Gnome

Gnomes are distant relatives of the fey, though they are no longer truly fey, their fey heritage can be seen in their innate magic powers, and their eccentric natures.

Appearance
Gnomes are one of the smallest of the common races, generally standing just over 3 feet in height. Despite their small frames, however, gnomes are extremely resilient, and not as weak as many of their foes assume. Gnomes often train to take advantage of their size, especially when fighting foes much larger than themselves.

The coloration of gnomes varies so wildly that many outsiders assume gnomes commonly use dyes and illusions to change their skin and hair tones. While gnomes are certainly not above cosmetic enhancement, their natural hues truly range over a rainbow of coloration. Their hair tends toward vibrant colors such as the fiery orange of autumn leaves, the verdant green of forests at springtime, or the deep reds and purples of wildflowers in bloom. Similarly, their flesh tones range from earthy browns to floral pinks, and gnomes with black, pastel blue, or even green skin are not unknown. Gnomes possess highly mutable facial characteristics, and their proportions often don’t match the norm of other humanoid races. Many have overly large mouths and eyes, an effect which can be both disturbing and stunning, depending on the individual. Others may have extremely small features spread over an otherwise blank expanse of face, or may mix shockingly large eyes with a tiny, pursed mouth and a pert button of a nose. Gnomes rarely take pride in or show embarrassment about their features, but members of other races often fixate on a gnome’s most prominent feature and attempt to use it as the focus of insults or endearments.

Dress
Gnomes tend to have a dress style similar to elves.

History
Much like halfling's, gnomes don't affect much of history, and are often overlooked, due to such little influence they have on the world.

Society
Unlike most races, gnomes do not generally organize themselves within classic societal structures. Gnome cities are unusual and gnome kingdoms almost unknown. Further, gnomes have no particular tendency to gather in specific neighborhoods even when a large number of them live among other races. While specific laws meant to contain the potential impact of gnomes on a society may require a “gnome quarter,” and societal pressure sometimes causes all non-gnomes to move away from areas with high gnome populations, left to their own devices, gnomes tend to spread evenly throughout communities that allow them.

language
Gnomish has one of the largest vocabularies, and is a very intricate language.

Names
Male gnomes tend to have exceedingly long, hard-to-pronounce names. Female gnomes' names are mostly short.

Forest Gnomes
Smaller than other gnomes, these gnomes were a shy, secretive folk, living deep in wooded areas.

Rock Gnomes
Rock gnomes primarily occupied burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills.