Gnome

Legendary, underground-dwelling devisers of systems.

Basics

• Taxonomic Order: TheFolk

• Alignment: Paradoxical

• Energy: Vonzot

• Lifespan: 80 - 120 years

• Diet: Aromatic mortal fare

• Habitat: Subterranean

Origins

Gnomes formed as legends of small folk arose around the world, representative of systems and interrelations in the form of ancient stories.

Description

Gnomes appear to be 3’ to 4’ tall beings with large, hairy noses and ears. Their skin and hair color comes in a wide variety of hues. Their skin is often spotty or piebald, and their hair often sticks out. Their eyes kinda bug out. Their voices are often high-pitched.

Procreation

Gnomes reproduce sexually with one another. If they reproduce with other similarly sized spirit folk, the offspring’s species follows that of the birthing parent. They cannot reproduce outside their own species otherwise without supernatural intervention.

Powers

Gnomes have an innate understanding of systems. How things interact and interconnect. If they observe patterns for longer than a few hours, they will be able to tell how things connect and correlate.

They can only do this for systems they can observe; therefore, they cannot understand the system of how atoms work without microscopes capable of letting them see them, nor can they understand the whole of the universe without powerful technology or magic.

Inventing

Gnomes are compelled to put their knowledge of how things come together to use. Therefore, they often create devices or experiments, and these are often pushed to limits that cause disastrous results. They are immune to the consequences of these results if and only if they come to such disasters unintentionally and in the course of seeking understanding of greater systems.

Weaknesses

Gnomes can sometimes focus too much on one aspect of a system that reveals only part of a whole, leading them to false conclusions.

Nations

There are many gnomish nations around the world, but five stand out:

• Egid: the gnomes of Egidzo

• Gez: the gnomes of Gezfoil, the original nation

• Gripps: the gnomes of Belle Point

• Rugnic: the gnomes of Rugny

• Uordian: the gnomes of Uord

Culture

The Gez live in complex villages and towns in Gezfoil, a city that is both above and underground. Its aboveground sections are in Lyrilla and appear to be quaint constructions with rustic, pastoral architecture and quiet homes. Its underground sections are in the Lithosphere and appear to be massive, intricate machines.

Gez culture is about understanding how the world, as a system, works. In pursuit of this understanding, the gnomes of Gezfoil experiment with machines, which they believe replicate the ways of the world.

Because they are fascinated by systems, they attempt to run as many as possible simultaneously, which leads to chaos. For example, Gezfoil has three modes of production occurring at once - there are feudal, capitalist, and socialist sectors - and five forms of government - feudal monarchy, capitalist parliament, capitalist police state, socialist republic, and something so incomprehensible it is simply called “the Gulm”. The feudal monarchy is headed by the Murdo, similar to a king/queen, and a series of noble families who control a great deal of land and agriculture. The capitalist parliament is a bureaucratic nightmare of elected officials backed by different factory owners. The police state answers to a single, powerful corporate entity called Pallagwek, which is invested in plastics. The socialist republic is made up of various workers’ committees. The Gulm has anywhere from seven to 2,500 members, chosen via a mixture of voting, lottery system, and misfiled paperwork.

Each of these systems claims supremacy, and each one writes their own rules. Any given gnome follows the one they are closest to or interacting with at any given time.

Gnomish children are raised by their extended families in Gezfoil. As infants, they are encouraged to play with toys that are complex; as they grow, they are engaged more and more until they are inventing their own toys and creating their own games. By the time they are young teenagers, they are usually engaged in their own inventive pursuits. Schools exist, but independent study is extremely common.

There is no standard for adulthood. Gez gnomes join one of the various systems and engage with it or seek to create their own. Each family has their own customs based on the systems they create - whether these are machines they tend, farms they run, habits they keep, or social, political, or economic endeavors they are part of. Some run schools. Some are private esotericists. Some are tacticians. It all varies, but they approach everything as an interconnected series of causes and effects.

