Faalorian Gnomes

The history of Faalor really is a history of the gnomes.  For well over a thousand years, the island belonged to the gnomes alone.  They wandered in small groups, settled for a season or a decade (even longer) in remote dells, fields and forests. Then they moved off in search of a new home.  From time to time, they built underground cities, but they never stayed very long.

About the time the orcs invaded the island, the Gnomes began to settle in permanent communities.  This is especially true in the north as well in regions that would some-day be called Faewood.  Building neither of stone or metal, gnomes seldom leave ruins behind.  Their usual homes consists of wooded dens built from huge fallen trees or cozy nests dug out the side of a riverbank. 

Gnomes on Faalor generally despise technology of any kind, preferring to work with their hands and directly with the natural world.  They tend to live in woodland family groups consisting of no more than a dozen gnomes.  In the northern regions, where gnomes are the dominate race, they thinly spread themselves over large stretches of land to avoid taxing the earth too much.

Gnomes worship their own patron deity: Mackelmyr.  Mackelmyr is a powerful god who, it is said, created the Island of Faalor itself and placed the gnomes here.  While Mackelmyr is the god of nature, he is a good natured fellow, opposed to evil, free-wheeling and attentive to his creatures.  He is equal parts predictable and unpredictable, like nature itself, warrior and trickster.

Gnome Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, -2 Strength
• Small: as Small creatures, gnomes gain a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but they must use smaller weapons then humans use and their lifting and carrying limits are ¾ of those of medium-size characters.
• Gnome base speed is 20 feet.
• Low-light vision: Gnomes can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against Mnluug orcs.
• +4 dodge bonus against giants. Note that any time a character loses his positive Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, such as when he's caught flat-footed, he looses his dodge bonus too.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Alchemy check.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Often speak Elvish, Dwarven.
• Gnomes with Intelligence scores of 10 or higher may cast the 0-level spells (cantrips) dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation, each once per day. These are arcane spells, and as such the gnome suffers spell failure penalties for wearing armor.
• Favored Class: Illusionist, which is a wizard who specializes in casting illusion spells.

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