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| wiki:gnome [2025/12/02 18:02] – created karga | wiki:gnome [2025/12/13 23:55] (current) – ersatz |
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| ====== Gnome ====== | ====== Gnomes ====== |
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| {{ Placeholder |}} | ^ Gnomes ^ |
| ^ Elves ^ | | Height: 90 to 120 cm | |
| | Height: 80 to 100 | | | Languages: Common, Gnome | |
| | Attribute Modifiers: +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Strength | | | Common Regions: Forest edges, rolling hills, underground burrows, pastoral villages | |
| | Languages: Common (Taldan), Gnomish | | |
| | Cultures: [[Feychild gnomes]], [[Fell gnomes]], [[Glimmer gnomes]], [[Keenspark gnomes]], [[Kijimuna]], [[Drathnelar]], [[Bleachling]] | | |
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| === Overview === | === Overview === |
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| **Male Names:** Abroshtor, Bastargre, Halungalom, Krolmnite, Poshment, Zarzuket, Zatqualmie. | **Male Names:** Alston, Boddynock, Foddex, Jebeddo, Nackle, Rollo, Wrenn, Zook |
| | **Female Names:** Bimpnottin, Caramip, Duvamil, Ellywick, Nyx, Tana, Vinnia, Zephyr |
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| **Female Names:** Besh, Fijit, Lini, Majet, Neji, Pai, Queck, Trig. | Gnomes are a curious, inventive, and energetic people known for their love of discovery and playfulness. Their societies are often hidden or semi-hidden, embracing both the wonders of the natural world and the marvels of artifice. A gnome’s life is frequently guided by a combination of mischief, experimentation, and an insatiable desire to understand how the world works. |
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| Gnomes are distant relatives of the fey, and their history tells of a time when they lived in the fey's mysterious realm, a place where colors are brighter, the wildlands wilder, and emotions more primal. Unknown forces drove the ancient gnomes from that realm long ago, forcing them to seek refuge in this world; despite this, the gnomes have never completely abandoned their fey roots or adapted to mortal culture. Though gnomes are no longer truly fey, their fey heritage can be seen in their innate magic powers, their oft-capricious natures, and their outlooks on life and the world. | Gnomes are friendly and inquisitive, often forming close bonds with those who share their sense of wonder. They value storytelling, music, craftsmanship, and invention, and their communities are filled with individuals whose creativity drives both daily life and the occasional unpredictable explosion. While small in stature, gnomes’ minds are quick, agile, and capable of remarkable insight. |
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| Gnomes can have the same concerns and motivations as members of other races, but just as often they are driven by passions and desires that non-gnomes see as eccentric at best, and nonsensical at worst. A gnome may risk his life to taste the food at a giant's table, to reach the bottom of a pit just because it would be the lowest place he's ever been, or to tell jokes to a dragon—and to the gnome those goals are as worthy as researching a new spell, gaining vast wealth, or putting down a powerful evil force. While such apparently fickle and impulsive acts are not universal among gnomes, they are common enough for the race as a whole to have earned a reputation for being impetuous and at least a little mad. | == Physical Description == |
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| Combined with their diminutive sizes, vibrant coloration, and lack of concern for the opinions of others, these attitudes have caused gnomes to be widely regarded by the other races as alien and strange. Gnomes, in turn, are often amazed how alike other common, civilized races are. It seems stranger to a gnome that humans and elves share so many similarities than that the gnomes do not. Indeed, gnomes often confound their allies by treating everyone who is not a gnome as part of a single, vast non-gnome collective race. | Gnomes are diminutive humanoids with rounded faces, large expressive eyes, and small hands well-suited to fine work. Hair and eye colors are vibrant and varied, often reflecting the whimsical spirit of the individual rather than regional trends. Their skin tends toward fair or lightly tanned tones, though some gnomes display unusual hues as a result of magical heritage or experimentation. |
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| == Physical Description: == | They are nimble and compact, with a natural flexibility that supports climbing, acrobatics, and delicate craftsmanship. Gnomes dress in bright colors or patterned clothing that reflects personal taste, and adorn themselves with gadgets, tools, and trinkets collected during exploration or invented for practical amusement. |
| A gnome is a short humanoid who typically stand around three feet in height, slightly taller than halflings but weighing about as much as a human child.4 Gnomes age much like other mortals do, albeit more slowly than most but not as slowly as elves;5 they reach physical maturity by their 18th year but could in theory live to any age.4 However, they also begin to suffer from a condition known as Bleaching when they lose passion and fail to experience new things,1 and few live longer than 400 years.4 | |
