GNOMES
There are only a few hundred gnomes in the city, and of those, at least a hundred (and perhaps more) are unknown to any save other gnomes. Gnomes tend to be longtime residents of the city, and very few are refugees (the gnomish penchant for illusion and camouflage makes it easy for populations of gnomes outside of the city to remain unnoticed by humanoids). There is a small gnomish neighborhood in the city, but a good number of gnomes live scattered throughout the city's other neighborhoods.
Values: The gnomish worldview is based on their small stature. Rather than the semi-parasitic approach that halflings take, seeking shelter among bigger folk, gnomes are more prone to deal with overpowering foes through stealth, tricks and traps while remaining largely self-reliant as a race. Gnomes view the following as virtues: a sense of humor, cleverness, complexity, helping those in need, sneakiness, inscrutability, acting through others. They see the following as vices: malice, simplicity, predictability, pointless attention-getting, braggadocio, directness, underestimating an enemy.
The Art of Being Unseen: Gnomes are masters of stealth, camouflage, illusion and trickery. That manifests in many ways in their culture, from the tendency of gnomish homes to have secret rooms or exits to the way entire gnome communities are hidden by clever architecture, landscaping and illusion. Many gnomes wear clothing with a mottled pattern of colors on it to aid in blending into the local terrain; other gnomish garments might have secret pockets or hidden weapons within them.
Trickery: Trickery runs deep in gnomish culture. Gnomes are encouraged to have a good sense of humor, to collect jokes, to pull pranks and to be able to laugh at themselves. However, one of the most terrifying things about an evil gnome is its cruel and twisted sense of humor, and it may play pranks with deadly intent. Many a gnome has fallen afoul of his own tricks gone awry, yet every gnome aspires to pull the greatest prank or trick ever. Despite this, gnomes draw a distinct difference between trickery and malicious deception.
Deep Connections to the Fey: There are deep ties between gnomes and other fey, including unseelie ones such as spriggans and redcaps. Many gnomes shun those darker connections, but most gnomish families have a secret or two somewhere in the family tree. Often, individual gnomes are unaware that a sibling, cousin or closer relative is actually another type of fey who can blend in among the gnomes.
Secret Masters: Gnomes prefer to work behind the scenes, and thus gnomish society is full of secret cabals and organizations who work to manipulate others for their cause. Despite their small numbers in the city, gnomes have a strong hand in the banking, jeweling and lending industries, and most gnomes would not be surprised to find a group of gnomish illuminati hidden behind the scenes, manipulating the city, various guilds and churches or other groups.
Language: Gnomish is a rich but simple-sounding tongue, but almost every word in Gnomish has at least two meanings. The language is easy to pun, riddle, jest or joke in, and lends itself easily to double entendres, veiled meanings and subtlety. Gnomish has a wide variety of vowel and nasal sounds, including six distinct sounds that transliterate roughly as “N”- to a gnome, the sounds at the start of knurl, gnome and name are distinct and different. Gnomes often use a modified version of Dwarven runes for their written needs, though a growing number use transliterated Imperial characters instead.
Names: Gnomes collect names over the course of their lives, adopting new or additional ones as the need and desire suit. Many take names meant to imply competence at their chosen trade, while others assume nicknames given them by friends or family and some simply make up names that they like. At birth, gnomes are given at least two names, a given name and a family name, and often have one or more in addition- a middle name, a patronymic and/or matronymic (“Knurlipate” would mean “Knurli is my father” while “Leymamate” would mean “Leyma is my mother”) or an aspirational name (which embodies a hope for the child, such as Goldenluck).
Typical male given names for gnomes include Alburm, Broughton, Gambli, Knurli, Malford, Nebbin, Nuckles, Thimbleton and Ziggy. Some common female given names include Elsporeth, Galler, Knedra, Mellory, Nackle, Nheesa, Ngamoras, Thumbeline and Ziggy. Family names are usually descriptive of the family, its history or a noteworthy ancestor, but not all gnomes translate this for other races; thus a gnome might refer to himself as “Knurli Ngarfordeth” or as “Knurli Giantprank”.
Other Races: As usual, exceptions abound, but typical gnomish stereotypes of the other races include:
Dragonborn: Dragonborn are solid but simple warriors with little subtlety. They are easily manipulated and very useful if properly directed.
Dwarves: Gnomes like dwarves for their shared interest in things of the earth. Dwarves tend to be crafty, if not tricky, and share many of the traditional enemies of the gnomes. However, dwarves are easily taken by greed and are typically very dour, both things that grate against the gnomish character.
Eladrin: Quite taken with themselves, the eladrin are a laughably haughty but fundamentally good folk. They take themselves too seriously and often have trouble laughing with other races, so some gnomes take it upon themselves to prank such stuffy eladrin in the hopes of teaching them to laugh at themselves.
Elves: Gnomes see elves as being very similar to themselves in most ways; in addition to their shared ties to the fey, both races share an appreciation of stealth and trickery. Elves are trustworthy allies, and many gnomish communities have a few elves living as allies among them.
Goliaths: Dangerous, overly physical and completely unsubtle, goliaths are just about the complete opposite of gnomes. A goliath is a useful tool that is dangerous to the wielder and best deployed from considerable distance. Gnomes are typically very wary around goliaths and prefer to keep a good distance away from them.
Half-Elves: Gnomes and Morraini half-elves have a long history of alliance and friendship. Morraini are well-natured, good-humored, reliable partners or friends, prone to forgiveness and generally good folks. Other half-elves are viewed through the same lens, but those who struggle to find their place are usually seen as overly dramatic and weepy by gnomes, and ought to learn to laugh at themselves.
Half-Orcs: Brutal, thoughtless, deceptive and destructive; all the traits that make orcs so foul are passed in half-measure to their half-human offspring. However, they also get half of the worst of humanity- the corruptibility, the venality, the hunger for advantage. However, one trait that gnomes do admire within half-orcs is their cunning; a half-orc can scheme and plot better than most non-gnomes.
Halflings: Another race that gnomes consider to be cousins (in this case, due to shared stature), halflings are aided and tolerated despite their light fingers. Halflings are like the bad cousins of the gnomish communities; members that will not be turned away despite the troubles they bring. At least they can cook!
Humans: With all the variety amongst humans, it's easy to see the common threads. Humans are ever playing for advantage, seeking greater status or wealth than their fellows by one means or another, and ever work their own social schemes. Gnomes view humans with both admiration and wariness; though they can achieve great things, humans cannot be trusted in the long term, as a single generation's passing may see complete social reversals in attitudes and values. In addition, humans are more prone than any other civilized race to actually fight and make war upon themselves- something that gnomes simply cannot understand.
Tieflings: Fellow inveterate schemers, tiefling humor tends to be cruel and biting, their tricks lead to the deaths of their enemies and their general attitude tends to be pretentious and melodramatic. Tieflings generally make the most formidable opponents in extended contests of manipulation or political maneuvering, something that gnomes appreciate even if they find it unsettling. Gnomes view tieflings as disproportionately dangerous because of this propensity for scheming.
Warforged: Warforged are marvels of engineering given life. Gnomes find them delightful. They are surprisingly warm and emotional, often possessed of quirky senses of humor and surprising talents. The warforged have proven themselves to be staunch allies against all enemies of the city, something that gnomes appreciate- and, of course, would like to manipulate.
I'm just so sick of people playing non-humans that never actually reference the fact that the character IS NOT HUMAN for the entire career of the character. Drives me right up the wall.
