Gnomes; The forgotten folk of Faerun

[sandcastles]

Gnomes

Industrious, intelligent, and good-natured, gnomes have few enemies. They are not a numerous race, and for many centuries, gnomes have survived and thrived by keeping a low profile. Avoiding the notice of larger folk obsessed with empires and mighty magic, the gnomes have quietly spread across Faerûn in tiny settlements and hidden villages that often go completely unnoticed by their neighbors.

There are three distinct sorts of gnomes living on Toril: deep gnomes, forest gnomes, and rock gnomes. They all share a slight stature (gnomes are little more than half the size of a grown human), innate magical gifts, and a great love for gems. The furtive deep gnomes, also known as svirfneblin, make their homes in the depths of the Underdark. The diminutive - even for gnomes - forest gnomes are even more sky and retiring than the svirfneblin. Rock gnomes are the most outgoing and numerous of the three kindreds. Their inquisitive nature draws them out of their well-hidden villages and clanholds to explore the wider world.

Throughout Faerûn, the gnomes play the role of intermediary between other races or peoples. Few count the gnomes as their friends, but even fewer consider the gnomes their enemies. Although gnomes have not escaped the great cataclysms and upheavals of the past, few gnomes have ever become embroiled in war, remaining neutral in such things. Some say this is because gnomes are cowards, afraid to become involved with the violent affairs of the larger people. In fact, gnomes can show bravery and physical resolve that would put larger folk to shame, but they are careful to pick their fights. They remain neutral because wars are usually fought over goals about which the gnomes care little, such as rights of commerce and settlement, or the drive to achieve and wield power in the world at large.

As the human realms continue their ages-old expansion and reach the remote areas in which gnomish settlements are hidden, some gnomes have started to question their traditional doctrine of noninterference. It seems that while they may not care to go off to the violent world of the larger races, that world is already knocking on their collective door.


Racial History

In the gnomes myths, the gods of the gnome pantheon were born as gems or rich veins of ore in the very heart of the world, then exposed by the natural erosion of underground waters. In this sense, the gnome gods are as old as the world itself, having always been a part of it. Gnome folklore holds that the first gnomes were born in turn from gems discovered by Garl Glittergold, the leader of the gnome pantheon. The Watchful Protector discovered a sealed cavern studded with countless gems embedded in veins of valuable ore. When Garl polished the gems and breathed on them, the jewels opened like blossoms and released the first gnomes. Before leading them into the world, Garl told his newfound people a joke, bringing them laughter and a spirit of mischief. Those gnomes born of diamonds chose to dwell beneath the land and became the rock gnomes. Those born of emeralds chose to dwell amid the great trees and became the forest gnomes. Those born of rubies wandered deep into the heart of the earth and became the deep gnomes.

Unfortunately, little is known of the ancient history of the gnomes other than their own myths. Peoples such as dwarves, elves, and humans have raised sprawling empires and fought great wars with legions of steel-clad soldiers and terrible, land-devastating magic, but the gnomes have never done anything of the sort. Nor have gnomes ever collected in one homeland or fought each other, as the halflings did in Luiren. The racial history of the gnomes is a grand, sweeping tapestry, but instead a hundred subtle threads woven here and there in the tapestry of all Faerûn, no two of them touching another. It is the history of a hundred hidden villages, clans, and holds, few of them ever caught up in the great and tragic events of the lands in which they lie concealed.

The gnomes are sometimes referred to as the Forgotten Folk, an apt description. Few gnomes have ever graced (or troubled) the counsels and concerns of the mighty, and even the gnomes themselves have little sense of what might have befallen their folk in the past centuries. As far as they know, they have always been in Faerûn, and have always lived in secret places and hidden holds - and they expect to remain much the same in the future.


Gnome Racial Traits
(Subraces may provide alternate statistics)

• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength: Like dwarves, gnomes are tough, but they are small and therefor not as strong as larger humanoids.
  
• Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
  
• Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
  
• Low-light Vision: A gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
  
• Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
  
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions: Gnomes are innately familiar with illusions of all kinds.
  
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. Their innate familiarity with these effects make their illusions more difficult to see through. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
  
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids *including goblins, hogbgoblins, and bugbears): Gnomes battle these creatures frequently and practice special techniques for fighting them.
  
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants): This bonus represents special training that gnomes undergo, during which they learn tricks that previous generations developed in their battles with giants. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it's caught flat-footed. it loses its dodge bonus, too. The Monster Manual has information on which creatures are of the giant type.
  
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks: Gnomes have keen ears.
  
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks: A gnomes sensitive nose allows him to monitor alchemical processes by smell.
  
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc: Gnomes deal more with elves and dwarves than elves and dwarves deal with one another, and they learn the languages of their enemies (kobolds, giants, goblins, and orcs) as well. In addition, a gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description (Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook 3.5 Edition page 281)
  
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day - Speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day - dancing lights, ghost sound, prestiditation. Caster level 1st: save DC 10 + gnome's Cha modifier + spell level. See the spell descriptions on pages 216, 235 and 264 (Dungeons and Dragons Player's Handbook 3.5 Edition).
  
• Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass gnome's bard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Source: Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition pages 16-17

The Gnomish People

• Deep Gnomes (Svirfneblin)
  
• Forest Gnomes
  
• Rock Gnomes

Note that only the Rock Gnome subrace may be played on SFS.


Random Starting Ages

Race	Adulthood	Simple¹	Moderate²	Complex³
Deep	20 years	+4d6	+6d6	9d6
Rock	40 years	+4d6	+6d6	9d6

¹ The simple classes are barbarian, rogue, and sorcerer.
² The moderate classes are bard, fighter, paladin, and ranger.
³ The complex classes are cleric, druid, monk, and wizard.


Aging Effects

Subrace	Middle Age¹	Old Age²	Venerable³	Maximum Age
Deep	80 years	120 years	160 years	+2d% years
Forest	150 years	225 years	300 years	+4d% years
Rock	100 years	150 years	200 years	+3d% years

¹ -1 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha
² -2 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis and Cha.
³ -3 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.


