Gnome

Deep below the earth in ancient caves, a sect of dwarves began separating itself from the rest, forgoing tradition in favor of experimentation and creativity. Shunned and reviled, these dwarves were driven to the shallow caves of the world and eventually to the surface, where we now know them as gnomes. It has been many cycles on Sturth since this separation, but gnomes retain a dislike of dwarves, as well as a few other differences that distinguish Sturthan gnomes from those in other D&D worlds:

• Gnomes are less whimsical in Sturth, yet retain their creative flair and love of experimentation. Rather than doing so out of joy, however, most gnomes do so out of obsessive habit. Nevertheless, their constant compulsive need to tinker gives gnomes a deserved reputation as machinists and artificers.
• Upon the seas, gnomes were largely responsible for the maintenance of the world galleons, constantly fixing the ancient technology that kept such massive ships afloat. Over the millennia, the gnomes who did this came to be known as boiler gnomes, while their kin above deck who helped keep the study of artifice alive became known as timber gnomes.
• Gnomes do not necessarily despise dwarves outright, but usually assume the worst of their stocky kin. Dwarves, for one, have no idea why gnomes seem to harbor such harsh feelings.

Motivation

Their compulsive nature drives many gnomes to participate in dangerous escapades one may not initially expect from such diminutive creatures. However, a gnome who sets its mechanistic mind to something is a force to be reckoned with every bit as much as a goliath with a greataxe. Those rare gnomes who have retained and passed down the art of artifice also rejoice in the study of ancient technology buried beneath the ground.

Playing a Gnome

Gnomes are functionally identical to those found in D&D Beyond.
For the gnome variants, use the rock gnome stats for boiler gnomes and the forest gnome stats for timber gnomes. Deep gnomes or their equivalent do not exist within the world of Sturth.