Gnome

Gnome Humanoid

Long ago, early gnome ancestors emigrated from the realm of the fey. This lineage manifests in modern gnomes as bizarre reasoning, eccentricity, obsessive tendencies, and what some see as naiveté. These qualities are further reflected in their physical characteristics, such as spindly limbs, brightly colored hair, and childlike and extremely expressive facial features that further reflect their otherworldly origins.

Always hungry for new experiences, gnomes constantly wander both mentally and physically, attempting to stave off a terrible ailment that threatens all of their people.

This affliction strikes gnomes who fail to dream, innovate, and take in new experiences, in the gnomes’ absence of crucial magical essence from the feylands. Gnomes latch onto a source of localized magic where they live, typically primal magic, as befits their fey lineage, but this isn’t enough to avoid the affliction unless they supplement this magic with new experiences. The affliction slowly drains the color—literally—from gnomes, and it plunges those affected into states of deep depression that eventually claim their lives. Very few gnomes survive this scourge, becoming deeply morose and wise survivors.

If you want a character with boundless enthusiasm and an alien, fey outlook on morality and life, you should play a gnome.

You might…

• Embrace learning and hop from one area of study to another without warning.
• Rush into action before fully taking stock of the entire situation.
• Speak, think, and move quickly, and lose patience with those who can’t keep up.

Others probably…

• Appreciate your enthusiasm and the energy with which you approach new situations.
• Struggle to understand your motivations or adapt to your rapid changes of direction.
• See you as unpredictable, flighty, unreliable, or even reckless.

Physical Description

Most gnomes stand just over 3 feet in height and weigh little more than a human child. They exhibit a wide range of natural skin, hair, and eye colors. Younger gnomes possess nearly any hair and eye color other than white, with vibrant colors most frequent, while skin tones span a slightly narrower spectrum and tend toward earthy tones and pinkish hues, though occasionally green, black, or pale blue. Gnomes’ large eyes and dense facial muscles allow them to be particularly expressive in their emotions.

Gnomes typically reach physical maturity at the age of 18, though many gnomes maintain a childlike curiosity about the world even into adulthood.

A gnome can theoretically live to any age but in practice rarely live longer than around 400 years.

Society

While most gnomes adopt some of the cultural practices of the region in which they live, they tend to pick and choose, adjusting their communities to fit their own fey logic. This often leads to majority gnome communities eventually consisting almost entirely of gnomes, as other people, bewildered by gnomish political decisions, choose to move elsewhere. Gnomes have little culture that they would consider entirely their own. No gnome kingdoms or nations exist on the surface world, and gnomes wouldn’t know what to do with such a state if they had one.

By necessity, few gnomes marry for life, instead allowing relationships to run their course before amicably moving on. Though gnome families tend to be small, many gnome communities raise children communally, with fluid family boundaries. As adults depart the settlement, unrelated adolescents sometimes tag along, creating adopted families to journey together.

Alignment and Religion

Though gnomes are impulsive tricksters with inscrutable motives and confusing methods, many at least attempt to make the world a better place. They are prone to fits of powerful emotion, and they are often good but rarely lawful. Gnomes most commonly worship deities that value individuality and nature.

Names

Gnome names can get quite complex and polysyllabic. They have little interest in familial names, and most children receive their names purely on a parent’s whim.

Gnomes rarely concern themselves with how easy their names are to pronounce, and they often go by shorter nicknames. Some even collect and chronicle these nicknames. Among gnomes, the shorter the name, the more feminine it’s considered to be.

Sample Names Abroshtor, Bastargre, Besh, Fijit, Halungalom, Krolmnite, Neji, Majet, Pai, Poshment, Queck, Trig, Zarzuket, Zatqualmie

Adventurers

Adventure is not so much a choice as a necessity for most gnomes. Adventuring gnomes often claim mementos, allowing them to remember and relive their most exciting stories.

