Species Name: Gnome, Gnomi

These diminutive inhabitants of the Underground are as tenacious at survival as the justified opinion by their mortal enemies indicates. Unlike their Valley Gnome cousins, they have no friendly neighbours to ally themselves
with, forcing them to become entirely self-reliant. Only the few who have won their trust know that they are in many ways as social and artistic as other gnomes.

Type: Humanoid

Physical Traits: Gnomes are creatures of wiry muscle and tough bones, slightly thinner than their surface cousins but possessing as much strength as any other gnome. Like their cousins of the other gnomish subraces, they have prominent noses. Otherwise their faces are much narrower. Many males have completely hairless bodies; most females have only thin and stringy hair, which they wear no longer than shoulder length. A Deep Gnome's skin is rock-coloured, predominantly brown or grey. Eye colour is always a shade of grey, sometimes so dark as to be almost black.

Height: 3-3.5 ft

Weight: 40-60 lbs

Abilities: Nightvision equal to normal sight. Gnomes are very good at determining slopes (1-5 on D6), depth (1-4 on D6) and direction (1-3 on D6) underground, and unsafe stonework (1-7 on D10). Gnomes have a base magic resistance of 20% and gain an extra 5% for every level beyond the 3rd. Gnomes gain a +3 bonus to all saving throws except those against poison (for which they receive a +2 bonus instead). All Gnomes radiate non-detection. In addition, Gnomes can remain absolutely still for long periods, giving them a 60% chance to remain undetected by any observer, even one with infravision. Gnomes are only surprised on a roll of 1 on D10; they surprise opponents 90% of the time. The typical Gnome warrior has a Armour Class of 2. Gnomes become harder to hit as they gain experience in dodging in combat, causing their Armour Class to improve by one point for every level beyond 3rd, to a maximum of AC -6.  Gnomes make and wield stun darts, throwing them to a range of 40 feet with a +2 bonus to hit. Each dart releases a small puff of gas when it strikes; any creature inhaling the gas must save versus poison or be stunned for 1 round and slowed for the four following rounds. Elite warriors (3rd level and above) also often carry hollow darts with acid inside (+2D4 to damage) and crystal caltrops which, when stepped on, release a powerful sleep gas.

Mobility: Legs

Sensory Organs: Visual

Communication: Vocal

Reproduction: Sexual

INT: 4D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6, DEX: 3D6, CON: 3D6, CHA: 3D6, MR: 2D6, HPs: CON +D12

Orbit/Climate: See Earth

Feeding Habits: Omnivore

Lifespan: The Rock Gnomes are not so long-lived as their surface-dwelling kin, living to an average old age of only about 250 years; a good number meet a violent demise before this time is up. They mature relatively quickly, however, with the first quarter century of life considered childhood and the next two decades as a period of disciplined adolescence. A Gnome is assumed to reach adulthood somewhere around the age of 45 or 50, though this milestone is not marked by any grand ceremony such as is performed by the Rock Gnomes. Indeed, the Deep
Gnomes don't even keep track of the passage of days, so there is no way to record one's actual "birthday."

Technology: 2

Culture: Standard. Diversified mix of kind and evil people. The gem that most draws the interest and devotion of the Rock Gnome is the ruby, which is the predominant symbol of the race. The Gnomes view these crimson stones with reverence approaching awe-so much so that they are never used for mundane practices such as ornamentation of garments, weapons, or armour. Rubies are reserved for sacred purposes and are often employed to decorate artifacts that are dedicated to the Gnome gods. They are also favoured by Gnome monarchs, so much so that a king or queen might have a full ring of rubies around his or her crown, with others of the precious stone set in the throne and sceptre.

The most valued common skill among the Gnomes is that of the miner, with perhaps 75% of any given community's adult males devoting themselves to that pursuit. Gnome miners are exceptionally able with pick and shovel, capable of chiselling a passage through solid stone more quickly than even Dwarves. While mining is broken into specializations, such as choppers (who do the actual pickaxe work), scouts (who locate promising veins for excavation), and haulers (who carry the tailings away from the scene), a Gnome miner will be reasonably proficient at all aspects of his trade. The most alluring target of the miner is, naturally, gems. However, these diligent diggers will also pursue veins of metal, including gold and silver, and they also occasionally gather a stockpile of coal or iron ore-from which they make a very passable steel. A smaller percentage of the Gnome work force (perhaps 10%) is engaged in the processing and finishing of the gemstone material excavated by the miners. These include polishers, smelters, carvers, and smiths. Though they lack a bit of the exceptional detail skill of the Valley Gnomes, in the other areas they are at least as proficient as their surface-dwelling cousins. Indeed (and unlike
Valley Gnomes), Gnome blacksmiths can possess exceptional skill. Their weapons and tools are generally made by Gnome artisans, and these are nearly the equal of the products of the highest level of Dwarven craftsmanship or Drow weaponsmiths.

