Gnomes are small, naturally magical creatures, resembling miniature humans. They range in height from two to three feet, and are frequently quite slender and nimble. Gnomish adventurers are generally more magically adept than hearty, and will often have entire sleeves of handmagic tattoos stretching up their arms.
That ease with magic is less a talent than an unfinished sentence. A gnome is what grows when a Deoric working is begun on living flesh and never closed. The inscriber spent their life on the opening lines, the way Deoric always demands its price in life, and died before reaching the binding that would have ended the command. An unclosed command does not simply dissipate. It keeps reaching for its own completion, and in reaching it took root in the flesh it had been written on and taught itself to copy into the next generation. Every gnome since is born mid-syllable, carrying a command that has been trying to finish itself for as long as there have been gnomes. What other peoples read as natural magic is only that reaching, felt from outside.
A gnome is the whole of that condition, and gnomes have built their lives leaning into it instead of fighting it. The tattoo sleeves are the clearest case. They are more than ornament. They are inscription laid over an already-inscribed people, fresh handmagic written onto a body that was itself written and never finished. In most gnomes the open command runs quietly under the skin and shows only as that lifelong knack. In the Qovryx it surfaces and becomes legible: alabaster oracles who read the threads of fate straight off the unclosed working they carry, and whose stray power can kill the people standing nearest them. The Qovryx are the same condition every gnome carries, only with the lid off.
You cannot finish what was begun in us. No one living holds the rest of the command. All you can do is lay a clean line down beside it, and mean it. — a maxim among gnomish handmagic tattooists
Vitals
- Size: Small
- Height: 2.5-3.5 feet
- Weight: 40-100 pounds
Heritages
- Goshwen (Hill Gnome) — Clever, witty gnomes known as inventors, tricksters, and merchants; elusive communities that value wit and progress over empire. See Goshwen.
- Ezuri (Tree Gnome) — Tree-dwelling gnomes who fled jungle disease into the canopy; value connection to nature and communicate freely with animals. See Ezuri.
- Foxborne (Noble Gnome) — Chivalric fox-riding gnomes of Cherry Blossom Valley, built around courtly traditions and honor above all else. See Foxborne.
- Bloodlings (Vampire Gnome) — Pale vampiric gnomes of the Chimean Blood Mountains, obsessed with ancestral bloodline purity traced back thousands of years. See Bloodlings.
- Neka (Wild Gnomes) — Dark-skinned jungle gnomes of the Nekanzi, masters of fire magic and oral tradition who chose survival over comfort. See Neka.
- Ohblex (Gem Gnomes) — Crystalline gnomes born from Gemstone Peaks gems; sole clockmaking masters who sustain themselves on jewels and scheme endlessly. See Ohblex.
- Techgnomes (Lost Gnome) — Near-extinct technological gnomes whose civilization was destroyed by their own creation; surviving relics of a lost mechanical age. See Techgnomes.
- Qipi (Sinkhole Gnome) — Smallest gnome heritage, dwelling in Tyberoskos sinkhole cities; green-skinned with huge eyes, masters of acoustic communication. See Qipi.
- Qovryx (Prophet Gnome) — Alabaster gnomes born carrying an unfinished Deoric command grown into their own flesh; rare fate-sight oracles, hunted, their stray power deadly to those nearby. See Qovryx.
- Ansari (Sea Gnome) — Blue-green skinned gnomes of the Pelican Isles; wary of strangers but superb navigators, warm once trust is earned. See Ansari.
- Shyoka Saseidi (Forest Gnome) — Hidden forest gnomes of Nykotheryx Amberylika who tend the fauna, wearing badger pelts and befriending all burrowing creatures. See Shyoka Saseidi.
- Seyiki (Pillar Gnomes) — Dragonfly-riding cliff dwellers of the Chakatann pillars who reckon a place by its height before its direction and never shed the wingsuit robe they fall in. See Seyiki.
- Lacirean (Silent Gnomes) — Gnomes of the Walking Forest who raise their children to make no sound, fluent from birth in the sign-tongue Stillspeech after their ancestors fled the fallen Postronamas Empire. See Lacirean.
- Echi — University-raised elemental war-casters of the Echean magocracy who would sooner win an argument over a citation than win a duel. See Echi.
