Gnome variant book idea

[gamerprinter]

I updated the Profiteer post above...

I moved "Language of the Deal" to 8th level to replace Dirge of Doom.

I added "Sell Anything" to replace Frightening Tune.

Then created "Golden Tongue" to replace Deadly Performance.

My first thoughts for the Auditor (inquisitor archetype) - I can possibly replace 2nd level Track, 11th level Stalwart, and 14th level Exploit Weakness, most of his other features are 'keepers' for an Auditor, as well as an adjusted spell list.

Thoughts?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I don't recall seeing a Ferengi-like culture before in a roleplaying setting other than Star Trek

Goblins in World of Warcraft, although they're mostly played for laughs.

 

[Dingo333]

For the inquisitor, alter track to go something more like they use the paper trail to follow their enemies (+1/2 level to linguistics to discover forgeries)

I will have more ideas after the Ultimate magic book is in my hands and I can look at how their archtypes were done

 

[gamerprinter]

For the inquisitor, alter track to go something more like they use the paper trail to follow their enemies (+1/2 level to linguistics to discover forgeries)

I will have more ideas after the Ultimate magic book is in my hands and I can look at how their archtypes were done

Aw, you stole my thunder - I came up with the exact same thought...

Auditor (inquisitor archetype)

Legal Lore - at 1st level, this ability combines with Knowledge (local) helping to negotiate local laws in the prosecution of audits. This replaces Monster Lore.

Paper Trail - at 2nd level, the auditor adds half her level to Linquistics checks to track the movement of money and goods based on financial accounting records, bills of sale, annual profit reports, local tax receipts and other documents, as well as forgeries used to hide this information. This replaces Tracking.

Penetrating Eye (Su) - at 11th level the auditor gains the ability to see through attempted obfuscation through invisibility or illusion. Works as True Seeing. This replaces Stalwart.

Liquidation (Su) - at 14th level the auditor gains the ability to ???. This replaces Exploit Weakness (I'm not sure of the mechanical effect, but I like the name...)

 

[Set]

Both Anton LeVay's 'Church of Satan' and Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' heavily revolve around the concept that selfishness is the only honest moral virtue, and that stuff like charity, kindness and sharing are masks that we wear, just because we want people to think we are 'nice' or 'good.' By stripping away the notion that selfishness or greed are 'bad' or 'mean,' the need to delude self and others by wearing these masks and telling these lies is stripped away, revealing the honest, selfish core of a person, who was not put on this earth to benefit or pleasure others, but only themself.

[Note that this is not my philosophy, merely one that I'm aware of.]

A gnomish culture could borrow from the philosophical notion of selfishness-as-virtue of either LeVay or Rand (both of which are pretty much in lockstep), to add some complexity to the base tenets of the church. Both philosophies are inherently atheistic (with LeVay flat-out denying that there is a 'Satan' in the real world, just that his rejection of outside law or authority, to serve only internal initiative and ambition, is an ideal worthy of emulation), and focused on the self-as-center-of-the-universe, and with the tenet that the rest of the world, its resources, its riches and even other people, were put there to be used and exploited by the superior man. Those that refuse to exploit others are considered to be morally weak. Focusing on community or family or charity is considered to be foolish and worthy of mockery, as those who refuses to exploit others are fit only to be exploited like the sheep they are by the more 'morally evolved.'

Following this sort of paradigm, the gnomes wouldn't just be concerned with aquiring wealth, but with proving the superiority of their beliefs by taking advantage of members of other races. It's a 'moral necessity' for them to exploit others, to prove the rightness of their philosophy. It one can 'game' a charitable endeavor or work project meant to benefit 'the little people' (such as a city wall expansion around a poor quarter), it's practically a requirement of their faith to 'prove' that such charitible works are for suckers and fools. Any great charitible success story undermines their beliefs, and brings up the horrible thought that maybe they are greedy jerks, and the great excuse that 'everybody is like that' rings hollow, so it's pretty much required for them to continue feeling good about themselves to sabotage such projects, and, when one fails because of some sort of corruption, to sing it from the rafters, and make sure that everybody hears about it, since it's 'proof' that everybody is selfish and that attempting to do something for others is inherently flawed.