Random Height and Weight

Subrace	Base Male Height	Base Female Height	Base Height Mod	Base Male Weight	Base Female Weight	Base Weight Mod
Deep	2'10"	2'8"	+2d4	40 lb.	35 lb.	x 1 lb.
Forest	2'0"	2'0"	+1d10(m)/+1d6(f)	25 lb.	20 lb.	x 1 lb.
Rock	3'0"	2'10"	+2d4	40 lb.	35 lb.	x 1 lb.

Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn. / Races of Faerûn.

[sandcastles]

Deep Gnomes
~ Svirfneblin of the Underdark ~

Regions: Gnome (deep), The North, Silverymoon.
Racial Feats: Animal Friends, Summon Earth Elemental.
Racial Prestige Class: Breachgnome.
Level Adjustment: +3. Refer to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting entry for deep gnome racial abilities.

The deep gnomes are closest thing the gnome family has to "black sheep." Many surface dwellers count the deep gnomes along with their evil neighbors, the drow and the duergar, believing them to be little more than dark reflections of the friendly rock gnome with whom they are more familiar. In fact, the svirfneblin are just as good-hearted as their sunnier kin. However, after centuries of dealing with the everyday perils of living in the Underdark, they have become understandably distrustful of all outsiders.

Compared to their better-known kin, the rock gnomes, the deep gnomes are as gray and lifeless as the subterranean caverns in which they choose to make their homes. They keep to themselves out of fear of outsiders - a fear born from numerous poor experiences with such people. To a deep gnome, the only people you can trust are other deep gnomes from your village, and preferably from your family. All others are best avoided.

With strangers, most deep gnomes are sullen, reserved, and suspicious, almost to a fault. However, when they are alone with their own kind, they are friendly and respectful to each other. Few people from outside a svirfneblin community have ever seen this more pleasant side of the deep gnomes. For their part, the deep gnomes would be horrified to find themselves observed by outsiders, and they find such a person staring at them - or even looking directly at them - quite rude.

Deep gnomes are gnarled and callused folk, with little fat at all on their wiry bodies. Their skin is the color of the rocks among which they live, almost as if they sprang directly from the stones themselves. They have dark gray eyes, tending toward black. Their hair is of a similar color, although it's only seen on the woman, as the men are entirely bald and beardless.

Deep gnomes are short-lived for gnomes and reach adulthood at an age of 20 years. Use the aging effect characteristics [provided in the first post].

Like their lives, svirfneblin are also short and hard. They stand between 3 and 3 1/2 feet tall on average. They are thinner than their surface cousins, but they weigh just as much - about 40 to 45 pounds - due to the density of their muscles. They are little more than wiry sinews and rocklike bones.

Alternate starting ages

Random Starting Ages

Race	Adulthood	Simple¹	Moderate²	Complex³
Svirfneblin	20 years	+2d4	+3d6	4d6

¹ The simple classes are barbarian, rogue, and sorcerer.
² The moderate classes are bard, fighter, paladin, and ranger.
³ The complex classes are cleric, druid, monk, and wizard.

Alternate starting Height and Weight

Random Height and Weight

Subrace	Base Male Height	Base Female Height	Base Height Mod	Base Male Weight	Base Female Weight	Base Weight Mod
Svirfneblin	3'2"	2'8"	+1d6	37 lb.	32 lb.	x 1d4 lb.

Source: Forgotten Realms - Underdark

History

While most gnomes have little use for history, tending to prefer living in the moment, deep gnomes are the worst of the lot. They do not have a formal calendar or any way to tell the turning of the days. Living far from the light of the sun, the very idea of night or day is foreign to them. Dozens of svirfneblin cities lie scattered throughout the Underdark of Faerûn, and dozens more have surely risen and been abandoned over the years, but all of these settlements and refuges the story of only one is widely known to non-deep gnomes: Blingdenstone.

Blingdenstone was founded in -690 DR by several clans of deep gnomes fleeing west from the Underdark beneath Netheril, which had fallen into the power of dreadful phaerimms. Despite the proximity of a powerful drow city (Menzoberranzan) and an equally strong duergar city (Gracklstugh), the deep gnomes established their city at its site because of the rich veins of arandur and other exotic metals and minerals. For almost two thousand years, the deep gnomes carried on their mining and smithing, avoiding their evil neighbors and strengthening Blingdenstone's defenses against the day their enemies would come against them.

That day came in 1338 DR, although King Schnicktick and Queen Fricknarti could not have anticipated how it would come about. Drizzt Do'Urden, a renegade drow noble, arrived at Blingdenstone's doorstep after years of exile in the Underdark, and received sanctuary among the deep gnomes. Although Drizzt remained among the deep ghomes for only a short time, the events of his exile eventually lead to a full-scale drow attack against the dwarven citadel of Mithral Hall in 1358 DR. The invasion route passed close to Blingdenstone, and the deep gnomes chose to abandon their city. After the drow army passed, Belwar Dissengulp and other deep gnome wardens convinced King Schnicktick to join their forces to those of the defenders of Mithral Hall. The deep gnomes and their allies inflicted a great defeat on Menzoberranzan in the Keeper's Dale, and the Menzoberranyr never forgot that the svirfneblin had contributed to their humiliation.

In Marpenoth of 1370 DR, the Matron Mothers of Menzoberranzan exacted their vengeance. Calling up dozens of powerful demons and belbiliths, the unleashed a plague of murderous fiends that overran Blingdenstone. Thousands of gnomes died in the fall of the city, and thousands more were captured by drow slavers waiting outside the city gates. A small number of the deep gnomes managed to escape to Mithral Hall and Silverymoon as refugees. Driven from their old homes these svirfneblin have found a warm welcome among their former allies, but the prospect for returning to their old home looks bleak at best.


