Gnome

Personality/Behavior
A pleasant and productive people, few Earth Fae truly embody Gaius’s gift of ingenuity as much as the Gnomes. Much like Satyr’s they combine a lighthearted whimsy and laid back nature with a deep intellect only focused more on technical acumen than philosophical endeavors. They say the line between genius and madness is a fine one and none exemplify this as much as the Gnome who always seem to have an odd quirk or two that makes one think they have a screw loose. With Gnomes their genius is always directly proportional to their lack of grip on reality, slowly becoming more and more unhinged as they grow older. Despite their quirky and unpredictable personalities they are renowned theorists, architects, alchemists, scientists and gem cutters and sought after for their expertise in such areas. They are very curious and inquisitive as well, becoming fascinated by clever applications of craftsmanship and tend to have short attention spans when in the presence of precious gems, their major weakness.

Description/Biology
Often mistaken for Halflings, Gnomes resemble Dwarves only thinner, standing around 4’ tall with elongated ears and generally more angular features. Their skin is normally copper or bronze in color with light hair and large, inquisitive eyes. They reach sexual maturity by age 20 and live to be about 300 years old.

Climate/Terrain
Temperate Forests, Hills and Mountains

Territories
 Gnomes can be found all over Mytheroptera but tend to shy away from the Useelie lands where the Shadow Elves have laid claim to the underground cave systems. They are also a lot more willing to live above ground unlike their Mountain Dwarf brethren.

Society
Gnome society tends to live in a symbiotic partnership with both their Dwarf and Nocker brothers, relying on one another for their unique skills. While many individual Gnome families may opt to live on the surface world, usually preferring deep forested areas, the majority of Gnome society is found deep beneath the earth where the precious stones and rare minerals they value so much can be found. As a living testament to their technical acumen, such civilizations are advanced and thriving cities with examples of their technological marvels found in all directions. They regularly trade in processed metals from the Dwarves in return for their own rich bounty of gemstones and other rare materials only found in the deeper areas of the earth.

Species Relations
Gnomes rarely have a negative word to say about most other species and try their best to get along with everyone despite the fact that their quirky behavior tends to make socialization awkward with some individuals. They of course have a strong brotherly connection with the Dwarves, Nockers and their diminutive cousins the Halflings. They do however have a serious distaste for Goblins like most Earth Fae.

Gender Relations/Roles
Gnomes by their very natures are very affectionate and friendly with one another and while females tend to be placed in a slightly more domestic position, they are appreciated for all that they do and males consider it their duty to prove to the women that they love exactly how appreciated they are one way or another. Males and females are more than free to pursue the same intellectual or technical endeavors although males tend to be more apt at the engineering aspect while women take up more research/scholarly based roles.

Love/Courtship
Love, Companionship and Friendship are all ideas that seem to be unified as a single concept in Gnome society. Gnome’s openly romance and fraternize with any they see as appealing to them and for the most part the whole society if polyamorous. A passionate kiss on the lips is as socially appropriate as a friendly handshake with little worry for social taboo’s on personal boundaries. Group marriages are incredibly common sometimes made up of family units of both multiple males and females who have all grown accustomed to “interacting” with each other. Such unions raise any resulting children as a group without any major concern for who the actual father is.

Sex
As it is in their natures, Gnomes are ingenious in the bedroom and emphasize quite a bit on foreplay, slowly and skillfully driving their partner insane with arousal until they can’t take anymore…and then keep going. Gnomes are adventurous and engaging lovers, willing to try most anything once and have created some of the most unique and intricate sex toys and manuals for techniques and sexual positions in Mytheroptera.

Birthright

 * Analysis: With keen observational skills and analytical minds, Gnomes can often times deduce information from the most unlikely of clues in the area much like a forensic specialist. In game terms, a Gnome would be privy to occasional hints by the GM on things only he/she would notice.

Favored Class
The Engineer Specialist class (Artisan) works really well for Gnomes along with the Mage Alchemist or Geomancer aligned with the element of Earth, Gnomes being among the only Earth Fae proficient in the use of magic. Any Soldiers among them usually specialize in strategy and long range combat.

Combat
On the battlefield Gnomes normally take up the roles of tactical specialists or field medics. In an actual combat scenario they usually prefer long ranged attack by use of their various patented ranged weapons or explosives. And while they normally prefer science over sorcery, it’s not uncommon to meet a spell caster or two in their ranks, normally Black Mage Illusionists as was the traditional path of their ancestors.

Development
I've just always been a huge fan of Gnomes in my years as a D&D player and wanted to include the race in some capacity for this setting. Of all races they probably have the greatest understand of "the truth" as to where the world came from and how it actually functions, spearheading most Evolutionist theories and scientific studies that try to make sense out of magic and theology. There role is one that seeks to modernize a relatively primitive world.