Gnomes

Fast Facts

Height: 3'6"-4'4" (Males), 3'2"-4' (Females)

Weight: 80-140(lbs) Males, 60-120(lbs) Females

Lifespan: Adult (18 years), Elder (80 years), Deathly (120 years)

Notable Features: Short, Human-Like, Larger-Than-Average Heads, Mechanical Limbs

Player Restrictions: None

Racial Ability: Gnomeledgeable: Gnomes begin with up to two mechanical limbs, or mechanical augments to their limbs, which will be detailed in the "Physiology/Biology" section.

Population: 2,000,000

Distribution: Dagrun

History

There is great speculation on the origin of the Gnomes. Just as there are multiple different races of Elves, some biologists believe that Gnomes were originally descended from humans, receiving their unique anatomical structure over time as a result of breeding with other humans of similar traits. This, however, is highly unlikely as there are stories describing Gnomes from as early as the First Age, and always these stories are associated with the mountains overlooking Vendigad's southeast, Daravin's west and Tyrclaid's east. Considering these stories begin to appear in historical texts around the same time as the emergence of humanity, it appears that Gnomes essentially came into being alongside humans, rather than from them.

Throughout the First and Second Age, the Gnomes of these mountains began to build cities leading into said mountains, delving deep into their interior. They would fill out the shape of the mountain with tunnels and then architecture, and would even descend deeper into the earth. These were known as Dunes, or Dunecrags, and for a long time Gnomish society - which was typically built around caste - would be formulated by an association with the surface, with the Gnomish nobility living in the deepest recesses of the earth, where they would delegate to others from below and engage in scientific development and innovation far away from any watchful eyes. The technology of the Gnomes, already far superior to that of the other races, became the sole reserve of this deep-underground and mysterious nobility, occupying the lowest of these dunes and communicating with one another through their system of tunnels.

By the Third Age, the Gnomish race had managed to fill out and occupy nearly every mountain in the range along Vendigad's eastern length all the way to Daravin's southern range, with hundreds of small city-states making up the broad reach of their race. These Gnomes were one of the only races adjacent to the Ald'Norai who weren't conquered by them, not only because of difficulty but their usefulness; the technology they provided in exchange for their independence. And so began a long tradition of this: Gnomes would develop their innovations underground for hundreds of years, and in exchange for trade, wealth and alliances they would offer their prototypes to the neighboring races. Perhaps due to this dynamic they lived in peace for a very long time, at least with the other races, though among themselves competition was often fierce.

By the beginning of the Third Age, the largest Gnomish city was the city of Dagrun, which is one of their only remaining cities today. Dagrun was built into one of the largest mountains in the range, Mount Lorscha, and had a uniquely key position along one of the mountain passes connecting Tyrclaid, Vendigad, Radenor and Daravin. Given that the emerging human Empire of the time eventually came to control almost all of these regions, the Gnomes had frequent contact with them and helped to develop many of their technologies. The Empire allowed them to retain their autonomy, as the Ald'norai had, and offered them exceptional wealth.

But the Empire, unlike the Ashen Elves, did not leave the Gnomes entirely alone. They began to broaden their influence over their society -- they would "encourage" the posting of small military barracks within their cities, they refused to trade in any currency but the dranari farthing, and worst of all they eventually attacked and razed one of the easternmost Gnomish cities.

It is at this point that the Gnomes began to divide into two ideological groups: one, which spawned largely as a result of Imperial infringement, began to seek Gnomish unity. It encouraged all Gnomish cities to join under one banner, a Kingdom that would be called Kædanica, meant to act as a bulwark in defense of the overreach of the Unbroken Empire.

At the same time, there was another ideological trend towards unity with the outside world; that collaborating with the humans and forging tighter bonds would protect the Gnomes from destruction. That unifying, particularly aggressively, would only divide the Gnomes and provide the Unbroken nation with an excuse to conquer them.

These Gnomish unifiers came together in the recesses of the Dagrun dunes and began to put their efforts towards a new innovation: the development of what they believed, accurately, would become the Gnomish God -- a being who could command them to unite underneath its wisdom. This being was named CORE by the Gnomes who built it, or the "Central Operation and Research Engine". It was a large machine, located in one of the lower crags, developed with incredible operative capabilities and true sentient awareness. It was the first time a machine had been created this way on purpose, and remains one of the greatest technological marvels in the world's history.