Gnomish food is extremely aromatic. They love strong flavors. Spices, herbs, and alliums are very common. Capers are their favorite. Smelly cheeses and yogurts, soups, and fermented foods are very common. They pickle everything. Their music is rhythmic and complicated with time signatures that almost no one can replicate without their mechanical instruments. Their theatricals and radio entertainments are scientific and intricate, and their other art works are avant garde.

National Cultures

Other gnomish nations are just as complicated:

• Egid: Egidzo is an electric country in the Subterranean Realm where gnomes are focused singularly on one massive project - a perpetual motion machine that will provide them with infinite electrical power.

• Gripps: the gnomes of Belle Point live on a steam-powered floating city that meanders through the oceans, mostly the tropics or temperate areas. The gnomes there are fishers and artists, and they create the strangest films any mortal has ever seen.

• Rugnic: Rugby is a rocky series of caves where the Rugnic gnomes work as miners and engineers. They are heavily unionized and always fighting each other about territory.

• Uordian: the gnomes of Uord live under the tyrannical power of Ruggedo, the Gnome King, who has ties to the Unseelie Courts and other infernal powers. They are slavers and terrorists who seek power underground.

Esoterica

Gnomes are beings of vonzot and its finest wielders. They also commonly use possibility, flux, momentum, shavev mashkalran, and nommic powers. They are capable of using any esoterica.

Religion

The Gez worship Plein Boucquain, the Completed Book, a legendary system that encompasses everything. They believe they can achieve understanding of this by studying all systems and finding how they interconnect.

Gender

Gender is a system to be studied, explored, and understood.

Economy

Gezfoil has three competing economic systems - a feudal one, a capitalist one, and a socialist one.

Military

The mechanized police and army of Gezfoil is undisciplined but terrifying.

Language

Gezish is just made up.

Occupations

Some common roles among the Gez include the following:

• Ahuzorry: healers.

• Bulgari: scops.

• Caztopler: railway engineers.

• Dechorig: laborers.

• Degozo: con artists.

• Dorigzart: parliamentarians.

• Duggorty: carnival workers.

• Durrit: messengers.

• Fudarodogoz: mechanical cavalry.

• Fugzo: fools.

• Gleekeul: monks.

• Gningzot: scholars.

• Gunopahatz: cooks.

• Gygarodogoz: cannoneers.

• Junogzii: investigators.

• Keezler: hackers.

• Fampitaovana: logistics workers.

• Minugzo: performance artists.

• Nekozog: puzzle makers.

• Netzinog: functionaries.

• Nogoloboz: machinists.

• Nordokoz: embezzlers.

• Norogozont: teachers.

• Nosorodogoz: artillerists.

• Qunodzobo: conspirators.

• Rodogoz: heavy machine soldiers.

• Rundogzo: gamblers.

• Teffegolz: mobsters.

• Thurugauz: agents of Plein Boucquain.

• Turogzot: systems mages, those who create rube-goldberg devices of reality.

• Undrzort: horologists.

• Vuug: gardeners.

• Zodfor: technicians.

• Zyztymyr: systems scientists.

Outside View

All other mortals think gnomes are weirdos and dangerously reckless in their machinery.

Notables

• Ardurichartershemonishamishozbort Num, Gnome Subsequent, Aeonian, deceased

• Bolt Actionhero, Junk Merchant, deceased

• Clothilda Razquiz, wife of Elliott Bumfuzzle

• Derf Espinoza, Trapmaker and Grinning Man

• Elliott Bumfuzzle, Apostle of the Bronccour

• Germaine Butterfelter, Toymaker

• Quacklin Grippytop, Founder of Belle Point, Aeonian

• Rondo Fuzzybritches, lost in time

• Ruggedo, Gnome King of Uord, Aeonian

• Rupert Bumfuzzle, Champion of the Crab God, deceased

• Turbopallywinkle Fezlindort, Gnome Manifest, Aeonian

Estimated Populations

• Egid: 2 million

• Gez: 5 million

• Gripps: 100,000

• Rugnic: 500,000

• Uordian: 2 million

• Other: 8 million

Sample Stats

PRO 8
ATH 9
STR 6
AWA 10
WIL 8
PRS 7
STH 9