karboten -- tinker gnomes

Anyone who knows both karboten (“kar/BOH/tin”) and dwergachtig (pious gnomes) has a hard time believing that these were once a single race of people (albeit many millennia past), for their personalities couldn’t be more divergent. Karboten are curious, fun-loving and impulsive compared to the reserved and serious nature of dwergachtig. The aptly named tinker gnomes are an ingenious people, however, and many of their number regularly come up with creative solutions to problems, be it magical or mundane. Despite being more or less as long-lived as the zharrgrund and dwergachtig, everyone knows that the chance of a karboten dying in some foolish accident well before their time is a likely end.

The usually cheery karboten sometimes have short tempers, but their grudges aren’t usually long-lived like those of the dwarves. One thing that often sets them off is rules which can’t be backed up by reasoning (not that they’re the most reasonable of people, mind you). Tinker gnomes, despite their common moniker, aren’t all about making trinkets — most of them revel in socializing with friends & family, and of course meeting new people. New experiences are also a regular necessity for the sanity of the average karboten, again causing many to come to an early end (‘curiosity killed the karboten,’ as the sad but prophetic phrase goes in these lands).

Karboten usually stand 3.5 to 4 feet tall and are usually rather thin compared to dwergachtig and zharrgrund (dwarves). Though not particularly bulky or strong, tinker gnomes are very agile and quick on their feet. Mentally, karboten are great problem solvers and are capable of looking at situations from a multitude of perspectives. However, this sometimes leads them to be unable to focus on one thing at a time as their thoughts wander. Most karboten also have one obsession or another and though it won’t prevent them from doing what needs to be done on a daily basis, they have long to short bouts of increased attention on a specific project or hobby.

alignments: Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral

racial maximum Attributes

Bod	Agi	Rea	Str	Cha	Int	Log	Wil	Luck
5	7	7	5	7	6	7	6	6

priorities (BP*)	modifiers
karboten: E (2) / D (5)	30m darkvision, small**

* Bonus Points are generally to increase Luck, but may be used to increase the Magic Attribute for Mages (magically-active characters)

** small = Boon on Defense (Dodge or Parry) tests & fewer Physical Wounds

common edges & flaws: Astral Chameleon, Double-jointed

naming conventions: though the karboten, zharrgrund and zold draak of Anaptun Abra all speak the ‘common’ tongue, the karboten prefer to stick to their own (Dutch-based) language for naming purposes.

male karboten names: Adem, Adriaan, Albert, Alfons, Aloysius, Arend, Arie, Arjan, Axel, Barend/Berend, Bartel, Bauke, Bram, Brect, Carel, Caspar, Claes, Cornelius, Daan, Derek, Dirk, Dolf, Dries, Duif, Edwin, Egbert, Egon, Erik, Evert, Felix, Florian, Frederik, Freek, Fritz, Gabriel, Geert, Gerben, Gerhard, Gerlach, Gerrit, Gijs, Goos, Guido, Hans, Harmen, Heinke, Hendrik, Herman, Hessel, Hubert, Ivo, Jef, Joost, Jurgen, Klaas, Kobus, Koen, Lucas, Ludger, Peridros, Rodolf, Ruben, Werner, etc.

female karboten names: Adelheid, Adriana, Agatha, Agnes, Aleta, Alida, Amalia, Anke, Anouk, Astrid, Barbara, Beatrix, Belwyna, Carla, Cornelia, Cynthia, Edith, Femke, Floortje, Frida, Geerten, Gerda, Gisela, Greet, Hanneke, Hedy, Heidi, Helga, Hilda, Ilse, Ingrid, Jacintha, Jacoba, Jana, Jolanda, Karin, Katja, Kunigonde, Lieke, Liesbet, Lina, Loes, Lotte, Lowiena, Maaike, Maartje, Magda, Mechteld, Mereld, Nanne, Olga, Paula, Petronella, Saskia, Terenam, Trees, Willemina, Xandra, etc.

some gnomish family names: Baas (boss), Bakker (baker), Beenhouwer, de Boer (farmer), Bos, Berg, Boogman, Dekker, Dijkstra, Haan, Haas, Heuvel, van het Hoff, van der Kleij, Kuiper, van Leeuwen, Jaager, Koning, Meijer, van der Meer, Muis, Ruisch, Smits, Tuinstra, Visser, Vos, Vroom, Wees (orphan), de Vries, de Jong, Janssen, Meijer (steward), Smidt (smith), van der Berg, van Dijk, Visser (fisher)