Gnome

Gnomes, or the Forgotten Folk, are very small fey humanoids, standing between 3' and 3'6" (91-107cm) tall. They are known for their eccentric sense of humor, inquisitiveness and engineering prowess. They have extremely long lives by human standards and can often live into their fifth or sixth century.

Psychology
Gnomes are an innately curious race and have a strong affinity for all thing magical, particularly the arcane. Gnomes may lack the drive and ambition of other races, particularly humans, but their creativity gives them a strong ability for ingenuity. Most gnomes are content to live simple lives, acquiring knowledge merely as a hobby but others explore lost ruins, delve deep into the heart of the world, and conduct dangerous research in their unquenchable thirst for knowledge, leading more than a few to an untimely demise.

Culture


Gnomes have an intricate society based on their love of all kinds of arts, pranks, and their long lives. Gnomes love indulgence, and they make most celebrations on a grander scale. Gnome weddings last for a week, even though gnomes don't view love the same way humans do. If love begins to go wrong between a couple they may break up, believing it was a prank by Garl Glittergold. Their society is based on art; all gnomes must take up some form of art whether music, painting, cooking, building, or any other form that is considered creative by the time they come of age.

Religion
The primary gnome deity of the gnomish pantheon is Garl Glittergold. Among other deities of the gnomish pantheon are Baervan Wildwanderer, Gaerdal Ironhand, and Urdlen. These gods are all themselves, at least since the Spellplague members of the Seldarine, the fey pantheon headed by Corellon Larethian.

History
Gnomish myths hold that the gods of the gnome pantheon originated as gems deep within the bowels of the earth, that were then exposed to open air. Likewise, these myths hold that the gnomes were created with Garl Glittergold discovered similar gems and breathed life into them, which he followed up with a joke, inspiring the race to craftiness and mischief. This story also relates that gnomes born of diamonds became the rock gnomes, while those of emeralds became forest gnomes and those of rubies were the ancestors of the deep gnomes. Though it is now known that the gnomes are fey creatures, and hence native originally to the Feywild and not Abeir-Toril, this does not necessarily invalidate the story.

Other than these early tales little is known about the formative history of the gnomes. While humans, dwarves, eladrin, and elves have all forged empires and waged terrible wars that devastated the land the gnomes have done nothing of the sort. Nor do gnomes have a known, original homeland like the halflings. For as long as anyone can remember they have been a scattered race of hidden villages, clans, and holds, rarely caught up in grand events. The gnomes are sometimes referred to as the Forgotten Folk and this title is perhaps apt and few of their race have ever graced or troubled the mighty, instead remaining characters who fade, for the most part, into the background while others go on to forge mighty legends.

For a time there was an exception to this on the isle of Lantan, a nation dominated by gnomish engineers. Here the gnomes, as an exception to the rule, were dominant and it was their culture, which dictated the laws of the land. However, the gnomish isle was overwhelmed by great tsunamis resulting from the shifting of continents that occurred during the Spellplague, destroying this small bastion of gnomish ingenuity and culture.

Homelands
Gnomes are found widely throughout the world, though rarely in large numbers. Small communities are most commonly found in the Western Heartlands, Elturgard, and along the coastline of the Shining Sea. Other gnomes, notably the svirfneblin or "deep gnomes," are found in the Underdark and are even more secretive than other gnomes, except for dwarves, whom they are careful to maintain polite relationships with for the purpose of protection.

Prior to the Spellplague many gnomes were also found in Lantan, the only land dominated by gnomes. However, during the chaos of the disaster the gnomish land was swept clean.

Subraces


The are several subraces of gnomes, as listed below.


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


 * Rock gnomes
 * Rock gnomes primarily occupy burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills throughout Faerûn.


 * Svirfneblin
 * These deep gnomes, dwell in cities deep underground. They are stealthier more dangerous than the common rock gnome.