Outlook

Dour and cynical, deep gnomes are resigned to their lot in life. They spend their days scratching out a living in the subterranean passages near their home. The males mostly mine for precious gems, while the females - who are rarely seen outside their villages - gather food, care for the children, and keep house. Few aspire to do anything other than live out their lives quietly focusing on doing their jobs the best that they can.

The svirfneblin literally have little or no light in their lives. To avoid detection by others in the Underdark, they often refuse to use fire for cooking or warmth whenever possible, seeing the world only in black and white. The deep gnomes live and work in the eternal darkness out of their overwhelming love for gems. Most males spend almost their entire lives trying to chip precious stones out of the earth. They favor rubies most of all.

Outsiders often think of deep gnomes as irredeemably sullen and suspicious. While there is some basis for this, these are the outward results of survival techniques that these gnomes have had to adopt to endure their harsh and unforgiving environment. Sounds of any kind - especially voices - travel in strange ways in the Underdark, and they have a tenancy to attract visitors. In the experience of most deep gnomes, such outsiders have only the worst of intentions, so when a svirfneblin encounters a stranger who is actually friendly, she normally is too suspicious to even consider responding in a like manner. She may eventually warm to a svirfneblin from another town, but even this can take time.

While deep gnome adventurers are rare, some deep gnomes succumb to gnomish curiosity about the world outside the caverns and mine shafts of their daily lives. This is especially true for those deep gnome illusionists who crave to learn more about the nature of their chosen school of magic, but who lack for instruction in the insular villages in which they live. Svirfneblin prospectors are also occasionally encountered in the Underdark far from their homes, questing for promising new veins to mine for their beloved rubies.

Deep Gnome Characters
Svirfneblin are rarely found outside their own society. When this does happen, it's usually a lone prospector, a solitary illusionist, or a group of warriors who have struck out from their town for one reason or another. Typically deep gnomes only leave their homes out of a deep and abiding curiosity about the outside world, a burning desire to find more rubies, or the need to find help for dealing with some creature or event the svirfneblin don't feel they can handle on their own. Svirfneblin adventurers are most commonly fighters, rangers, rogues or wizards (particularly illusionists). Naturally stealthy, they find that the skills honed in surviving the dangers of the Underdark also serve an adventuring ranger or rogue well.

Favored Class: Like all gnomes, svirfneblin are talented wizards, especially illusionists. With an illusionist's powers, the deep gnome can keep out of sight of others until she decides to reveal herself. She can remain concealed, hide her home and friends, and deceive or misdirect enemies. Svirfneblin have learned that an enemy who can't locate them can't hurt them.

Prestige Classes: Some of the burlier deep gnomes excel in fighting in the tight spaces found in and around a svirfneblin town and aspire to become breachgnomes, fighters charged with the defense of their cavern homes. In a properly sized tunnel, a breachgnome can hold off an invading force almost indefinitely.


Deep Gnome Society

Deep gnome communities are subterranean settlements deep beneath the surface of Toril. The central part of the city is usually set in a single large cavern with all sorts of other caverns, rooms, and even buildings attached to the main section by a complex system of narrow corridors and spiraling staircases. When a town is first settled, the top-ranking members of the svirfneblin clan usually grab the largest stalagmites in the cavern and carve homes out of them. Most people, however, must carve their homes out of the cavern floors or walls.

For gnome communities, deep gnome towns are large, usually comprising around one thousand people. However, these places are normally far more isolated than even the most remote surface gnome town. Most svirfneblin go their entire lives without ever traveling to another deep gnome town, much less actually seeing daylight. Because of the relatively crowded conditions in a deep gnome town, svirfneblin families typically crowd into a single, small room. Children often stay with the family until they are married, at which point they need to either find or make a new home for themselves.

Deep gnome children are treasured greatly. It's rare for a family to have more than six children in it, and most have less than four. Deep gnome mothers dote on their children during their childhood. Once the children reach adolescence, they are immediately put to work in apprenticeships for whatever kinds of jobs they expect to have in adulthood. Deep gnomes don't celebrate the transition to adulthood the way their sunlit kin do. Instead, they know they've reached adulthood when they start working at the job of a real adult in earnest.

The great majority of male svirfneblin work in their town's mining operations, extracting precious gems and metals from the earth. Most of the rest spend their time processing and finishing the raw materials the others pull from the earth. By contrast, female svirfneblin spend their time gathering and preparing food, raising children, and keeping house. There is a strict division of labor along gender lines, and it's rare to see it crossed: The female gnomes rule in the home and the male gnomes outside it. Most deep gnomes work until they literally drop dead at their jobs. There is no concept of retirement in deep gnome society. Those who are able must pull their own weight as best they can, since no deep gnome wishes to be a burden on her family and community.

In keeping with the svirfneblin concept of equal division of labor, every svirfneblin town is governed by both a king and a queen, each of whom holds the position for life. The king oversees the community's mining operations and is responsible for managing the place's defense. The queen ensures that the town has an adequate stock of both food and water, and she handles the town's daily affairs. Each is supreme in his or here sphere, though each usually advises the other. The two are rarely married (at least, not to each other). When either monarch dies, the other chooses a successor for the deceased monarch by deciding on a contest that can be entered by any eligible member of the community. Usually eligibility is based on gender and status. The winner of the contest becomes the next monarch.

The staples of the deep gnome diet are a number of different kinds of fungi found or even farmed in the Underdark. To this, they sometimes add blind fish or occasionally a deep rothe, goat, or sheep. Svirfneblin do not often cook their food, preferring instead to preserve it by means of salting. These goods are so salty that most outsiders cannot stomach them.

Besides water, svirfneblin drink a salty, intoxicating brew made of fermented fish parts, which is best described as an acquired taste. On special occasions, they drink a wine called Gogondy, said to contain powdered ruby (among other mysterious ingredients).

