Gnomes

Gnomes are a curious people, sharing many similarities with both dwarves and elves. Some scholars have even suggested that gnomes may share a common ancestry with one or both peoples, although no evidence has ever been found to support such claims. Like elves, gnomes place a great value on knowledge and learning, but unlike their woodland cousins, gnomes tend to approach these pursuits with a practical and serious outlook.

Gnomes are short folk, rarely standing more than four feet tall. Their culture places great value on individual achievement and personal success. While dwarves often focus on strengthening their communities, and elves often focus on broad education, gnomes tend to focus on improving themselves and their own circumstances. Because of this, many gnomes are ambitious, competitive, and highly motivated. To outsiders this can sometimes appear selfish, but gnomes generally see it as simple self-reliance. Despite this focus on the individual, gnomes are fiercely loyal to those who have earned their trust. A gnome may have little concern for a stranger, but they will often go to great lengths to aid a friend, family member, or trusted associate.

Gnomish societies value personal freedoms highly, and attempts to restrict those freedoms are often met with suspicion. Their laws tend to be fewer than those of dwarven societies, and are generally concerned with protecting property, contracts, and personal rights. Because of this outlook, gnomish settlements tend to experience more crime than dwarven or elven communities, although usually less than human ones. Law-abiding gnomes are often more frustrated by the inconvenience and disruption caused by criminals than by the crimes themselves. Gnomes rarely seek close relationships with other peoples unless there is a mutual benefit to be gained, although many have learned that cooperation can be every bit as profitable as competition.

Like elves, much of what is known about the natural world comes from gnomish scholars and researchers. Gnomes possess an incredible ability to focus on a single subject for long periods of time, allowing them to achieve insights that others might overlook. While gnomes are not especially known for craftsmanship, they are widely respected for their intellect, business acumen, and ability to organize large ventures.

Gnomes place great importance on personal appearance. Their hair is carefully maintained, their clothing kept clean, and their appearance rarely left to chance. Gnome men often grow impressive moustaches, although their beards tend to be less remarkable than those of dwarves. Many choose to shave their beards entirely while maintaining elaborate facial hairstyles that follow the latest fashions. Gnome women are equally conscious of appearance, often favoring clothing tailored to flatter their figure. Wealthy and poor gnomes alike tend to dress above their station, and it is not uncommon to find a gnome spending their last few silver pieces on fashionable clothing rather than practical necessities. To a gnome, appearances matter, and making a good impression is often considered an investment rather than an indulgence.

Gnome Gameplay

All Gnomes share the following gameplay elements.

Ancestry Traits

Ancestry Traits

Ancestry Keywords

Animus, Humanoid, Gnome

Movement Speed

Your base move speed is 20 feet.

Size

You are a small sized creature. Small sized creatures have a few weapon restrictions over medium-sized creatures, including:

• Small sized creatures cannot use weapons with the heavy weapon property at all.
• Small sized creatures treat weapons with the two-handed weapon property as if they had the heavy weapon property if a feature requires it.
• Small sized creatures treat weapons with the hand-and-a-half weapon property as if they had the two-handed weapon property, and thus cannot use them one-handed.
• In order to engage in two-weapon fighting, a small sized creature must be wielding weapons that have both the light weapon property and have a bundled EP value.

Native Langauges

Your native languages are Gnomish and Common.

Vision

You have low-light vision. Additionally, you can enable or disable Infravision at will.

Gnome Features

As a gnome, you automatically gain access to all features below.

Gnome Fortitude

Gnome Fortitude

Ancestry Feature

As a gnome, your physiology leaves you highly resistant to affects of the body, giving you a +2 ancestry bonus to Saving Throws vs Doom.

Magical Aptitude

Magical Aptitude

Ancestry Feature

As a gnome, you gain a +1 ancestry bonus to all Saving Throws vs Spells.

Poor Warriors

Poor Warriors

Ancestry Feature

If a class you select has the soldier keyword, you have a -5% penalty to XP gains for that class.

Class Keyword Features

After selecting your class, you gain access to an additional ancestral feature based on your selected classes keyword. If your class has multiple keywords, or you are a multi-classed character, you can select 1 of the keywords granted to you by your class, and gain the feature with that keyword listed below.

Arcanist

Arcanist

Class Keyword Ancestry Feature

Increase the ancestry bonus provided by your Magical Aptitude feature to +2 Saving Throws vs Spells when saving against magical spells.

Adept

Adept

Class Keyword Ancestry Feature

You gain bonuses when interacting with stone or ground. Any time you make any Attribute Test related to stones or ground, you gain a +1 ancestry Bonus to your test.

Priest

Priest

Class Keyword Ancestry Feature

Increase the ancestry bonus provided by your Magical Aptitude feature to +2 Saving Throws vs Spells when saving against clerical spells.

