Gnomes

Gnomes are welcome everywhere as technicians, alchemists, and inventors. Despite the demand for their skills, most gnomes prefer to remain among their own kind, living in comfortable burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills where animals abound.

Gnomes are inquisitive. They love to find things out by personal experience. At times they're even reckless, always trying out new ways to do something. They also have a great sense of humor, and while they love puns, jokes, and games, they also relish tricks - the more intricate the better. Sometimes a gnome pulls a prank just to see how the people involved will react.

Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or consultants. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are goodhearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious. Evil gnomes are as rare as they are frightening.

Rock Gnomes, Oerth

Gnomes are believed by some to be related to dwarves, but aside from height, there are few similarities. Gnomes favor woodlands for their homes, residing in burrows just below the surface in hilly country. Gnomish communities are loosely knit and prone to friendly competition. Typical gnome jobs include jewelry making, mining, metalworking, toymaking, a minor amount of farming (which they are typically poor at), spellcraft (expecially illusions), bardcraft, alchemy, brewing, hunting, and the military. Their society is based on art; all gnomes must take up some form of art (whether music, painting, cooking, building, or any other form that is considered creative) by the time they come of age.

Gnomes are rarely taller than 3'6", are moderately built, and have skin that resembles the color of wood (from light ash to dark oak). Their hair is fair, and their eyes can be any shade of blue. Gnome males prefer short, carefully trimmed beards. Gnomes generally wear leather or earth tones, though they decorate their clothes with intricate stitching or fine jewelry.

Rock Gnomes, Faerun

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. Rock gnomes are an inquisitive and loquacious people, and they are reknowned throughout Faerun as technicians, alchemists, and inventors, as well as illusionists of the highest order. The are friendly and outgoing, and well known for their love of jokes and pranks. 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 3'6" tall, and weigh between 40 and 45lbs. Their skin comes in many different shades of brown, but s 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.

Tinker Gnomes, Krynn

Gnomes are the tinkers and inventors of Krynn. Fast thinking and fast speaking, their minds are forever fixed on cogs, gears, wheels, bells, whistles, and steam-powered engines. Despite the dangers inherent with their work, gnomes (sometimes called tinker gnomes) adore technology and continue throughout the ages to pursue and perfect their invention.

Gnomes stand 3'0" tall and weigh about 45 to 50lbs. All gnomes have rich brown skin, the tone of polished wood, with white hair, blue or violet eyes, and straight white teeth. Males have soft, curly beards and moustaches; females are beardless. Gnomes are short and stocky, but their movements are quick and their hands are deft and sure. The yhave rounded ears and large noses. Gnomes have miserable fashion sense, dressing themselves in outlandish garb. Tools and notebooks bristle from the pockets of their outfits.

Mystaran Gnomes, Mystara

Like dwarves, gnomes claim they were created by their patron Immortal, Garal Glitterlode. When their colonies had trouble surviving, the gnomes of Mystara built Serraine, their wondrous flying city, and there they remain to this day. Still, small scattered communities can still be found in the Old World and Norwold. Elsewhere, gnomes do not seem to be present. Strictly speaking, there is only one race of Gnomes present on Mystara, and they are simply known as Mystaran Gnomes. The second "race" of gnomes are the Sky Gnomes which inhabit the flying city of Serraine. Physically the two races of gnomes are identical, but their attitude and culture are so different that many sages prefer to separate them into two races.

Gnomes stand about 3'6" tall and have rather pronounced noses of which they are quite proud. They have either pale blond or red hair, which often turns white as they age. Their skin ranges from dark tan to woody brown, and they usually have bright blue eyes.

Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength
• Small Size: +1 size modifier to attack rolls and AC, +4 size bonus to hide and move silently skills.
• Hardiness vs. Illusions: +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells
• Low-Light Vision: A rock gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions
• Skill Affinity: A rock gnome receives a +2 racial bonus to the Listen and Concentration skills
• Spell Focus Illusion: Rock gnomes receive the feat Spell Focus (Illusion) for free at first level.
• Offensive Training vs. Reptilians: +1 racial bones on attack rolls against reptilian humanoids
• Offensive Training vs. Goblinoids: +1 racial bonus on attack roles against goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears)
• Defensive Training vs. Giants: +4 racial bonus to AC against giants