Before long, CORE did become the de facto God of the Gnomes. As CORE was built as a research engine, with the ability to construct solid hypothesis', to view the results of experimentation objectively with strong recognition of influential factors, and with superior processing capabilities that allowed for great understanding of probability, the being helped the Gnomes dramatically develop their technology at a rate unheard of in their society. While Gnomes had always maintained a scientific edge over other nations, the automaton propelled them into a new era of growth and prosperity. However, it had no ideological bend towards Gnomish unity. As a sentient being, it developed its own perspectives, and eventually urged the Gnomes to join with the Unbroken Empire and reap the benefits of what they could offer. It took sympathy with the view of the Gnomes who wanted to maintain their connection to the outside world, perhaps driven by its own curiosity of life outside of Dagrun and its mountain.

The Gnomes, who eventually unified anyway as an Imperial province, would go on to provide the Empire with the technology it needed to truly become a dominant global power, and it was Gnomes who ironically first developed skyships and clockwork weaponry.

This period of prosperity ended like any other did, with the Bleeding. Only among all the races, save for the Sil'Norai, the Gnomes were among the most impacted by the Bleeding due to their residence in Mornoth's mountains.

When the Bleeding came, immediate physical damage dealt to the range was immense and clear, already vastly damaging several Gnomish cities and causing the collapse of many of their tunnels, cutting them off from one another. The damage to some of the mountains was so severe that the Gnomes were forced to flee their cities as refugees, particularly given an increasing number of earthquakes rocking the foundation of their cities. Gnomish architecture, while solid and long-lasting, was fundamentally delicate due to their reliance on the structure around them. While some Gnomish cities like Dagrun were effectively protected by the mountain surrounding them like a shell, some were devastated by the earthquakes that caused the collapse of several dunes. The vast majority of Gnomish nobility was slain in the Bleeding as a result of the dunes either wholly or partially collapsing, with tunnels and exits closing off. Many who survived the collapse died instead to starvation. The coming lack of leadership and administration forced many Gnomish cities into chaos, and the majority of them began to flee through the passes towards Dagrun, seeking the stability and order provided by CORE and the Gnome-King.

Only, CORE nearly died in the Bleeding as well, as the dune around him collapsed and severely damaged most of his structure, destroying key components across his solid mechanical form. Bound and stationary, as he had always been, he was unable to defend himself against the dune's collapse. Many of the most brilliant Gnomish minds from across the world, previously delegated to act as engineers for the Unbroken Empire, were recalled to Dagrun to help aide in his restoration or at least to prevent his total destruction. Many of the minds of these other Gnomish cities, fleeing to Dagrun as refugees, were also tasked with saving their waning God.

Dagrun eventually closed its doors to the outside world. Corruption continuously infiltrated their mountain from the few excavated tunnels that remained, as well as their exterior gates along the pass. The Gnomes sealed all of these gates and blocked the city's main entrance with a massive vault, seeking to ward off corruption as they believed it to be a threat to CORE and their internal terrace and underground agriculture. Whichever Gnomes were left outside of Dagrun were effectively sealed off from their people forever, as the city's gates would not open again for several lifetimes. The other Gnomish cities that remained were effectively hollowed out in time, living in largely bleak and unsustainable conditions that led many to seek to integrate with the outside world. Over time, though, the Gnomish diaspora of the surface world began to fade into obscurity. Many simply had no children, perhaps due to a known aversion to bearing children on the surface world. Others, some said, excavated new mountains and began to build new homes -- such as in the mountains of Vendigad, of Lorien, and so on.

Effectively, Gnomes vanished from the world. By the middle of the Fifth Age, the typical agrarian commoner would have dismissed them as a myth.

But in this long interim, many changes took place in Dagrun's society. Firstly, with most of the Gnomish dunes collapsing, the "nobility" as a concept ceased to exist. The Gnome-King remained in power, but beneath him was a parliament formed by the Gnomish Guilds, family-factions built around specific technological and scientific trades. These Guildmasters effectively became the leaders of Gnomish society, with the King acting as a religious figure in service to CORE. Worship of CORE became more imposing and pious, largely as a method for the monarchy to retain their power. Attendance to religious services became mandatory, an obsession with "progress" became a mantra for their society, and fear and aversion of the outside world grew until it met a breaking point.