Svirfneblin have only two holidays universally celebrated by all deep gnome communities, both in honor of Callarduran Smoothhands, their favored god. The Festival of the Ruby celebrates the mythical time when Callarduran hid rubies and other gems in the earth for the deep gnomes to find; it is considered a lucky day for seeking and finding. The Festival of the Star celebrates the continued protection the Deep Brother provides to the svirfneblin. Deep gnomes mark the holy day by assembling on the shore of a subterranean lake or pool to watch small patches of a specially bred species of phosphorescent fungi in the cavern roof light up like stars, creating an illusion of the night sky reflected in the waters below. This ceremony reaffirms the deep gnomes' ancestral ties with the surface world, and reassures them that they have not been abandoned in the deep places of the world.


Language and Literacy

Svirfneblin speak Gnome, Undercommon, and whatever tongue is used by those on the surface of their region. Those who deal with outsiders often pick up a bit of Common as well. Given the nature of their closest neighbors in the Underdark, it's not uncommon for deep gnome linguistics to also learn languages like Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Illuskan, and Terran.

All deep gnome characters are literate except for barbarians.


Abilities and Racial Features

Deep gnomes have all the gnomish racial traits listed in the Player's Handbook (click here), except as follows:

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma. Quick and perceptive, svirfneblin are suspicious and retiring to an extreme.
  
• Darkvision up to 120 feet. This replaces gnome low-light vision.
  
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day -blindness, blur, and change self. These abilities are as the spells cast by a wizards of the svirfneblin's character level (save DC 10 + spell level). This ability replaces the gnome ability to cast the 0-level spells dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation.
  
• Stonecunning: Like dwarves, svirfneblin receive a +2 racial bonus on checks to notice unusual stonework. Something that isn't stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A deep gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a check as though actively searching and can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A svirfneblin can also intuit depth, sensing the approximate distance underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
  
• Nondetection (Su): Svirfneblin have a continuous nondetection supernatural ability as the spell cast by a wizard of their character level.
  
• Spell resistance of 11 + characters level.
  
• +4 dodge bonus against all creatures (no special bonus against giants).
  
• +2 racial bonus on all saving throws.
  
• +2 racial bonus on Hide checks, which improves to +4 in darkened areas underground.
  
• Automatic Languages: Gnome, Undercommon, home region. Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Illuskan, Terran.
  
• Level Adjustment +3: Svirfneblin are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerûn.

Source: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Pages 15-16

Deep Gnome Magic and Lore

Illusion is the favorite magic of every gnome, but for the svirfneblin, it's essential to survival. The deep gnomes know more than simple invisibility spells. Delving into the cracks of the earth has uncovered many strange creatures, and lost lore from ancient empires. The deep gnomes treasure the powerful magic items, spellbooks, and other relics of bygone ages - even if they don't completely understand how to use them.

Spells and Spellcasting
Deep gnomes become illusionists more than any other class. They also favor divination spells to help them discover the location of materials they are hunting for under the surface of the planet, and conjurations to bring earth elementals to lend them aid.

Spellcasting Tradition: Obviously, most deep gnomes are illusionists. Even those who don't specialize in the Illusion school sometimes take the Svirfneblin Figment Master feat, as to clerics and other spellcasters who don't specialize.

Deep Gnome Magic Items
Deep gnomes favor items that improve their ability to cast illusions and find valuable mineral deposits. They are the source of many magic items in jewelry form, such as necklaces of fireballs and amulets of natural armor, their inveterate mining have provided the raw materials needed to create these prized trade goods.

Common Magic Items: Deep gnomes are particularly adept at making gems into magic items. Any magic item that consists entirely of precious stones, such as gems of seeing and ioun stones, can be acquired among the svirfneblin at 10% less than the normal cost.

Iconic Magic Item: On special occasions, deep gnomes break out the Gogondy, a prized, crimson-colored wine said to grant visions to those who drink it. Few can have more than a few draughts of this heady (and expensive) stuff without keeling over.


Deep Gnome Deities

While the deep gnomes of Toril may not be particularly devout as a group, they do have a full pantheon of deities they share with the other gnomes. Svirfneblin clerics often move among both miners and mothers, keeping up community spirits. When they think the time is ripe, they declare a holiday festival in honor of whichever god they feel is appropriate.

Callarduran Smoothhands, the Master of Stone, is the most popular god among deep gnomes, many of whom spend their entire adult lives working in their town's mines. Callarduran taught the svirfneblin to summon and befriend earth elementals. Many deep gnome craftsmen work Callarudran's star insignia into their jewelry and other handiwork. They are careful not to use this theme with a golden ring, however, reserving that privilege for the god himself.

Although he is the patriarch of the gnome pantheon, few deep gnomes are drawn to the faith of Garl Glittergold. Garl's bright and sunny nature simply does not seem relevant to most svirfneblin. Some svirfneblin even feel that Garl has abandoned them in favor of their more cheery kin. Deep gnomes feel closer to Segojan Earthcaller, beloved by those deep gnomes who keep pets or work with their few domesticated animals (these are usually svirfneblin females, of course.) The rare deep gnome ranger usually finds this god's way with nature to his taste as well.

No gnomes really care for Urdlen, but he particularly frightens the svirfneblin. Tales of Urdlen's habit of attacking especially greedy deep gnomes just as they are about to grasp the most valuable gem ever seen are commonly told to young deep gnomes to keep them in line. Such parables also illustrate the number of quick and senseless deaths that await deep gnomes throughout the Underdark. Only constant vigilance against such threats does any good and, for encouraging them to always be alert, Urdlen has earned the deep gnomes' respect.


Relations with Other Races

Insular and suspicious, deep gnomes do not get along well with any other races. If forced to pick with whom they would rather keep company (outside other deep gnomes or no one at all), most deep gnomes would choose to associate with forest gnomes, and then rock gnomes. Beyond that, they might not mind gold dwarves or shield dwarves, or the occasional elf.