Perhaps because suitable habitat is harder to find in the Underground than on the surface, Gnome communities tend to be larger than those of the Valley Gnomes. Generally the Gnomes live in thriving cities located in deep cavern networks, often with more than a thousand residents. However, these communities are generally separated by great distances from any others of the same subrace, and thus they tend to be more insular than the towns of the gnomes who dwell on or near the surface. Indeed, most Gnomes live out their lives without ever seeing another
Gnome community beyond the one in which they were born. Still, festivals and celebrations are as common among these gnomes as they are on the surface-it's just that the Gnome don't travel from far distances for the gatherings. Instead, each community tends to have its own special observances, and though the whole city will turn out for many of them it is rare that any outside guest would be admitted. Also, these celebrations are not tied to recurring cosmic events, such as solstices or eclipses; instead, they occur when the city's priests declare that they are due.
These instigations occur more for political and psychological reasons than by any regular passage of time. In fact, it's worth noting that Gnome don't even measure the passage of their lives in years-after all, the cycle of seasons has little meaning amid the eternal chill of the Underground. However, if the priests notice that the production of the workers has begun to lag, or tempers are growing short among the chieftains and warriors, they will act hastily
to initiate a grand festival full of pomp and song, good food and potent (one hesitates to say 'good) beverage. Gnome festivals are often invoked to recall great events of the past, though again these recollections bear no calendar relationship to the occurrence being commemorated. However, if teams of miners are preparing to embark on one of the periodic quests for new gems that propel so much of Gnome activity, then the priests and illusionists will recall stories of grand expeditions in the past, even trotting out sacred objects encrusted with the jewellery made from the proceeds of these previous missions. Similarly, if a war is being contemplated, or a raid against some marauding monster becomes necessary, the warriors will be sent off with tales of great military campaigns in the past. It’s interesting to note that these war stories are not all tales of victory-the Gnome, perhaps because of the many defeats they have suffered over the years, have a keen interest in doomed causes and will draw considerable emotional support from the story of a dramatic last stand made by their forefathers. Even cautionary tales, such as the obliteration of a city by treacherous Drow attack, are related at these celebrations and used as a warning against future lapses of vigilance.

Gnomes are tinkerers, designing grand machines for every imaginable task. Gnomes are a short, intelligent, and inquisitive race with aptitudes in both the arcane and mechanical crafts. Gnomes are a small, friendly race of humanoid creatures. The faces of Gnomes regardless of age are lined with tiny wrinkles most prominent with smiles or frowns and have greyish, tan, or brown skin causing them to appear as if they were carved from wood (or sometimes stone). Gnomes typically have white hair, either straight or curly, and blue or violet eyes. Gnomes have a notorious rivalry with the Goblins another mechanically-minded race.

Gnomes believe that pushing a child into a particular interest or vocation may be damaging to the child’s nature causing unhappy or introverted children. Gnomes are encouraged to explore all of their interests as they come. Gnomes are blessed with ever expanding imaginations. They seek to improve their world without bringing it harm through the use of mechanical inventions and alchemy. Gnome homes and villages are often littered with peculiar new creations and unfinished projects. At the age of 30 Gnome children begin school. Their studies continue for 9 years divided into three main sections. The first 3 years focus on the general studies of alchemy, history, mathematics, reading and writing. Grades 4 through 6 focus on the specialization the Gnome child has chosen and the last three years are largely independent study. Upon completion of schooling Gnomes are required to offer a final showing. The project may consist of whatever the student believes best demonstrates their knowledge and skill in their chosen course of study. 9 mentors in the appropriate field will judge this. All 9 must judge the final showing project positively for the gnome to qualify for a Certification test.
Certification is a stressful 6 hour long process. Graduating students again face the 9 mentors from their final showing alone. This time the mentors will pose numerous questions designed to test the limits of their knowledge.

