SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENT 3.5

Gnomes stand 3 to 3-1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their skin color ranges from dark tan to woody brown, their hair is fair, and their eyes can be any shade of blue. Gnome males prefer short, carefully trimmed beards. Gnomes generally wear leather or earth tones, though they decorate their clothes with intricate stitching or fine jewelry. Gnomes reach adulthood at about age 40, and they live about 350 years, though some can live almost 500 years.

Gnomes speak their own language, Gnome. Most gnomes who travel outside gnome lands (as traders, tinkers, or adventurers) know Common, while warriors in gnome settlements usually learn Goblin.

Most gnomes encountered outside their home are warriors; the information in the statistics block is for one of 1st level.

COMBAT

Gnomes prefer misdirection and deception over direct confrontation.

They would rather befuddle or embarrass foes (other than goblinoids or kobolds) than kill them.

Gnomes make heavy use of illusion magic and carefully prepared ambushes and traps whenever they can.

Gnome Traits (Ex): Gnomes possess the following racial traits.

• +2 Constitution, –2 Strength.
• Small size. +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, –4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters.
• A gnome’s base land speed is 20 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears).
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants).
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
• Favored Class: Bard.

The gnome warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.

SUBRACES

The information above is for rock gnomes, the most common variety.

There are two other major gnome subraces, which differ from rock gnomes as follows.

Svirfneblin

Also called deep gnomes, svirfneblin are said to dwell in great cities deep underground.

A svirfneblin has wiry, rock-colored skin usually medium brown to brownish gray. Only males are bald; females have stringy gray hair. The average svirfneblin lifespan is 250 years.

Svirfneblin speak Gnome, Common, and Undercommon.

Svirfneblin Traits (Ex): These traits are in addition to the rock gnome traits, except where noted.

• –2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –4 Charisma. These adjustments replace the rock gnome’s ability score adjustments.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants deep gnomes a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework. A deep gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as though actively searching, and can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A svirfneblin can also intuit depth, sensing the approximate distance underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Darkvision out to 120 feet and low-light vision.
• Spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
• +2 racial bonus on all saving throws (figured into the statistics for the character presented here). This trait replaces the rock gnome’s racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by svirfneblin. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against all creatures (figured into the statistics for the character presented here). This trait replaces the rock gnome’s dodge bonus against giants.
• Automatic Languages: Undercommon, Gnome, Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Terran. This trait replaces the rock gnome’s automatic and bonus languages.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—blindness/deafness (typical save DC 13), blur, disguise self. Caster level equals the svirfneblin’s class levels. The save DC is Charisma-based and include a +4 racial modifier. This trait replaces the rock gnome’s spell-like abilities.
• Nondetection (Su): A svirfneblin has a continuous nondetection ability as the spell (caster level equal to class levels).
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) and Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide checks, which improves to +4 underground.
• Favored Class: Rogue.
• Level adjustment +3.

The svirfneblin warrior presented here had the following ability scores before racial adjustments: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.

Challenge Rating: Svirfneblin with levels in NPC classes have a CR equal to their character level. Svirfneblin with levels in PC classes have a CR equal to their character level +1.

Forest Gnome

They are the smallest of all the gnomes, averaging 2 to 2-1/2 feet in height, but look just like regular gnomes except with bark-colored or gray-green skin, and eyes that can be brown or green as well as blue. A very long-lived people, forest gnomes have an average life expectancy of 500 years.

Forest Gnome Traits (Ex): These traits are in addition to the rock gnome traits, except where noted.

• Pass without Trace (Su): A forest gnome has the innate ability to use pass without trace (self only, as a free action) as the spell cast by a druid of the forest gnome’s class levels.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds, goblinoids, orcs, and reptilian humanoids.
• Automatic Languages: Gnome, Elven, Sylvan, and a simple language that enables them to communicate on a very basic level with forest animals (this replaces the rock gnome’s speak with animals ability). Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin, Orc. This trait replaces the rock gnome’s automatic and bonus languages.
• +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, which improves to +8 in a wooded area.

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