Soldier

Soldier

Class Keyword Ancestry Feature

Increase the ancestry bonus provided by your Gnome Fortitude feature to +3 bonus.

Gnome Ages

Gnomes age lightly, their quickness of hand and mind carrying them well into later years. As time passes, their curiosity sharpens into eccentric brilliance, though their bodies begin to lag behind their thoughts. In old age, they become strange and insightful in equal measure, never quite losing their spark.

To randomly roll your starting age, you must first determine your class keywords. If you have 1 class keyword, take the Base Age for the keyword, and add the result of the Roll for the keyword as well. If you have more than 1 class keyword, you use the highest base age for your keywords, but roll all dice in the roll column for each class keyword you have.

Class Keyword	Base Age	Roll
Arcanist	25	4d8
Adept	15	5d4
Priest	20	3d8
Soldier	16	4d6

Two Gnomes

Burgalthause has selected the Magic-User class, which contains the Arcanist class keyword. Thus, he rolls 4d8, getting 16. He adds that to the base age of 25, and Burgalthause is 41 years old, just insider of his prime.

However, Shareece is a Fighter\Magic-User, which has the Arcanist and Soldier keywords. Since the base age of arcanist is higher, her base age is 25. She then rolls 4d8, rolling high and getting 29 from her Arcanist, followed by 4d6, also rolling high and getting a total of 22 for her solider. Shareece is 76 years old, starting her adventuring career at a mature age.

After determining your age, you apply all age factors below for your current age, and every age lower. Thus, an elf who starts in their prime must step through all Young and Prime attribute adjustments. Note that some age requirements are optional.

As a reminder, during character creation, your attributes cannot go above 19, nor below 6 due to aging bonuses and penalties. Simply ignore any bonuses or penalties that would adjust your attributes so.

Some age breakpoints overlap; and when aging a character, once you hit the age breakpoint, you can choose to delay your attribute adjustments for up to 1 year, but must apply the attribute adjustments before you reach the age that doesn’t overlap. For example, 40 is both Young and Prime. Once you reach 40, you can choose to apply the attribute adjustments for being Prime, but you do not have to. During any rest between age 40 and 41 you can decide to apply the attribute adjustments, but it must be done by the time you turn 41, or it is done the first rest you have once you turn 41.

Young Gnomes (20 - 40)

Young gnomes are viewed as disruptive apprentices; tolerated for potential, but closely supervised due to curiosity and unpredictability.

As a young gnome, you have the option to make the following attribute adjustments. If you do, you must apply all of the adjustments listed.

• Select one attribute from the following list: Agility, Precision, and Logic. Increase the selected attribute by +1.
• Select one attribute from the following list: Brawn, Heartiness, and Reason. **Reduce the selected attribute by -1.

Prime Gnomes (40 - 75)

Gnomes in their prime are valued creators, inventors, and problem-solvers; expected to produce results, even when their methods are unconventional.

As an gnome in your prime, you have the option to make the following attribute adjustments.

• Select two attributes from the following list: Agility, Precision, Logic, and Reason. Increase the selected attributes by +1.

Mature Gnomes (75 - 125)

Mature gnomes are respected eccentrics and specialists; their insight is sought, though their reasoning is not always followed.

As a mature gnome, you must make the following attribute adjustments.

• Your Precision, Logic, and Savvy attributes are increased by +1.
• Your Brawn attribute is reduced by -1.

Aging Gnomes (125 - 175)

Aging gnomes are seen as increasingly strange but useful; communities consult them carefully, often through intermediaries.

As an aging gnome, you must make the following attribute adjustments.

• Your Precision, Logic, and Savvy attributes are increased by +1.
• Your Brawn attribute is reduced by -2.
• Your Heartiness attribute is reduced by -1.

Elderly Gnomes (175+)

Upon reaching the Elderly age, roll 10d10 and note the result. Add this result to 175, and you find the age you will die of old age. Elderly gnomes are treated as near-mythic minds; either revered as geniuses or quietly avoided depending on temperament and reputation.

As an elderly gnome, you must make the following attribute adjustments.

• Your Logic, Reason, Savvy, and Presence attributes are increased by +1.
• Your Brawn and Heartiness attributes are reduced by -2.
• Your Agility and Precision attributes are reduced by -1.

Height and Weight

To randomly determine your character’s height and weight, start by rolling 2d6, record the total as “extra inches” and then roll a 1d4. Multiple your “extra inches” result by the result of the 2d4 roll to get your “extra weight”.

For males, add your “extra inches” to 32 inches to get how tall you are in inches, additionally, add the “extra weight” to 30 lbs. to get your starting weight. If you are female, add your “extra inches” to 30 inches, and add your “extra weight” to 25 lbs.