Svirfneblin do not have much feeling about any other standard character races, other than a general aversion to all of them. However, they have a deep and biding hatred for drow and duergar. These two races, with whom the deep gnomes share the Underdark, have long been a thorn in the side of a people who would much rather just be left alone. Also, the evil tendencies of these races have led many surface dwellers to think that all who live in the Underdark are unrepentantly evil, a prejudice hat frequently causes the deep gnomes grief when they first encounter an ignorant intruder from the surface.


Deep Gnome Equipment

Svirfneblin decorate their possessions with gems they've mined themselves, and their smiths and jewelers are among the best in the Underdark.

The deep gnomes have also turned mushroom farming into a science. Through arcane experimentation and careful crossbreeding, they've grown species of mushrooms that provide leathery fabric, woody stems, and any number of other useful materials.

Arms and Armor
In battle, most svirfneblin favor light picks of the sort they carry with them constantly and use in their daily work in the mines. Female deep gnomes use hoes or other domestic implements for defense in an emergency. For ranged weapons, they prefer regular darts as well as the special kinds described below.

Unique Items: Svirfneblin manufacture and use a number of specialized weapons particular to their race, including acid darts, crystal caltrops, stun darts, and flash grenades. The latter are particularly effective against the deep gnomes' drow enemies.

Animals and Pets
Deep gnomes often keep a herd of deep rothe, goats, or sheep somewhere on the edge of their towns. They tend them cautiously, always taking care to make sure the animals remain as silent as possible. The svirfneblin do not want their animals to attract unwanted visitors.

As for pets, most deep gnomes don't keep them. There are some who have a few, small, blind fish in a glass bowl. Others might actually have moles, shrews, bats, dire rats, or cavvekans as animal friends, although these live nearby the gnomes home, not actually in it.


Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn

[sandcastles]

The Forest Gnomes

Regions: Aglarond, Forest Gnome, Great Dale.
Racial Feats: Animal Friends, Forest Gnome Phantasist.
Level Adjustment: +1

If deep gnomes are thought by some as the black sheep of the gnome family (a title more fittingly reserved for the spriggans), then forest gnomes are the shy cousins. They are so reclusive that many times bigger people have "discovered" them, only to find that the forest gnomes have been living nearby for centuries. Forest gnomes are so quiet and painfully shy that they go to great lengths to avoid contact with others unless there is a great need to break their silence.

Whereas the rock gnomes are friendly and loquacious and the deep gnomes are sullen and reserved, the forest gnomes are practically invisible, the wallflowers of the gnomes. They have a great love for nature, particularly deep and quiet forests far from civilization or even anyone else's homes. For this reason, many people - including other kinds of gnomes - have never seen a forest gnome.

Most forest gnomes are extremely private, preferring to simply be left alone by other peoples. When among their own kind, they are a bit less reserved. They see themselves as caretakers of the forests in which they live and about the only way to be sure to trigger a forest gnome attack is to directly harm their beloved forest.

Forest gnomes are the smallest of the gnomes, averaging only 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall. Even the tallest forest gnome is less than 3 feet. They usually weigh around 25 to 30 pounds. Unlike other gnomes, they wear their hair and beards long, often almost to their feet when unbound. The males often trim their beards to a fine point or curl them into hornlike spikes extending to either side of their faces. Their skin is the color of bark, and their eyes are usually brown or blue. Their hair is brown or black, becoming gray or white with age.

Forest gnomes can live nearly 400 years on average, although some make it quite a bit further. They use modified aging effect characteristics instead of those given in the Player's Handbook.

Forest gnomes are unusually diminutive and use modified random height and weight characteristics as well. (These are available in the first post.)


History

The forest gnomes have had even less impact upon the history of Faerûn than the deep gnomes or rock gnomes. They have likely saved several forests from aggressive logging for centuries, but their efforts are infrequently acknowledged since they are rarely, if ever, seen. Among themselves, they often mark the years by significant events (both good and ill) that befell their village or the forest in which they live, but these details are often trivial and mean little to outsiders.


Outlook

The vast majority of forest gnomes would simply like to be left alone to enjoy the beauty of their wooded homes. They are not particularly distrustful of people outside their villages, nor do they hate those who treat the woods with respect. However, they just don't see how such people could have much interest in them and their simple way of life.

Most forest gnomes encountered outside their homes are illusionists, although clerics and druids sometimes show themselves as well at great need. The illusionists help to conceal the gnomes, their homes, and their efforts from the outside world. The clerics and druids take great pains to help maintain the health of the gnomes' forest home.

Most forest gnomes see no reason to ever leave their homes, but sometimes doing so becomes unavoidable. Adventuring forest gnomes may be hunting for a solution to some problem back home or hoping to learn more about the surrounding area so that they can defend their community against threats they would otherwise know nothing about.

Forest Gnome Characters
Few forest gnomes take up adventuring professions, instead concentrating on craftsmanship or forestry and becoming experts with the appropriate skills. They enjoy songs of all sorts and a few make good (if shy) bards. Forest gnomes have a reverent nature and do well as clerics or druids, but no forest gnome considers himself a warrior, and gnomes who take classes such as fighter or ranger are almost nonexistent. Due to their small size and stealthy natures, forest gnomes make good rogues, serving as scouts and spies for their isolated communities. Forest gnomes study the arcane arts as their most effective defense against bigger folk who would otherwise overrun them, and many become wizards specialized in the school of Illusion.

Favored Class: Most forest gnome adventurers are illusionists, making that their favored class. However, clerics are a close second. Cleric/illusionists, cleric/fighters, and illusionist/rogues are common multiclass combinations.


Forest Gnome Society

Life as a forest gnome is idyllic. They eat only that which they can gather - mostly fruits, nuts, and berries, with the rare bit of meat. Forest gnome communities often number fewer than 100 members and can be as small as a single family. The homes in these hamlets are often carved out of the trunks of a handsome hardwood tree, so skillfully fashioned that most people do not even recognize the living tree as someone's home (Survival DC 20 to detect the forest gnome abode); forest gnome druids long ago learned how to create such homes without harming the tree. These homes are often hundreds of feet apart, giving the families plenty of privacy from even each other. The interiors of these places consists of several tiny rooms stacked up atop each other and connected by trapdoors and ladders. Each room is only about 4 feet tall, making visiting uncomfortable for the larger peoples without magical aid. Most of these cylindrical room shave windows to let in the sun, but these are so cleverly disguised as to make them nearly impossible to find from the outside.

