Tell me about gnomes in your world.

[der_kluge]

So, we've covered elves and halflings so far, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if we don't finish them all out!

So, tell me about gnomes in your world.

Lots of people flat out remove gnomes from their CS - have you done this, and what was your reasoning behind it?

How did you resolve the overlap between dwarves and gnomes in your world?

Are gnomes goofy, wacky, and slapstick, or are they more serious?

Do you think Dragonlance has destroyed the idea of gnomes forever?

 

[Nifft]

They're Quite Small

Gnome 2.1

Tiny size (+2 Attack & AC, +8 Hide checks, 50% carrying capacity)
Base Speed 20 ft.
Str -4, Cha +2
Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as Martial rather then Exotic weapons.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions
Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears)
+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants)
+2 racial bonus on Listen and Craft (alchemy) checks
Low-light Vision: Gnomes can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Automatic Language: Common.
Bonus Languages: Sylvan, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Auran and Terran. In addition, a gnome can speak with animals once per day. This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day -- Speak with Animals (duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 3/day -- Prestidigitation. Caster level 1st or Gnome's character level, whichever is higher; save DC 10 + gnome's Cha modifier.
Favored Class: Bard.



Special: Gnomes may take one of four 4-level Racial Prestige Class. (As PrCs, these levels cannot cause an XP penalty.)


Slyphan Gnome Racial PrC

Requirements: Speak Auran, no levels in other Gnome Racial PrC.

HD: d6
BAB: Half (as Sorcerer)
Good Saves: Reflex, Will / Bad Save: Fortitude
Skill Points: 6 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowlege (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis) and Swim (Str).

[u]Level   BAB   Fort	Ref	Will	Spellcasting 	Special Abilities[/u]
1	+0	+0	+2	+2	-- 		[i]Faerie Fire[/i], [i]Speak with Animals[/i] 3/day
2	+1	+0	+3	+3	+1 Level Bard	Improved Illusion
3	+1	+1	+3	+3	-- 		Fey Sight
4	+2	+1	+4	+4	+1 Level Bard	Fey Wings, +2 Charisma

Special Abilities:

• Faerie Fire (Special): The Gnome gains the spell Faerie Fire as an extra known 1st level Bard spell. If the Gnome cannot yet cast 1st-level Bard spells, he gains Faerie Fire as a spell-like ability usable once per day until he can cast 1st-level Bard spells.
• Speak with Animals (Sp): The Gnome can use his Speak with Animals spell-like ability thrice per day, and his caster level increases with his Gnome levels.
• Improved Illusion (Ex): The Gnome's racial bonus to Illusion spell DCs increases to +2.
• Fey Sight (Su): The Gnome perceives the world as though under a constant See Invisibility spell, which cannot be dispelled. Due to his improved visual acuity, he gains a +2 racial bonus to Spot and Search checks.
• Fey Wings (Ex): The Gnome gains faerie wings, which give him a fly speed of 40 ft., with Good maneuverability. He may choose dragonfly, butterfly or bird wings.
• Charisma Increase (Ex): This bonus is gained as though through level advancement.

Rock Gnome Racial PrC

Requirements: Speak Terran, no levels in other Gnome Racial PrC.

HD: d6
BAB: Half (as Sorcerer)
Good Saves: Reflex, Will / Bad Save: Fortitude
Skill Points: 6 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowlege (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis) and Swim (Str).

[u]Level   BAB   Fort	Ref	Will	Spellcasting 	Special Abilities[/u]
1	+0	+0	+2	+2	-- 		Darkvision, [i]Speak with Animals[/i] 3/day
2	+1	+0	+3	+3	+1 Level Bard	[i]Magic Stone[/i]
3	+1	+1	+3	+3	-- 		Stone Sight, Grounded
4	+2	+1	+4	+4	+1 Level Bard	[i]Stone Shape[/i], +2 Charisma

Special Abilities:

