Gnomes are welcome everywhere as technicians, alchemists and inventors. Despite the demand for their skills, most gnomes prefer to remain among their own kind, living in comfortable burrows beneath the rolling, wooded hills where animals abound.

Physical Description

Gnomes stand 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Gnomes reach adulthood at about age 40 and they typically live about 350 years, though some can live almost 500 years.

Alignment

Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars or investigators. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels or wanderers. Gnomes are good-hearted and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious. Evil gnomes are as rare as they are frightening.

Religion

The chief gnome god is Garl Glittergold, the Watchful Protector.

Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength.


• Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and a +4 bonus on Hide checks, but he must use smaller weapons than humans use and his lifting and carrying limits are threequarters of those of a Medium character.


• Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.


• +2 racial bonus on saving throws vs. illusions.


• Add +2 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes.


• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears).


• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against giant-type creatures, such as ogres, trolls and hill giants.


• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.


• Favored Class: Bard.