Gnomes often consider the entertainer, merchant, or nomad backgrounds. In addition, the animal whisperer, barkeep, gambler, and tinker backgrounds are particularly appropriate.

Gnomes’ connection to magic makes spellcasting classes particularly thematic for you, especially classes that match the tradition of your primal innate spells, such as druid or primal sorcerer, though wellspring gnomes might choose others.

Heritages

A diverse collection of oddballs, gnomes have all sorts of peculiar strains among their bloodlines. Choose one of the following gnome heritages at 1st level.

Chameleon Gnome

The color of your hair and skin is mutable, possibly due to latent magic. You can slowly change the vibrancy and the exact color, and the coloration can be different across your body, allowing you to create patterns or other colorful designs. It takes a single action for minor localized shifts and up to an hour for dramatic shifts throughout your body. While you’re asleep, the colors shift on their own in tune with your dreams, giving you an unusual coloration each morning. When you’re in an area where your coloration is roughly similar to the environment (for instance, forest green in a forest), you can use the single action to make minor localized shifts designed to help you blend into your surroundings. This grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks until your surroundings shift in coloration or pattern.

Fey-touched Gnome

The blood of the fey is so strong within you that you’re truly one of them. You gain the fey trait, in addition to the gnome and humanoid traits. Choose one cantrip from the primal spell list. You can cast this spell as a primal innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up.

You can change this cantrip to a different one from the same list once per day by meditating to realign yourself with the Fey World; this is a 10-minute activity that has the concentrate trait.

Sensate Gnome

You see all colors as brighter, hear all sounds as richer, and especially smell all scents with incredible detail.

You gain a special sense: imprecise scent with a range of 30 feet. This means you can use your sense of smell to determine the exact location of a creature. The GM will usually double the range if you’re downwind from the creature or halve the range if you’re upwind.

In addition, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks whenever you’re trying to locate an undetected creature that is within the range of your scent.

Umbral Gnome

Whether from a connection to dark or shadowy fey, from the underground deep gnomes also known as svirfneblin, or another source, you can see in complete darkness. You gain darkvision.

Vivacious Gnome

Source PLOCG

You have an incredibly strong connection to the positive energy that flows through the First World, making it harder to attack your life force with negative energy. You gain negative resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1).

When you have the doomed condition, the condition affects you as if its value was 1 lower than it actually is (doomed 1 has no effect, doomed 2 causes you to die at dying 3, and so on).

Wellspring Gnome

Some other source of magic has a greater hold on you than the primal magic of your fey lineage does.

This connection might come from an occult plane or an ancient occult song; a deity, celestial, or fiend; magical effluent left behind by a mage war; or ancient Rune magic.

Choose arcane, divine, or occult. You gain one cantrip from that magical tradition’s spell list. You can cast this spell as an innate spell at will, as a spell of your chosen tradition. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up. Whenever you gain a primal innate spell from a gnome ancestry feat, change its tradition from primal to your chosen tradition.

Ancestry Feats

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level). As a gnome, you select from among the following ancestry feats.

1st Level

Animal Accomplice Feat 1

Gnome

You build a rapport with an animal, which becomes magically bonded to you. You gain a familiar. The type of animal is up to you, but most gnomes choose animals with a burrow Speed.

Burrow Elocutionist Feat 1

Gnome

You recognize the chittering of ground creatures as its own peculiar language. You can ask questions of, receive answers from, and use the Diplomacy skill with animals that have a burrow Speed, such as badgers, ground squirrels, moles, and prairie dogs. The GM determines which animals count for this ability.

Empathetic Plea [reaction] Feat 1

Source PRG2:APG

Auditory Emotion Gnome Mental Visual

Prerequisite(s) trained in Diplomacy

Trigger You are attacked by a creature that you haven’t yet acted hostile toward.

You must use this reaction before the creature rolls its attack.