• Darkvision (Ex): extends out to 60 ft., as described in the PHB.
• Speak with Animals (Sp): The Gnome can use his Speak with Animals spell-like ability thrice per day, and his caster level increases with his Gnome level.
• Magic Stone (Special): The Gnome gains the spell Magic Stone as an extra known 1st level Bard spell. If the Gnome cannot yet cast 1st-level Bard spells, he gains Magic Stone as a spell-like ability usable once per day until he can cast 1st-level Bard spells.
• Improved Illusion (Ex): The Gnome's racial bonus to Illusion spell DCs increases to +2.
• Stone Sight (Ex): This ability grants the Gnome a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework. A Gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as though actively searching, and can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. The Gnome can also intuit depth, sensing the approximate distance underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Grounded (Su): The Gnome's bond with the Earth is strong, and it's hard to separate him from it. The Gnome gains a +4 Luck bonus to avoid being tripped or bull rushed, and a +2 Racial bonus to all Balance and Climb checks involving earthen or stone surfaces.
• Stone Shape (Special): The Gnome gains the spell Stone Shape as an extra known 2nd level Bard spell. If the Gnome cannot yet cast 2nd-level Bard spells, he gains Stone Shape as a spell-like ability usable once per day until he can cast 2nd-level Bard spells.
• Charisma Increase (Ex): This bonus is gained as though through level advancement.

Forest Gnome Racial PrC

Requirements: Speak Sylvan, no levels in other Gnome Racial PrC.

HD: d8
BAB: Average (as Bard)
Good Saves: Reflex, Will / Bad Save: Fortitude
Skill Points: 4 + Int bonus
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowlege (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis) and Swim (Str).

[u]Level   BAB   Fort	Ref	Will	Spellcasting 	Special Abilities[/u]
1	+0	+0	+2	+2	-- 		Stealth, [i]Speak with Animals[/i] 3/day
2	+1	+0	+3	+3	+1 Level Bard	[i]Pass Without Trace[/i]
3	+2	+1	+3	+3	-- 		Woodland Tracker, Improved Illusion
4	+3	+1	+4	+4	+1 Level Bard	Foe Slayer, +2 Charisma

Special Abilities:

• Stealth (Ex): The Gnome gains a +2 Racial bonus to all Hide and Move Silently checks, which increases to +4 in wooded areas.
• Speak with Animals (Sp): The Gnome can use his Speak with Animals spell-like ability thrice per day, and his caster level increases with his Gnome level.
• Pass Without Trace (Special): The Gnome gains the spell Pass Without Trace as an extra known 1st level Bard spell. If the Gnome cannot yet cast 1st-level Bard spells, he gains Pass Without Trace as a spell-like ability usable once per day until he can cast 1st-level Bard spells.
• Woodland Tracker (Ex): The Gnome may use Survival to track as though he had the Track Feat in wooded areas. If he already has (or later gains) the Track Feat, he instead gains a +4 Racial bonus to all Survival checks in wooded areas.
• Improved Illusion (Ex): The Gnome's racial bonus to Illusion spell DCs increases to +2.
• Foe Slayer (Ex): The Gnome gains a +2 bonus to damage against Kobolds and Goblinoids. This functions like (and stacks with) a Ranger's Favored Enemy bonus.
• Charisma Increase (Ex): This bonus is gained as though through level advancement.

-- N

 

[RangerWickett]

The archetypal gnomish heroes in my world are monster slayers, though only gnomes really believe these myths.

Yjtfub, the Slayer Who Knew No Fear, was a gnomish hero thousands of years ago. She defeated countless demons and dragons, mounted on her magical shapechanging half-dragon dire badger.

Whim Wistral was a more recent gnomish hero, a ranger-shadowdancer who wielded dual bladed whips and hunted vampires. He nearly defeated the Elvish vampire who bore the Gray Blade, but he was slain, and fell in shadows, so no one was ever able to find his body.

Gnomes are tough little nuts in my world. I don't have halflings or dwarves, so gnomes get to play with all the different aspects of short-hero-dom. They're always a little weird, but they tend to be bad-asses, or at least atypically heroic.

Just ask Ralph, a gnomish shopkeeper who collected rare antiques, but who stuck with his companions when they were forced to go on a quest.

Or Weebit, a gnomish druid who once took down a giant by first wildshaping into an eagle to get over it, then wildshaping into a giant squid to strangle it. Later on, Weebit gained the ability to always fly, and tales of the flying squid are becoming folk legend. Some rumors suggest he was slain by the giant landquid, but that isn't possible.

