Gnome (Gnomes)
Industrious, intelligent, and good-natured, gnomes have few enemies. They are not a numerous race, and for many centuries, gnomes have survived and thrived by keeping a low profile. Avoiding the notice of larger folk obsessed with empires and mighty magic, the gnomes have quietly spread across Faerûn in tiny settlements and hidden villages that often go completely unnoticed by their neighbors.
There are three distinct sorts of gnomes living on Toril: deep gnomes, forest gnomes, and rock gnomes. They all share a slight stature (gnomes are little more than half the size of a grown human), innate magical gifts, and a great love for gems. The furtive deep gnomes, also known as svirfneblin, make their homes in the depths of the Underdark. The diminutive—even for gnomes—forest gnomes are even more shy and retiring than the svirfneblin. Rock gnomes are the most outgoing and numerous of the three kindreds. Their inquisitive nature draws them out of their well-hidden villages and clanholds to explore the wider world.
Throughout Faerûn, the gnomes play the role of intermediary between other races or peoples. Few count the gnomes as their friends, but even fewer consider the gnomes their enemies. Although gnomes have not escaped the great cataclysms and upheavals of the past, few gnomes have ever become embroiled in war, remaining neutral in such things. Some say this is because gnomes are cowards, afraid to become involved with the violent affairs of the larger people. In fact, gnomes can show bravery and physical resolve that would put larger folk to shame, but they are careful to pick their fights.
They remain neutral because wars are usually fought over goals about which the gnomes care little, such as rights of commerce and settlement, or the drive to achieve and wield power in the world at large.
As the human realms continue their ages-old expansion and reach the remote areas in which gnomish settlements are hidden, some gnomes have started to question their traditional doctrine of noninterference. It seems that while they may not care to go off to the violent world of the larger races, that world is already knocking on their collective door.
Racial History
In the gnome myths, the gods of the gnome pantheon were born as gems or rich veins of ore in the very heart of the world, then exposed by the natural erosion of underground waters. In this sense, the gnome gods are as old as the world itself, having always been a part of it. Gnome folklore holds that the first gnomes were born in turn from gems discovered by Garl Glittergold, the leader of the gnome pantheon. The Watchful Protector discovered a sealed cavern studded with countless gems embedded in veins of valuable ore. When Garl polished the gems and breathed on them, the jewels opened like blossoms to release the first gnomes. Before leading them into the world, Garl told his newfound people a joke, bringing them laughter and a spirit of mischief. Those gnomes born of diamonds chose to dwell beneath the land and became the rock gnomes. Those born of emeralds chose to dwell amid the great trees and became the forest gnomes. Those born of rubies wandered deep into the heart of the earth and became the deep gnomes. Unfortunately, little is known of the ancient history of the gnomes other than their own myths. Peoples such as dwarves, elves, and humans have raised sprawling empires and fought great wars with legions of steel-clad soldiers and terrible, land-devastating magic, but the gnomes have never done anything of the sort. Nor have the gnomes ever collected in one homeland or fought each other, as the halflings did in Luiren. The racial history of the gnomes is not a grand, sweeping tapestry, but instead a hundred subtle threads woven here and there in the tapestry of all Faerûn, no two of them touching another. It is the history of a hundred hidden villages, clans, and holds, few of them ever caught up in the great and tragic events of the lands in which they lie concealed. The gnomes are sometimes referred to as the Forgotten Folk, an apt description. Few gnomes have ever graced (or troubled) the counsels and concerns of the mighty, and even the gnomes themselves have little sense of what might have befallen their folk in the past centuries. As far as they know, they have always been in Faerûn, and have always lived in secret places and hidden holds—and they expect to remain much the same in the future. The three subraces of gnomes are further detailed on the pages below- Forest Gnomes
- Rock Gnomes
- Svirfneblin
Related Ethnicities
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