Gnoat [Centaur-kin]

A gnoat joins a gnome's upper body to the hindquarters of a big mountain goat. Skin runs from tan to deep chestnut. The shaggy goat coat is gray, black, or brown, with a white or cream belly, and the head hair, usually cut short on both sexes, matches it. Hooves are black or dark brown. Males keep short beards in the coat's color, often trimmed into fancy patterns. Most have blue eyes, from pale to deep cobalt, though some have green or brown.

They wear cotton or leather shirts and jackets and an assortment of hats, favoring many muted shades over bright colors. The beloved patchwork jacket, stitched from scraps of many colors and fabrics, is so sturdy it works as padded armor. Any jewelry is carved from wood, usually bracelets or pendants. Their languages are common and gnomish, and many can talk with burrowing mammals, though some clans have lost the knack.

Gnoats are peaceful but cautious with strangers until they prove trustworthy. They defend themselves when attacked, and most males are trained fighters, while females seldom fight unless directly endangered. Clubs and spears are the usual arms, and short bows are carried by half or more of a group. Unarmed, a gnoat kicks once with its hind hooves for 1d6. Like gnomes, they gain +4 on saves against spells and poison.

There is a 15% chance that a group is escorting its chief along with an illusionist of 3rd level, in which case 2-8 more gnoats are present. The chief wears an ornate matching jacket and hat and bears a shield with the clan emblem, often a mountain, horns, a tree, or a tool. The illusionist dresses in a simple black tunic and black leather skullcap.

Most of the year clans live in caves in the lower foothills of tall mountains, hunting and farming to lay in food for winter. When the cold comes they retreat to caverns deep in the mountains stocked with grain, cured meat, and honey. A clan has 100 to 300 members, 40% female and 10% children, and its chief (AC 5, 5+1 HD, THAC0 15) takes counsel from 1 to 4 illusionists, each of 1st to 3rd level.

Gnoats are gifted stone sculptors and woodcarvers who spend winters perfecting their craft, turning out everything from tiny carved fruits and animals that sit in a palm to bold stone statues bigger than a full-grown goat. In spring they emerge to trade carvings for pottery, cloth, and metalwork, staying near home and waiting for merchants to come through the passes. They are cautious with traders at first but slowly form solid friendships, and some merchants keep the gnoats' location secret in exchange for a steady supply of fine carvings every spring.