Or Rivereye Badgerface, also known as "Filthmonkey," a gnomish psion who was so ugly his parents thought he was a goblin. He ended up slaying the vampiric henchmage of the vampire who bore the Gray Blade.

Gnomes in my world do crazy stuff. Sure, the 'normal' gnomes are just traveling gypsy-folk in caravans, or the occasional town of country bumpkins, but they all want to go save the world.

 

[Nightfall]

gnomes, the real reason the Divine War started. No one wanted them around!


Besides dwarves are cooler anyway. Axes and Rhys Davis.

 

[Laundreu]

In my world, I dealt with their overlap by saying that gnomes and dwarves are the same species - gnomes are the females, dwarves are the males.

Dwarves are fairly classic, though they are more stoneworkers and architects than miners and smiths. They think and act in a fairly direct and blunt manner, and usually come across as dour, even grim.

On the other side of the coin, gnomes are much more light-hearted (though admittedly Edgar Allen Poe is a lot more lighthearted than many dwarves), though they too can be serious if need be.

The gnomes see the dwarves as being thickheaded, narrowminded, and so on, while the dwarves see the gnomes as being overly frivolous and dangerously naive. Yet, somehow, the race continues to grow.

(Thank you, trowizilla, for working out your character's race.)

 

[TheGemini]

Modeled after Asian stereotypes, the gnomes get automatic exotic weapon proficiency with katanas, shuriken, etc. and automatic Weapon Finesse with those weapons as long as they have at least 10 STR (regardless of official weight category). Favored class is Illusionist, and gnomes get +4 on casting DC and Saving Throws relating to illusions. Think "small Samurai."

The gnomes in my world act disinterested in the outside world, and hold a small kingdom in the middle of the continent. What no one knows is that their government has a vast intelligence network that leverages their illusion and stealth skills to great effect. 1 in 50 can Alter Self instead of all the default spell-like abilities (10 minutes + 10 per CHA bonus). Katana-wielding Rogue-Illusionist is the common Secret Agent package. (Think Japanese Mossad)

The gnomes are rarely blind to any scandals, politics, or intrigue and tend to pop up at opportune moments. Both civil and wild humanoid races are spied on frequently. The prestige classes I'm cooking up are pretty sweet, even for non-mages.

Of course, none of the PC's chose to be gnome, so none of them know any of this.

 

[Samothdm]

I'm one of the people who took them out of his campaign setting. I also removed halflings. I don't like the idea of the "small races". I could just never get behind it. I like Tolkien and all that, but the idea of "small" races were killed for me by two things: "Return of the Jedi" and "Willow". I just couldn't stomach any more "the small people, although primitive in technology, are kind-hearted, and they all band together to overcome great adversity and defeat the evil villains".

Ugh.

I actually tried to insert gnomes and halflings into my world for awhile by thinking of them as faerie races - I had sort of 1/2-races that were the offspring of fey and elves ("tallfellow" halflings), fey and dwarves ("gnomes" and there was another kind of 1E era halfling sub-race but I forget the name), and fae and humans (I think I used hairfeet halflings - the more traditional, Tolkien kind).

I did that for awhile, but it just didn't work, so when I revamped my CS for 3E, I took out gnomes and halflings and replaced them with modified goblins (size Medium, wise, somewhat scholarly types) and also added 1/2-goblins.

 

[arwink]

While the elves became empire builders, the gnomes became the rustic forest folk who had strong connections with the lands of faerie. Essentially reclusive, they didn't really start to engage with other races until the gates to faerie started to close one by one.

They're weird, crazy people by the standards of humans, but quite dull by the standards of your average fey revel.

 

[Wombat]

In my current game world there are no gnomes

Nor are there any halflings, elves, half-elves, dwarves, or half-orcs.

OTOH, there are sibeccai, litorians (now in three flavours!), faen (adding in a new branch), mojh, akapans (= giants), and verrik.

Ah, the wonders of a variant AU for really losuing up such polls...

 

[der_kluge]

Damn, Nifft! Pretty cool stuff you got there.

RangerWickett - I like that aspect of your gnomish culture. Very funny.