Gnome

Summary

Widespread across the fertile lands, Gnomes lack a region of their own. Destined to answer to Elvish or Satyr lords or to work in the Dwarvish Communes, centuries of rule by others has prompted most Gnomes to shun politics, devoting their energy to work, family, and leisure. Taking their situation in stride, most Gnomes are happy to live this life. Those less content in the workshop are the ones you see in adventuring parties.

Subraces

Visually indistinguishable, Rock and Forest Gnomes come from different parts of Vrashyn but share a common culture. Forest Gnomes are less numerous and come from Southern Parthi, where they formed a hybrid culture with the Wood Elves. Rock Gnomes come from the hills of Central Rhovra but have spread out through mutch of that continent. Many of them live among the Dwarves of Vounas. All Gnomes possess sharp eyes and sure hands that make them uniquely suited to precision work. With centuries to perfect their crafts, all recognize the superiority of Gnomish wares in their areas of expertise. Svirfneblin are Gnomes who flee to the Underdark, usually to escape their rulers. The Svirfneblin have greyish skin and are generally considered the friendliest of the Underdark subraces.
Rock Gnome

As a rock gnome, you have a natural inventiveness and hardiness beyond that of other gnomes. Your dexterous fingers are an odd pairing with your study frame, giving you the ability to make use of your intuitive understanding of mechanics.
Ability Score Increase Your Constitution score increases by 1.
Artificer’s Lore You gain the Artifice (Intelligence) skill, which you can use to make Intelligence checks related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices. Your Artifice skill is equal to your Intelligence modifier plus double your proficiency bonus.
Tinker You have proficiency with tinker’s tools. Using them, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a Tiny clockwork device (AC 5, 1 HP). The device ceases to function after 24 hours (unless you spend 1 hour repairing it to keep the device functioning), or when you use your action to dismantle it; at that time, you can reclaim the materials used to create it. You can have up to three such devices active at a time. When you create a device, choose one of the following options:
Clockwork Toy. This toy is a clockwork animal, monster, or person. When placed on the ground, the toy moves 5 feet across the ground on each of your turns in a random direction. It makes noises as appropriate to the creature it represents.
Fire Starter. The device produces a miniature flame, which you can use to light flammable objects as an action.
Music Box. When opened, this music box plays a single song at a moderate volume. The box stops playing when it reaches the song’s end or when it is closed.

Forest Gnome

As a forest gnome, you are light of foot and a gifted illusionist. Forest gnomes tend to be friendly with other good-spirited woodland folk, especially Elves and Firbolg. Forest gnomes often befriend small forest animals and rely on them for information about threats that might prowl their lands.
Ability Score Increase Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Natural Illusionist You know the Minor Illusion cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
Speak with Small Beasts Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with Small and Tiny beasts. Forest gnomes love animals and often keep squirrels, badgers, rabbits, moles, woodpeckers, and other creatures as beloved pets.

Svirfneblin

Guarded and suspicious of outsiders, Svirfneblin can be just as kind-hearted, loyal, and compassionate as their surface cousins. Usually fleeing to the Underdark seeking freedom, they have aided many a traveler who becomes lost in the subterranean world, though they usually demand recompense.
Ability Score Increase Your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age Deep gnomes are short-lived for gnomes. They mature at the same rate humans do and are considered full-grown adults by 25. They live 200 to 250 years, although the dangers of the Underdark often claim them before their time.
Alignment Svirfneblin believe that survival depends on avoiding entanglements with other creatures and not making enemies. This combined with their love of freedom makes them likely to be chaotic-good or a similar alignment.
Size A typical svirfneblin stands about 3 to 3½ feet tall and weighs 80 to 120 pounds. Your size is Small.
Superior Darkvision Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.
Stone Camouflage You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain.
Additional Language You can speak, read, and write Undercommon.

Appearance

The most striking feature of a Gnome’s visage is their eyes. They have the human range of eye (and skin) colors but their eyes are more vivid, sparkling even in the absence of sunlight. While Rock Gnomes dress mostly in leather and wool, Forest Gnomes are master weavers and seamstresses, fashioning themselves petite silken clothing in the Elvish style. Only three or four feet tall and weighing less than forty pounds, Gnomes are not particularly physically intimidating, though this suits them just fine. Living in lands where other races make up the army, Gnomes are generally free to work at their craft, though this doesn’t stop the occasional Gnome from studying the blade during a mid-life crisis.

Culture

Gnomes are accepting of a wide variety of personal philosophies and values within their communities, seeing these as a purely individual affair. Rarely evil, Neutral Good is the most common alignment for Gnomes in this setting, though chaos and law are not unknown to their kind. The Gnomish language, which is spoken like Elvish but written in Dwarvish script, serves as a record of Gnomish subjugation over the centuries. Most Gnomes adhere to Spiorady, but despite this underlying resentment towards their rulers, some Gnomes practice Latrisism or Okikerin.

Livelihood

Gnomish society elevates dedication to craft as its greatest virtue. To this end, many Gnomes study their craft in an academic context, learning techniques magical and mundane that allow them to surpass ordinary craftspeople. Rock Gnomes may works as mechanists or jewelers, while Forest Gnomes traditionally use their hand dexterity to sew and cook. Gnomes have eclectic tastes in crafting, blending and improving on the traditional products of other societies. When not perfecting their craft, Gnomes are great lovers of art. They are especially known for their detailed paintings, but also enjoy music, poetry, theater, and accuracy games like darts and archery.

Upbringing

Gnome children spend their early years being exposed to as many different crafts as possible, often in village schools that also attract Humans, Halfling, and Elvish students. These students play with friends just as children in all cultures do, though Gnome children are also expected to help with their parents’ work until they chose a craft of their own. Because Gnomes prefer to only have one child at once, adoption by infertile or same-sex couples is common, even across racial lines. Gnome names from any source are appropriate in this setting, and most Gnomes have a least a handful.

Relations with Others

Gnomes get along best with the Humans and Halflings who share Gnomes’ history of rule by others. In regard to those others, Forest Gnomes prefer Elves to Satyrs and Rock Gnomes are closer with their former Dwarvish rulers. Many Gnomes dislike Satyrs seeing them as demanding, crass, and depraved. In their kingdoms, lower-class Gnomes frequently join revolts along with their Human and Halfling counterparts.

Mig by Sam Peterson

Racial Features

Ability Score Increase Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Age Gnomes mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500 years.
Alignment Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or inventors. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious.
Size Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.
Speed Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Darkvision Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Gnome Cunning You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
Languages You can speak, read, and write Common and Gnomish. The Gnomish language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world.

Population Map