Forest Gnome

"Forest gnomes concern themselves with the Ley Nodes found in the most desolate places. These places can be difficult for civilized races to survive in, and are rarely priorities for travelers or caravaneers. The truth is, none but the gnomes can really say how many forest gnomes they have scattered about." ~Abide Baht Mig, Caravaneer.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Aside from gnomish, which the forest gnomes have not transliterated, many also speak Sylvan and some even speak the secret Druidic language.

Shared customary codes and values

Forest gnomes see themselves as guardians of nature; as such, their settlements are prone to linking up with druid groves or ranger lodges. They have a special affinity for arboreal rodents, and their villages are often found at canopy level. This has led to the pejorative "squirrel folk".

Common Dress code

Forest gnomes take their fashion inspiration from nature: greens and browns offset by blasts of color. Gnomes denote their professions with hats. Red, pointed caps are for warriors, green caps are for hunters and fishermen, and spiritual leaders wear living plants in their hair.

Art & Architecture

Forest gnomes build their homes either dug out among tree roots, inside hollowed out hills, or in the trees. Their largest settlements are wicker constructions hung at canopy level and connected by intricate networks of walkways and ziplines.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Forest gnome settlements have a large stone ring standing on its end no more than a day's walk away. Newborn gnomes are passed through this ring in a ceremony called "The Luck Stone."

Coming of Age Rites

Forest gnomes have adopted a tradition much like the Becoming, where young gnomes on the cusp of adulthood are sent on errands to find something the community needs. This is less focused than the human ceremony, and the young gnome is sent out without much instruction. Most bring back some sort of salvage or valuable resource and are welcomed back in.

Funerary and Memorial customs

A forest gnome that dies is cocooned in a 'coffin' made of wicker and wrapped in large leaves glued to the basket with honey. In addition to the body, the coffin is packed with nuts and fruit. The 'coffin' is suspended from a large tree. The oldest settlements have noticeable 'grave orchards' surrounding them.

Common Taboos

Forest gnomes would never 'damage the weave.' To outsiders, this is an uncertain concept, but the gnomes are adamant about it.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Forest gnomes are smaller than Rock Gnomes as a rule, and most are even smaller than Halflings. They prize natural colors, though not necessarily earthtones; dyes and tattoo inks derived from wild berries and vivid flowers are as common as camouflage. Physically, they find large, expressive eyes to be the centerpiece of any standard of beauty.