The Bandylegs Clans of hill dwarves has a long and distinguished lineage of bear riders, giving rise to the clan name. They are descendants of the Spearbanner Clan from the Granite Mountains, though distinct from the Spearbanners due to a feudal dissension. With a view of Lake Avris towards the northern end of the Avris range, the Bandylegs Clan made the mountain near the lake home with an aim to having no kings and only clan leaders. Several other clans joined the Bandylegs, following them and working with them, yet independent by nature.

Occasionally the clans would raid into ogran lands down in the deserts nearby, or ograns bands would raid into the mountains. Such forays usually accomplished little, but gave bragging rights to one clan or another until those rights were stripped by a new victory or a new loss.

During the War of the Undead, the clans suffered horribly. The Bandylegs had a tradition of ossuaries, keeping the bones of their ancestors in long halls deep within the mountain. Unfortunately, the bones of their bear mounts were also kept in those halls. The lands about Lake Avris had once been home to a major human kingdom, and the long lost cemeteries turned out dangerous specters, and worse.

The clans survived, though, fighting hard and banding together into a single, unified clan.

In the aftermath of the war, the clan was approached with an intriguing offer. A distant kingdom that respected mages had survived the War of the Undead, as well a war against the ograns. The Bandylegs were offered a new home, wealth, and renewed contact with the outside world – as well as considerable protection against the undead. Given the near destruction of their lands near Lake Avris, the clan agreed to join Rakore in 1330 Avard.

In Rakore, they were able to move into halls once crafted by the well-respected Stonehelm Clan. The Stonehelms had paid dearly for the victory against the ograns, killing so many that small mountains of orc skulls dotted the valleys nearby.

Subclans of the Bandylegs include (but are not limited to): Strongarm, Battleheart.

One of the more well-known members of the Bandylegs clan is Ahira Bandylegs.