Gnome

  • +2 Constitution, –2 Strength: Like dwarves, gnomes are tough, but they are small and therefore not as strong as larger humanoids.
  • 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.
  • 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 page 118) as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
  • +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants): This bonus represents special training that gnomes undergo, during which they learn tricks that previous generations developed in their battles with giants. 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. The Monster Manual has information on which
    creatures are of the giant type.
  • +2 racial bonus on Perception checks: Gnomes have keen ears.
  • Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome
  • Bonus Languages: See subrace.

Subraces

Rock Gnome

Players Handbook

In addition to above racial traits, Rock Gnomes has the following traits:

  • +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions: Gnomes are innately familiar with illusions of all kinds.
  • Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
  • Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. Their innate familiarity with these effects make their illusions more difficult to see through. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
  • +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears): Gnomes battle these creatures frequently and practice special techniques for fighting them.
  • +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks: A gnome’s sensitive nose allows him to monitor alchemical processes by smell.
  • Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. Gnomes deal more with elves and dwarves than elves and dwarves deal with
    one another, and they learn the languages of their enemies (kobolds, giants, goblins, and orcs) as well. 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.
  • 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. Caster level 1st;
    save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level. See the spell descriptions on pages 216, 235, and 264, respectively.
  • Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass gnome’s bard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60).

Chaos Gnome

Races of Stone

In addition to racial traits, Chaos Gnomes has the following traits:

  • +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma: Chaos gnomes are more agile and spontanous than their cousins.
  • Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
  • Spell Power: A chaos gnome’s effective caster level when casting spells with the chaos descriptor increases by 1. This increase applies when determining level-dependent spell variables and on caster level checks, and it stacks with other spell power abilities, such as from the hierophant prestige class.
  • Luck of Chaos (Ex): Once per day, a chaos gnome can reroll one roll that she has just made before the Dungeon Master declares whether the roll results in success or failure. The character must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll.
  • Immunity to confusion effects.
  • Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—entropic shield. A chaos gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—daze, flare, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + chaos gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
  • Bonus Languages: Any.
  • Favored Class: Sorcerer . A multiclass chaos gnome’s sorcerer class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multi-classing. Many chaos gnomes are multiclass sorcerer/clerics with the Luck domain.
  • Level adjustment +1.

Deep Gnome (svirfneblin)

Monster Manual

In addition to racial traits, svirfneblins has the following traits:

  • -2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –4 Charisma.
  • Stonecunning: This ability grants deep gnomes a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework. A deep gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as though actively searching, and can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A svirfneblin can also intuit depth, sensing the approximate distance underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
  • Darkvision out to 120 feet and low-light vision.
  • Spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
  • +2 racial bonus on all saving throws (figured into the statistics for the character presented here). This trait replaces the rock gnome’s racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
  • Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells  cast by svirfneblin. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
  • +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.
  • Automatic Languages: In addition to the race’s languages, a deep gnome also speak Undercommon.
  • Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Terran.
  • Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—blindness/deafness (typical save DC 13), blur, disguise self. Caster level equals the svirfneblin’s class levels. The save DC is Charisma-based and include a +4 racial modifier.
  • Nondetection (Su): A svirfneblin has a continuous nondetection ability as the spell (caster level equal to class levels).
  • +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy).
  • +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks, which improves to +4 underground.
  • Favored Class: Rogue.
  • Level adjustment +3.

Forest Gnome

Monster Manual

In addition to racial traits, Forest Gnomes has the following traits:

  • Pass without Trace (Su): A forest gnome has the innate ability to use pass without trace (self only, as a free action) as the spell cast by a druid of the forest gnome’s class levels.
  • +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds, goblinoids, orcs, and reptilian humanoids.
  • Automatic Languages: Gnome, Elven, Sylvan, and a simple language that enables them to communicate on a very basic level with forest animals (this replaces the rock gnome’s speak with animals ability).
  • Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin, Orc.
  • +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks, which improves to +8 in a wooded area.
  • Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass gnome’s bard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60).

Whisper Gnome

Races of Stone

In addition to racial traits, Whisper Gnomes has the following traits:

  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma: Whisper gnomes are more agile than their cousins. Their quiet nature also leads to a lack of personal presence.
  • Whisper gnome base land speed is 30 feet, despite their size.
  • Darkvision: Whisper gnomes can see in the dark out to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and whisper gnomes can function just fine with no light at all.
  • +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears): Like their more common cousins, whisper gnomes battle these creatures frequently and practice special techniques for fighting them.
  • +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks: Whisper gnomes have an uncanny knack for stealth.
  • Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day – silence (must be centered on whisper gnome’s body). A whisper gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day – ghost sound, mage hand, message. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + whisper gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
  • Favored Class: Rogue. The best multiclass choices for whisper gnome rogues are fighter, ranger, and cleric. A fair number of whisper gnome wizards and sorcerers become arcane tricksters.
  • Racial Feats: The Extra Silence and Silencing Strike feats can be taken by whisper gnome characters.