The way you cringe or use those puppy-dog eyes you’ve been practicing elicits an empathetic response in the attacker.

Attempt a Diplomacy check against your attacker’s Will DC.

Critical Success The creature pulls its attack, wasting its action, and can’t use hostile actions against you until the beginning of its next turn.

Success The creature takes a –2 circumstance penalty to damage on the triggering Strike and all its Strikes against you until the beginning of its next turn. The penalty is –4 if you’re an expert in Diplomacy, –6 if you’re a master, and –8 if you’re legendary.

Failure The creature’s attack is unaffected, and the creature is temporarily immune to your Empathic Pleas for 24 hours.

Fey Fellowship Feat 1

Gnome

Your enhanced fey connection affords you a warmer reception from creatures of the Fey World as well as tools to foil their tricks. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to both Perception checks and saving throws against fey.

In addition, whenever you meet a fey creature in a social situation, you can immediately attempt a Diplomacy check to Make an Impression on that creature rather than needing to converse for 1 minute. You take a –5 penalty to the check.

If you fail, you can engage in 1 minute of conversation and attempt a new check at the end of that time rather than accepting the failure or critical failure result.

Special If you have the Glad-Hand skill feat, you don’t take the penalty on your immediate Diplomacy check if the target is a fey.

Fey World Magic Feat 1

Gnome

Your connection to the Fey World grants you a primal innate spell, much like those of the fey. Choose one cantrip from the primal spell list. You can cast this spell as a primal innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell level equal to half your level rounded up.

Gnome Obsession Feat 1

Gnome

You might have a flighty nature, but when a topic captures your attention, you dive into it headfirst. Pick a Lore skill. You gain the trained proficiency rank in that skill. At 2nd level, you gain expert proficiency in the chosen Lore as well as the Lore granted by your background, if any. At 7th level you gain master proficiency in these Lore skills, and at 15th level you gain legendary proficiency in them.

Gnome Polyglot Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Your extensive travels, curiosity, and love of learning help you to learn languages quickly. You learn three new languages, chosen from common languages and uncommon languages you have access to. These languages take the same form (signed or spoken) as your other languages. When you select the Multilingual feat, you learn three new languages instead of two.

Gnome Weapon Familiarity Feat 1

Gnome

You favor unusual weapons tied to your people, such as blades with curved and peculiar shapes.

You are trained with the glaive and kukri.

In addition, you gain access to kukris and all uncommon gnome weapons. For the purpose of determining your proficiency, martial gnome weapons are simple weapons and advanced gnome weapons are martial weapons.

Grim Insight Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): umbral gnome heritage Others’ attempts to scare you often grant you insights about your would-be bullies that you can then exploit. If you roll a success on a saving throw against a fear effect, you get a critical success instead, and the source of the fear effect is flatfooted to you until the end of your next turn.

Illusion Sense Feat 1

Gnome

Your ancestors spent their days cloaked and cradled in illusions, and as a result, sensing illusion magic is second nature to you. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to both Perception checks and Will saves against illusions.

When you come within 10 feet of an illusion that can be disbelieved, the GM rolls a secret check for you to disbelieve it, even if you didn’t spend an action to Interact with the illusion.

Inventive Offensive [three-actions] Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): trained in Crafting

You can jury-rig your weapons to perform in unexpected ways. When you use this ability, add one of the following weapon traits to a melee weapon you wield: deadly d6, disarm, nonlethal, shove, trip, versatile B, versatile P, or versatile S. You cannot add a trait that the weapon already has. The weapon retains this trait until you a successfully hit and deal damage with the weapon. The weapon retains this trait only while you wield it, and you can have only one weapon modified in this way at any time.

If you have expert proficiency in Crafting, you can use this feat as a 2-action activity. If you have legendary proficiency in Crafting, you can apply two weapon traits from the list when using this feat.

Life-Giving Magic [reaction] Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Frequency once per minute

Trigger You cast an innate spell from a gnome heritage or ancestry feat.