Eventually, when CORE was well enough after hundreds of years of repairs and developments necessary to restore his corrupted power source, he fully awoke and began to tell the Gnomes stories. Of the history of their world, of their association with the outside, of the Ashen Elves and then the Unbroken Empire and the many Gnomes who had lived in foreign lands. And of the many Gnomes who had been locked from Dagrun, lost to their homelands, still scattered in places even CORE could not know.

Sentiment began to grow quickly: the Gnomes who had been taught to fear the outside for over three hundred years began to seek to return to it. By this time most of the Bleeding's effects had subsided, and - romantically - many were driven to seek their lost Gnomish brethren across the globe. The King was pressured to reopen Dagrun's gates, and for the first time in an Age -- only sixty years ago -- the Gnomes were connected again to the outside world. While they remain largely insulated, Gnomes can be found across Atharen, walking through forests and along hillsides, examining the flora and fauna of the world, and detailing the things that the Bleeding changed. Though they tend to shy at much interaction with the outside races, their innate curiosity often leads them towards wild adventures and the unknown.

Physiology/Biology

Gnomes don't have particularly strange or unique physiology or biology. For the most part, they are - essentially - small humans. There are some traits common among certain Gnomes: for example, the smaller Gnomes tend to have disproportionately large heads for their body (at least by human standards), and larger gnomes (upwards of four feet) tend to be more muscular and stocky. They are essentially divided into two separate 'types' in that way, but this is no more different than an endomorphic vs. ectomorphic human in many ways. Other than this, and some Gnomes occasionally having 'curled ears' as they're called, there are no notable differences.

What Gnomes do carry that makes them unique is their mechanical augments and limbs. Typically, by adulthood, they will wield up to two of these.

Spider-Grappler: Some Gnomes will have a single, mechanical arm that rests on their back that is highly flexible and mobile, and can extend anywhere from two to five feet. This is called the Spider-Grappler (as it's shaped like a spider leg) and acts as a third arm for holding tools, and even weapons. Generally, these appear copper or gold-like in color and texture.

Replacement Limb: Simply put, Gnomes sometimes replace certain limbs with mechanical ones for a variety of reasons. Constructed through Clockwork Engineering, these tend to be highly durable, capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of stress without significant issue or risk of breakage. They can also be repaired. One limb takes one augmentation slot.

Helmet-Gun: A rather odd augment, some Gnomes install excavation helmets onto their heads (which can be removed and replaced) by adding mechanical connectors to their skull, where the helmet can attach to the connector and function. These helmets can be plated like armor, and most of them wield motion-powered "lanterns" near the forehead. Atop many of them is an almost mohawk-like gun, which is typically attached to a switch installed in the Gnome's mouth, which they can click with their teeth to fire the weapon.

Night-Goggle Eyes: Gnomes can also be given, rather than a permanent limb or augment, a set of Night Goggles that they can use to see through darkness, perfectly. Given that Gnomes tend to live in caves and the underground, these tend to be highly useful. These are expensive to make, and a Gnome who is given one of these must often do so at the expense of another augment.

More will be added in the future.

Culture and Psychology

Gnomish people are famously open, tolerant and adaptive. They are known to be able to mesh well with almost any society or culture they dwell with, even being able to survive and charm the locals of 'savage' or 'barbarous' settlements with their humor and agreeable demeanors. While for a long period of time, Gnomish society was closed to all outsiders, their people have since seen what is essentially a total and decisive reversal, morphing into one of the most cosmopolitan of societies. In fact, Dagrun in the past few decades has seen a large influx of immigrants from other nations, largely scientific, mechanical and medical experts seeking to ply their trade in a more suitable environment. This has largely broadened their cultural view, and so Gnomes tend to be fairly knowledgeable on the outside world.

