Forest Gnome
Forest Gnomes are the least populated of the gnome species, but this was not always the case. Pre-sundering, Forest Gnomes were considered the spirit wardens of travelers. Friendly and intelligent, Forest Gnomes would travel hither and yon bringing help to those afflicted during their own wanderings. Secerno Apocryphum, however, proved to be an affliction to these helpful rapscallions and the conflicts that raged consumed most of their populace despite their unwillingness to take sides. A tribute to their resiliency, Forest Gnomes did not retreat from the realm, instead they withdrew and became specters within their own habitat rarely risking themselves to assist those that need it. On rare occasion these arboreal sneak-thieves still assisted humans as they took dominance in the countryside but the rarity of their involvement has lead to notes of their existence as rumor and fairy tale only.
Thus, Forest Gnomes are shy and reclusive, and often the mere arrival of human settlers within their wooded domain is enough to send them migrating to a new, unspoiled home.
The Forest Gnomes prefer a life in which no one knows who they are or where they live. They dwell in large swaths of woodland, and - unlike the other gnomish species - prefer to dwell in houses that are at least partially above ground. If these gnomes have a particular homeland, it is unknown - traveler reports have placed them in nearly every forest on the continent. They are creatures of nature far more than any of their cousins, and to those rare folks who meet them (and pass through the walls of initial shyness) they can prove to be steadfast allies and delightful companions.
However, this species has not totally abandoned the love of gemstones that is so inherent to all gnomes. The emerald is the favored gem of the Forest Gnomes, no doubt because it most accurately reflects the healthy colors of their verdant homelands. While these gnomes can make excellent gemsmiths and jewelers, their work tends to be reverent images of the flowers, leaves, butterflies, and birds that are such a key part of the Forest Gnome's environment.
These are the smallest of the gnomish species, averaging from 2' to 2 1/2 ' and peaking out at a few inches under three feet. They share the stocky physique of the Rock Gnome and the bulbous nose which is so characteristic of the race in general. They are the only gnomes inclined to wear beards and hair very long, and an older male is likely to have a beard that extends to within a few inches of the ground, and hair that, when unbound, falls all the way to his waist. These beards are a source of great pride to the venerable males, and they often trim them to a fine point or curl them into hornlike spikes that extend to either side.
The skin of a Forest Gnome tends toward a greenish cast of tan rather like bark, although often darkened and ruddy from exposure to weather. Their eyes are generally brown or blue, but green eyes are not unheard of and are considered very attractive and the omen of a good life for their owner. Their hair color is brown or black, often becoming gray or white in old age.
The Forest Gnomes are a very long-lived people, with an average life expectancy approaching 500 years. Childhood and adolescence blend together in the growing process. Since these gnomes do not generally embark upon a craft or apprenticeship as a life specialty, there is no need to differentiate a carefree youngster from an equally happy-go-lucky youth. Adulthood is granted upon the hundredth birthday, and this anniversary is a cause for great celebration.
Shy and timid when it comes to relations with other intelligent races, Forest Gnomes are very determined caretakers of their wooded domains. They are viewed with friendship by the animals of the forest and have developed a limited language of signs and sounds (similar to the Rock Gnome's 'speech' with burrowing mammals) that allows them to communicate with these creatures, though without a great deal of detail. Thus a squirrel might chatter something about an intruder in the forest and even indicate the general direction of the trespasser, but it can provide no information as to the nature, size, or numbers of the possible enemy (as a rule of thumb, consider all such communications to consist of a single word only; i.e. "danger!" "food," "happy," and the like).
Forest Gnomes are also very adept at protecting and caring for the plant life of their woods. They gather the nuts, fruit, and other bounty of the woods for sustenance, taking meat only infrequently - and always with a reverent ceremony to the spirit of the animal slain by the gnomish hunter. They despise the use of traps, never employing snares, pitfalls, or such traps themselves. When they encounter such devices set by humans or others, the Forest Gnomes have been known to rig the traps so that they capture (with a snare) or injure (as with a deadfall or pit trap) the trapper when he or she comes along to check for game. Generally, the trapper receives the same effect that his or her trap would have inflicted upon an animal.
Aside from meat, Forest Gnomes eat their food raw, though with a great deal of ceremony and politeness. Even a nut or a berry is only consumed after the tree or bush that gave it life has been properly, albeit silently, thanked. Needless to say, meals among the Forest Gnomes are very long, quiet affairs.