The upwelling of innate magic refreshes your body. You gain a number of temporary Hit Points equal to half your level (minimum 1) that last until the end of your next turn.

Natural Performer Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Entertainment comes naturally to you. You become trained in Performance and gain one 1st-level Performance skill feat.

Razzle-Dazzle [free-action] Feat 1

Source PRG2:APG

Gnome

Frequency once per hour

Trigger You blind or dazzle a creature.

You’ve spent considerable time practicing the manipulation of light, weaponizing your blade’s reflection or bolstering the luminosity of magical displays to unconventional heights.

Extend the duration of the blinded or dazzled condition you give the target by 1 round.

Theoretical Acumen [free-action] Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Frequency once per day

Trigger You succeed at a skill check to Recall Knowledge to identify a creature.

You study a creature’s form and behavior to hypothesize likely means of overcoming its strengths. Once before the end of your next turn, you can use the skill modifier from the triggering check in place of your saving throw modifier against one of the creature’s abilities, in place of your Perception modifier to Seek the creature, in place of your Deception modifier to Feint against the creature, or in place of your Intimidation modifier to Demoralize the creature. Alternatively, against one of the creature’s attacks, you can use your DC for the skill used in the triggering check in place of your AC.

Unexpected Shift [reaction] Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Trigger You would take damage from an attack, spell, or other effect.

Your supernatural connection sometimes causes you to phase from reality when under threat, disappearing for split seconds before reappearing—often surprising you as much as your enemies. Roll a DC 16 flat check. On a success, you gain resistance to all damage equal to your level against the triggering effect, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws against that effect until the start of your turn, and you gain the dazzled condition for 1 round.

Vibrant Display Feat 1

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): chameleon gnome heritage

Frequency once every 10 minutes

Whereas most gnomes’ coloration is static or changes slowly, you can cause your hair, eye, and skin color to scintillate in brief and disorienting bursts. Once every 10 minutes, when you use the Feint action, you can compare your Deception check result to the Perception DCs of all adjacent creatures rather than just one creature within melee reach. It’s possible to get a different degree of success for each target.

These changes are imprecise and usually short-lived, so while they allow you to periodically change your appearance in unpredictable ways, they are of little use in providing camouflage or aiding a disguise.

5th Level

Animal Elocutionist Feat 5

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) Burrow Elocutionist

You hear animal sounds as conversations instead of unintelligent noise, and can respond in turn.

You can speak to all animals, not just animals with a burrow Speed. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Make an Impression on animals (which usually uses the Diplomacy skill).

Eclectic Obsession [one-action Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): Gnome Obsession

Frequency once per day

Your desire for stimulation has led you from one pursuit to another and granted you a smattering of expertise with myriad crafts and professions.

You reflect on snippets you’ve learned to temporarily become trained in one Lore skill of your choice. This proficiency lasts for 10 minutes or until you critically fail a check with that skill. Since this training is temporary, you can’t use it as a prerequisite for a permanent character option like a feat or a skill increase.

Energized Font [one-action] Feat 5

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) focus pool, at least one innate spell from a gnome heritage or ancestry feat that shares a tradition with at least one of your focus spells

Frequency once per day

The magic within you provides increased energy you can use to focus. You regain 1 Focus Point, up to your usual maximum.

Gnome Weapon Innovator Feat 5

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) Gnome Weapon Familiarity

You produce outstanding results when wielding unusual weapons. Whenever you critically hit using a glaive, kukri, or gnome weapon, you apply the weapon’s critical specialization effect.

Intuitive Illusions [free-action] Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): Illusion Sense

Frequency once per day

Trigger Your turn begins.

Illusion magic comes to you so naturally that you can effortlessly sustain your magical ruses. You immediately gain the effects of a Sustain a Spell action to extend the duration of one of your active illusion spells.

