Gnomes

## Gnomes

In the days of Old, the Gnomes were wizards
and tinkerers, curious dwellers of forest and rock. When the age of
Men and Elves dawned, they saw before them only the destruction of
their homes, and the abandonment of the natural world they loved so.
Together with the few remaining Elves and Druids, they moved the
wooded city of Mereda into a separate plane. Since the collapse, a
few adventurous Gnomes have returned to Corp. through their hidden
portal, to reclaim their ancestral lands, and to spread once more the
balance with nature.

## Gnomish Traits

***Ability Score Increase.***
Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

***Age.***
Gnomes mature at the same rate as humans, and most are expected to
settle down into an adult life around age 40. They can live 350 to
almost 500 years; there are even rare instances of Gnomes living
upwards of 1000 years.

***Alignment.***
Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend towards law are sages,
engineers, researches, scholars, investigators, or inventors. Those
who tend towards chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or
fanciful jewlists. Gnomes are good-hearted, and
even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious.

***Size.***
Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall. Your size is small.

***Darkvision.***
Acustomed
to life underground,
you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in
dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and dark
light as if it were dim. You can’t discern colour in Darkness, only
shades of grey.

***Gnome Cunning.***
You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving
throws against magic.

***Languages.***
You can speak Common and Gnomish, and you are literate in Gnomish.
The Gnomish language, which uses Dwarvish script, is renowned for its
technical treatises, and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural
world.

***Subrace.***
Two subraces of Gnomes are found on Corp.: Planar Gnomes, and Hidden
Gnomes.

### Planar Gnomes

The Planar Gnomes, sometimes referred to as
City Gnomes or Meredan Gnomes, are curious and inventive folk with a
natural ingenuity beyond that of their cousins on Corp.. Despite
this, they are often naive, having lived most of their life in the
safety of Mereda.

***Ability Score Increase.***
Your Charisma score increases by 1.

***Artificer’s Lore.***
Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to magic
items, alchemical objects, or non-Oldtech devices, you can add twice
your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you would
normally apply.

***Educated.***
You may learn an additional spoken language, or you may become
literate in a written language of your choice.

***Tinker.*** You
have proficiency with tinker’s tools. Using these tools, you can
spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a Tiny
clockwork device (AC 5, 1 hp). The device ceases to function after 24
hours (unless you spend 1 hour repairing it to keep it functioning),
or when you use your action to dismantle it; at that time, you can
reclaim the materials used to create it. You can have up to three
such devices active at a time.

 When you create a device, chose one of the following options:

*Clockwork*
Toy:
This toy is a clockwork animal, monster, or person, such as a frog,
mouse, bird, dragon, or Soldier. When placed on the ground, the toy
moves 5 feet across the ground on each of your turns in a random
direction. It makes noises as appropriate to the creature it
represents.

*Fire*
Starter:
The device produces a miniature flame, which you can use to light a
Candle, torch, or campfire. Using the device requires your action.

*Music*
Box:
When opened, this music box plays a single song at a moderate volume.
The box stops playing when it reaches the song’s end or when it is
closed.

### Hidden Gnomes

The Hidden Gnomes, those who chose not to
leave to Mereda, or who have settled back on Corp., after the
collapse, are quick and have a knack for stealth. They are skilled
illusionists, hiding their towns in plain sight, using illusion and
trickery to mask their escape should they be detected. These Gnomes
have also befriended the animals of the forest, and rely on them for
information about threats that might prowl their lands.

***Ability Score Increase.***
Your Dexterity score increases by1.

***Natural***
Illusionist.
You know the *minor*
illusion
cantrip. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.

***Speak***
with Small Beasts.
Through sounds and gestures, you can communicate simple ideas with
Small or smaller beasts. Forest gnomes love animals and often keep
squirrels, badgers, rabbits, moles, woodpeckers, and other creatures
as beloved pets.