Clan Thirteen

Clan Thirteen began in the city of Strongscythe, but now has tendrils in Wheatsea and Fullberry as well as Greenglow Fen and An'Jebil. It is predominantly halfling, with a smattering of members of other races brought in for purely business purposes. Halfling members may continue to identify with their own clans, but inter-clan rivalries among members are completely forbidden and new members renounce their old clan kinships in favor of their new brothers.

All members of Clan Thirteen are tattooed with magical ink (developed in the Homestead) that the wearer can reveal through the use of a cantrip. Clan Thirteen's identifying tattoo is a stylized dragon with its tail in the shape of a celtic knot. The tattoo's presence can be identified through Detect Magic, and its design can be seen through the use of high-level spells, but otherwise it is revealed at the member's discretion. One exception is that the Clan's Patriarch (The Plaid Dragon) has control over all members' tattoos and his command word overrides anyone else's. This means that if someone displeases the Dragon, he can remove their tattoo or make it obviously visible despite their wishes.

Hierarchy from highest to lowest:

The Plaid Dragon (leader)
Dragon's Breath (advisors, highest level enforcers)
Dragon's Teeth (mid-level operatives)
Dragon's Wings (messengers, spies, administrators)
Dragon's Claws (low-level operatives)

The Plaid Dragon

The current Plaid Dragon is a halfling named Kyrroc, originally from Clan F'Stirling. He is tall and burly for a halfling, standing almost five feet tall and strong. He has long braided black hair and tattoos of monsters on his arms, chest, and back. He says that each represents a kill he has personally made. He left Clan F'Stirling after a fight with his patriarch (he was too violent/aggressive), and came to Strongscythe where he started as hired muscle (Dragon's claw). He worked his way up the hierarchy, challenging his superiors at the right times, until he finally challenged the old Plaid Dragon, killed him, and took his place. Kyrroc has no use for the gods, but respects power. Being outwitted makes him angry, but he listens to those who are able to demonstrate feats of strength. He rules through a combination of intimidation and charismatic force of will. He is a Winner, and those who partner with him are also Winners. He is confident in who he is and what he - and his people - can do. He treats his people fairly, though his justice is harsh. Kyrroc wants to see his power and influence expand beyond the Homestead, and wants to be known and respected by the outside world.

Current activities

Clan Thirteen focuses mostly on smuggling and the sale of illegal/unauthorized goods. Most of their members are not evil, but rather seek to benefit their clan of origin (or simply seek a profit) by giving people what they want at better prices and with fewer questions asked than the bureaucracy will allow. They will also engage in the occasional crime, but seek not to call attention to themselves or draw the public's ire.
However, Clan Thirteen also desires to sow a certain degree of chaos and animosity between the clans, because it makes their services more needed and makes it easier to operate when the politicians (and law enforcement) have their attention turned elsewhere. They also like having scapegoats to blame if something goes wrong.
Current operatives in Strongscythe include:
Magnus FylLomant (m, messenger/go-between)
Strawberry FilDurie (f, smuggler. Curly red hair, freckles, impish smile. Lawful neutral, views her work as giving people what they want - providing valuable service!)
Seanker FilDurie (m, thief. Curly red hair, freckles, impish smile. (Not twins, but gets asked that a lot.) Lawful neutral, only steals from "outsiders" who shouldn't be in his clan's territory. Faceman, high charisma.)

Filch FylCrygg (m, thief)
Argus FilDurie (m, enforcer)
Lavender FilArnott (f, forgery)
Rosemary FilLennan (f, poisons expert)
Tannin FilDurie (m, muscle)
Finn FilDurie (m, muscle)

Phoenix (m, 8th level rogue): blond hair, hanging scar
Magical operatives include: Kieran FilDurie (m, 4th level wizard) Rojo Di (m, red dragonborn, 3rd level sorcerer)

Presence in Strongscythe

The main stronghold of Clan 13 is underground, in the Ancient City of Riverhome. (It was built in the third age, but attacked and collapsed by goblins following Gruumsch. It was built over, and numerous excavation teams have gone down to explore, but it is very dangerous and the halflings didn't see much point for a long time - they were too busy rebuilding and focusing on practical matters. Then people forgot for a long time. Clan 13 discovered several entrances and began the long process of shoring it up, rebuilding, and making it habitable. There are secret entrances connected to a lot of current dwellings and shops, and Clan 13 patrols that ensure that any entrances that are discovered are collapsed.)
There is a subterranean river that flows through Riverhome, which branches off upriver from the North Tributary of the West River, and continues on into the Underdark. (That's how the goblins came through in the 3rd age.) The river passage is how Clan 13 receives a lot of smuggled merchandise, and it also uses other secret passageways from Riverhome that emerge outside the city to move things in and out.
The main entrance to Riverhome is through the basement/store-room of the Invisible Beholder Tavern. (Sign: outline of a beholder). It's located in the outer city of Strongscythe, and is a fairly rowdy, busy place. Individuals associated with Clan 13 need to ask to reserve the dragon room for a party of size 13. They are led to the back office, where reservations are handled, and then can open a large fake cask of beer in the back that is empty and leads to a staircase going down into the earth. The tunnel of stairs goes down for about two stories, then emerges into a small cave with three tunnels (left, center, right). Left: to living areas, shopping areas, drinking areas, recreation areas. Center: to business areas (larger caves for warehouses, boats, river, meeting areas). Right: less developed Riverhome, including transportation tunnels to various parts of Strongscythe and beyond, as well as lots of collapsed and dangerous places.