Gnomes

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Gnomelord

During the Age of Dreams, Reorx attempted to teach the arts of the forge to a group of humans. However, these humans failed to live up to the god's expectations, yet were proud and boastful. Reorx cursed these humans to become diminuitive tinkers and craftsmen, unable to master their inventive urges.

The tinker gnomes are creators of large and complex machines - sometimes complex to the point of obsolescence ("This is the alarm gong that informs us that the warning bell has just sounded..."). Human visitors to gnome settlements report seeing explosions, holes blown in walls, and narrow escapes from rampaging machinery. Often when a tinker gnome attempts to build, repair, or operate an invention, the results are failure or even success of an unexpectedly catastrophic nature. Usually the results of such mishaps are minor - the gnome builds an engine that does nothing but emit foul-smelling smoke, or breaks an existing device - but attempts with dangerous inventions may lead to more serious accidents. Beware rogue chicken-plucking devices...

Personality: The tinker gnomes are an inventive, creative people, but are lacking in clear logic. Whilst this eccentricity often results in devices that work in a roundabout way or not as originally intended, it does grant the gnomes some small amount of talent as artists, poets, and writers.

Physical Description: Adult gnomes of either gender stand between thirty and forty inches in height. They are noted for their brown, leather-textured skin, soft white hair, blue or violet eyes, and straight white teeth. Gnomes often develop wrinkles around the age of 50, and have rounded ears and large noses. Gnomes are short and stocky, but their movements are quick and their hands are deft and sure. Males tend to bald rather quickly, and almost always grow curly white beards; craftsmen keep these cut tidily short to avoid accidents, whilst patriarchs have long beards that sometimes even brush the ground. The gnomish style of dress is usually colourful and artistic, appearing almost festive.

Relations: Tinker gnomes admire the keen minds of the elves and humans, the craftsmanship of the dwarves, and the curiosity and creativity of kender. At the same time, they consider each of these races too easily distracted from the proper pursuits of science, technology, and progress. Bakali, centaurs, and ogres remain incomprehensible to gnomes, too rugged and brutal for comfort. Furthermore, these races are hardly known for their craftsmanship. Minotaurs, on the other hand, are considered warily; gnomes dislike the patronising attitude of these creatures, but recognise their cunning and power.

Alignment: Tinker gnomes tend to be good in alignment. Gnomes are whimsical, innovative, and unpredictable, all chaotic traits.

Tinker Gnome Lands: Gnomes dwell in small numbers throughout Ansalon, usually in remote mining communities. The single largest gnomish community is the terraced extinct volcano named Mount Nevermind in Sancrist.

Religion: By far the most popular gnomish deity is Reorx. To them Reorx is a gnome who loves building, creating, inventing, and tinkering. There is also a small cult that follows Shinare, goddess of industry, and attend services every sixth day.

Language: Tinker gnomes speak their own tongue, and are always quite good at speaking Common, although in an idiosyncratic, rapid manner. Strangers who observe a human "patiently" explaining matters to an excited tinker gnome might mistakenly assume that they were speaking different languages.

Names: Each tinker gnome has three names. A gnome's true name recounts the character's entire family tree, extending back to creation. This history occupies a single, enormous word that can easily fill a large book. Though each gnome knows his complete name (or at least the first few thousand syllables), most use a shortened form of address that merely takes half a minute to recite. This shorter name lists the highlights of the character's ancestors' lives. In casual conversation, minoi use even shorter names, only three or four syllables long. These names express the basic nature of the gnome, and may be altered or appended to from time to time.

Male Names: Armivirum, Barsh, Boinio, Burukoymar, Conundrum, Domonicus, Drishurocolus, Gesedstaen, Gimolus, Gnimsh, Grindle, Jarrig, Perplexivus, Quandry, Slipger, Thelvaraen, Vargalastin, Vitaquecum.

Female Names: Aracano, Cahmetinaru, Livialantho, Narivinu, Ostholalo, Virumsa.

Adventurers: Gnome adventurers are occasionally forced to begin a life of exploration after being stranded far from home by a flying machine gone wrong. More often, though, a gnome character chooses to travel among the other races of Ansalon as tinkerers and craftsgnomes, selling minor inventions and masterwork objects to finance exploration into their personal interests.

There are also small colonies of gnomes to be found in isolated mountainous regions of Ansalon; a minoi character raised on one of these rustic communes might want to see a bit of the world, or perhaps get in touch with the more wealthy and cosmopolitan gnomes of Mount Nevermind.

Tinker Gnome Racial Traits

• -2 Strength, +2 dexterity, +2 intelligence, -2 wisdom
• Small: As Small creatures, gnomes gain a +1 bonus to Armour Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons than humans and their lifting and carrying limits are three quarters of those of Medium-size characters.
• Gnome base speed is 20 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: Gnomes can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions
• +2 racial bonus on Knowledge and Profession skill checks involving mechanics or tinkering
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions and +2 on Search Checks; the obsessive pursuit of understanding results in a gnome tendency towards over-analysis, which often gives them insights into what is factual and what is false.
• +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins, and sligs): Gnomes battle these creatures frequently and practice special techniques for fighting them.
• +4 dodge bonus against giants: This bonus represents special training that gnomes undergo, during which they learn tricks that previous generations developed during their battles with ogres. Note that any time a character loses his positive Dexterity bonus to Armour Class, such as when he's caught flat-footed, he loses his dodge bonus too.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks: Gnomes have keen ears.
• +2 racial bonus on Alchemy checks: A gnome's sensitive nose allows him to monitor alchemical processes by smell (and notice fires before they get out of hand).
• Automatic Languages: Gnomish, Common. Bonus Languages: Ergot, Goblin, Kenderspeak, Ogre, Solamnic. Gnomes deal more with the Solamnics of Sancrist fairly frequently, and they learn the languages of their enemies (goblins and ogres).
• Proficient with all gnomish weapons.
• Favoured Class: Tinker or Rogue. A multiclass gnome's preferred class does not count when determining whether she suffers an XP penalty for multiclassing (see Experience for Multiclass Characters, page 56 of the Player's Handbook).

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