These diminutive beings are exceptional woodcarvers, far more skilled than any other species at the working of this natural material. They can also be skilled carpenters, and their skills lean heavily toward natural-looking renditions of their structures. A storage shed, for example, might be built to resemble a clump of tightly-clustered pine trees, concealing the fact that there is any kind of structure there at all.
Priests have a higher status in this society than in any other gnomish culture. Forest gnomes worship the Gruenvater's incarnation known as Baervan Wildwanderer. His blessed clerics have a number of duties and tasks, most of which involved the protection and preservation of the forests and the wild creatures found there.
The most hated enemies of the Forest Gnomes are orcs, with troglodytes and lizard-men close behind. These creatures will be ruthlessly attacked and ambushed whenever they are encountered. Forest Gnomes and elves have ancestral alliances reaching back to pre-sundering, however, these relations have been strained since the return of the elves. They tend to distrust humans and dwarves, who in their experience all-too-often view trees only as so much firewood. Occasionally, with great courage, one of these smallest of gnomes will venture out of his or her forest domain in a quest to see the world, though he or she will usually try to return after a few years and will never be entirely comfortable in a place that has no trees.
The gnomes of this species tend to live in smaller communities than do their kin, largely because their numbers are so much fewer. A Forest Gnome village will average less than a hundred residents, and the family homes that make up the "village" may be hundreds of feet apart. They are always located in a dense woods and are virtually invisible to anyone who happens to wander through - even a veteran woodsman might stroll down the main street of a Forest Gnome village without knowing he or she was in anything other than trackless wood. In part, this is because the forest gnomes disdain the use of tracks and trails - they are adept at moving through the underbrush while leaving no sign of their passage. Also, their dwellings tend to be concealed within the trunks of large, hollow trees and, sometimes, into burrows that extend below the surface of the ground.
The preferred house of a Forest Gnome, however, is above the ground and within the comfortable wooden enclosure of a tree trunk. These creatures prefer lairs of many different levels since, even to these small gnomes, most hollow trees don't provide a lot of floor space. Instead, the house will be a network of cylindrical rooms, usually no more than four feet from floor to ceiling, connected to the floors above and below by tiny trapdoors and rope ladders or, sometimes, spiraling stairways carved into the wood of the tree. Each floor will have a few windows opening to the outside, but these will be so cleverly camouflaged on the outside by bark or limbs as to be virtually invisible.
Excavated chambers are used for the commons areas of the Forest Gnomes, so that when a whole community gathers (as they do many times a year, to observe this or that celebration) they can do so in large, earthen caverns concealed underground. These chambers are connected by dirt tunnels and are often quite large, with ceilings reinforced by timber and brace. Forest Gnomes have no interest in excavating through stone, and though they will occupy a natural cave if they find one conveniently located, they will never dig into bedrock to expand or shape their surroundings.
A village of Forest Gnomes is organized very much like a large family, with the oldest patriarch or matriarch in the community generally revered as the venerable leader. As far as actual societal organization, there is very little - when Forest Gnomes act as a group (for example, to defend their woodland or migrate to a new homeland) they do so because the necessity of action is obvious to every member of the clans.
Forest Gnomes are sometimes mistaken for brownies by those humans who catch a rare glimpse of them, but the two races are not related. For one thing, brownies prefer rural settings - farms and small human villages; the very environments Forest Gnomes go out of their way to avoid - to the forest. Despite their size, brownies are more closely related to elves than any of the other races. Also, brownies are highly magical, while Forest Gnomes distrust magic and make less use of it in their daily lives than any other gnomish species. The two races are friendly, but their paths seldom cross.
Special Advantages
The Forest Gnomes have several characteristics in common with their racial cousins, as well as several unique abilities:
A Forest Gnome can pass through any kind of wooded terrain without leaving a sign of his or her passage. They may Pass Without a Trace at will.
The Forest Gnome gains a +1 bonus to his or her saving throws versus spell for every 3.5 points of Constitution.
A Forest Gnome can make himself or herself virtually invisible in wooded surroundings.
Due to size and quickness, Forest Gnomes receive a -4 bonus to their Armor Class whenever they fight man-sized or larger creatures. Also, they get +1 bonuses on all attack and damage rolls when fighting orcs, lizard men, or troglodytes, or any creature which they have directly observed damaging woodlands (e.g., a woodman chopping down a tree full of birds' nests).
Special Disadvantages
Class is limited to Druid.
