Highland Moor Gnomes

The gnomes of Highland Moor, thought still technically residents of Longwalk, live on the fridge of gnomish lands, far away from the crater. Because of this, a Highland gnome has less inherent magic that his southern cousin, but it much hardier. They are also less civilized, forming small nomadic groups rather than sedentary establishments.

More will be added.

Personality: (not completed yet)

Physical Description: Highland Gnomes stand about 3-1/2 to 4 feet tall and weigh 45 to 55 pounds. Their skin ranges from dark tan to woody brown, their hair is dark, usually black or brown and their eyes can be any shade of blue, green or brown. Highland Gnomes has little time to care about appearances. Their hair is typically unkempt and their garments serviceable but not fine. The vanity they do suffer, however, are piercing. Gnomes of stature often pierce their ears, nose, eyebrows and lips. Gnomes generally wear leather hide and furs, these are occasionally decorated with patters in the pelts. Gnomes reach adulthood at about age 40, and they live about 350 years, though some can live almost 500 years.

Relations: Highland Gnomes get along well with dwarves, with whom they have traded with since they migrated north eons ago. Halflings, though geographically closer to Longwalk than some races, are totally foreign to natives of Longwalk. Although not rejected entirely, halflings are generally labeled"outlander", which is a polite way of saying, someone who we don't know anything about. Highland Gnomes are generally distrustful of humans, half elves and elves. That is to say they have seen them in books or heard about them in stories and don't like what they have heard. When such giants enter the northern lands, they are received with suspicion and beleaguering. The taller races are officially known as Brobdingnagians, which just means giant in Longwalk dialect, but the are often jokingly referred to as Bunyanesque bipeds, Mastodonic mammals or Antaean Anomalies. Of all the races in the players handbook, half-orc are the only one that are met with open hostility. To the residents of Longwalk, a half-orc is close enough to an ork to be killed on sight in most cases. Very rarely do half-orcs travel though the civilized regions of Longwalk, and even then they do so carefully. In surprising contrast to their still fierce hatred of orks, the gnomes of Longwalk have come to a kind of truce with goblins. Goblins are long time residents of the north and sometimes they are even traded with. This strange relationship was the product of hundreds of years of warring with Goblins over the Lands of longwalk and a final truce, sealed with the blood of twelve kings of the south.

Alignment: (not completed yet)

Religion: The Gnomes of Highland Moor almost exclusively practice ancestral worship, which is both religion and culture. The recalcitrants of the north gain their power from the spirits of great warriors, protected in the great havens. Gnomes of Highland moor believe that a dead warrior's body must be burned by his kinsmen or his spirit will be lost. There are splinter factions of Crypt Children (necromancers) who seek to commandeer the spirits of the dead for their own personal power. These rogues would rather keep the dead in this world, where they can serve the necromancers rather than allowing them to travel to the great havens. Essentially every other non-recalcitrant religion is all by nonexistent in the Highland moor. Dwarves have never become two trustful of the Gnomes as their Olindian beliefs clash directly with those of the ancestral shamans, and druids who seek to let spirits return to Endool, clash with them as well.

Language: (not completed)

Names: Gnomes of Highland Moor do not share the naming convention of the south. They do place their family name before their given name (as their southern kin) but the family name is also often their clan name (if they family or tribe is the leader of the clan). If the clan name is not their family name, then they are usually referred to by members outside their clan as [Family Name] [Given Name] of the [Clan Name] clan. Gnomes of the north do not believe in giving names at birth, but rather letting a gnome earn his name by his deeds. Unnamed gnome are typically called Tenderfoot, though sometimes they are dismissive refereed to as unnamed one, child, or untested. When a gnome earns his name, it is granted by his tribe or clan leader, and that name becomes his badge of honor. It usually is made in reference to the dead performed to earn the name.

Common Life: Most gnome families have three to six children and families , or tribes stick together in nuclear clusters. Often an uncle, aunt, grandfather or grandmother will take a young gnome as an apprentice in their trade if the parents are too busy or the youth shows little aptitude for their parents profession. This tends to keep gnomes in the family.

Gnomes have a rich music tradition. Gnomish songs often speak of ancient times as though they were just yesterday. The Gnomish skalds preserve the history of the clans by recounting the stories of the gnomes over and over. In this the Skald and create and destroy legends. If a chief is cruel and selfish in his life, then he will not be remembered by his children, nor revered in the afterlife. The skald's role in culture and religion

Highland Moor Gnome Racial Traits

• +2 Constitution, –2 Inteligence: Longwalk are hardy and stronger than their souther cousins (reflcting no strength penalty), however they are less civilized and tend to be less educated.
• Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
• Low-light Vision: A gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers (see PHB page 118 ) as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• Gnomes of the Highland Moor recieve no special benfits when casting or resisting illusion spells.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen checks: Gnomes have keen ears.
• +2 racial bonus on sense motive. A society that is mostly nomadic must constantly be aware of the shifts in clans.
• Cold Endurance: Gnomes of the Highland Moor recieve +4 on fortitude saves to resiste the effects of cold weather or exposure.
• Automatic Languages: Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, and Sylvan. In addition, a gnome can use speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description, page 281 of the Player's Handbook.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation and mending. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level. See the spell descriptions on pages 216, 235, 264 and 253 of the Player's Handbook, respectively.
• Once he or she reaches 3rd level, a gnome with a charisma of 11 or higher also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day - Ventriloquism or Calm Animal. Caster level equals one half the gnome's character level; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against goblinoids.
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass gnome’s barbarian does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60 of the Player's Handbook).