Gnomes
Do you seek to honor the great powers -- sun, cloud, or rainbow, demigods or greater gods, Father Nature himself? 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: Gnomes were created by a dark divinity of the underworld as magical servants — they were meant to work the earth and to find gemstones, which from the beginning were known to be distillations of pure magic and therefore filled with power. However, the gnomes found their freedom! Some say they found loopholes in the oaths that bound them. Some say they rebelled and sought the aid of other gods. Now, almost all gnomes are free, often honoring gods of 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 resemble halflings, but they are brown of skin, hair, and eyes, and some have large noses. Gnomes tend to favor bright or even clashing colors; others stick to earth tones and greens. They are slender, standing about two to three 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 may listen to a council of elders, but they have as many different traditions, mores, and folkways as humans do. 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.
Alignment: Gnomes are tricksters and pranksters with the ability to laugh at themselves as much as at others. In their own communities, they dwell in peaceful anarchy; among other peoples, they have a cheerful disregard for traditions, rules, and laws. No NPC gnomes are lawful, and most are chaotic. More are good than evil.
Rules
Character Creation: Apply the following adjustments to every gnome player character.
- Ability Score Adjustment: +2 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence, or +1 to both.
- Saving Throw Bonuses: +2 on Fortitude saving throws.
- Extra Hit Points: +3.
- Skill Bonuses: +3 racial bonus to all Appraise, Handle Animal, Sense Motive, and Use Magic Device skill checks. You are proficient in these skills.
- Size: Small.
- Move: 25 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. Once per day, you can cast a spell without any components at all, so nobody knows who cast it.
- Weakness: Major Iron Allergy - When you are damaged by an iron or steel weapon, you are afflicted with the queasy condition for 1d10 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: Master of Gems - You gain a +4 racial bonus on skill checks to find, cut, craft, and appraise gems, as well as to make knowledge checks related to gems. When creating magic items or fueling soul-bound items, you spend 10 percent less in gems than anyone else normally would.
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 troglodytes, 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 racial bonus to AC when in a natural terrain type (aboveground or under) (not in urban areas, not on other planes). You have concealment when you are in such natural terrains.
- Power: Eternal Hope - You are always confident that even hopeless situations will work out. You receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws. 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.