Gnomes

## Physical Appearance

Gnomes are more proportionally shrunken than their fellow Small race, the halfling. They stand about 2 and a half to 4 feet tall, with lithe frames, large set eyes, and small limbs. Most humans would easily mistake them for children at first, and it is a mistake often made when encountering gnomes in Morianna. Gnomes generally have the same skin tones and hair colors as elves do, the only differences being that forest gnomes will occasionally have a gentle green tinge to their skin or hair like wood elves in order to help them with camouflage.

## History

Gnomes have been since the beginning close allies of the elves, especially of the wood elves. It was said that long long ago Triandal walked on the earth and created the gnomes as her precious children, dubbing this race “children of the elves”. She gave them lands, naivete, and a sense of wonder, to be a counterpoint to the serious, somewhat self-involved elves. This does go a long way to explain the gnomes’ precocious nature as well as the elven kindness towards them. Gnomes have mostly avoided the larger conflicts on Tiraguard, preferring to remain in their small towns. The elves in turn have done their best to protect gnomish settlements and keep them out of the line of fire.

## Alignments

Gnomes are wild children, never really interested in being bound to any particular code. They rarely adhere to rigid laws, even in their own settlements and families. Gnomes justice tends to be simple “eye for an eye” kind of punishments, but even these are rarely necessary. Gnomes consider themselves carers of the environments they live in, have a tendency towards pastoral pursuits, and generally are viewed as gentler than most species. The ideal gnome would be considered chaotic neutral, not because they are out for themselves, but because they prefer a more hedonistic lifestyle.

## Society & Culture

Gnomes are naturally free-spirited, wild and somewhat naive in their childlike way. Gnomes are seen as immature sometimes, people who would rather throw a festival and party all night rather than settle down and make important decisions. Gnomes are considered hedonists in their own way, and can either turn this hedonism towards violence or towards good. Young gnomes will go on decades long “wanderings” when they come of age, from age 20 to about a hundred, when they will return to their hometown and settle down.

Gnome society is one filled with festivals of worship, of harvest, or just of it being a nice day outside. To a gnome, any momentous or even just joyful occasion is cause for celebration. Each gnome is considered responsible for feeding him or herself, and their family. This encourages the gnomes to become good hunters, good survivalists, and good carers.

This isn’t to say that gnomes are incapable of putting their minds to serious matters. When it comes to tinkering, for example, or studying the arts and sciences, which gnomes enjoy as both academic study and as a favored pastime. Gnomes have made great strides in science and industry despite their limited resources.

### Gender Roles

Gnomes tend towards slightly matriarchal organization. Women tend to be leaders, more organized and having more authority in their small cities and settlements. Males tend to give way to females on matters of the house and in government decisions, while they focus on hunting, farming, and tinkering. This leaves women with more domesticated roles, which in other societies would make them subservient, but the truth is that women and men both know that if the men are focused on their work, then the women need to take on the responsibility of running things while they’re busy.

Gnomes tend to have larger families, as many as 5-6 children, but only 1 or 2 of these will go on to marry and have children so the population stays fairly even.

### Half-bloods

No current cross-species pairings are known to be possible between gnomes and any other race.

### Linguistics

Gnome language is very similar to elvish in most respects, they have the same base tongue and many of the base words are similar, like spanish and italian, for example. Gnomes is however, simpler, lighter, and some say friendlier when heard spoken. Gnomes love to write songs, poems, and especially limericks, and some say the gnome’s favorite kind of humor is the pun or play on words.

### Education

Gnomes have a group education system, the women of the community will run small schools with classes between 15-20 students at a time, of similar age groups, usually 2 or 3 families’ worth of siblings. A few of these schools will be in each settlement or community, and the teachers will swap out, both women and men will each take on the role of teaching the young history, reading, writing, and math and sciences as needed.

Tinkerers are very common among the gnomes of Balarume, and there are multiple workshops and crafters in every gnome settlement, as well as multiple classes on crafting and tinkering for all ages, gnome children love to make their own clockwork toys to prove their smarts.

### Architecture

Gnomes like to live within nature rather than opposed to it. Their lands include woods and hills and they will make their homes underneath these hills and within and around the trees they live near. Their homes are bright and airy despite behind underground, they will have wide windows and bright wooden decor. They are also well-decorated with art and usually filled with music.

## Government & Laws

Gnomes live in small communities of a thousand at the most. They like small settlements where they can have a more warm sense of community rather than big cities. Each of these settlements will be ruled by a small council of elders who are elected by the community. These councils will be responsible for both the legislative and judicial side of things, as they handle criminal and civil proceedings for the settlement and pass laws and collect taxes.

Though they live in the elvish lands they do not have to technically obey elvish law, although their moral guidelines are usually along the same lines: protect life, protect nature, protect each other. Gnome councils on the whole are mostly just for show, so that their people will have someone to go to for complaints. The worst offenses usually committed in gnomish settlements are petty thefts, some fighting, and the highest gnome crime, stealing of parts and designs from the tinkering workshops. Usually the most the councils listen to is gossip and local legend.

When outside their home settlements gnomes tend to be very carefree with local laws, because of the loose laws of their homes. This is not a willful or malicious law breaking but rather an ignorance of it.

## Economy & Resources

Gnomes do not have much in their homelands as far as minerals and metals go, most of this they must import. Most gnomes are hunter-gatherers who prefer to feed their families from their surroundings. However, there are a decent number who enjoy agriculture and farming on their own little plots. Tinkerers in need of supplies will exchange crafted works for materials in the elvish cities. Gnomes who are on their wandering will save up and send home as much money as they can, to prepare for the future.

Elves adore gnomish creations and there is a large market for their clockwork creations and their art in elven cities, meaning there is a healthy economy of gold that passes in and out of gnomish settlements. However, most gnomes end up spending their money on imported beverages, art and materials for their creations. They need little money to live out their own lives as long as they are resourceful.

## Marriage & Relationships

Gnomes do not often practice the institution of marriage. They enjoy friendship in all its forms and gnomes adore cultivating large complements of friends and family around them. However, they don’t tend to form romantic attachments easily. Gnomes will court one another casually but it is a light pairing and rarely permanent. When gnomes do get married it is considered a true match and is highly respected. Gnome divorce in this case is almost unheard of.

A gnome marriage like any other occasion is cause for celebration. Same goes for gnome births. Parents will take any opportunity to celebrate their children, which can occasionally make for a few spoiled gnome brats but generally works out well.