Gnomes
Do you seek to honor the great powers -- the moon and stars, demigods or greater gods, Mother Nature herself? Do you enjoy making others laugh? As a gnome, maybe you travel hither and yon, mapping, sketching, and recording everything you experience. Or maybe you just seek to play pranks and be the one who gets the most interesting stuff! However you seek fame or fortune or foolery, you are sure to enjoy the journey. Gnomes excel as druids, clerics, bards, and illusionists.
Details
Introduction: Once upon a time, fairie spirits of nature came to admire the brief bright lives of mortals, and sought help from powerful beings to become mortal themselves. Some say gnomes are the children of halflings and those spirits. Some say gnomes were grown in holy dirt from seeds planted by those beings. Many gnomes honor gods and nature, but their wisdom is tempered by a love of laughter and magical trickery. Gnomes are quick to smile, even at jokes played on themselves; they seldom hold grudges.
Appearance: Gnomes do resemble halflings, but are brown of skin, hair, and eyes, and almost all have large noses. Some favor bright or even clashing colors; others stick to earth tones and greens. They are slender, standing about three to four feet tall, and are known for wearing conical hats (red is popular). Most are graceful; many are bewitching.
Society: Many gnomes are content to live in villages, usually in low buildings of brick, often hidden by illusions. Sometimes their homes are tunneled into hillsides or behind waterfalls. Gnomes tend to follow a council of elders, or else to leave home if they do not like rules and traditions. Gnomes out in the world are always friendly to each other, and they have a special fondness for halflings, treating them as cousins. They have managed to remain friends with both elves and dwarves. They tend to be neutral good in alignment.
Rules
Character Creation: Apply the following adjustments to every gnome player character.
- Ability Score Adjustment: Choose: +2 Wisdom OR +1 Wisdom and +1 Charisma.
- Saving Throw Bonuses: +2 on Reflex saving throws.
- Extra Hit Points: +3.
- Skill Bonuses: +3 to Bluff, Scrivening, Sense Motive, and Spot skills. You are proficient in these skills.
- Size: Small.
- Move: 20 feet.
- Vision: Darkvision.
- Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Dwarf, Elf, Goblin, Human, and Sylvan (Sylvan is available to gnomes as a bonus language but not to any other race).
- Special: Prankster - You know either the Ghost Sound or Ventriloquism cantrip, your choice. You gain a +2 racial bonus when using the following skills for specific purposes: Disable Device, to sabotage devices with moving parts; Sleight of Hand, to pickpocket; Scrivening, to create a forgery; and Bluff, to lie.
- Weakness: Major Iron Allergy - When you are damaged by an iron or steel weapon, you are afflicted with the queasy condition for 10 rounds -- subsequent hits only extend the duration but do not make the condition worse. Wearing, carrying, and using iron items gives you the sickened condition.
Tyro Tier (character level 3): Select one of these three powers:
- Power: Favored Class (Druid) - Your levels as a druid do not count against you when determining experience point penalties for multiclassing.
- Power: Master of Illusions - You add +1 to the DC of any saving throws against illusion spells you cast. You gain a +2 racial saving throw bonus against illusion spells and effects. Once per day, a willing ally of yours in reach (often a familiar or other companion creature with intelligence greater than three) may concentrate on a continuing illusion spell that you have just cast so that you do not have to, for up to one round per caster level.
- Power: Friendly and Curious - You gain a +2 bonus on Gather Information checks. Also, using Diplomacy to ask questions never hurts a creature's attitude towards you.
Adventurer Tier (character level 8): Select one of these three powers*:
- Power: Gnome Champion - You are proficient with the Gnome Hooked Hammer and receive a +1 racial bonus to damage using one. You gain a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against boggards, gnolls, and goblinoids. You also gain a +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type.
- Power: Animal Friend - As an at-will supernatural ability, you can speak to animals, vermin, and magical beasts as with Speak to Animals.
- Power: Plant Friend - As an at-will supernatural ability, you can speak to plants and plant creatures as with Speak to Plants.
Hero Tier (character level 13): Select one of these two powers*:
- Power: Fey Friend - Visiting you in magical dreams, fey spirits teach you their language. If you do not already know it, you now speak fluent Sylvan; if you know Sylvan, you now know fluent Aklo. When you make diplomacy checks interacting with fey, roll twice and use the better result. You gain a +2 luck bonus to save against all spell-like abilities
- Power: Gnome Nose - You gain the Scent extraordinary ability.
Legend Tier (character level 18): Select one of these two powers*:
- Power: Bound to Nature - You have strong ties to nature and natural terrain. You gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC when in a natural terrain type (not in urban areas, not underground, not on other planes). You have concealment when you are not attacking and you are in such natural terrain.
- Power: Eternal Hope - You are always confident that even hopeless situations will work out. You receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects. If you roll a natural 1 on any saving throw, attack, or skill check, you may reroll and use the second result.
* Or select a lower tier power that you have not chosen before.