Gnomes
Gnomes love and embrace all of the attributes that most races would see as inherent disadvantages. They are small in stature, slight of frame, youthful in appearance, and warm of disposition—and they wouldn’t change a thing, even if they could.
Their size makes them exceptionally nimble and allows them to live in small, easily defensible tunnels. Their diminutive frames and youthful faces make it almost effortless for them to adopt an unassuming air and put others at ease. And their warm disposition makes all kinds of social interactions, from cutthroat negotiations to interpersonal relationships, incredibly easy.
However, they admit to none of that if one asks them directly. Ask a Gnome about their inborn advantages, and they will whine pitifully about how cruel it is to be the most picked-on, pixie-esque, and defenseless member of the civilized races—but one shouldn’t believe it for a second.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
Gnomes tend to have a flushed pink, red, or brown complexion and light brown or reddish hair—which, when combined with their predilection for pastel colors, tends to make them look perpetually cheerful.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Burrow Gnomes gather into large matriarchal bands that function almost like a huge extended family. Each township is ruled by a chieftain, who in turn rules over the leaders of the various clans. Duties are most commonly divided by clan, with the homesteads within each working cooperatively to carry out the needs of their township. All serve at least one year with their township’s militia, which patrols borders, defends tunnels, and occasionally conducts raids against surrounding enemies.
Wanderer Gnomes, on the other hand, rarely have a fixed home. Either singly or in large communal caravans, they instead roam all over Mennara as traders, performers, and occasionally even laborers in local farms and smithies.
The Gnomes of Isheim, also known as the Onoit, are perhaps the rarest of Gnomes. In these frozen lands they have developed a unique society based around the sentient canines of this land and the magical abilities of their shamans.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Thanks to the combination of their jovial nature and tight living quarters, most Gnomes tend to possess the paradoxical contradiction of being friendly, giving people who may not think twice about taking the money or any other items not currently being used right out of a person’s pocket. It’s not that they are deliberately intending to be troublesome; they just come from a world where people live in such tight quarters and with such accommodating attitudes that everyone helps themselves to everything when it’s needed—including coins or any possessions laying about.
Maybe that’s the cause of Gnomish reclusiveness—or maybe it’s a product of it—but regardless, it unquestionably affects their tendency to keep to themselves. When they do venture out among the other races, they are frequently greeted with an interesting combination of joy and suspicion. The Onoit of Isheim themselves are even more suspicious and wary, though, when they encounter outsiders, especially those who dare venture into their sacred regions. Those strangers who tread farther than the boundary stones are met with deadly force.
Burrow Gnome
Burrow Gnomes are those who have mostly abandoned interactions with the other races. When they do leave their comfortable homes, it is typically for trade, alliance building, espionage, or, of course, the lure of adventure.
Wanderer Gnome
Some Gnomes get a taste of the outside world during their year with the militia and set out to “scratch their itchy feet.” Whether on their own or in a small band, Wanderer Gnomes are a common sight throughout all of Mennara.
Terrinoth Gnome
Starting Abilities
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
BR |
AG |
INT |
CUN |
WILL |
PR |
|---|
- Starting Wound Threshold: 6 + Brawn
- Starting Strain Threshold: 11 + Willpower
- Starting Experience: 90
Each type begins with Small, one rank in each of two skills, and has an additional Special Ability. When skill ranks are gained the maximum of 2 ranks during character creation still applies.
- Small: Gnomes are silhouette 0.
- Burrow Gnome: Charm, Resilience, Militia Training
- Wanderer Gnome: Charm, Stealth, Tricksy
- Militia Training: Burrow Gnomes add b to all combat checks that target characters who have a larger silhouette than they do.
- Tricksy: Once per encounter during their turn, a Wanderer Gnome may use this ability and spend a Story Point to produce a previously undocumented small item (encumbrance 1 or less) with a rarity no greater than 4 from a pocket, bag, pouch, nearby windowsill, passing cart, or other convenient location—even if there is no logical explanation for the item’s presence. This item cannot be a weapon unless the weapon has the Limited Ammo 1 quality.
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