Game mechanics
Gnomish Blood
Passive ability. Handmagic talents and their destiny levels cost 2 less XP, and increasing your maximum hit point costs 1 more XP. Your size is small.
Goshwen (Hill Gnome) — Clever
Passive ability. You gain the Lucky talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have), along with its destiny level.
Ezuri (Tree Gnome) — Speaker for the Small
Passive ability. You gain the Nature's Child talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have), along with its destiny level.
Foxborne (Noble Gnome) — Vulpine Bond
Passive ability. You gain the Beast Companion talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have). Your companion is a fox with d6/d6/d4/d4 abilities, 25 hit points, a d8 heart die, and a move speed of 50 feet. It can carry you without penalty due to your small size. If your fox dies, you can bond with a new one after a week of mourning.
Bloodlings (Vampire Gnome) — Sanguine Empowerment
Passive ability. Your bite counts as an ultralight piercing weapon. When you successfully deall damage to a living creature with your bite, you may feed on their blood. For the next 24 hours after feeding, any handmagic talents you possess (that you do not have the destiny level for) function at their destiny level. You cannot gain this benefit again until the previous feeding's effects expire. You cannot feed on the same creature more than once in the same week to gain these benefits.
Neka (Wild Gnomes) — Jungle Adaptation
Passive ability.
Life in the Nekanzi has given you unique abilities:
- You have a basic attunement to fire
- You can perfectly imitate any animal sound you have heard
- Your filed teeth and claws count as ultralight weapons
- You have advantage on survival checks in jungle environments
Ohblex (Gem Gnomes) — Living Component
Passive ability.
You consume gems worth 10 ducats per month instead of food. Your unique metabolism grants you the following benefits:
- When you consume a gem, you instantly know if it has magical properties, its component level, and all its tags (per the magical crafting rules)
- You count as a portable level 1 alchemy laboratory for the purposes of refining gems and neutral components only
- When crafting items that require neutral components, you may regurgitate consumed gems as components of up to level 2 (this takes 1 day per component)
Techgnomes (Lost Gnome) — Mechanical Remnant
Passive ability. You begin play with a damaged but functional mechanical device of your choice (subject to GM approval). You have A2 on all checks for juryrigging, operating, and fixing technological devices.
Qipi (Sinkhole Gnome) — Eyes of the Deep
Passive ability. You gain the Observant talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have), along with its destiny level. Additionally, you have darkvision out to 30 feet and can see normally in dim light.
Qovryx (Prophet Gnome) — Oracle's Burden
Passive ability. You gain the Oracle talent as a racial ability (it does not count towards the number of talents you have), along with its destiny level. However, your connection to the threads of fate has left your body withered: your maximum hit points start at 25 instead of 40, and increasing your maximum hit points costs 1 additional XP (stacking with the gnomish penalty for 2 total). Additionally, your might die can never be increased above a d6.
Ansari (Sea Gnome) — Tide Reader
Passive ability. Your innate connection to the ocean grants you supernatural awareness of the sea's moods. You can accurately predict weather up to 24 hours in advance while near the coast, you have A2 on all navigation checks while at sea, and you can hold your breath for 10 minutes. Additionally, you can sense the depth, current, and approximate distance to shore when submerged in saltwater.
Ansari (Sea Gnome) — Coastal Camouflage
Passive ability. Your blue-green skin allows you to blend seamlessly with tropical waters and coastal vegetation. You have A2 on all stealth checks while in coastal environments (beaches, reefs, tidal pools, or dense coastal vegetation). While motionless in shallow water, you are nearly invisible—creatures must succeed on a CN 15 Cunning check to spot you.
Shyoka Saseidi (Forest Gnome) — Speak with Small Beasts
Passive ability. You can communicate freely with squirrels, badgers, rabbits, foxes, and other small forest creatures. They recognize you as a friend and will perform small favors—acting as scouts, warning of danger, or leading you to food and water. You have A2 on all checks related to handling, calming, or befriending small animals.
Shyoka Saseidi (Forest Gnome) — Forest Stealth
Passive ability. You can vanish into the undergrowth with preternatural ease. You can hide even when only lightly obscured by foliage, and you leave no tracks in natural forest environments. You have A2 on stealth checks in forests and woodlands.