and their battles during the war are the stuff of legend. These days if the Commonwealth wants something stolen, they contract the Thieves and the job will be done. They tend to hide in the walls of the servant quarters and the barracks, they are likely responsible for most of the items 'lost' by the mercenaries in the last few years.
The Greys are the most independent of the rat clans and they earn their name by having a disproportionate number of grey haired members. They occupy the stables and they were the leaders of the rat factions during the war. They mostly keep to themselves but enjoy good relations with most of the Inner Clans for the time being.
The Ratguard are the only mouse faction to be found outside of the compound and this fact has a lot to do with their name. They are a clan of dormice that used to serve one of the Three Families and that have inhabited the fort's gatehouse since rodent prehistory. Through much of their history they have been warriors by necessity; cats, falcons, eagles, lizards, they fight all comers and they have never given ground. So when the rats came they did what they have always done and dug in. They stood their ground as the other mouse clans were either wiped out or pushed back into the compound and they were largely successful.
For a year and a half they fought against the rats outnumbered and isolated without giving an inch. Three times the Greys offered them safe passage to the inner compound and three times they refused. Their captains vowed that no living rat would set foot within the gatehouse and they were true to their words, earning their new name as well. For this they have earned the eternal respect of their rat neighbours. The rats and mice might now be allies but the only mouse that a rat would consider their equal is a Ratguard mouse.
Generally speaking one Ratguard is seen as the equivalent of three rats or seven regular mice.
So that is a brief overview of the Rodent Commonwealth of Fort Blackrock. Any more questions?
Re: the Rodent's demands
You can of course try to negotiate, some would even say that it is expected for you to haggle a little if you want their respect at all...