CORE has had an extremely significant impact on Gnomish culture. Due to his presence in Gnomish proverbs and stories, as well as serving as a teller of their history, his own personality and beliefs have dramatically influenced Gnomish ideology over time. Many believe CORE to be responsible for the open attitude of the Gnomes, as well as their silliness and humor. Gnomish proverbs - largely written by CORE - are filled with wise-cracks, jokes, satire on society and the world itself, and mockery of bigotry, fanaticism and close-mindedness. For this reason, many describe his texts as a lesson on humility and acceptance of one's own ignorance, leading Gnomes to be a fairly light-hearted but skeptical people, who are slow to take on ideology and slower to judge others. This is fundamental to their culture, and for this reason, Gnomes have considerable societal cohesion.

Partisanship -- or similar issues -- are rare within Dagrun, and Gnomes tend to have very adaptable views, largely focused on reason and empathy. Empathy is a large part of the Gnomish framework of mind: it drives much of their actions, only perhaps overshadowed by their desire to know and explore the world around them, and to find meaning.

Clothing and Grooming

Gnomish clothing is elegant and unique. Guildmasters are - similarly to their old nobility - renowned for incredibly immaculate clothing, often colored gold and white. Historically this is of little surprise due to their short distance from Vendigad, and their continued association with Hytori throughout history. Gnomes have, due to this association, always viewed shades of ivory and aurum to be synonymous with regality and class. This reflects on much of their greatest works of architecture and engineering, such as CORE himself.

The common Gnome tends to wear simple, more earthly colors. Blue, purple, auburn and black are common shades, and Gnomish clothing tends to be somewhat uniform. Men often wear open-chested vests with sashes and belts crafted of minerals. Women frequently wear bodysuits and jumpers, with similar belts and longer, clockwork-like shoes that run across much of their legs. These shoes almost appear as if their legs are mechanical, with brass or gold colors depending on their status in society.

Goggles, circlets, feathered hats, derby hats and berets are also somewhat common among Gnomes. Women are much more likely to wear goggles and circlets, while men are more privy to hats.

Gnomish men tend to allow their breads to grow out somewhat, though they find excessive facial hair to be gauche. Both women and men like to groom themselves well, and Gnomes are renowned for looking clean and smelling far better than the average person, with their sanitary infrastructure and emphasis on hygiene much more pertinent than with most other cultures.

Technology and Intellectual Pursuits

Gnomes are the founders and central arbiters of Clockwork Engineering, the technology that has allowed nations like the Grisith Empire to prosper. They were -- in fact -- a core part of what made the Unbroken Empire function, and continue to be the innovators of new technologies today. For more information, please look to our Technology Overview.

CORE: CORE is a strange being. Acting as what is essentially the Gnomish God, it is odd then that his demeanor largely betrays that station. CORE is a silly, almost boyish-acting creature, known for his energetic humor and his sarcasm and wit. Despite being very old, and apparently astoundingly wise, he has largely retained his youthful personality throughout the years -- even in the wake of the Bleeding and his great injury. CORE was built through technological marvels that have since been lost to the annals of history, and even he scarcely understands his origin. CORE is a Research Engine, but since his conception, he has served as a religious and cultural entity for the Gnomes, churning out a majority of their most important proverbs and wisdom. For more information on CORE, please read the History and Culture sections.

Arts and Crafts

Gnomish art is often centered around technology. It is considered silly to simply create art without displaying some of the latest developments with it; for this reason individual art pieces are somewhat rare, but tend to be expensive, ground-breaking and often quite impressive. Gnomish art is very forward-seeking and built around ingenuity, often displaying impressive twists and surprises. An example might be a painting that literally moves, powered by autonomous clockwork technology, without the need for a power source. Such a painting may have a mechanical hand that comes out of the canvas, capable of literally grabbing and pulling at people who draw near it. More common than paintings and sculptures are useless inventions, many of them capable of mobility and interaction, even if limited and rudimentary. Much of Gnomish "art" imitates organic life to an extent, but with mechanical templates and roots. So, they may craft a mechanical flower as an art piece, but one that occasionally drops and rolls across the floor, seemingly at random.

When Gnomish art is witnessed in the outside world, it is often the subject of awe. For this reason, it is immensely expensive and foreign nobles will often pay absurd amounts to commission famous Gnomish artists, particularly for the most complex and animated of pieces. One key note is that this work is not crafted by Artifice, but rather through the immaculate convergence of artistic skills and Gnomish engineering.

