Craft Gnomes

Why on earth use gnomes?

Technically, I’m not a gnome fan. But secretly the possibility that they are the hybrid remnants of Elves and Dwarves makes me smile. Maybe they were here all along and only recently breached the surface. Either way they only rose to prominence in relatively recent history.

Mechanically they are magical dwarves in my mind. They serve a similar function in my game to the two races they replace, without being those two races. The theme of minor magic is constant in my classes for them where I ensure they always take Gnome 1 to gain the bonus spells.

I like to limit races to three core classes that are iconic for that race. Later I can add more, but I find that the core three are generally the best way to define and view a race.

For Gnomes I like the Trickster class as a base. It is strongest on the magical side and extremely quirky in use. I added an Artisan for the more technological bent (not crazy tinkerers), and the Warden for the more combative class of the three. This gives them a hybrid Wizard, a hybrid Mechanist and a hybrid Fighter. Overall the classes are a mixed bag that benefit players who like an odd mix of abilities that can shine with a bit of creativity.

But, first I needed to fix a few things, I didn’t want infravision in a core class, just like the Elves and Dwarves they replace. As such I swapped it for the Dwarf 1 proficiencies power which tends to be worth more but this lacks the scalability and is restricted to a craft proficiency.

I refer to these gnomes as craft gnomes, not the familiar rock, forest or deep gnomes (Deep gnomes in my setting are alien hybrid gnomes). Their culture in my mind draws on elements of Swiss culture and their precision craftsmanship.

The following changes are applied to the Gnome custom class build and respective classes to adjust them to the craft gnome type. This changes the Gnomish Trickster from the player's companion, noting I also use the “Alternate Progressions for the Arcane Values” from Axioms VII (which gives it a bit more spellcasting oomph).

Craft Gnome Custom Class

Craft gnomes tend to avoid confict and are conservative in nature, but at heart they are a humorous, inquisitive and inventive people. They tend to live where the forest meets the foot of the mountains. There they make their Burgs in and on the cliffs of the hills where they can mine gems deep from the earth and tend and fell wood from nearby forests. Gnomes tend to overengineer their arts and creations, not just seeking to make a thing work, but to precisely make a thing work. Gnomish buildings tend to reflect this being made from a complicated and well crafted blend of stone and wood, painted in a variety of colors and hues in addition to having unusual balconies or towers jutting out from the main structure.

Craft Gnomes are built using the gnome custom class except as follows:

• They replace the infravision ability with a craft proficiency and attention to detail. Attention to detail gives gnomes a +1 bonus on proficiency rolls for other proficiencies they learn as well in addition to thief skills if they gain them through proficiencies or fate points.
• Also replace the gnome additional languages as listed with Deep Gnome, Endjinn, Morlock, and Kobolds.
• The Ventriloquism spell from Gnome 1 is replaced with the Chameleon spell from the player's Companion.

I am also enforcing the reduced weight and carry capacity from Lair and Encounters as follows (cost 0):
Gnomes are short in stature weighing 65 pounds on average, less than half a human. They can only carry 4 stone without becoming encumbered. When carrying 5-6 stone, their encounter movement rate is reduced to 90‟. When carrying 7-8 stone, their encounter movement rate is reduced to 60‟. When carrying 9 stone or more, their encounter movement rate is reduced to 30‟. A gnome can carry a maximum of 16 stone, modified by its Strength bonus or penalty.