Gnomes

The sister race to the Dwarves, less concerned with trade than their larger kin and more so with the flow of information. Gnomes may have an odd split in their race between fanciful and innovation but both are very fond of information. They like to know things, even seemingly mundane or ridiculous things, if it’s an unknown odds are there’s gonna be a gnome who’d give everything to learn it. So they land somewhere between respected authorities on nearly any subject and absolute lunatics in relation to other races.

Gnomes tend to look after one of two fashions. The common gnome has skin colors similar to a human’s, though not usually hereditary and often lightly tinted with odd colors on close inspections. Large eyes for their head with any color of the rainbow, many having two different colors or those that simply change over time, and hair with vibrant loud colors that sometimes seem to glow with their garishness. The tinker gnomes are more muted, stony skin like the dwarves and large brows over proportional eyes but a proclivity towards growing beards. Eyes usually grey or brown but sometimes the most colorful feature and hair muted greys, browns, even black or white. The gnomes of course don’t really distinguish themselves with these differences, even with the split mindset a common gnome tends to appreciate the ideas and cleverness of a tinker gnome and a tinker gnome benefits the creativity and outside thinking of a common gnome. One last oddity of their bodies is once they hit their prime they seem to stop aging, a gnome on his death bed looks as young as a teenager. However their hair betrays their age, as they grow older their hair gets harder and harder until it’s impossible to cut and they’re left to simple trail long tangles behind them.

Gnomes prefer the physical world as much as their dwarven kin, but are also basically the progenitors of arcane magic. They’re naturally magical people after all, and are perfectly capable of performing arcane magic, alchemy is also an easy knack for most to pick up. Divine magic they find tricky though, too stiff and inflexible for their liking. Tinker gnomes in particular are fond of alchemy and machinery, common gnomes might be able to dance a fireball into existence but a tinker gnome might be able to make bombs to do the same thing with much more reliability. Or not, gnome engineers are notorious for their esoteric methods. As they expect to always be spied on by competitors most gnomes work in strange and confusing ways only they really will ever understand which means things don’t always go as planned.

They share a currency with the dwarves, but also mint coins with round holes instead in some regions.

Alternate racial traits:
Infomaniac, Replaces Obsessive

You really love a certain subject. Select one knowledge skill, it becomes a class skill and gains a +2 racial bonus.

Tinker Gnome, Replaces Ability score modifiers

You’re a tinker gnome, you gain a +2 intelligence instead of +2 charisma.

Mechanic, Replaces Obsessive, Weapon Familiarity

Machinery and you are good friends. You treat all firearms and siege weapons as martial weapons and can craft firearms and ammunition with the normal craft [weapons] skill. This ability counts as the Gunsmithing feat for requirements, however you craft ammo at 1/3 the price instead of 1/10.