'Prime Directive' thinking can go into this sort of philosophy as well. 'We can't help the dirty backwards savages, because then they won't learn nuthin! Save our knowledge / resources / wisdom for us, and if they deserve to be like us, they'll get there on their own, and be better for it (but don't forget to pillage every possible resource from their undefended land first, so that they can't possibly ever advance anyway, and then blame them for never developing metalworking, despite having mined every scrap of ore out from under them...)'

'Prime Directive' gnomes would expand into goblin, kobold, etc. held territories, and take advantage of technological superiority (alchemist's fire, crossbows, caltrops, etc.) to push these 'savage' races back, and exploit and develop their territories. If their wealth suffices, they might even hire human mercenaries to do the bulk of this work, only moving in directly once there are some fortified areas. The humans might be allowed to settle the land cleared afterwards, but it will still remain under the authority of the gnomes who financed this 'nation-building' project (and, depending on how rapacious the gnomes are, they may have clear-cut and destroyed and exported most of the local resources, leaving the 'settler' humans with a devastated ruin of a landscape, to which humanoids may soon return, as the gnomes move on to their next area to plunder, essentially 'rewarding' their human mercenaries with little more than a played-out boom-town, that is unsustainable and will fall apart within a decade or two (perhaps to be reclaimed by savage humanoids and nature within a few generations, in time for the gnomish mercantile organization to swing back and 'claim' it again!).

With some truly clever politicking, the gnomes could even make the descendents of the humans lost in the last 'boom' think that it was a great tragedy, and that the gnomes only left because there was tension between gnome and human, and that *this time,* they'll do it right, and reclaim the township, and avenge those lost when the goblinoids took back the territories.

Whipped into a frenzy with tales of revenge and reclamation of 'what is rightly ours,' the next generation of humans is sent in to clear out the humanoids, cut down the trees, dig up the ore, etc. to be sent off in gnomish wagons to benefit the same gnomish family-run business that ruthlessly exploited their great grandparents the same way, and is going to abandon them when they've pillaged the area to their satisfaction, once again.

Such gnomes would be amused and / or offended to be painted as 'evil,' since they would almost universally think of themselves as beyond such labels, as more evolved, and ruthlessly fair. If others deserved to be treated differently, they would be likewise exploiting others, and thinking only of themselves, and if they aren't, they are inherently dishonest and false, since, by their beliefs, *everybody* is selfish at the core, and that the people who claim not to be are just dangerous liars or even-more-dangerous fools. The fact that someone is calling them evil or greedy or selfish, as if these were bad things, is just proof that they are unenlightened, and their opinions childish and irrelevant.

Indentured servitude would likely be very popular among such a society. With slavery, the onus is on the slave-taker or the slave-owner, but with indentured servants who are working off a debt, or serving as punishment for a crime, the slave-owner can place all of the 'blame' for the condition of slavery on the slave himself. 'Oh, he's a criminal, no doubt he's much better off working for me than he ever would have been on his own. I'm doing him a favor, really...' The gnome would get to not only have the benefits of owning slaves, but would get to feel all morally superior and smug about it, since, by the tenets of their faith, people are where they deserve to be. If someone is poor, they deserve to be poor, because they refused to do whatever was necessary to not be poor, and so if someone couldn't pay their debts to the Gnomish Syndicate, it's their fault for refusing to engage in whatever immoral or unethical behavior was required to settle that debt, and, by that logic, they *deserve* to spend the next ten years working for the Syndicate... That's the fate of the dishonest, lazy and unenlightened, to be perpetually exploited by the faith of enlightened self-interest.

