Gnomes: Deep/Svirfneblin
Svirfneblin seem more like creatures of stone than flesh. Their leathery skin is usually a gray, brown, or dun hue that acts as a natural camouflage with the rock around them. Their bodies are gnarled with hard muscle or fat, and they are heavier than their small stature suggests; svirfneblin often weigh 100 pounds or more but rarely stand much more than 3 feet tall. Male svirfneblin are bald from early childhood, although adults can grow stiff beards or mustaches. Females have full heads of hair, and they usually tie their hair back in braids or cut it short to keep it from getting in their way as they work. Svirfneblin are well adapted for their subterranean existence. They have excellent darkvision, and many of them have magical talents that rival the innate spellcasting of the drow and duergar. They are surprisingly strong for their size, enduring toil and danger that would overwhelm most other people.
Long ago, there were only Gnomes (they are now referred as Rock Gnomes), they were created by the Titan Father of the Forge from stone around him as he needed to kept his designs secret from the First Gods, the race of Gnomes were created along the craftsmen dwarves known as Volcano Dwarves. Tasked with knowledge gathering, they wandered the lands seeking ideas and concept for their creator, as he built many weapons against the gods. For the most part, they were left alone during the First Age, The Titan War as they were seen as non-combatants. However, after Atlas betrayed the Titans then the Gods themselves, the gnomes fled. Some went to the Evergreen (Forest Gnomes), others hid in the hills and mountains, deep in caves (Rock Gnomes) and the rest were caught off guard by the Second Age, Godswar, when the Celestials and Fiends arrived with new gods. Those gnomes that were caught, were taken by the Demons into underground lairs to be experimented on. They became their little puppets, spies and fodder. The Svirfneblins as the Demons called them in jest were finally saved by the Translucent Traveler in the war but their minds deteriorated, most of them became insane, thus the goddess and the gnome gods saw no other choice. By sending the race deep underground, they hoped that the influence the war had on them would wither and their minds would be freed. Those still sane helped their brothers and sisters down the dark corridors, deep into the Undertethys. There over the millennia, they formed many city-states and many nations but over time, they felt even more abandoned by all. This was the ideal moment for their neighbors to use this to their advantage. The Drow and Duergar told them stories about how the gods were the reason for all their suffering and the surface dwellers only help those same gods rise in power. This went on centuries until the War of the Underworld in the Third Age, Kingdoms. The Deep Gnomes worked with the forces of the underworld but only as support, however, near the end of the war, they gained information about what was happening on the fronts. To their shock and horror, they learned about the atrocities the other underworld races did. The Svirfneblin stopped their support. Some say that the underworlders were winning, while many point out that this was the turning point of the war since the support lines of Svirfneblin were vital to the war effort and the disaster that came later only stopped the war to swing in the other direction. From that point on, the Svirfneblin gained many enemies in the Undertethys and were attacked constantly over the centuries, gaining relief only during the Fourth Age, The Calamity as many of the Drow and Duergar went to help the Icons. Fearing another reprisal and maybe something worse, they secretly visited the surface and helped many rebellions happen. The goddess Translucent Traveler saw this and gathered the other gods of the Little Folk's Home Pantheon before the majority of the race. To them, the race was redeemed in many ways and from that point on, the Svirfneblin became even stronger worshippers of the gods, rejecting the Titans. At least, the majority of them.
On Tethys
There are no nations of the Svirfneblin on the surface but there are some villages, mainly in the mountains or caves, which adapted to sunlight. Almost all of the race resides in the Undertethys, where they war for their survival against the Duergar and Drow.First World
In the First World, the Svirfneblin were once gnomes who helped the dwarves and elves betray humans, breaking ancient oaths they made, while their leader watched the leader of humanity get murdered and did nothing. Out of the three races, the deep gnomes had the least hindering curse.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
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