Gnome

Gnomes are a wounded race, not native to Golarion and far from ideally suited to life in the mundane world. Cast adrift from their original home, the realm of the fey known as the First World, the gnome race is still shaped by the spiritual damage caused by their exodus from a land of endless possibilities, to one firmly grounded in reality.

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is minimal in gnomes. Males tend to be slightly larger and not as slender. Females tend to be slightly smaller and more feminine, possessing longer eyelashes, slimmer waists, and many of the other differences also exhibited by humans

Appearance

A gnome is a short humanoid, one of the most bizarre and alien of the civilized races of Golarion. They tend to be around three feet in height and unnervingly slender, although slightly taller than halflings. Gnomes age as other mortals do (albeit more slowly than most, but not as slowly as elves), but they also begin to suffer from a condition known as bleaching when they lose passion and fail to experience new things. 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. 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. Many, though not all, have skin tones that match those of other humanoids who live in the region, often with tints of olive or gold. Their hair in particular is often vibrantly colored; 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.

The Bleaching

The First World, from which the gnomish race originally hails, is a land of wild imaginations and impossibility, where the Eldest of that plane have the power to reshape reality on a whim. Even though our own world has magic and other fantastical wonders, it is nevertheless based on a physical reality that is constant and unchanging. Because of their heritage, gnomes have difficulty coping with and accepting this reality, and must therefore constantly strive to innovate, dream, and take in new experiences. Those who fail to do so become bored and slowly accept our reality, succumbing to a condition only experienced by gnomes: the Bleaching. Those who suffer from this ailment slowly lose all color in their hair and skin, and eventually succumb to dementia or madness, and death. Those few who survive this ordeal become bleachlings. Because of their constant need for new experiences, gnomes are perceived by other races as being erratic, chaotic, daring, and innovative.