GNOME
Many inhabitants of the world think they know all about Gnomes. But Gnomish culture is secretive and remote and guarded. Meanwhile, many individual Gnomes, whose advanced curiosity dares them to enter the broader society of the world, adapt quite radically to it, an innovate within society in unexpected ways, giving a false impression of what most Gnomes are like...
Gnomes live in heavily wooded hills and make great use of natural caverns for shelter from the most severe elements. They live an almost naturalist existence, and finding Gnomish dwellings or settlements is next to impossible, unless the Gnomes choose to reveal them to you. They keep a low-profile and impact their surroundings as little as possible.
Many think that Gnomes are master illusionists, casting wizardly spells with great ease to fool the unwary. This is wrong. Gnomes bend reality itself around themselves, or around other people and objects of their choosing. This comes as easily to them as breathing, and is not magic or spellcasting in the same sense that these things are generally understood by folks at large.
Most Gnomes interact little with the other races. Their most closely observed affinity is with the Elves, with whom they share longevity and the perspective that engenders. They are cordial with Dwarves, and about once or perhaps twice in a century, gather with them for a huge feasting. Halflings they tolerate, seeing them as restless and fickle creatures. Humans rarely make sense to Gnomes; they are regarded as a kind of alien curiosity.
Gnomes stand 2-3' tall and weigh in at around 30 pounds.
Hit Points: Small, but tenacious, Gnomes use a 1d7 for hit points.
Weapons: Gnomes encountered 'in the wild' make use of the following: blowgun, club, dagger, dart, handaxe, sling and spear. Those who have had more contact with 'civilization' may employ the flail, longsword, shortbow, short sword, or warhammer.
Alignment: Gnomish culture tends toward Neutrality, though individuals may wander from this path.
Altervision: Natively inhabiting dense forests and natural caverns, Gnomes can see 30-70' in the dark (1d5+2 x10').
Gnomish Container: Gnomes commonly bend reality around containers, and every Gnome can do this. For those of a more fighterly persuasion it it often their scabbard, sheath, quiver or ammo pouch, but it can be any container they choose. The capacity of that container is their Level+1 times the normal capacity. So for a 1st Level Gnome, a backpack could hold twice as much loot as other backpacks of the same size. The scabbard of a 3rd Level Gnome (3+1=4 times capacity) could appear to be sized for his own height, but contain the sword of an ogre. Finding an item in a Gnomish Container is as easy retrieving the item from the same non-modified container, but only for Gnomes (others will have to search through the full effective capacity of the container). A Gnome can choose to return such a container to normal at any time, but the container will not return to normal by simply being left behind, or out of their possession. A Gnome can have multiple such containers in effect at a time, but they must divide the size that they could make one container among all containers they have altered (i.e., a 5th Level Gnome could have one container of 6x capacity, or three at 2x each, etc.). The weight of a Gnomish Container is equal to the normal, empty weight of that container. There is nothing known to prevent a Gnomish Container from being, say, a house, or other not-generally-considered-a-"container" construct.
Stealthiness: Gnomes can use Sneak Silently and Hide in Shadows as a Thief of their same Level and Alignment when in their native terrain (usually forested hills and underground caverns). They do not get backstab benefits from these skills, though they may attempt to use them for surprise. They can share this ability for one minute with another being within 5' at the cost of a point of Fatigue (see Gnomish Theurgy below).
Gnomish Theurgy: Gnomes gain access to the following spells automatically as they level up, representing their ability to alter reality: Cantrips, Ventriloquism, Force Manipulation, Forget, Mirror Image, Levitate, Invisibility. They choose one ability at 1st Level, and an additional ability at each even-numbered level. To use these Theurgic abilities, they roll: 2d10 + Level + Personality Modifier. If the spell has a target of 'Self', the Gnome may choose instead to cast it on another. There is no chance of corruption, and any result of 'Loss' does not cause them to lose that ability, but rather to accrue a point of Theurgic Fatigue. Each Gnome can accrue their (Level + 2 + Personality Modifier) points of Theurgic Fatigue, at which point they loose access to these abilities until the Gnome has had a significant rest. For each point of Theurgic Fatigue accrued, their Theurgic check roll is penalized by one.
Freedom of Movement: Using their reality bending nature, Gnomes can move over impeding terrain, such as through underbrush, over sand, across uneven cavern floors, or even under water, as if moving normally on a firm level surface. They can share this ability with one other being within 5'. Each minute of using this ability generates one point of Fatigue, as noted under Gnomish Theurgy.
Gnomish Protection: Gnomes wearing nothing more than padded armor (or it's equivalent or less) gain the benefit of an AC bonus of one-half their Level (rounded down).
Gnomish Aptitude: At 1st Level, the Gnome must be on either the Fighter Track or the Theurgist Track, and follow that path throughout.
• Those on the Fighter Track gain an additional +1 to all Attack Rolls, and can wield weapons much larger than themselves, by virtue of their reality bending nature. They can handle anything up to a weapon sized for a Hill Giant (assuming they can acquire such), without penalty or encumbrance, and gain any bonus damage for such a weapon deemed appropriate by the Judge (suggested +2 damage per doubling in size). They also gain improved Crit dice and Action dice, as noted below.
• Those on the Theurgist Track gain an additional Gnomish Theurgy ability at 1st Level. At every even Level, they can gain either an additional chosen Gnomish Theurgy ability, or another spell (as would a wizard), rolling randomly to determine a new spell, or incorporating something discovered in the campaign. Theurgist Gnomes use 2d12+Lvl+PerMod for their Gnomish Theurgy, and use 2d10+Lvl+PerMod for casting any other spells they might learn. The spells cast by a Gnomish Theurgist should be understood as alterations of the target's perception and of the reality around them. If they are completely convinced they are being burned by a fireball, they will suffer as per a real, fully fledged fireball. The power of suggestion should not be underestimated. Judges should not overplay the chances for targets to 'see past' these mind-tricks, because they are more than mere mind-tricks, though there may be some very small chance on occasion (based on circumstances) for a diminished effect (Will saves vs. DC 13+Gnome Level, with each point over the DC reducing the spell check result).
Code: Select all
Table G: Gnomes
Level........Atk..............Crit*..............Act...............Ref...............Fort...........Will
1........ ....0...............1d8/III............1d20...............+1...............+0...............+1
2............+1...............1d8................1d20...............+1...............+0...............+2
3............+1...............1d10...............1d20...............+2...............+1...............+2
4............+2...............1d10...............1d20...............+2...............+1...............+3
5............+2...............1d10...............1d20...............+3...............+2...............+3
6............+3...............1d12...............1d20+1d14..........+3...............+2...............+4
7............+3...............1d12...............1d20+1d16..........+3...............+3...............+4
8............+4...............1d14...............1d20+1d20..........+4...............+3...............+5
9............+4...............1d16...............1d20+1d20..........+4...............+4...............+5
10...........+5...............1d20...............1d20+1d20*.........+4...............+4...............+6
* Gnomes of the fighter track use one die-type higher for critical hits, and gain an additional 1d14 action die at 10th Level
NOTE: As my GG forum name implies, I've played lots of gnomes. Never the 'by the book' gnomes, though (and not exclusively by any means). This class is an attempt to get to where I think RPG gnomes should be by my own sensibilities, and pays tribute to several characters I played over the years, stretching as far back as the original AD&D. It is essentially a distillation and a mash-up of 25-ish years of playing Gnomes!