Gnome-At-Arms

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Trampas Whiteman

Description:

The Gnome-At-Arms is the master of war in gnomish society. He invents new weapons, from melee weapons to siege engines. Often, a Gnome-At-Arms will add new and amazing devices to siege engines that produce devastating effects.

While most male gnomes wear beards, males who are Gnome-At-Arms cut their facial hair down to just a mustache, in honor of the Knights of Solamnia, whom they admire. While they do not have the same guidelines concerning honor, they have their own code, which takes up twice as many volumes as the Measure.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements:

Race: Tinker Gnome
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Craft (Weaponmaking) 8 ranks, Profession (Siege Engineer) 4 ranks.
Life Quest: The Gnome-At-Arms must have a Life Quest involving the creation of the "ultimate weapon".

Class Skills:

The Gnome-At-Arms' class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Alchemy (Int), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), and Profession (siege engineer).

Sill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Gnome-At-Arms is proficient in the use of all simple and martial weapons and all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a —1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.

Power Armor: The Gnome-At-Arms is able to create a set of Power Armor, which uses a combination of hydraulics and clockwork gadgetry. This armor only fits gnomes, and is comparable to half-plate armor, giving a +7 bonus to armor class. The armor's hydraulics gives the gnome a +4 bonus to Strength. However, the gnome loses all Dexterity-based bonuses, including initiative, armor class, and all skills. While a Gnome-At-Arms' Power Armor may grant him greater strength, it is cumbersome and difficult to move in.

If a gnome rolls a critical miss in combat, his armor has a chance of mechanical failure, resulting in several possible results. Roll 1d20 on the table below for the type of failure that a Gnome-At-Arms' Power Armor has.

War Engineer: The Gnome-At-Arms has an innate familiarity with the workings of mechanical gadgetry and science that allows him a +2 competence bonus on all Alchemy, Appraise, Craft, Disable Device, Knowledge, and Open Locks checks involving some sort of mechanical, technological, or explosive circumstance. This ability can only be used in regards to inventions and technological devices used for combat and warfare.

Fighter Feat: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels, the Gnome-At-Arms gains a bonus feat from the fighter's bonus feat list on page 37 of the Player's Handbook.

Golembane: A Gnome-At-Arms can find the weaknesses of a golem (or any construct), allowing him to cause greater damage against such creatures in combat. The Gnome-At-Arms gains a +2 attack bonus against constructs and, upon a successful hit, gains one extra point of damage per hit die.

Improved Critical: Due to his familiarity of metals and other crafting materials, a Gnome-At-Arms knows how to best utilize any weapon and find the weak spots of any armor. Any weapon he uses threatens critical hits as if he had the Improved Critical Hit feat.

Golemsmite: The Gnome-At-Arms is a lethal foe to any opposing constructs. If the Gnome-At-Arms makes a critical hit with a melee weapon against a construct of any type, it is immediately destroyed, as if the Gnome-At-Arms were using a mace of smiting.

Bibliography:

• Dragonlance Adventures, by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis.
• Magic of Faerun, by Sean K Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy.
• Faiths and Pantheons, by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona.

Special Thanks

The author would like to thank SageofKaolyn of the Dragonlance Gaming Message Boards for the suggestion of adding a critical failure chart for the Power Armor, as well as Kipper Snifferdoo for the development of the chart.

This item has been published here with permission from the author(s) and may not be reproduced without permission. This is a fan submission and its contents are completely unofficial. Some characters, places, likenesses and other names may be copyright Wizards of the Coast.