Gondsmen

"I don't know why the Difference Engine makes the Gondsmen. The Processor Men have tried to tell me that it helps 'increase the polarity of the omnessiah' or some such nonsense, but I think it just makes them because it can.
"If I could create life from spare parts, I probably would, too."
~Queen Palay Dawi, Thruma of Karakadaw

Naming Traditions

Other names

Every Gondsman is given a name by the Difference Engine, a name that they would never share with anyone they do not consider a close, trusted, and personal friend.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Gondsmen can speak a special dialect called "Glyphbuzz". It's a variation on gnomish that resembles the written glyph transliteration: incredible amounts of information packed into a short blast of sound. This allows them to communicate to each other rapidly, and consequently they can speak to any gnomecraft machine as if it were sentient and friendly, though this does not bestow sentience on them and they cannot act beyond their natures.

Shared customary codes and values

Gondsmen all serve the Aincuggesnirviclagillipog that birthed them in one capacity or another. While many are essentially mindless (or at least single-minded in their tasks) automatons, some serve in a more complex capacity as true sentient beings.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

Many Gondsmen are involved in the Great Census. Once assembled in the bowels of the Difference Engine, they leave. Some are sent to interview specific beings who have made significant changes to the world, some are sent to experience places, some are just sent to simply live out their lives in some proscribed way. They subconsciously record all of their experiences on a Cylinder hooked into their inner machinery. Every Gondsman has a natural desire to experience the unusual to add to the data collected by the Difference Engine

Birth & Baptismal Rites

The first thing every Gondsman experiences in existence is a direct connection with the Difference Engine. It is when they get their first name, it is when they are told what (if anything) their purpose is, and it is something they will remember their entire lives.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Gondsmen that perish wish only for their Cylinder to be returned to the Difference Engine for study.

Common Taboos

A Gondsman would never allow an Information Cylinder to come to harm if they could help it. This is an programmed instinct that actually causes them physical pain to break.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Gondsmen can vary wildly from one to another. Beauty ideals are more about functionality than anything aesthetic; Smooth ticking of their inner workings, graceful movements, and cleanliness determine whether a gondsman thinks another is 'beautiful.'

Major organizations

Ley Empire of Gnomekin, Karakadaw

Encompassed species

• Gnomes

Related Organizations

• Gondola Corps

Gondsman

Ability Score Increase +1 Wisdom

Size Small

Speed 25 ft.

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Speak With Machines: The Gondsman can speak with gnomecraft machines as if they are intelligent beings. They can answer questions, tell the Gondsman about faults, and convey anything they have witnessed in their vicinity. If they are functioning correctly, the Gondsman can cause them to fulfill their functions.
Purpose-Built: The Gondsman was built to live the life that they live. When in the direct service of their Bond, they can reroll one failed roll. They can regain the use of this ability when they finish a short or long rest.

Languages. Common, Gnomish, Glyphbuzz