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| Gnomes have long spindly fingers and large heads, which have a subtly different shape than those of other humanoids. Compared to their bodies, they have surprising toughness, as their bones are of a harder but lighter cast than those of humans.6 Their coloration, like their aging, is altered by experience. Their skin, hair, and eyes can run the complete gamut of colors that appear in nature, betraying their fey nature like no other characteristic.46 | == Society == |
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| Many, though not all, gnomes have skin tones that match those of other humanoids who live in the region, often with tints of olive or gold.6 A few might also have green, black, or pale blue skin. Their hair in particular is often vibrantly colored,4 expressing their recent history and experiences in reds, greens and more, as often (if not more so) than browns and blonds. They have very long expressive eyebrows above large, child-like eyes that can cause others to be more trusting and protective of gnomes. Some find these traits, along with the too-wide mouths and smiles, to be alien and frightening.6 | Gnomish communities are often tight-knit, thriving on collaboration, creativity, and shared curiosity. Homes may be nestled in hillsides, tree hollows, or hidden among larger settlements. Villages are often a tangle of workshops, gardens, and playful constructions designed to delight as well as provide shelter. |
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| | Gnomes encourage ingenuity from an early age. Young gnomes are trained in observation, experimentation, and practical problem solving. Education is informal but intensive, with mentors and elders sharing both arcane and mundane knowledge. Storytelling and music reinforce social bonds while conveying history, culture, and lessons learned. |
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| == Society: == | While gnomes prefer harmony and laughter, they are fiercely protective of their communities. Intruders, especially those who threaten life, livelihood, or innovation, are met with clever defenses and inventive tactics. |
| Unlike most races, gnomes do not generally organize themselves within classic societal structures. Gnome cities are unusual and gnome kingdoms almost unknown. Further, gnomes have no particular tendency to gather in specific neighborhoods even when a large number of them live among other races. While specific laws meant to contain the potential impact of gnomes on a society may require a "gnome quarter," and societal pressure sometimes causes all non-gnomes to move away from areas with high gnome populations, left to their own devices, gnomes tend to spread evenly throughout communities that allow them. | |
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| However, even when gnomes are common within a community as a group, individual gnomes tend to be always on the move. Whimsical creatures at heart, they typically travel alone or with temporary companions, ever seeking new and more exciting experiences. They rarely form enduring relationships among themselves or with members of other races, instead pursuing crafts, professions, or collections with a passion that borders on zealotry. If a gnome does settle in an area or stay with a group for a longer period, it is almost always the result of some benefit that area gives to a vocation or obsession to which the gnome had dedicated himself. | == Relations == |
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| Despite their extremely varied backgrounds and lack of a unifying homeland, gnomes do possess some common cultural traits. Male gnomes have a strange fondness for unusual hats and headgear, often wearing the most expensive and ostentatious head-covering they can afford (and that their chosen careers will allow them to wear without causing problems). Females rarely cover their heads, but proudly wear elaborate and eccentric hairstyles that often include intricate jeweled combs and headpieces. | Gnomes are generally amicable toward other races, though their interactions are often marked by playful curiosity. They are fascinated by other cultures and enjoy learning their customs, languages, and arts. Gnomes may tease or prank outsiders, but their intentions are rarely malicious, and they value honesty and loyalty in those who become their friends. |
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| == Relations: == | Gnomes tend to avoid prolonged conflicts but will stand against oppressors or aggressors when necessary. They respect intelligence, skill, and creativity regardless of species, and alliances are formed based on mutual interests rather than obligation or fear. |
