Gnome

Think of a dwarf made smaller, slimmer and quicker, then give him a neatly clipped beard and a nose easily twice the size of a human's, worn with great pride. That is a gnome. They are loyal and generous to friends but seldom let outsiders glimpse them. Fighters and priests exist, yet most gnomes take up thieving or illusion, and no demihuman race produces more multiclassed characters. Every subrace speaks a gnomish dialect of its own, and many gnomes also learn the speech of neighboring humans, halflings, dwarves, goblins and kobolds. Some rock gnomes manage crude talk with burrowing mammals through snorts, grunts and gestures.

Rock gnomes are the common type: tan to woody brown skin, at times grayish, pale hair and blue eyes, dressed in leather and earthy hues brightened by fine jewelry or needlework. They usually reach about 450 years, and a few pass 600. Every gnome sees 60 feet with infravision. Underground a gnome can spot a sloping passage on 1-5 (d6), unsound stonework on 1-7 (d10), and judge approximate depth on 1-4 (d6) or direction on 1-3 (d6). Their resistance to magic adds +1 to saves for every 3.5 points of Constitution, typically +3 or +4, with a catch: any magical item a gnome tries to use has a 20% chance to fail, though armor, weapons and illusion devices are exempt.

Cunning beats muscle in gnome warfare, and clever illusions are their favorite way to tilt a fight. Old hatred grants +1 to hit goblins and kobolds. Gnomes are also hard for big foes to hit: giant-class creatures such as gnolls, bugbears, ogres, trolls and giants take -4 on attacks against them. Any size-appropriate weapon will do, and most carry spares. Hammers, spears and short swords serve up close; darts, slings, crossbows and short bows at range; and a concealed knife is nearly universal as a last resort.

Ordinary rock gnome warriors wear studded leather with a small shield for AC 6. Leaders have chain mail and AC 4, and gnomes above 5th level wear plate for AC 2. For each level past 5th, armor and weapon each have a separate 10% chance of being magical. Spellcasters get a 10% chance per level to own 1-3 magical items suited to their class.

Rock gnome clans tunnel into isolated, forested hills, staying close enough to the surface to enjoy its beauty and living in easy harmony with the land. Rival clans compete in good humor. Life revolves around mining, jewelcraft and frequent festivals full of games, storytelling and contests to see whose nose is biggest. Society is orderly and layered, topped by one chief whom clerics advise on matters of faith.

Lairs hold 40-400 gnomes, one in four a child. Every 40 adults include a fighter of level 2-4. At 160 or more there is also a chief of 5th level and a 3rd-level second in command; at 200 or more, a level 4-6 cleric or illusionist joins them. A lair of 320 or more adds one fighter of 6th level and two of 5th, one cleric of 7th and four of 3rd, and illusionists of 5th (one) and 2nd (two). Burrowing animals live alongside the clan as allies rather than pets: badgers (5d6, 70%), giant badgers (3d4, 20%) or wolverines (2d4, 10%).

Far below, deep gnomes prowl the narrow tunnels of the deep underworld for gems, loving rubies most. Their hidden warren-cities can hold a thousand, kept secret from brinekin, drow and mind reavers. A touch shorter than their rock gnome cousins, they are wiry and tough, with brown or gray stony skin and gray eyes; males are bald, females have thin gray locks. They live about 250 years. Other gnomes follow their dialect 60% of the time, and most deep gnomes also speak Underworld Common and some drow and brinekin. Teams work so smoothly they seem empathic. Using pitched vibrations they can hold simple exchanges with earth-plane natives, which are 90% unlikely to hurt a deep gnome though they may charge it a toll of gems or metal.

Each deep gnome can use blindness, blur and change self once daily and constantly radiates non-detection. They have 120-foot infravision plus every rock gnome detection talent. Holding still, one is 60% likely to go unnoticed even by infravision. Sharp ears and noses mean surprise catches them only on a 1 in 10, and they surprise others 90% of the time. Mithral-ringed leather over fine chain gives AC 2, improving one step per level beyond 3rd (AC 1 at 4th, AC 0 at 5th) down to AC -6; shields are skipped as too clumsy for tight tunnels. Magic resistance is 20%, plus 5% per level beyond 3rd. Illusions, phantasms and hallucinations do not affect them, and they save at +3, or +2 against poison.

Keen-edged picks and daggers grant +1 to hit and damage without being magical. Each also has 1d4+6 stun darts, thrown up to 40 feet at +2; a hit puffs out gas, and anyone breathing it must save vs. poison or be stunned 1 round, then slowed 4 rounds. Elites of 3rd level or higher may carry acid-filled darts (+2d4 damage) and crystal caltrops that release potent sleeping gas when trodden on.

Women govern the city and produce food; men mine and guard the borders, so almost every party met outside is male. A king and a queen hold separate, independent authority. Every 4 deep gnomes travel with a 4+7 HD overseer, and bands over 20 follow a burrow warden of 6+9 HD with two 5+8 HD aides. At 6th level a deep gnome has a 25% chance of illusionist skill at level 5, 6 or 7; others gain a once-per-day attempt to summon an earth elemental, succeeding 50% of the time. Deep gnome clerics cannot turn undead.

Tinker gnomes are sunny, tireless and gloriously incompetent, and starships have carried them to many worlds. They have the rock gnome's infravision, saves, combat edges and detection, but a wholly different culture. Their skin is a rich brown, their hair white, their eyes violet or china blue, and males grow outlandish whiskers. A tinker who avoids blowing himself up lives 250-300 years. They speak in a rapid, unending torrent, able to speak and hear simultaneously.

They rarely carry real weapons, improvising with tools, though they constantly build absurd contraptions such as multi-spear launchers. Mismatched armor scraps give AC 5. Colonies are huge tunnel networks in secluded mountains; one great mountain-city houses about 59,000, while others hold only 200-400. Every tinker has a Life Quest to master one single device, and almost none succeed. Guilds replace clans, and guildmasters sit together as the ruling council; men and women stand as equals. Adventuring tinkers repeat their mistakes yet often rescue their friends with bizarre fixes. Other races find their gadgetry alien and their manners grating, and sages suspect tinker boasting has actually turned others against technology.

Smallest of their kind at 2 to 2 1/2 feet, forest gnomes have gray-green skin like bark, dark hair and eyes of green, brown or blue, and often live to 500. They hide from other peoples unless their woods face disaster, yet quietly guide lost travelers. Besides their own dialect they speak rock gnome, elf and treant, and can talk simply with woodland animals. They innately pass without trace, hide among trees with 90% success, and enjoy the rock gnome save bonus. Preferring snares and missiles, they gain a 4-point AC bonus against size M or L foes and +1 to hit and damage against orcs, lizard men, troglodytes and anything they have watched harm their forest. Each family lives in a hollow tree, and villages of under 100 are disguised so well that elves or rangers can pass through without noticing.