From another perspective, a wealth-obsessed society would seem the most likely to develop not just banking houses and money-changers, but to encourage the formation of regional currencies and banker's notes as mediums of exchange. Coin and stones would go into their countinghouses, and paper notes and alloyed coins of lesser value that *represent* money stored in the local lords vaults would come out. By controlling the 'market fluctuations' of coins from different lands, or even different fiefdoms or trade partners, they would be able to game the system that they have designed, to always come out a few coins ahead on any transaction.

'This note is from the bank of Westfeld, I can redeem it for 95% of it's face value, if you wish...' says the banker, knowing that he can hold onto it until he is able to redeeom it as the bank of Westfeld for 98.5% of it's value. On a 100 gp note, the bank of Westfeld has now made 2.5 gp. profit, and the banker in the neighboring city has made 2.5 gp. profit, all for the cost of a scrap of paper and a hard-to-reproduce bit of writing.

This is how a wealth-obsessed gnome (or human, or elf) would be best served to operate. Not thieves guilds. No bank heist or art theft or jewel theft can compare with the return on investment of owning a bank.

Cutting a purse might feed you for a week, but having hundreds of clients walk into your place of business over a course of a week and put the contents of their coin-purses willingly into your hands, accepting only scraps of paper and promises in return? That's where the action is!

 

[gamerprinter]

@Set : I will check out Ayn Rand for reference. Though my Gnomic Syndicate do have a belief in divinity, and are not atheists, I think you'll see that the Gnomic gods behavior justify a pantheon that serves a selfish-as-virtue culture well.

I plan to precede the game mechanics portion with an "in character" explanation by a profiteer, onto a potential non-gnome associate for nefarious hire. I'll want to include Gnomic philosophy (in the tone described by Set), the pantheon, the church and the intricacies of the Syndicate, itself. I think a dozen or more pages would add a good dose of fluff ideas, before the focus on new alternates, class archetypes, skills, feats, spells, mundane equipment and magic items.

I can imagine a 60 page book.

The Shrinking Pantheon of Gnomic Gods:

Arico - a greater deity of Conveyances, Slavery and Arcane Power (chief deity of Gnomic Wizards.)

Carvellan - a lesser deity who is now among the slain gods of the pantheon, had the powers of Bluffing, Poison, Confectioneries and Sweets. Slain by Patti Middy as a favor to Cenraizione.

Cenraizione - a greater deity of Barter, Negotiation and War, who slew Tanti, and is chief of the pantheon.

Fascel - a greater deity of Charm, Creativity and Sorcery (chief deity of Gnomic Sorcerers.)

Gyges - a lesser deity of Evil, Luck, Trickery and Bards. Slain by Sorozo with the assistance of Patty Middy. His portfolio was taken by Patti Middy.

Hemera - a lesser deity of Things that Sparkle, Daylight and Beaches. Slain and absorbed by Fascel.

Indorgh - a lesser deity of Drugs, Indulgences and Divination. Slain by Arico.

Lusso - a lesser deity of Luxury and Relaxation. As a deity of sloth, when the infighting between the gods became fierce, he immediately recognized he lacked the drive to compete, so he voluntarily handed his portfolio of powers and divinity to Patti Middy, and fell to the other worldly court of gnomic kind.

Patti Middy - a greater deity of Boots, Pleasure, Songs and Quirks, with the portfolios of Gyges and Lusso. Though she lacks the might of Cenraizione, the practical talents of Arico and Fascel, or the forceful will of Sorozo, though talents of negotiation, black mail and assassination, she has climbed to the top five deities of the pantheon. She is a favorite among haberdashers, boot makers and the common folk among gnome knd as well as a favorite of profiteers.

Sorozo - Struggle, Hard Work, Stress and Challenges are the portfolios of this greater female deity, now has the portfolio of Carvellan.

Tanti - this lesser deity, once the controller of Prostitution, Cash and Exploitation, but was slain by Cenraizione for improper care of the heavenly treasury.