| Gnomes have difficulty interacting with the other races, on both emotional and physical levels. In many ways the very fact other races see gnomes as odd is itself the thing gnomes find most odd about other races, and this leads to a strong lack of common ground upon which understanding and relationships can be built. When two gnomes encounter one another, they generally assume some mutually beneficial arrangement can be reached, no matter how different their beliefs and traditions may be. Even if this turns out not to be the case, the gnomes continue to look for commonalities in their dealings with each other. The inability or unwillingness of members of other races to make the same effort when dealing with gnomes is both frustrating and confusing to most gnomes. | |
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| In many ways, it is gnomes' strong connection to a wide range of apparently unconnected ideas that makes it difficult for other races to build relationships with them. Gnome humor, for example, is often focused on physical pranks, nonsensical rhyming nicknames, and efforts to convince others of outrageous lies that strain all credibility. Gnomes find such efforts hysterically funny, but their pranks often come across as malicious or senseless to other races, while gnomes in turn tend to think of the taller races as dull and lumbering giants. | == Alignment and Beliefs == |
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| Gnomes get along reasonably well with halflings and humans, who at least have some traditions of bizarre, gnomelike humor. Gnomes generally feel dwarves and half-orcs need to lighten up, and attempt to bring levity into their lives with tricks, jokes, and outrageous tales the more dour races simply cannot see the sense of. Gnomes respect elves, but often grow frustrated with the slow pace at which members of the long-lived race make decisions. To gnomes, action is always better than inaction, and many gnomes carry several highly involved projects with them at all times to keep themselves entertained during rest periods. | Most gnomes lean toward good alignments, valuing kindness, curiosity, and joy. They are rarely rigid in thought and embrace flexibility in morality and action. Mischief is a part of life, often used to teach lessons or lighten spirits rather than harm. |
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| == Alignment and Religion: == | Spiritual life focuses on deities of creativity, knowledge, and nature. Gnomish faith celebrates cleverness, discovery, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Rituals are joyful, frequently accompanied by music, storytelling, or magical displays that embody their beliefs. |
| Although gnomes are impulsive tricksters, with sometimes inscrutable motives and equally confusing methods, their hearts are generally in the right place. What may seem a malicious act to a non-gnome is more likely an effort to introduce new acquaintances to new experiences, however unpleasant the experiences may be. Gnomes are prone to powerful fits of emotion, and find themselves most at peace within the natural world. | |
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| == Adventurers: == | == Adventurers == |
| Gnomes' propensity for wanderlust, deep curiosity, and desire to master odd or esoteric skills and languages make them natural adventurers. They often become wanderers to experience new aspects of life, for nothing is as novel as the uncounted dangers facing adventurers. Many gnomes see adventuring as the only worthwhile purpose in life, and seek out adventures for no other motive than to experience them. Other gnomes desire to find some lost lore or material that has ties to their chosen vocation and believe only dragon hoards and ancient ruins can contain the lore they need, which can result in gnomes who think of themselves as bakers or weavers being just as accomplished adventurers as those who declare themselves to be mages or scouts. | |
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| Gnomes are physically weak compared to many races, and see this as a simple fact of life to be planned for accordingly. Most adventuring gnomes make up for their weakness with a proclivity for sorcery or bardic music, while others turn to alchemy or exotic weapons to grant them an edge in conflicts. | Gnomes who venture beyond their communities are often driven by curiosity, ambition, or a desire to experience life firsthand. They explore ruins, tinker with arcane mysteries, and gather knowledge or treasures to share with their people. |
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| ---- | In adventuring parties, gnomes bring intellect, creativity, and adaptability. They often excel as alchemists, bards, illusionists, and tinkers, though a gnome’s natural versatility allows them to succeed in almost any role that benefits from quick thinking and nimble hands. |
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| //Sources: [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy9g9v?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Inner-Sea-Races|Inner Sea Races pg. 237]], [[http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy88yj| PRPG Core Rulebook pg. 23]], [[http://paizo.com/products/btpy8rv2?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Advanced-Race-Guide|Advanced Race Guide pg. 30]]// | |
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| //Many thanks to the many contributors of the [[https://www.aonprd.com/|Archives of Nethys]] for rendering this material readily accessible.// | |