Forest Gnomes

The most diminutive of the Gnomish folk, the forest gnomes make the quiet woodlands of Zirael their home.
Above all else I have found the forest gnome to reflect the beauty and harmony of nature that can be so often forgot from the grand towers of Tristromm. Though they have their own gods, I am sure that Eldath smiles upon them.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

Long ago the forest gnomes rejected the confines of civilised society and the judgement, constraints and cruelty that often defines it. Perhaps it is the propensity for contentedness that allows for the forest gnomes to not long for progress as we do. It does, however, mean that they have none of the safeties or luxuries of the city or town we enjoy. Instead they often live symbiotically with other beings of the forest. I have seen forest gnomes riding wolves in hunts, living within dead trees and feeding on the bugs that cohabit the rotting wood. I even came across one friendly fellow living within a cactus, similar to a hermit crab she would move around, carving her home into a suitably large cactus and eating away at the water heavy cactus flesh over several weeks before moving to a new one leaving the previous home to heal itself that she may one day reuse it.
Forest gnomes rarely live in communities larger than 30 or so gnomes, at that point logistics and politicking may start to become issues. The good-natured gnomes will often realise this and split their communities before this causes any upset. Forest gnome settlements are rare however, most often a wanderer may run into the lone hermit in a tree or burrow.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Forest gnomes I found to have almost no social structure at all. No one gnome was valued by the community more than another, there was no ruler nor even a ruling class. For a while I conducted my research under the assumption that they had some form of collective consciousness similar to hive minds found in insects however, I found no evidence of this. It may simply be that forest gnomes when left to form their own communities are so amicable as to get along with their neighbours without the constraints of the rule of law.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Forest gnomes, as other gnomes can, can see in the dark.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Gnomes

Scientific Name

V. S. Concitatus Agrestis

Lifespan

300 years

Average Height

3' 2"

Average Weight

2st 12lb