The community normally gathers in underground chambers, usually excavated in the local soil and shored up with stones and beams. Each home in these hamlets is connected to the chamber by a narrow tunnel just wide enough for a full-grown forest gnome to slip through.

Most forest gnomes spend their day tending to the forest and gathering food. A few search for gems underground - they prize emeralds above all else - while others craft jewelry of extraordinary quality. The designs in forest gnome jewelry are filled with themes related to their woodland home: flowers, trees, local animals, and the like.

Forest gnome children are allowed to do as they like. Often they spend their days playing within arm's reach of their parents, watching how their elders treat the environment in which they live. These children learn how to behave by way of example, and this results in a quiet and near religious reverence for the teeming life of the forest that surrounds them. Forest gnomes respect their elders, an the eldest member of the community is usually the person in charge of it, regardless of gender. They have little in the way of politics - the patriarch or matriarch simply acts as a wise adviser most of the time. Otherwise, the forest gnomes only act as a group when they have a clear consensus on what course of action they might wish to take.

Outside their homes, forest gnomes are solitary. If two or more are together, they form an insular group, often whispering among themselves at the slightest event. In such cases, the eldest forest gnome present is the nominal leader.


Language and Literacy

Forest gnomes speak Common, Gnome, and Sylvan. If they pick up an additional language, it's often Elven, but it could just as well be Halfling, Treant, or the human language of the surrounding region. Those forest gnomes who fight to defend their homes sometimes pick up a bit of Draconic, Goblin, or Orc too, just so they can converse with their attackers and - if possible - spy on them.

Forest gnomes have a special ability to speak with animals at will. They make good use of this talent, persuading forest animals to observe intruders and report any trouble in the woodlands.

All forest gnome characters are literate, except for barbarians. The next forest gnome barbarian one meets is likely to be the first and may well be the last.


Abilities and Racial Features

Forest gnomes have all the gnome traits listed in the Player's Handbook (listed in the first post), except as follows:

• +4 racial bonus on Hide checks. This increases to +8 in forest settings. (This is in addition to the Hide bonus for their Small size.)
  
• +1 racial bonus on attacks against kobolds, orcs, goblinoids, and reptilian humanoids.
  
• Automatic Languages: Common; Gnome, Sylvan. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Halfling, Treant, and Orc.
  
• Favored Class: Illusionist.
  
• Level Adjustment: +1. Forest gnomes are significantly more stealthy than other characters and possess useful spell-like abilities. They are slightly more powerful and gain levels more slowly than the common races of Faerûn.

Forest Gnome Magic and Lore

Like all gnome wizards, forest gnomes prefer illusions to any other school of magic. These reclusive people prefer to use these spells to conceal the existence of themselves and their homes. If someone does come near, forest gnome illusionists often use other illusions to distract the intruder and draw her away from the forest gnome community. When a forest gnome does have to speak with outsiders, he typically uses illusions to disguise himself as a member of the intruder's own race, the better to hide his fellow gnomes' proximity.

Clerics are more important to forest gnomes than any other gnome subrace. These spellcasters use their power to help tend to the forest in which they live. They often offer healing to animals, especially those who have been injured by a hunter's arrows or traps.

Forest gnomes also make natural druids. Their reclusive manner and their respect for nature fits in well with the druidic traditions. However, few are extroverted enough to join up with a druidic society. Those that do manage often find it well worth the effort, as they then become more effective at preserving their forest home than ever before.

Spells and Spellcasting
Almost all forest gnome spellcasters are illusionists, clerics, or druids. Forest gnome magic tends to have the same character as the forest gnomes themselves: unobtrusive but effective in the background. Accordingly, they favor utility spells with long durations, leaving the flashier illusions for their rock gnome cousins.

Spellcasting Tradition: Forest gnomes find phantasm spells particularly useful, so they often take the Forest Gnome Phantasist feat.


Forest Gnome Deities

Forest gnomes are the most devout of all the gnomes, their reverence for their natural surroundings transferring quiet easily to the gods who created it all. Forest gnome priests always lead off every gathering of forest gnomes with a solemn blessing. Often, such a priest is the glue that keeps the distant members of his community connected.

Baervan Wildwanderer is the patron deity of most forest gnomes. As his last name suggests, this god is most comfortable in the remote places the forest gnomes call home. He has personally charged them with the care of their pristine homes, and for this they owe him their undying gratitude. It is a burden they have gladly shouldered. Clerics of Baervan often advise their fellows on the careful husbandry and stewardship over the forest.

The faith of Segojan Earthcaller is also popular among the forest gnomes. Segojan taught them their undying respect for their closest friends, the animals with whom they share their forests. Many forest gnome warriors wear armor covered with grass and roots to demonstrate their veneration for the Earthcaller.

To forest gnomes, Urdlen represents the great unknown, everything above, around, or even below their forest homes - in other words, the things of which the forest gnomes are most frightened. Still, on a sunny day in the forest, Urdlen and the fears he represents seem far off. The god apparently appreciates the work the forest gnomes d o to preserve their homes, because he rarely enters them.


Relations with Other Races

It's not that forest gnomes wouldn't get along with other races. They simply avoid them so much at they rarely have much of a chance to interact with them at all. When they do meet pleasant and respectful outsiders, forest gnomes can usually rise to the occasion, however shyly. If given a chance, they can be the most steadfast of friends.

Those forest gnomes who have encountered outsiders prefer rock gnomes, elves - particularly wood elves and wild elves - and halfings (especially ghostwise halflings) to all others. This is because these races share the respect that the forest gnomes have for their natural surroundings.