Gnomes in general have lively and sly senses of humour and are intensely inquisitive creatures. They have a great love of living things accompanied by an insatiable curiosity about the world and a compelling urge to discover how things work and to see what lies beyond the next bend. This curiosity accompanied by their sharp intellects leads many to a great fascination with mechanical things and the entire process of invention and tinkering. They love finely wrought items and the glitter of precious stones and the shine of a polished finished product but they simply cannot long resist the urge to tamper and tinker and see how something seemingly perfected could possibly be made better. Gnomes are delighted by the concept of money, which they consider a human invention that redeems the race from being considered simply a great horde of lumbering louts. They enjoy gathering bunches of money, but unlike the dwarves with their hoarded wealth gnomes see no particular point in keeping money once it has been earned, rather frittering it away on gifts, parties, and impulsive purchases. For those gnomes with an axe to grind against the bigger races, money becomes simply a way of keeping score in the great came of competition with men and the other races.

Another unique aspect of Gnome society is that roles are far more rigidly determined by sex than in any other gnomish culture. Males perform all of the mining and warrior work that occurs beyond the borders of the community cavern, as well as most types of jobs within the city as well. Females concern themselves almost exclusively to the vital tasks of raising and preparing food (in the great mushroom farms that are a part of every Deep Gnome city) and the care of the young. In fact, females venture out of their cities so rarely that even the Drow have never
encountered any in the neutral territory of the Underground. Both sexes wear nondescript clothing which, with their ability to stand absolutely motionless, helps them avoid being spotted by enemies.

Gnomes sometimes maintain a small herd of rothe or other underground mammals. They are also fond of fish, and each city is likely to have several shallow lakes where blind trout and other subterranean delicacies are bred and captured. Gnome women are responsible for tending of all these food sources and serve as the fishers and cooks as well as the farmers and herders. Also, salt is an important part of every Deep Gnome meal and is one of the most valued commodities in the trading of the Underground. In fact, most Gnome food is so heavily salted Besides the many types of that a typical surface dweller would find it quite unpalatable. As a beverage the Gnome prefer for
daily use a pungent brew made (naturally) from fungi, fermented by a unique process that involves great amounts of salt and not a little fish protein. It is highly intoxicating, tasting somewhat like an oversalted and watery fish chowder. It has been tasted by a few courageous non-Gnomes who (when they finally regain their voices) tend to decline a second serving. Gnomes also distil a strange drink known as Gogondy about which little is known other than it is deep red in colour, kept in wrought iron bottles, and potent beyond belief. It has been called the finest wine in the world and is said to grant strange visions to those who drink it, but more than one human who drank it has promptly fallen asleep for decades or died after the first glass with horrified looks on their faces. The Gnomes prize Gogondy almost as much as rubies and will only give or trade it to their most trusted friends, making it rare indeed.

The cities of the Rock Gnomes are vast and complex places. Many layers of caverns, tunnels, and buildings are connected by narrow corridors and spiralling staircases. Generally, however, at least the central part of the city will occupy a single large cavern, with narrow streets winding among tall stone buildings. If large stalagmites are present, high-ranking Gnome will claim these and excavate the interiors for the private homes; most residences,
however, are carved into the natural bedrock of the earth. Because of the confined nature of the environment, the home of the typical Gnome family is more crowded than that of their surface-dwelling cousins. Parents and children
will likely be crowded into a single, rather small, chamber. Families tend to be small, however, so this is rarely more than a halfdozen individuals. They are not so clannish as the Valley Gnomes, so that the population of a
city is generally an amalgamated mass.

The industrious nature of gnomes is well documented, and probably represents their closest similarity to dwarves. Like dwarves, gnomes will organize for a task, with each individual lending his or her talents where they will be most useful. When digging a tunnel, for example, the strongest gnomes will work with picks to break up the rock in their path, while others-more nimble, if not so powerful scamper among the flailing picks, scooping up the debris with shovels and pails. A third group of gnomes, those who are very hardy and capable of great endurance, will carry the crushed Valley (often in wheelbarrows, but sometimes in leather sacks slung over the shoulder) out of the tunnel to the dumping grounds. In their pursuit of mining, gnomes are not so speedy to excavate as dwarves, but they are more careful with what they find. Indeed, many a vein of ore that has been "played out" by dwarven standards has been taken over by gnomes and continued to yield its riches to the more meticulous gnomish miners. Even while they work, however, these gnomes will pursue their tasks with high good humour, bawdy stories, and a succession of jokes of all types. Only rarely, however, will this frivolity interfere with the effectiveness of the group's work.

Government: Guild Council

All Gnomes gain all the following free;

Night Vision - The character can see in absolute darkness at a distance equal to his normal sight.

Inventive - Gnomes can specialise in one area of fabrication. In each case they can build, repair, custom modify and design the item the ability applies to. Weapons can have their damage and range increased up to +50%, and HPs, AR and speed increased up to +50% prior to attaching any armour. It can include buildings, armour, weapons and vehicles.