Natural Illusionist Feat 5

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): Illusion Sense By drawing upon the First World’s magic, you can siphon a portion of that malleable world to create a convincing illusion. Once per day, you can cast illusory disguise, item facade, or ventriloquism. At 7th level, the spell is heightened to 2nd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the spell is heightened an additional spell level.

Project Persona [one-action] Feat 5

Source PRG2:APG

Concentrate Gnome Illusion Primal Visual

Where others etch their armor to serve as a conduit for their imaginations, your vivid mind and bold personality allow you to project a more fitting persona over your lackluster armor. You change the shape and appearance of your armor to appear as ordinary or fine clothes of your imagining. The armor’s statistics don’t change. This effect lasts as long as you remain conscious and are wearing the armor. A creature can disbelieve the illusion by Seeking or touching your armor. The DC equals your Will DC.

9th Level

Cautious Curiosity Feat 9

Source PRG2:APG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) at least one arcane or occult innate spell gained from a gnome heritage or gnome ancestry feat

You’ve learned a few magical techniques for getting yourself both into and out of trouble unnoticed.

You gain misdirection and silence as 2nd-level arcane or occult innate spells. The tradition of these spells must match the tradition you use for your gnome ancestry options. You can cast each spell once per day and can target only yourself.

Fey World Adept Feat 9

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) at least one primal innate spell

Over time your fey magic has grown stronger. You gain faerie fire and invisibility as 2nd-level primal innate spells. You can cast each of these primal innate spells once per day.

Fortuitous Shift Feat 9

Source PLOCG

Gnome

Prerequisite(s): Unexpected Shift

You have grown more comfortable with your penchant for supernatural disappearance. The flat check DC of your Fortuitous Shift feat decreases to 11, and you are no longer dazzled if you succeed.

Life Leap [one-action] Feat 9

Source PRG2:APG

Gnome Move Necromancy Teleportation

Requirements You must be adjacent to a living creature.

You phase through a space that a living creature occupies in a flash, spontaneously appearing on the opposite side of it in a vibrant display of colorful light. You move from your current location to another location that’s still adjacent to the same living creature, but on the opposite side or corner of the creature’s space. To determine whether a position is valid, use the same rules as for flanking: a line through the center of the two spaces must pass through opposite sides or corners of the creature’s space.

You pass through the creature’s life force, appearing in the selected location; this doesn’t trigger reactions based on movement. You must be able to see your destination, and you can’t move farther than your Speed would allow.

Vivacious Conduit Feat 9

Gnome

Your connection to the Fey World has grown, and its Positive energy flows into you rapidly. If you rest for 10 minutes, you gain Hit Points equal to your Constitution modifier × half your level. This is cumulative with any Healing you receive from Treat Wounds.

13th Level

Gnome Weapon Expertise Feat 13

Gnome

Prerequisite(s) Gnome Weapon Familiarity

Your gnome affinity blends with your class training, granting you great skill with gnome weapons. Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in a given weapon or weapons, you also gain that proficiency in the glaive, kukri, and all gnome weapons in which you are trained.

Instinctive Obfuscation [reaction] Feat 13

Source PRG2:APG

Gnome Illusion Visual

Prerequisite(s) at least one arcane or occult innate spell gained from a gnome heritage or gnome ancestry feat

Frequency once per day

Trigger You are attacked by a foe.

The magic within you manifests as a natural reaction to threats. You gain the effects of mirror image but with two images instead of three. The tradition of this action matches the tradition of your gnome ancestry options.

17th Level

Homeward Bound Feat 17

Source PRG2:APG

Gnome

Frequency twice per week

The connection between you and the First World resonates within your body stronger than it does for most gnomes, allowing you to cross the threshold between the Material Plane and the First World. You gain plane shift as a primal innate spell. You can cast it twice per week. This can be used only to travel back and forth between the First World and the Material Plane. Due to your body’s natural resonance, you can act as the spell focus, and you don’t require a tuning fork.