Holders of the Chest:
The Holders of the Chest is the primary divine order of the gnomic peoples following Cenraizione, and form the Commandery in the military. Keeping and managing the treasury is their foremost occupation. A great many accountants and litigants are employed by this holy order. They serve as the logistical operations and hold a leadership role in the military. They are also responsible for punishments to those gnomes who have broken the rules of the Gnomicon and military protocol.

Militant Orders:

Harbingers auditor (inquisitor) of the Syndicate Chest (Gnomic Bank.)
Darklings are the elite wizards of the god, Arico.
Sunrays are the elite sorcerers of Fascel.
Final Sight are the elite assassins of Arico which comprise of mixed assasssins and spellcasters (possible UC 'ninja'.)

Non-commissioned corps:
Cane Breakers - an elite order of clerics, bards, fighters and rogues that comprise the bulk of the lower eschelon of the military, also closely associated with the Church of Cenraizione. 'Cane' is Gnomic slang for 'sugarcane' or 'sweet talk' and persuasion, as opposed to direct conflict.

Outcasts of Gnomic Society:
Nearly all the members of the Shiners and Lone Men comprise those spellcasters and rogue/profiteers who have fallen out of favor with the Syndicate, or simply lack the talent to meet the high standards of Gnomic society.

Gnomic Culture:
Gnomes enjoy relaxation, creating and consuming gastrological delights, especially confectioneries. Their appearance among their kind is of key importance and helps determine hierarchy among their peers. Dressing well is important, including the types of fabric, and material that are used in their clothing. Colorful wide brimmed hats with giant exotic feathers crown most gnome heads, male and female alike. Coats with braids, big shiny buttons and tailored fine fabrics and properly fitted over their loose trousers and wide, large buckled belts. But the most important garment to the point of fetish, is their boots.

When a given gnome as acquired some wealth or ill-gotten gain, their first investment will be a new pair of boots. Finest leathers and skins of rare endangered species, buckles of gold, mithral - whatever they can afford is the first measure of a gnome's status among their kind. When two gnomes first meet, a glance at one another's boots is always first before even looking into each other's eyes. Boots will determine a hierarchy between two gnomes. The leaders of their kind always have the best boots.

As a race of exploiters, gnomes have become a sedentary/nomadic race, that is to say, gnomes settle into a region, adapt to local culture, participate in trade, all the while learning how best to take advantage of them, how to access the local wealth and bleed it into Syndicate coffers. Eventually economic crisis will occur and the gnomes to be pointed as the blame. Already hated by their growing wealth, backlashes ofen occur enforced by laws, military or angry mobs. Not a few gnomes have been tortured to death as a result. At such times the gnomes move on.

The highest status among any gnome is to become the consummate exploiter with the finest boots, but not recognized as a villain among non-gnomes around them, through disguise, obfuscation or deceit, because the best would never get caught.

Non-gnome associates (aka 'first to be exploited):
Employees and freelancers, sometimes financial mediaries with other advanced cultures often serve as the 'Hand' of the syndicate, with local bosses and 'insiders' leading the exploitation of their own peoples. While this closest rank to the syndicate often doing criminal activity directly serve as the scapegoats for any financial discrepancies filling Syndicate coffers.

'Fertile Ground' or 'A Customer is Born Every Minute': everyone else.

 

[gamerprinter]

When I say Thieves Guild, I don't mean a training and hostel for thieves, burglars, and the like, but more like the activities of organized crime as in: protection rackets, gambling, prostitution, fencing stolen goods, black markets, loansharking, drugs/contraband. These are all profitable 'businesses' with varying levels of acceptance by the local community.

Ultimately banks with bills of exchange, and underwriters (insurance companies) become the best profit generators, but not everyone can work at the bank. The varying levels of gnomic society occupy from the least peddlers and con men to the merchant princes and financiers of the urban centers.

As suggested in the gnomic military above, because gnomes are a diminuitive race, a reliance on magic, especially illusion, enchantment, transmutation and sonic , then assassination, stealth and subterfuge comprise the martial focus. Any greater force would be hired mercenary teams and companies.