Gnomes are recognized everywhere as pranksters, jewelers, and distillers of fine whiskey. For the most part, gnomes prefer to remain amongst themselves, living with their own kind in comfortable burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills where animals abound. But it is not a good idea to hunt them.
Personality: Gnomes are incredibly jovial people, always taking a shine to a good drink or a good laugh whenever they can. They are very social beings among themselves, and what can start as a friendly get-together at midday can turn into an all night party of singing, games, and merry-making. The society of the gnomes rests somewhere between hobbits and dwarves, with a generous helping of arcane trickery thrown in. Gnomes themselves almost boarder on being fey creatures, and their relation to leprechauns is highly questioned.
Gnomes are inquisitive. They love to find things out by personal experience and often times they are even reckless. They love to play practical jokes, especially on the "tall folk" of the World. Sometimes a gnome pulls a prank just to see how those involved will react.
Physical Description: Gnomes stand about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their skin is most often ruddy in appearance, sometimes taking on a woody brown hue. Their hair ranges from a chestnut brunette, to a blondish-red, to actual red. Eye colors are typically bright, most often being various shades of blue, but on rare occasion one can be found with green eyes as well. Gnome males prefer to have full, thick sideburns as well as neatly trimmed beards. Gnomes of both sexes wear bright, sometimes garish, clothing that is loose fitting, and they are great fans of wearing jewelry as well -- most often rings, necklaces, and earrings. Gnomes reach adulthood by the age of 40, and they live up to 350 years old, though some can live to be almost 500.
Relations: Gnomes get along well with dwarves who share their appreciation for gems, precious metals, and fine jewelry, as well as drink. They also have a similar hatred for giants and goblins (two races who both hail from the gnome home of Tir na Nog -- see below). They enjoy the company of hobbits, especially those who are easygoing enough to put up with pranks and jests. Most gnomes are a little suspicious of the "tall folk" such as men and women, elves, minotaurs and the like, though relations between them are rarely malicious.
Alignment: Gnomes are most often good with strong leanings towards being chaotic. They are consummate tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious. Those few who tend towards law are most often sages, scholars, historians, brewers, and leaders.
Gnome Lands: Gnomes have no lands, at least not in the Known World as other races known it. The gnomes claim to come from a land called Tir na Nog. When asked where this land is located the gnomes are always purposely vague about it, and explorers have yet to locate any signs of the gnome homeland.
Gnomes that live in the Known World live either among men in their cities, or, more likely, with hobbits in their burrows.
The truth is that gnomes do hail from a land called Tir na Nog, though it is not found on any map. It is a realm of twilight that exists alongside the Known World, a land of the fey and supernatural creatures. The elves call it the Spirit World, dwarves and humans know it as Other World, while still others refer to it as the Land of Faerie. Hailing from this supernatural realm gives gnomes the spirit subtype.
Religion: Gnomes worship a tribe of divine gnomes referred to as the Tuatha De Danann, a pantheon of gods led by Garl Glittergold, the watchful protector. Other members of this tribe include Baervan Wildwanderer the god of adventuring and thieves, Segojan Earthcaller the god of earth and nature, and Flandal Steelskin the god of jewels, jewel crafting, and metalworking. Evil gnomes worship Urdlen, the crawler below.
The Tuatha De Danann live on Tir na Nog and they mingle freely with the gnomes that dwell there.
Tuatha De Danann translates into "The Tribe of Danu." Danu is the matron of the gnome people, a goddess of great power and influence that gave birth to many of the Tuatha De Danann, the gnome race, and by some accounts, the Known World itself. Many other races acknowledge Danu and her existence, sometimes referring to her as Gia, while others simple call her Mother Nature or Mother Earth, the hobbits called her Yondella. She is the goddess who is worshiped by the gods themselves. Among the mortal races, she is worshiped as Danu by the gnomes, many of the fay, firbolgs, and even fomorians. All clergy of Danu are druids, and they make up the bulk of not just the druidic worship of the gnomes, but druidic worship of much of the Known World. Druids of Danu, among the gnomes, are revered as great spiritual leaders of the gnomish people, as well as sages and elders to guide the gnomes to prosperity.
Language: The gnomes speak sylvan, the language of the fey, as their native tongue. They are also the ones that created their own alphabet for the language that now all who speak the sylvan language use. Those who speak aquan have adopted the gnome script as their written language as well. Much of the sylvan dialogue is used in the casting of illusioin spells as well, which has made many scholars wonder: did the fey races, most notably, the gnomes, discover or even create the school of illusionary magic? Many wizards and sorcerers take up the sylvan language to better understand the casting of illusion spells.
Names: Gnomes love names, and most have half a dozen or so. As a gnome grows up, her mother gives her a name, her father gives her a name, her clan elder gives her a name, her aunts and uncles give her names, and she gains nicknames from just about anyone. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with the "tall folk" who are rather "stuffy" about names, gnomes learn to act as if they have no more than three names: a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname (among other gnomes, she will introduce herself with all her names available. A point of pride among gnomes is to have more names than the other gnome.) When deciding which of her several names to use among others, a gnome generally chooses the one that's the most fun to say. Gnome clan anmes are combinations of common gnome words, and gnomes almost always translate them into the common tongue when among others.
Gnome Clan Names: Beren, Daergel, Folkor, Garrick, Nackle, Murnig, Ningel, Raulnor, Scheppen, and Turen.
Gnome Male Names: Boddynock, Dimble, Fonkin, Glim, Gerbo, Jebeddon, Namfoodle, Roondar, Seebo, and Zook.
Gnome Female Names: Bimpnottin, Caramip, Duvamil, Ellywick, Ellyjobell, Loopmottin, Mardnab, Roywyn, Shamil, and Waywocket.
Gnome Nicknames: "Aleslosh," "Ashhearth," "Badger," "Cloak," "Doublelock," "Filchbatter," "Fnipper," "Oneshoe," "Sparklegem," and "Stumbleduck."
COMMON GNOME TRAITS