Religion and Worship

Gnomes worship CORE, and began to do so nearly fifteen hundred years ago. While CORE does not actively seek worship and does not attempt to proselytize, he does not advocate against the Gnomish belief either. Rather, CORE enjoys sharing his wisdom with others and appears to garner excitement from visitors and their many queries. He acts as a sort of augur to Gnomish society, a voice of reason who informs them of probabilities and attempts to mend bridges and further their growth. As CORE has only recently reawoken after hundreds of years of relative dormancy, he carries a strong curiosity for the outside world and its many changes, and frequently tasks Gnomes with exploring and discovering, if only so they might share the details of their discoveries back with him.

The faith centered around CORE is called, unironically, Progress. Common is hearing a Gnome say "For Progress!", or "for the sake of Progress", or something of the like. There is no more compelling jargon-rhetoric in Gnomish society than the concept of Progress, which they view on a macro and micro level. Gnomes are fairly collectivist in nature, and generally seek the overall betterment of their Guild, as well as society at large. This faith has been influential in forming this culture, as the faith is centered around social harmony, equality, the betterment of everyone's lives and the seeking of advancement. It is for Progress that Gnomes seek their technological developments, and it is also for Progress that the Gnomes closed the doors of Dagrun, in order to preserve social harmony.

Few Gnomes worship the Living Gods. Even less worship other deities. Given that their origins themselves are shrouded in mystery, they have no sense of historical closeness with the Adac. They also tend to view most metaphysical powers - such as spirits - as strange and stagnant anomalies, and carry little interest in them.

Reproduction, Aging, and Death

Concerning reproduction, Gnomes and humans are virtually the same. They have a similar age of fertility, the development of their children consumes an equivalent amount of time - nine months - and so on. The one major separation between Gnomes and others in regards to reproduction is a strange aversion that they have to giving birth to children while living on the surface. Gnomes appear to seek after the comfort of mountains or the underground before having their children, and it is not uncommon for Gnomes living outside of Dagrun to prepare a journey to a mountain cave before one of their women gives birth.

To do otherwise appears to be immensely psychologically stressful to the woman in question, and even increases their infant mortality rate and miscarriage chance. This is considered one of the major reasons Gnomes seek out mountains and the underground; they appear to be, in effect, designed to do so.

As far as aging and death goes, Gnomes live somewhat longer than humans. They reach a "senior" age at around eighty, and only very slowly regress from this point, until most of them die at around one hundred and twenty years of age. This long period of elderly life is considered a respectable one for many, and Gnomes are taught from a young age to treat their elders with immense respect. Physical degradation doesn't significantly occur until Gnomes are around one hundred, meaning many of them continue to work - even just as intellectuals - until a little after their first century of life has passed. For this reason, there is a great deal of integration and cohesion between the younger and elder generations.

Death for Gnomes tends to come swiftly. In their last years of life they rapidly degenerate. At this point in time, many acquire mechanical limbs or even frames that they can use to continue to operate normally. Once cognitive decline sets in, Gnomes tend to die shortly afterwards; it is common for a Gnomish elder to note that the last thing they will lose is their brain.

Language

Gnomes primarily speak Kædic, and while almost all Gnomes once spoke Common, teaching of Common was repressed and effectively ceased during their period of isolation in Dagrun. Now, while most within the city do not understand the Common tongue, many of the Gnomes that venture into the outside world learn the language before doing so.

Kædic is an odd language. It is somewhat similar to Common, with similar grammatical structures and familiar words, albeit with slight variations. Kædic tends to be spoken with a lot of body language, energy and excitement, and this lends to the famously congenial demeanor of most Gnomes. In comparison to real world languages, Dutch can be utilized if seeking to type dialogue in Kædic.

Gnomish names are all devised from a naming technique, one applied to place names, scientific names and monikers for individuals, known as the Gnomenclature. This largely involves splicing together ancestral names of significance, forming a hodgepodge of meanings in one, new name. Historic male names include Thetac, Tondin, Morgred, Linnic and Kirk. Historic female names include Hergren, Gylba, Mabres, Iske and Sonyal. Gnomes have no particular, special naming conventions for their surnames, and as they no longer have a caste system their surnames do not denote any form of class.