As for the other standard character races, the forest gnomes don't know or care much about them. However, they have a long-standing hatred for orcs, kobolds, and lizardfolk, based upon the way these races abuse the forest and nature in general. They are also somewhat suspicious of humans, as human loggers, trappers, and hunters have damaged more than one forest despite the forest gnomes' bast efforts.


Forest Gnome Equipment

Forest gnomes have no unusual racial equipment, although in their armaments they favor bludgeoning weapons. Having seen axes used on far too many trees, forest gnomes despise these weapons - and sometimes those who use them.

Animals and Pets
Forest gnomes do not keep cattle or pets of any kind. The animals of the forest are their friends, not creatures to be prayed upon or domesticated. They have been known to strike up friendships with all natural creatures of the forest, although they favor those closer to their own size, like foxes, squirrels, and the like.


Forest Gnome Region

Forest gnomes are reclusive, and as a result, most of them simply take the Forest Gnome region detailed below.

Preferred Classes: Bard, cleric, druid, wizard. A character of one of these classes may choose a regional feat and gain his choice of the bonus equipment below as a 1st-level character. A forest gnome character of any other class may not select one of the regional feats here and does not gain the bonus equipment at 1st level.

Automatic Languages: Common, Gnome, and Sylvan.

Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elven, Gnoll, Goblin, Halfling, Orc.

Bonus Equipment: (A) light mace* or halfspear*, or (B) wand of cure light wounds (1st level, 20 charges).

Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn

[sandcastles]

The Rock Gnomes

Regions: the Dalelands, Gnome (rock), Great Dale, Lantan, Thesk, Western Heartlands.
Racial Feats: Animal Friend, Rock Gnome, Trickster.
Racial Prestige Class: Breachgnome.

Rock gnomes are the gnomes that most people are familiar with, so much so that when someone says “a gnome”, he or she is almost always speaking of a rock gnome. Unlike their reclusive cousins, the deep gnomes and the forest gnomes, the rock gnomes are an inquisitive and loquacious people. They are renowned throughout Faerûn as technicians, alchemists, and inventors, as well as illusionists of the highest order. They do not care much for living in larger cities, where their talents are in high demand, and prefer the rolling hills of the countryside. But anywhere they find themselves, they display an amazing zest for life and all the pleasures it holds.

Rock gnomes are far friendlier and more outgoing than the other gnome kindreds. They are well known for their love of jokes as well as their fondness for finely made things. As with all gnomes, they adore gems of all kinds, but rock gnomes have a particular passion for the purity and perfection of the diamond.

Rock gnomes average between 3 and 3 1/2 feet tall, and weigh between 40 and 45 pounds. Their skin comes in many different shades of brown, but is unaffected by exposure to the sun. The hair of young gnomes can vary greatly in color, but in adulthood they all tend toward gray or white. The males wear their beards neatly trimmed.

From a rock gnome’s point of view, life is meant to be enjoyed in all its facets: work, play, and otherwise. Again, it’s the process that’s important, not the goal, even if those goals--like, say, finely cut gems--do end up being valuable on their own. This shows in just about everything a rock gnome does from making a meal to working a mine to playing a practical joke. The care they put into their actions always shines through.

Young rock gnomes have carefree childhoods. During their adolescence, rock gnomes are expected to learn the basics of a useful trade and to master the basics of self-defense. They are encouraged to dabble in all sorts of pastimes until they find something that perfectly fits their temperaments. They come of age at 40, an occasion for the largest party of their lives. From there, the average life expectancy is about 350 years, although some have been known to reach 500 years in age.


History

The rock gnomes are counted as one of the major races of Faerûn. Although they may not be as populous or influential as some of the other races, there are gnomes scattered throughout the continent. Gnomes have played a large part in the development of firearms in Faerûn, and they are acknowledged as the masters of these tricky items.

There has never been such a thing as a gnome empire or even a country. If gnomes can be said to have a homeland, it would have to be the islands of Lantan, far to the southwest of the main continent. Of course, few gnomes have ever been to Lantan or know more about it than what they’ve heard in the legends passed down to them by their ancestors.


Outlook

Rock gnomes are generally optimistic. They view the world as a puzzle that the gods--in their infinite wisdom--have laid out before them as the ultimate challenge, one that cannot ever be fully met. It is their greatest joy to be involved in the unraveling of the mysteries of creation, an act they feel brings them closer to the gods with each passing day.

In their adolescence, rock gnomes are encouraged to dabble in as many different things as possible. Eventually, they find something that truly intrigues them, fires their imaginations, and sets them on the path of a career that may last them the rest of their lives. Almost every rock gnome enjoys what she does for a living, which is one of the reasons that they have such positive dispositions.

Of course, rock gnomes enjoy their leisure time at least as much as their work. They are known for hosting wild celebrations on the thinnest of pretenses. When they really have a reason for cheer, the parties have been known to last for tendays.

While most gnomes are homebodies at heart, a number simply can’t resist the urge to go out into the world to explore. Inquisitive by nature, gnomes often find themselves almost compelled to do everything they can to learn about anything they want. Others, the greedier ones, set off in search of fame and fortune. Sadly, these are fleeting dreams, as even the most famous of gnomes is usually just another member of her community when she returns home.

Rock Gnome Characters
Rock gnome characters with close ties to their communities are often clerics, wizards, or rangers (although their low Strength score means that they’ll likely favor ranged combat). Rock gnomes infected with wanderlust almost always become, bards (often supplementing their performances with their extra gnome spells) and rogues.

Favored Class: The rock gnome’s favored class is the illusionist, for which there are two reasons. First, an illusionist can do a great deal to help hide the homes of his people, granting them the privacy they crave and the safety they require. Gnomes are not the match of most other races on an open battlefield, and they know this. They’re smart enough to take every edge they can get.
Second, illusionists have the most entertaining of magics at their disposal. The finest ones can actually tell visual stories with their illusions, creating a new kind of art form that is exclusive to illusionists and favored by gnome practitioners of that arcane art.

Prestige Classes: Some of the braver and stronger rock gnomes excel in fighting in the tight spaces in the tunnels in their underground homes. In such spaces, a breach gnome can hold off an invading force almost indefinitely.


Rock Gnome Society

Rock gnome life is filled with long days of work that stretch on for tendays at a time, punctuated by jubilant celebrations in which these hard-driven workers finally get to blow off some steam. This is the kind of life that most gnomes prize, and they feel blessed by the gods that they are mostly able to manage it.

Once a gnome reaches adulthood, she is expected to take up a career and work at it tirelessly to become the best at it that she can be. Some gnomes switch vocations later in life--some do it several times, in fact--but this is relatively rare. The vast majority of gnomes find something they like to do and then stick with it for as long as they can.

Even on the job, though, gnomes are usually friendly and fun-loving people. They are constantly telling jokes throughout their days, many of which leave their coworkers in stitches. Practical jokes are fine too, as long as they don’t disrupt the work environment too much. Every gnome loves a good prank, but they all insist on getting their jobs done too.

Many gnomes work as miners. While they may not be as aggressive at it as dwarves, they’re actually much better at getting the most possible out of a vein of ore. Others practice stonecutting or gemwork. Their metalworkers prefer to work with softer metals--gold, silver, and so on--although they do a fine job with harder materials like steel too. They also make excellent woodworkers and carpenters. Faerunian rock gnomes are among the finest artisans working in the fields of toy making, clockwork engineering, and gunsmithing. It’s common for rock gnomes to be armed with smokepowder pistols.

Gnome cooking is not much of a drow to outsiders. It tends to be bland and overcooked or overcooked and over-salted; reliable gnome-friends claim to have tasted some that was bland and over-salted, though no one knows quite how the gnome cooks managed this. Their (salty) bread is unleavened. All gnomes are very fond of rock candy, and some eat rock salt with equal relish.

Gnomes do, however, make excellent brewers and vintners. Many of them are talented musicians as well. These two facts contribute greatly to the reputation of gnomes as wonderful party guests and even better hosts.

Most rock gnome settlements are small. It’s rare to find one with more than five hundred adults in a widely scattered area. However, these communities are usually found clustered close together, usually within a few days’ or tendays’ travel of each other.

Rock gnome burrows are usually small but tidy. Any married couples have rooms to themselves, but the children usually share a single room. Adolescents are segregated by gender, each sex having its own room. Each burrow usually connects to those of the same clan by tunnel, meaning that many gnomes rarely if ever have to go outside during a day. This is one reason why their communities can go unnoticed by the larger peoples for so long.

When traveling or adventuring, gnomes appear both singly and in small groups. These groups are usually composed of a number of close friends or family members or both.


Language and Literacy

Rock gnomes normally speak Gnome and Common, as well as whatever language is predominant in their home region. They often pick up Dwarven and Sylvan because they live in areas favored by these races. Additionally, they regularly come into contact with those who speak Chondathan, Draconic, Goblin, Illuskan, and Terran, although this isn’t always under the best of circumstances.

All rock gnomes are literate, except for barbarians.


Abilities and Racial Features

Rock Gnomes have all the elven racial traits listed in the Player's Handbook (see first post).


Rock Gnome Magic and Lore

Like all gnome wizards, rock gnomes prefer illusions to any other school of magic. They like to use their illusions in clever ways to fool or misdirect foes or to entertain friends.

Rock gnomes all have the spell-like ability to speak with animals, and many rock gnome characters eventually acquire the Animal Friends feat to improve this ability.

Spellcasting Tradition: A panoply of illusions available to rock gnomes makes them incorrigibly tricksters. They often take the Rock Gnome Trickster feat.


Rock Gnome Deities

Rock gnomes are not particularly devout in practice, although they are forever talking about their gods in conversation. They attend services about once a tenday, but not with any kind of fervor. They believe that the gods are with them everywhere, so it’s not always so necessary to make the trip to a temple to see them.

Garl Glittergold is the patriarch of the gnome gods, and patron of the rock gnomes in particular. To look at them, one might think that most rock gnomes model their lives on Garl’s behavior, including the constant tricks he plays on the other gods. Many gnomes do the same to their friends whether they are gnomes or not. Clerics of Garl Glittergold keep themselves endlessly busy with the planning of revels, feasts, and celebrations to bring good cheer, sustenance, and wisdom to their fellows.

Rock gnomes also venerate Baervan Wildwanderer. The protector of the forests and glades that rock gnomes call home, Baervan is also the patron of gnomish rogues. If there’s anyone who could possibly outdo Garl in the prank department, it’s Baervan. The two have been trying to top each other since the dawn of the gods, and the friendly rivalry is still going on.


Relations with other Races

Rock gnomes get along famously with almost all the standard character races. They are particularly fond of dwarves of all kinds, with whom they share a love of finely wrought jewelry and mechanical devices. They also have a great love for halflings who can take a joke. Their common style of housing and their similar sizes would be bonds enough, but their shared joy for living is what really brings them together.

Rock gnomes are a bit more cautious around the larger peoples, but these reservations usually quickly give way to enthusiasm when someone shows any sort of interest in or knowledge about the gnome’s work or other passions.

Orcs, kobolds, and goblinoid find an especially cold place in a rock gnome’s heart. Although most rock gnomes find it hard to hate anyone, long experience with these races has told them that it’s better to never cut them any breaks. Besides, none of them can take a joke.


Rock Gnome Equipment

Rock gnomes have no unusual racial equipment, but they are outstanding gunsmiths.

Common Items: Smokepowder and firearms are available among the rock gnomes for 10% less than the standard price.

Animals and Pets
Rock gnomes befriend many sorts of burrowing animals, such as moles, weasels, badgers, and wolverines. These small creatures serve as watchdogs (and, in the case of badgers or wolverines, guardians) for gnome households.


Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn