Halflings and Gnomes

Creatures of many races and cultures are embroiled in struggles that flare up across the multiverse. Other folk survive in the face of all this turmoil by keeping a low profile and avoiding the wars and other depredations that keep the outside world in a state of flux.

Halflings and gnomes are two groups that have survived by remaining largely unnoticed by the aggressive powers of the cosmos. Both races are exceptions in a multiverse wracked by conflict-peaceful folk who have found niches for themselves away from the battles and rivalries that fill the lives of the larger folk.

Halflings

I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the times I saw our little rogue cheat death, but I remember them all. Let’s see… there was the enraged roper, the flaming lava stream, the catapulted gelatinous cubes, the Ten Tilting Corridors of Death, the exploding toad trap, the Hall of the Spinning Scimitars…

• Magnificus, wizard extraordinaire

Anyone who has spent time around halflings, and particularly halfling adventurers, has likely witnessed the storied “luck of the halflings” in action. When a halfling is in mortal danger, it seems as though an unseen force intervenes. If a halfling falls off a cliff, her britches will snag on a root or a sharp outcrop of rock. If a halfling is forced by pirates to walk the plank, he will catch a piece of flotsam and use it to stay afloat until he is rescued.

Halflings believe in the power of luck, and they abide by a great number of superstitions that they believe bring good or ill fortune. They attribute their unusual gift to the favor of Yondalla, believing that, now and then, the divine will of the goddess tips the balance of fate in their favor (or gives it a hearty shove when the occasion warrants).

Naturally Innocent

Scholars, wizards, druids, and bards of other races have different ideas about how halflings escape peril, suggesting that by virtue of something in their nature, they occupy a special place in the multiverse.

One such hypothesis cites a legend that speaks of a document containing ancient elven writings-a series of essays spanning centuries. Among the many arcane and mundane topics addressed in this tome, the elves set down thoughts regarding the power of innocence. They recounted how they had long observed the halfling race, watching as the chaos of the world swept around them and left their villages untouched. While orcs, dwarves, and humans struggled, fought, and spilled blood to expand their territory, the elves noted that the halflings dwelled in a state of placid disregard, uncaring of the events of the world. They remarked on how the halflings enjoyed the simple pleasures of the moment, such as food and music, family, and friendship, and how they seemed to desire no more than that. The writers concluded that the halflings' seemingly innate ability to sidestep turmoil and ill fortune could in fact be a special boon of nature, in recognition of the value of protecting the halflings' worldview and to ensure that their unique place in the cosmos will be forever preserved.

Friendly to a Fault

Halflings easily warm to creatures of other races that don’t try to do them harm, in large part due to the lack of guile that goes along with their innocent nature. Appearance doesn’t matter; what counts is a creature’s fundamental character, and if the halflings are convinced of a creature’s good intentions, they respond well. Halflings would welcome an orc with a good heart into their company and treat it as politely they would as an elf visitor.

This openness doesn’t extend all the way to naiveté. Halflings won’t be taken in by merely a promise of good intentions, and their instinct for self-preservation makes them wary of any new “friend” that doesn’t come across as genuine. Although they might not be able to define the feeling, halflings sense when something isn’t quite right, keeping their distance from a questionable individual and advising others to do the same.

This aspect of the halfling mind-set accounts for what members of other races often characterize as courage. A halfling about to enter the unknown doesn’t feel fear as much as wonderment. Instead of being frightened, the halfling remains optimistic, confident of having a good story to tell when it’s all over. Whether the situation requires a rogue slipping into a dragon’s den or the local militia repelling an orc attack by refusing to yield, halflings surprise larger folk again and again with their unflappable nature.

Happy with Today

Throughout recorded history, halflings have never sought to expand their reach beyond the borders of their isolated communities. They live their lives satisfied with what the world has to offer: fresh air, green grass, and rich soil. They grow all the food they need, taking pleasure in every poached egg and piece of toast. Halflings aren’t known for great works of literature or elaborate written accounts of their history. Scholars who study their behavior speculate that halflings realize-consciously or otherwise-that the past is a story that can only be retold, not changed, and the future doesn’t yet exist, so it can’t be experienced. Only by living in the moment can one appreciate the wonder of being alive.

Halfling Superstitions

Halflings might perform the following actions, among many others, to ward off bad luck or to bring good fortune. Villages or even families might have superstitions observed by no one else, such as the following:

• For a safe journey through a forest, leave a few seeds or a cloverleaf for Sheela Peryroyl.

• A large silvery squirrel could be Yondalla in disguise. Be on your best behavior and offer a treat when you see her!

• A spring is a sacred place full of good luck. Take a moment to pause and reflect in such a place, or stop for a quick snack.

• Set flowers in your cap or hair to protect against evil faeries.

• When the hair on your neck stiffens or the skin on your arm looks like a plucked chicken, know that Charmalaine is near-and heed her warning.

• Put a frog under your cap to bring good luck, but not for too long, or it’s bad luck for a fortnight.

• If you step on a butterfly, you’d best not leave the safety of your house for three days.

• When you plant a row of turnips or radishes, be sure to bury a nice round stone for Yondalla at the head of it, and she’ll help bring you some big fellers.

• Always keep a fairy circle on your left when you pass by, and be sure to tip your cap. Never enter or stand in the center of one.

Life as a Halfling

On the surface, halflings seem to be simple folk, but those who have lived with them or who have had a halfling in their company know that there is much more to the lives of these small folk than meets the eye. The members of a halfling community have a set of shared values and purposes, whether they are tucked away in a hillside burrow or occupying a neighborhood of their own in a city or town dominated by another race.

Everything Has a Story

As do many other races, halflings enjoy accumulating personal possessions. But unlike with most other races, a halfling’s idea of value has little if anything to do with monetary concerns. A typical halfling’s most prized possessions are those that have the most interesting stories attached to them. Indeed, entering an elderly halfling’s home is much like opening a book of tales. Every nook and cranny contains some quaint curio or another, and its owner is more than happy to tell the story of where it came from. A halfling who has retired after a life of adventuring might own mementos as diverse as a spoon from Sigil’s Great Bazaar, a pan pilfered from an elven kitchen in Evermeet, a rake received as a gift from a svirfneblin mushroom tender in the Underdark, and the scale of a white dragon acquired from its lair.

Of course, most halflings' possessions aren’t so exotic in origin. But even a stay-at-home halfling strives to collect everyday objects that played a significant role in an exciting story (such as “the rolling pin that Aunt Hattie used to chase away a bugbear” or “the shoes that Timtom wore when he escaped from the wolf”). Halflings believe that an item has a “spirit” of its own-the more dramatic or incredible its story, the stronger its spirit. This outlook prompts them to ask probing questions about the possessions of other folk they encounter-queries that can make them seem nosy to those who don’t understand where they’re coming from.

Keeping History Alive

The halflings' penchant for storytelling has another outlet, in the form of gatherings in which an elder holds court or several tale-tellers try to outdo one another as they pass on their experiences. Witnessing a halfling storytelling session is a rare treat for an outsider, for halfling elders can spin a yarn like no one else. A tale with all the trappings told by an elder can cause listeners to howl with laughter, long for home, sit on the edges of their seats, dream of far-off shores, choke up with emotion, or smile from ear to ear.

Some of the most often-told tales concern the origin of a halfling clan’s name. Generally, such appellations come about because in the distant past, a halfling matriarch or patriarch performed a memorable feat or displayed some amazing skill that led to a name that stuck. Clans with evocative names such as the Cavecrawlers, the Hogtrotters, and the Fishskippers all have a story to be told about how they came to be.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Although halflings aren’t reclusive by nature, they are adept at finding out-of-the-way places to settle in. It takes a combination of luck and persistence for an ordinary traveler to find such a place, and often that’s not enough. For those who subscribe to the idea that Yondalla actively shields her worshipers from harm, this phenomenon is easily explained-she looks out for their homes just as she protects their lives. Whatever the reason, travelers might look for a halfling village, but they fail to notice a narrow path that cuts through the underbrush, or they find themselves traveling in circles and getting no closer to their goal. Rangers who have encountered halflings or lived among them know of this effect, and they learn to trust their other senses and their instincts rather than relying on sight.

A typical halfling village is a cluster of small, stone houses with thatched roofs and wooden doors, or burrows dug into hillsides with windows that look out onto gardens of flowers, beans or potatoes. Since a halfling community usually has less than a hundred members, cooperation is critical to their society, and each resident performs regular chores or offers benefits that support the population. One family might provide baked goods, while another one cobbles shoes or knits clothing. Generally, halflings in a village don’t produce goods for sale to outsiders, but they do love to trade, especially with visitors who have interesting items to swap.

Life of Leisure

Halflings rarely consider leaving the security of their villages, because they already have all the comforts they could want-food, drink, laughter, family, friends, and the satisfaction of doing a good day’s work. When all their necessities have been taken care of, halflings take it easy-and many of them find a way to turn idleness into an art form. Every halfling has a favorite spot for doing nothing-in the shade of a large stone, on the fringe of a sun-dappled meadow, or nestled in a comfy crook high in a tree. When they’re not dozing off and dreaming of chasing butterflies, halflings spend time on simple creative activities, such as whittling a pipe from a branch, braiding yarn into a thick rope, or composing a jaunty tune on a second-hand mandolin.

Serious Business

The oldest members of a halfling community are its leaders, although that role has a special application. A clan’s elders aren’t authority figures in the traditional sense; they are respected, and their words are heeded, because of the stories they tell. Their best tales deliver practical knowledge within the framework of a mythic saga. An elder doesn’t simply announce, “We must be always ready for a goblin attack.” Instead, that advice is delivered in a story about how a village long ago turned back a goblin invasion, which both entertains the villagers and teaches them what to do if goblin raiders find the village.

For the most part, halflings aren’t the targets of warring nations. Their villages are of little tactical value, nor are they likely to be coveted by evil wizards or to become the object of wrath for some dark force. The only enemies that a halfling village must watch for on an ongoing basis are roving bands of orcs or goblins, and the occasional hungry ogre or other solitary monster.

And, as halfling luck would have it, these incidents are so rare that a single one might be talked about for generations. In one village, the story of the ogre that ate Farmer Keller’s billy goat is a cautionary tale that will be repeated and embellished for decades.

How the Fishskippers Got Their Name

From the gentle waters,

Amid the swaying reeds,

There rose a hairy villain,

A troll called Snobble Sweed.

He came to gobble children,

To line his lair with bones,

And pick his teeth with talons,

And grind their flesh with stones.

But on that day a-fishing

Was a halfling brave and true,

The first of the Fishskippers,

Grand-kin to me and you.

When he saw old Snobble Sweed

A-sharpening his knives,

He knew that all his family’s folk

Were in danger of their lives.

In that moment of grave peril,

Fishskipper caught a bream

And hurled it by its silvery tail

Across the glassy stream.

Ten times the bream did swiftly skip,

And like a clap of thunder

It smote old Sweed upon his head,

And tore the beast asunder.

• “Tale of the Fishskippers,” by Harkin Fishskipper

Homes away from Home

An individual halfling or a family might leave its community behind for a number of reasons. A clan that is forced to relocate (perhaps because of invading creatures or a natural disaster) might decide to seek refuge or opportunity in a city or town, rather than trying to find another secluded spot in the wilderness.

A city or a large town is likely to have a halfling neighborhood already, meaning that newcomers have a place to go that they can call home. Often, they join other halflings who have set up shop and support whatever enterprises their new-found friends have created, making a living as storytellers, bakers, chefs, or shopkeepers.

Bad Apples

Although most halflings are energetic and jovial, as with any other race individuals among them can be dour or curmudgeonly, standoffish or suspicious. Such traits might appear in someone who ends up turning fully to the cause of evil-an event that is rare in the extreme, but has happened often enough that every community tells at least one story of this sort.

A halfling who turns evil usually severs all links to their family, friends, and village. Slowly, over time, halflings who pursue a dark path-especially those who break too many oaths or hurt other halflings along the way-lose the protection of Yondalla and the other halfling gods. Some say that the minds of these halflings eventually become twisted, and they turn into cruel, paranoid creatures wracked by misery and despair.

Halfling Gods and Myths

Halflings see their gods more as extended family members than as divine beings. They don’t worship them in the same way as elves and dwarves revere their gods, because the halfling gods are viewed as folk heroes—mortal beings who ascended to divinity, rather than divine entities who descend from their realms to influence the world. Because of this outlook, halflings rarely worship a single deity exclusively; they revere all the gods equally and pay their respects in modest ways.

Halflings speak of Yondalla the way humans would describe a strong and protective parent. They talk about Brandobaris as others might refer to a mischievous and dashing uncle. They don’t beseech the gods for daily favors, and they have no sense of metaphysical distance or separation between them and their gods. To halflings, their gods are part of the family. And as family members do, the gods set an example that is reaffirmed through the stories of their heroic deeds, with each tale helping to teach important lessons to the next generation.

The Halfling Deities table lists the members of the halfling pantheon. For each god, the table notes alignment, province (the god’s main areas of interest and responsibility), suggested domains for clerics who serve the god, and a common symbol of the god. Each of the gods in the table is described below.

Halfling Deities

*Appears in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything

Yondalla

The story of Yondalla begins at the dawn of the world, when halflings were timid wanderers, scraping out a meager existence. The goddess Yondalla took note of them and decided to adopt the halflings as her people. She was a strong leader with a vision for her people, and she dedicated her life to gathering them together and protecting them. Over time, she elevated to godhood those halflings who were the most adept at the skills halflings needed to survive. Those legendary halflings comprise the rest of the pantheon.

Yondalla created the first halfling villages and showed the people how to build, plant, and harvest. She knew that the bounty of a halfling village would be tempting plunder for any brigand or monster, so she used her powers to conceal their homes from easy discovery, blending them into the landscape so that most travelers would pass by without a second glance.

To the halflings, Yondalla is responsible for the spring in their step and the bubbly excitement they feel from knowing that luck is on their side. When a pumpkin grows to enormous size or a garden yields twice as many carrots as usual, credit goes to Yondalla. When a halfling trips, slides down a hillside, and lands on a nugget of gold, that’s Yondalla turning bad luck into good.

Arvoreen

From time to time, halflings must fight to defend their friends or their village. In those moments, the tales of Arvoreen come to the fore in every halfling’s memory. Every youth hears over and over again the stories of the hero’s bravery and cunning, his clever tactics in battle, and his ability to use speed and smallness to defeat a much larger foe. The elders know that the world outside is dangerous and that their kin must understand how to deal with those dangers. Stories about Arvoreen are told in such a way that youngsters are inspired to act out his epic battles. In this way, the halflings get practical experience in executing measures that are designed to help the halflings defeat kobolds and goblin raiders, or even take down an ogre. When the time comes to put those tactics to use in earnest, everyone will be ready. Cooperation is a fundamental principle in how halflings fend off their enemies. Every community practices its own version of Arvoreen’s favored tactics:

Scatterstrike

The halflings run in every direction as if in a panic, but then they regroup and circle back to attack with a concentrated effort.

Turtle Shell

Halflings cluster together and cover each other with shields, washtubs, wheelbarrows, coffer lids, or anything else that can deflect a blow.

Troll Knocker

A few halflings act as bait to lure a troll or other large creature into a clearing where the rest of the group can hurl stones at it from concealment to confuse the monster, persuading it to seek other prey.

Swarming Stickwhackers

Halflings rush an intruder in waves, swatting the enemy with sticks on all sides.

Fiddle and Crack

A halfling fiddler lures the monster into a trap, usually a net or a pit, followed by several burly halflings wielding large sticks and hitting the monster from a safe vantage.

Sheela Peryroyl

Every halfling village sets aside a place for paying respects to Sheela Peryroyl. In a grove of trees, a raspberry patch, or a swath of wildflowers, villagers leave a small offering whenever they walk by, or tip their caps, or whisper a blessing in her honor. A village counts itself lucky if this place is cared for by a druid. Creatures that attack a village under the protection of the god’s druids soon learn the error of their ways when all manner of plants lash out to grapple and sting the intruders, as though nature herself were aiding the halflings' cause.

On nights when the moon is full, especially during the planting and harvesting seasons, the elders tell stories about Sheela Peryroyl. After becoming a hero though her glorious adventures, Sheela joined with the earth, fusing her spirit with the flowers, plants, and trees so she could better provide for her kin. A halfling who accidentally steps on a flower often says, “Begging your pardon, Sheela.” Before halflings cut down a tree to use its wood for a new house, it is customary for them to stand before the tree with their caps doffed, humbly asking permission from Sheela to continue.

Charmalaine

Charmalaine is an energetic and spontaneous deity, unafraid of danger, for she expects to be able to detect it as it approaches and evade it before it brings her harm. The stories of her accomplishments read like an adventurer’s wildest dreams: she escaped from an army of sahuagin, solved the Chamber of a Thousand Traps, and took treasure from the lair of Tiamat. Halflings envision her as a young adult who moves so fast that her boots smoke and sometimes even catch fire. She carries a mace that has a head that shouts out warnings, and she is accompanied by her ferret friend, Xaphan.

Halflings sometimes call Charmalaine the Lucky Ghost because she can send her spirit out of her body to scout ahead, and thus she is able to warn halfling adventurers of danger while in her incorporeal form. Halflings who favor Charmalaine are usually adventurers or those who pursue other risky professions such as hunting, beast training, scouting, and guarding public officials.

Cyrrollalee

Cyrrollalee embodies the spirit of friendship and hospitality that is part of every halfling’s makeup and is represented by one’s home and hearth. The home is a welcoming place, but it is also sacrosanct. Halflings honor Cyrrollalee by opening their homes to visitors, and by respecting the home of one’s host as if it were one’s own.

Every halfling village tells its version of the legendary tale of Cyrrollalee and the troll pies. Long ago, a large human town near Cyrrollalee’s village was regularly attacked by a vicious troll. Warriors from the town hacked at the troll, but even its most dire wounds would heal, and the troll would come back again. One day Cyrrollalee presented herself at the town gate in apron and peasant clothes, and she offered to rid the town of the troll. The proud human warriors all scoffed at her, but the desperate mayor asked Cyrrollalee for her help.

So Cyrrollalee set all the people in the town to baking pies, but not just any pies. They were special troll pies. Into each one she put a pinch of magic to make them irresistible to trolls. While the warriors of the town grumbled and sharpened their steel, Cyrrollalee created an atmosphere of fun, bringing cheer to the frightened people as they worked. When the day was done, she set off with a cart full of pies and laid them in a tasty trail far up into the mountains. When the troll came near the town and found the trail, it began to gobble up pie after pie, following the delightful smells up the mountain path until it walked right into the lair of a young red dragon. The greedy troll was swiftly incinerated.

Cyrrollalee returned a hero, and from that day forward all the townsfolk remembered her with a word of thanks when baking pies.

Brandobaris

Dashing trickster, patron of thieves, and star of fantastical fables and wild stories of adventure-that’s the legacy of Brandobaris, the Master of Stealth. Stories of Brandobaris, full of artful trickery and narrow escapes, inspire many young halflings to play at roguish pursuits. In their imagination, a grain silo becomes a lofty wizard’s tower to scale in search of treasures, or a rowboat becomes the setting for a swashbuckling adventure. And for some-the youngsters who are said to “have a bit of Brandobaris in them”-that play-acting is the prelude to a life of living as Brandobaris does: always on the lookout for the next challenge.

Brandobaris continues to wander in search of excitement, and now, as an ascended being, his travels span the planes of existence. His curiosity takes him to all corners of the multiverse in search of magical curios, rare treasures, and mystical puzzles. When Brandobaris moves stealthily, no mortal or god can hear his footfalls-an ability he uses not only for defense, but also to bestow unlooked—for treats upon those he favors.

Although he never seems to rest in his travels, Brandobaris always has time to reward halflings who dare to take risks and explore the world to make their own mark on it. He has been known to give a bit of aid to halflings in dire straits, turning them invisible for a time or intervening so that they can’t be heard or tracked.

Urogalan

In ancient times the halfling hero Urogalan left his village with his faithful hound to venture into the afterlife-and then, much to the villagers' amazement, he returned. They could see that Urogalan had been deeply affected by his experiences, since he didn’t speak for a long time. He merely sat in a white robe with his hound by his side, watching the world go by. When he did speak at last, he told of a place he called the Green Fields, where the halflings' god-heroes live alongside mortals who have passed on, enjoying lush farmland, bright sunshine, and all the comforts of home.

Urogalan declared that all who have gone before still watch over their loved ones from this place of eternal peace, sending messages to the material world. In acknowledgement of this assertion, halflings look for signs from their departed loved ones. One might be thinking about catching butterflies with his grandmother long ago, when suddenly a butterfly lands on his hand-clear evidence that, as Urogalan promised, she is still looking out for her grandson from beyond the veil of death.

As a divine being, Urogalan can move freely through the earth and across the planes of existence. He holds aloft a magic lantern that protects him on his journeys. With his black hound leading the way, Urogalan scours the multiverse and shepherds deceased halflings to their eternal home in the Green Fields.

Unlike other halfling deities, Urogalan is surrounded by a cloud of melancholy. He is gaunt, with his dusky skin covered by white robes. Priests who venerate Urogalan emulate this practice of dress and demeanor.

The Halfling Adventurer

Who knows where a hero’s spirit will grow? Even the smallest seed can produce the mightiest tree.

• Elminster Aumar, Sage of Shadowdale

Everything about halflings, from their small stature to their easy demeanor, makes them unlikely candidates for taking up a life of adventure away from home. Yet every generation produces a handful of exceptional individuals who defy conventional wisdom and seek their fortunes in the wider world.

Opinions vary on what compels some halflings to leave home and set off over the farthest hill to explore the unknown. The simplest explanation is that some folk are born with an over-abundance of curiosity. Some say that Arvoreen or Brandobaris is responsible for urging them on, and others point to the stories told by the elders that inspire some youngsters to take such risks. Whatever the reason, from time to time a halfling feels the call of adventure and sets off with a walking staff, a satchel, and a few biscuits. The first stop for many of these plucky souls is a faraway city where they hope to find some like-minded companions.

Fancy Feet

A halfling’s potential for adventuring usually manifests early in life. When a child first wanders away from the village, seemingly by accident, or one day hops on a log and tries to set off down the river, the parents are concerned but not alarmed. They attribute these acts of rambunctiousness to Brandobaris’s meddling, and almost all children outgrow this tendency to put themselves at risk. But if one persists in these antics, the other villagers say the youngster has “fancy feet.”

The term refers to the persistent urge to wander beyond the boundaries of the community-activity that is in the purview of Brandobaris, who is said to have “the fanciest feet of all.” Each village has its own way of coping with this phenomenon.

Some elders-especially those who once had fancy feet themselves-just shrug, smile, and say it is the way of things. Nevertheless, well-meaning villagers might try to dissuade a youngster from leaving the community. Other villages are much more supportive of one of their members who demonstrates the urge to adventure, likely because some of their elders have gone into the world and returned to tell about it. In one of these places, a youngster about to set out is celebrated with a rousing party that goes far into the night, during which the adventurer-to-be is regaled by tales of other “fancy-footed” heroes of halfling history.

Legends in the Making

Halflings who take up a life of adventure are emboldened by the stories told by their elders-tales of halfling heroes slinking through human cities, plundering dungeons laden with treasure, and being received in the hall of a dwarven king.

Each new would-be hero hopes to have adventures that merit exciting stories of their own, to inspire and delight new generations for years to come.

Of course, not every journey into the world involves risking one’s life or claiming great riches. An adventure for a halfling could mean traveling with a caravan, sneaking on board a tall ship, serving as a messenger for a lord, or living with the dwarves for a few years as an apprentice. From the point of view of a halfling villager, going anywhere beyond home is an adventure, and anyone who does so must have a fine story or two to tell upon their return. Even on a dangerous mission, halflings find enjoyment all around them. If it’s raining, a halfling is playing in the puddles; in a stiff wind, a halfling might fly a kite instead of seeking shelter.

Halflings of the Multiverse

In the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons, many kinds of halflings exist, and they vary greatly from place to place.

In the Forgotten Realms, halflings are of the lightfoot and strongheart varieties. Lightfoot halflings are taller and thinner than stronghearts, although “thinner” is a relative word by halfling standards. Lightfoots prefer to live on the move in traveling bands, and their members are most likely to take to a life of adventuring. Stronghearts are homebodies by nature, most of them likely to spend their lives tucked away in their secluded villages, and are also quite happy living in the communities of other races, working as farmers, innkeepers, cobblers and bakers.

In the Dragonlance setting, kender are the counterparts of halflings. Possessed of shorter life spans than their counterparts on other worlds, the kender have pointed ears and become wizened as they age. Great mimics and vocalists, kender are consummate storytellers, but they often speak too fast for other races not accustomed to their frenetic cadence.

Halflings in the world of Greyhawk live in underground burrows or small cottages in the grasslands or hills. They are lightly covered with hair over most of their bodies, especially on the backs of their hands and the tops of their feet, and they rarely wear shoes. The three subraces are the hairfeet, which are the most numerous; the tallfellows, which are the tallest and least athletic of the halflings, somewhat resembling elves; and the stouts, which are more akin to dwarves in temperament and stature than the other two.

On the world of Athas in the Dark Sun setting, halflings are feral creatures, prone to devouring the flesh of humans and elves. Small, furtive and sunbronzed, they live a hard life under their chief, eking out a savage existence by hunting, foraging, and raiding. Outside their tribe, halflings are mistrusting, cynical, and often paranoid, since they think that all other races are as fond of devouring humanoids as they are.

Halfling Tables

This section provides a number of tables useful for players and DMs who want to choose or randomly generate details about halfling characters or villages.

Halfling Personality Traits

Halfling Ideals

Halfling Bonds

Halfling Flaws

Reasons for Adventuring

Gnomes

And then the whole thing exploded into a million jillion pieces! [gasp] I never saw anything like it in my life!

• Griballix, gnome of Sigil

Love of discovery is the force that drives the life of a gnome, whether one is investigating the nature of magic or trying to invent a better back scratcher. Questions about the world fill a gnome’s head: how an insect flies, a fish swims, or a grasshopper jumps-they want to figure it all out! But it’s not just nature and its workings that intrigue them; gnomes become obsessed with all sorts of topics. In particular, they have a keen interest in mechanical devices, the natural world, and magical pursuits; a gnome might seek to invent a new garden tool, collect and categorize every type of butterfly, or develop a new method for cutting gemstones.

Drinking Deeply of Life

A gnome is rarely bored and tries to savor every minute, for life is full of opportunities to learn, to help others, and to have fun.

Gnomes are born with a fascination for learning fueled by an irrepressible curiosity. Most individuals settle on a specialized area of study such as an aspect of the natural world, a particular method of invention, or the patterns that underlie the multiverse.

Though this pursuit of knowledge might compel a gnome to spend long periods in the workshop or the laboratory, the activity is never seen as drudgery-quite the opposite. Gnomes enjoy making an unexciting aspect of life more enjoyable, such as inventing a shovel that whistles a tune to lighten the toil of digging, or creating a telescoping fork that can reach across the table to enliven mealtime.

Their fun-loving attitude also comes through in the form of jokes that gnomes tell to, or about, their companions, and in the good-spirited pranks that they play on each other-and on other folk (who might not always appreciate being the target of their humor).

The Journey Is the Destination

Gnomes aren’t overly goal-oriented as they pursue their interests. To them, the journey and the destination are one and the same, and an achievement at the end of one journey is merely the first step toward the next accomplishment.

Even though failure, disappointment, and dead ends are recurring obstacles on the path to discovery, gnomes revel in the search. They savor the acquisition of new knowledge, realizing it might come at a cost, and even a series of bad results in experiments doesn’t dissuade a gnome from following their chosen path.

Rock Gnomes

A visitor’s first steps into a rock gnome warren are accompanied by the sounds of industry-hammers rapping on metal, chisels chewing wood, cauldrons bubbling, and a host of assorted squeaks, pings, and whistles. Against this backdrop, the halls echo with the voices of rock gnome inventors jabbering at near unintelligible speed about their latest ideas, and the hubbub is occasionally punctuated by a big bang or the abrupt collapse of some unstable contraption.

To rock gnomes, life is a combination of scavenger hunts and periods of bold experimentation. First they mine materials from within the earth, and then they figure out what they can create or invent using those resources. The discovery of a new vein of metal-whether tin, copper, silver, or gold-makes rock gnomes clap their hands with glee, but they are happiest of all when they find a cache of gems, particularly diamonds.

Individual rock gnomes have different ideas about what sorts of inventions are the most satisfying to create, with some favoring practicality and others more interested in artistic expression. In each group, there are those who prefer to practice the alchemical arts and those whose talents lean toward the creation of mechanical devices. Every warren has members of each persuasion, and they are all bound by mutual respect for what they do despite their different perspectives.

Practical Makes Perfect

Rock gnomes who take a more scientific approach to inventing are the ones responsible for creating technological devices that make life easier. Even an invention as simple as a new kind of rake is celebrated, and that advance might later be superseded by someone who modifies it in a way that makes it more efficient or more enjoyable to use.

These inventors are rarely reluctant to try making devices of exceptional power, even if one might not work at first the way it was intended to. The gnomes know that it’s always possible for someone else to learn from an inventor’s mistakes, so even a failed experiment is a success in some way. Every minor explosion or other incident of turmoil in a rock gnome burrow serves as a clue about what not to do next time-unless, of course, the goal was to make something explode.

Celestial Toymakers

A handful of master artificers exist among the rock gnomes who take the magic of their craft to new heights. These legendary gnomes usually reside in Bytopia and on other planes far from the Material Plane, locales where they can access and harness powerful energies. They have unlocked secrets of the multiverse that enable them to fashion mindboggling creations-their socalled “celestial toys.”

These master artificers are friendly to those who seek them out. They enjoy showing off their works and take great glee in watching visitors interact with their toys, while they scribble notes on how to refine their creations.

Celestial toys can do just about anything. Many of these objects have properties not unlike those of wondrous items, such as a toy that can increase an ability score or one that can show happenings on other planes.

For Beauty’s Sake

Imagination runs wild in the mind of a gnome. Any fresh idea can be the starting point for a new journey of experimentation and discovery. Even though rock gnomes appreciate the practical aspects of their endeavors, they also find satisfaction in creating items that have no true usefulness. Many an invention is celebrated just for being beautiful to behold or for being complex and intricate in its construction, and the artists who create such things are as esteemed as those who specialize in designing tools.

Exploration is a part of invention, as the gnomes see it, so there’s nothing wrong with creating machines and artifacts that seem to have no purpose. The gnomes who produce these works of art are using new ideas and new approaches, breaking through old boundaries and advancing the frontier of knowledge. For instance, an artist might create a beautiful articulated sculpture whose pieces can be manipulated in a unique way. Another artisan might take that idea and apply it to a new form of invention-but no one forgets that it was the artist’s idea that blazed the trail for that journey.

Alchemists

Rock gnome alchemists explore the nature of minerals and chemicals, curious to see what happens when they mix certain substances with other compounds or with raw magic. Most alchemists, even those who busy themselves with experimentation and new ideas, can produce a number of useful substances, such as alchemist’s fire, antitoxin, super slippery goo, stone melting compound, stirge repellent, and glow-in-the-dark paint.

Artificers

Rock gnome artificers construct exquisitely tooled and enameled pieces of machinery, often weaving magical properties into their work. Artificers often develop a reputation for a particular style and type of work. For example, a friendly gnome artificer might create lovable mechanical pets and companions, while a grumpy gnome might make snapping critter constructs with sharp teeth and claws. Gnome artificers can become famous, with their works highly sought after by nobles, wizards, and other collectors.

An artificer’s inventions might include items such as a lock box that opens with a verbal command or a series of gestures, a clockwork critter designed to respond to simple commands, or a common magic item (such as those introduced in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything).

Tunnel Vision

When they are at work, rock gnomes hole up in their workshops with “Do Not Disturb” signs hung on the door. It isn’t uncommon for gnomes who are working on their projects to spend most of their time in seclusion, and even when they emerge (for meals or other reasons), they are often deep in thought and oblivious of their surroundings. In the safety of the burrow, they seldom come to harm because of this vulnerability. But even city-dwelling gnomes can fall prey to this sort of obsession as they pursue their projects, and in such cases it’s much safer for them to stay in their homes, since a gnome wandering the streets deep in thought is liable to walk into a moat or be run over by a wagon.

Tinker Gnomes

On the world of Krynn in the Dragonlance setting, rock gnomes take invention to extreme heights and are known for being purveyors of madcap mayhem. Despite losing body parts or gaining scars from various accidents, nothing stops the tinker gnomes' insatiable quest to experiment and discover.

Go Big or Go Home: The creations of tinker gnomes range from the ridiculous to the dangerous. They love to push the art of invention beyond its limits, and to explore the instability of volatile materials. They cackle with glee after an earsplitting bang, and jump and cavort amid lethal sprays of lightning. Though it might be bizarre and unusual, a working tinker gnome creation is a rare thing, and highly prized. Such inventions include the following:

,- A chain-driven tomato smasher that is also able to fly,- A lightning-powered portable rat-zapper—good for keeping out the vermin,- A floating metal facsimile of a beholder, complete with disintegrating eye rays,- A flock of exploding parrots

Fail Often, Fail Happy: These inventors are delighted by every explosion, every melted mess, and every heap of smoking wreckage. Failure is part of the eventual solution and something to be celebrated. A truly epic failure might be cause for a great celebration in the community.

Forest Gnomes

As the companions of nature and its animals, forest gnomes learn from their surroundings as if from a master teacher. They evade incursions into their wooded realm by great numbers of humans and other races, but they aid individuals and small groups whom they deem worthy of their help. They create lovely gardens, organic sculptures, and wondrous emerald jewelry-that precious green stone being their favorite of all gems.

Forest gnome settlements often escape notice. Roving hunters can wander through without ever suspecting they are walking through anything but wilderness. A community of elves might be surprised to discover they have been neighbors of a forest gnome village for years.

Forest gnomes are good at making their homes vanish into the landscape. It helps that they are small folk, and that they fashion their homes by digging down and living within rather than building up and living above. Like the badgers and raccoons that are often their companions, they live in the hollows of trees and warrens dug into hillsides, each home connected to the others in the community by elaborate burrows.

Beyond the secret doors into their houses, the homes of forest gnomes are gaily decorated, tidy spaces that take advantage of natural features. A great glass bowl swimming with fish and frogs might serve as a skylight for a gnome burrow, while appearing to the world above as a small pond. The gnarled and tangled roots of a tree might be used for shelves, seats, tables, and bed spaces. Such houses often have many little channels open to the outside, allowing scraps of sunlight to dapple the walls and floors and providing a means of egress for the many animals that live with the gnomes. Similar small openings are used for their cleverly hidden chimneys, disguised as tree branches, which carry smoke from their small fires high into the treetops, reducing it to little more than a haze before it disperses.

Animal Helpers

Forest gnomes can communicate with many of the small animals of the woods. Squirrels, raccoons, foxes, weasels, owls, rabbits, robins, hummingbirds, and more are their allies and friends. Outsiders often think of these creatures as the gnomes' pets, but the gnomes treat them more like trusted neighbors.

When strangers approach a woodland inhabited by forest gnomes, the gnomes often know about it while such visitors are still miles away. Speedy squirrels run through the treetops, each trying to be the first to warn the gnomes and earn a sweet treat.

Birds trill a special call that alerts the gnomes to danger. At night, nocturnal animals such as owls and bats carry word to the gnomes during times when they should be on their guard.

Experts in Illusion

Forest gnomes have innate magical ability, letting them create simple illusions. They practice the use of illusion magic from an early age. Most forest gnome communities include a full-fledged illusionist and an apprentice or two, and they use their talents in service of the community-designing longer-lasting or larger-scale illusions that help the community stay hidden from the world.

Gnomes use illusions for practically any reason-as a game, for defense, or for communication-and sometimes for no reason other than artistic considerations. A simple illusion can often express a complex idea, such as when the memory of a location is triggered by the illusory sound of a babbling brook that runs through the place. A storytelling session conducted by a group of forest gnomes is a riot of sounds and images that helps give meaning and intensity to the tale being told. It is a kind of entertainment unfathomable by most other races, whose stories and performances are limited by whatever materials are on hand.

The forest gnomes' playful nature shows through in the illusions they create, even those that have a serious purpose. (An illusion that conceals the entrance to a tunnel by making it look like solid earth might not amuse other folk, but the gnomes get a good laugh out of it.) Forest gnomes spend their spare time experimenting with the creation of never-before-seen illusions, or embellishing the images and sounds they already know how to produce.

The number of ways in which forest gnomes use illusions to have fun is nearly limitless. A few examples: visual enhancements to a mythic tale told by an elder, new and interesting sounds, and false doors and hallways to fool intruders and lead them into traps. (Goblins just can’t pass by a door that calls them names.)

Deep Gnomes

Deep gnomes, or svirfneblin, are the pragmatic and often grumpy cousins of the gnome family, who live deep underground. The Underdark is full of danger, meaning that deep gnomes spend much of their time simply staying alive. They endure this life because the Underdark also holds incredible treasures: minerals and gemstones, gold, silver, and platinum. The svirfneblin mine these materials whenever they find a new deposit-especially rubies, which they prize above all other treasure. The svirfneblin do take pleasure from success in these mining operations. A thin smile emerges from the stonelike features of a deep gnome who finds a truly remarkable gem, and such a discovery lightens the mood in the enclave for a time.

Hidden but Homey

Deep gnomes protect their enclaves with labyrinthine tunnels, traps, and armed guards, all designed to make the entrance to a settlement uninviting. But inside its borders, a deep gnome settlement is a warren shaped and decorated by the svirfneblin to make the place welcoming and comfortable.

Although they are skilled stonemasons, svirfneblin appreciate the beauty of natural stone and prefer either to carve to accentuate its features or to leave it unchanged. Their architecture is marked by smooth, curving shapes rather than straight lines and hard edges.

Svirfneblin are intensely community-minded and have little concern about privacy among themselves. Thus, they don’t close off living spaces with doors or window coverings. Most of their homes are sparsely furnished dwellings of one or two rooms. Bed spaces, often carved into the cavern walls, are strung with hammocks for each inhabitant, but often are otherwise empty except for stone coffers holding a few personal effects.

Elminster calls gnomes the Forgotten Folk-an apt name for them in most worlds. I’ve walked many realms, and nary a one has even a hint of a gnome nation.

Gnome Gods

Who forged the chains that bind Tiamat in Avernus? Why do the modrons go on the Great March? Who is the Lady of Pain, really? I can’t tell you, but the answers lie in the Golden Hills. And if Garl and his gang don’t know, it can’t be known.

• Griballix, gnome of Sigil

It shouldn’t be surprising that gnomes, inveterate inventors that they are, have an incredible number of legends they tell about their deities. Every warren has its unique repertoire of tales-some of them no doubt grounded in fact, while others could be the products of imagination. The distinction isn’t important to the folk who take inspiration and pride from the stories of their gods, because each legend is true in its own way.

Each deity in the gnome pantheon is an expert in multiple fields of activity who is capable of incredible feats. Yet these heroes also display shortcomings, such as hesitance or selfishness. Only the chief gnome deity, Garl Glittergold, can convince the others to set aside personal concerns to embark on a grand excursion or to work together toward a common goal. And according to the gnomes, it is proven that their gods can accomplish the impossible when they band together.

Perhaps because of each community’s particular outlook or because the gods frequently use illusory guises, several diverse ideas exist about the membership of the pantheon. In some communities, the gods are thought to be all male or all female; in some they are animals, or constructs made by Garl Glittergold. Some gnomes say Garl has five allies, while others tally eleven.

A consensus of sorts emerges from the totality of these beliefs. Most gnomes believe that Garl Glittergold and his seven able assistants dwell on, in, or under seven summits known as the Golden Hills. This is the place from where new gnomish souls are sent out to experience the wider world, and to which they return to join the hallowed community of those who have come before them. Urdlen is the only gnome deity that doesn’t dwell there, having been exiled by Garl for its refusal to cooperate with the rest of the group.

The Gnome Deities table lists the members of the gnome pantheon. For each god, the table notes alignment, province (the god’s main areas of interest and responsibility), suggested domains for clerics who serve the god, and a common symbol of the god. Several of the gods in the table are described below.

Gnome Deities

Garl Glittergold

When gnome children hear their first stories about the gods, they are introduced to a gold-skinned gnome with a wide grin and glittering gemstone eyes that shift colors like a kaleidoscope. The youngsters quickly learn to recognize that their favorite character, the god of the gnomes, is about to steal the show.

A joker and a prankster, Garl Glittergold reminds gnomes that life is to be taken lightly, and that a good laugh will serve them better than a grim attitude. When Garl cavorts with mischief on his mind, Moradin’s beard might end up woven with giggling flowers, and Gruumsh’s axe could sprout braying donkey heads at the most inopportune time.

Cooperation Is Key

The legends about Garl Glittergold inspire gnomes to work together. Garl knows that many heads and many hands make light work. Although he also plays many pranks on his own, Garl is the one who gathers the heroes together for an enterprise that requires all their talents. To provide specific guidance, Garl might send an omen to nudge a group of gnomes in a certain direction, or even manifest an avatar in the middle of a gnome burrow. When Garl makes one of these rare appearances, it is to resolve a dispute that threatens a community.

Brains over Brawn

Garl favors trickery and illusion over direct combat, preferring to use his mind to overcome a problem rather than his steel. For gnomes to thrive, they must use their intellect and ingenuity. But when push comes to shove, Garl uses Arumdina, his intelligent two-headed battle axe-capable of cleaving through any substance-to escape a perilous situation.

Kobolds: Enemies Forever

Kobolds and gnomes have been foes for as long as either group can remember, all because of a brilliant prank that Garl Glittergold played on Kurtulmak, the kobold deity.

In a longago age, as one version of the story goes, the kobolds were used as slaves by evil dragons, much as they are today-forced to scrub the scales of their masters, clean their lairs, and stack the gold in their treasure hoards. One kobold, Kurtulmak, was arguably the craftiest of all kobolds. He sought other creatures to do the work in the kobolds' stead, and found a suitable victim in the gnomes. Because they were less aggressive than their tormentors, the gnomes fell under the sway of Kurtulmak’s horde of kobolds.

But Garl Glittergold proved to be a thorn in Kurtulmak’s scaly side. The merry prankster irritated, bamboozled, confounded, and exasperated the kobold god while freeing large groups of gnomes from his clutches. When Kurtulmak’s patience wore out after several of these embarrassments, he declared an oath to bring death to all gnomes.

To keep his nemesis from doing him harm, Garl tricked Kurtulmak into chasing him into a maze of caves by singing mocking songs and cavorting in a way that he knew especially infuriated Kurtulmak. Once the kobold god was deep in the maze, with a glittering wink and a snap of his fingers, Garl collapsed the system of caverns on Kurtulmak, trapping him deep underground for all time. To this day, kobolds seek out gnomes for retribution at every opportunity.

Baervan Wildwanderer

Baervan Wildwanderer is the god of the forests and of those who travel, a peaceful soul whose explorations often turn into exciting adventures. Baervan’s constant companion is Chiktikka Fastpaws, a mischievous giant raccoon who often gets the duo into trouble. Although Baervan isn’t as much of a prankster as some of the other gods, she is often held responsible when Chiktikka does something outrageous, such as stealing Gruumsh’s breakfast or peeing on Rillifane Rallathil’s shoes.

Baervan can sing every bird’s song, knows every type of plant that has ever grown, never gets lost, and can befriend anyone under the sun (as long as Chiktikka chooses to act pleasant rather than annoying). Forest gnomes believe that they can speak to the animals of the woods and on the wing because Baervan teaches their souls how to do so before they are born.

Baravar Cloakshadow

When gnomes arrived in the world, Baravar protected them by teaching them how to hide, use magic, and deceive their foes. She was once entrapped by the goblin god Khurgorbaeyag, and after escaping and gaining her revenge, she began the practice of never wearing the same face twice, and she follows a different routine every day so no one can predict what she might do. When gnomes tell stories of their gods' adventures, Baravar is always the last to be found when the group forms, but she nevertheless swiftly agrees to support Garl’s plans.

Forest gnomes and deep gnomes owe their innate magical abilities to Baravar, and all gnomes get their natural defense against magic from her shrewdness.

Callarduran Smoothhands

Callarduran became the patron of the deep gnomes when he led them into the Underdark and taught them how to survive, but all gnomes see him as the embodiment of the drive to know more, to examine everything more minutely-and thereby make great discoveries.

Callarduran earned his moniker when, after stealing the heart of Ogrémoch, he rubbed his hands smooth as he polished the heart and turned it into a magical stone. The theft caused Ogrémoch to turn to evil, but it gave Callarduran the power to control earth elementals—which, it is said, he can confer to deep gnomes by rubbing the stone and saying their names.

Flandal Steelskin

The stories that gnomes tell of Flandal Steelskin typically feature some perfect item that he crafted or a misadventure that results from following his enormous nose, which can smell ore more easily than a wolf can scent a skunk. The most often told legend of Flandal includes both elements. Before creating Garl’s marvelous axe, Arumdina, Flandal sniffed out the purest source of mithral: the heart of Imix. With the aid of the other gnome gods, he stole the heart and turned it into a mithral forge that now burns with an eternal furious flame.

The legends of Flandal portray him not only as the god of metalcraft, but also of fire and glass-work and alchemy. Rock gnomes attribute their knack for crafting devices and alchemical objects to Flandal’s superlative skills in those areas.

Gaerdal Ironhand

The Shield of the Golden Hills, Gaerdal Ironhand, has no use for amusements, and she doesn’t deign to smile at any prank except those of Garl Glittergold. Gaerdal obsesses about defense and vigilance, and she is an expert in fortification, siege tactics, combat, and traps.

Instead of bustling about as gnome deities normally do, Gaerdal has a tendency to dig in and hide out, and in many tales Garl finds it difficult to convince her to leave her home to join the others on adventures. Some legends say this reluctance is due in part to an escapade that cost her the loss of her hand. Flandal and Nebelun worked together to replace it with a stronger one made of iron, but her resentment over the mishap lingers.

Gnomes build their homes in hidden and defensible places because Gaerdal teaches them these techniques. Every secret door, spy hole, and intruder alarm in a gnome warren is a tribute to Gaerdal’s principles.

Nebelun

Nebelun, also known as the Meddler, is fearless, perhaps foolishly so. Every invention of Nebelun’s starts with a wild idea, nothing goes entirely according to plan, and her greatest exploits often spring from mistakes. Who else would stroll in and steal Semuanya’s tail as the lizardfolk god splashed in his favorite pool? Who else would use Thor’s hammer to pound a nail and thus be inspired to invent the lightning rod? Garl never needs to persuade Nebelun to join an excursion, but he and the rest of the pantheon do have to focus her attention on the task at hand, so that her madcap inventiveness doesn’t derail the effort.

All gnomes see Nebelun as the delightful spirit of invention and discovery, even those whose livelihoods have nothing to do with the construction of odd devices. Any accident that fortuitously results in a new discovery might be credited to Nebelun’s benevolent meddling in the affairs of mortal gnomes.

Segojan Earthcaller

The gnomes know Segojan Earthcaller as a kind, modest hero. He is said to be the best cook among the gnome gods and to have the power to heal any sickness, because he knows the medicinal and culinary uses of every creature and plant that lives underground. During the misadventures of the gnome pantheon, Segojan contributes to the group through his healing abilities and the restorative power of his meals, and on many occasions the other gnome gods call upon him to use his ability to burrow through any substance.

Forest gnomes believe that their ability to speak with burrowing animals comes from Segojan. All gnomes see Segojan as a healer of the sick and a protector of the hearth. He is also revered in his role as a guide for gnomish souls after death, as long as the body is buried before worms claim it. If a gnome’s body isn’t entrusted to Segojan by interring it, the soul is forced to find its own way to the afterlife.

Urdlen

Many pantheons include in their number a miscreant or an outlier-someone not to be emulated in the customary way, and often an entity whose existence serves as an object lesson and an example of what befalls mortals who conduct themselves the same way. For the gnomes, this niche is filled by Urdlen, also known as the Glutton for its selfish and cruel behavior.

Though the details differ from telling to telling, all gnomes know the story of how Garl banished Urdlen from the Golden Hills because Urdlen refused to go on an important quest. Despite Garl’s efforts and the pleas of the rest of the pantheon, Urdlen selfishly refused to set his own interests aside and contribute to the group. Every version of this story ends in some sort of tragedy-perhaps the loss of Gaerdal’s hand, the affliction that caused Flandal to need new skin, or the disappearance of Baravar’s shadow-and each one concludes with “And that is why Garl sent Urdlen into exile.” In tales of his later life, Urdlen is no longer a gnome but has become a greedy and destructive monster, a great blind and hairless mole with iron claws and teeth.

Gnomes believe that Urdlen exerts influence on their lives when they experience jealousy, greed, petulance, or envy. Individuals are more likely to fall prey to these feelings when they don’t spend enough time in activities with others, and so tales of Urdlen serve as a somber reminder of the importance of participating in society.

Gifts from the Gods

The gnome gods enjoy traveling about the multiverse in the guise of ordinary gnomes. Those who offer them aid or treat them with respect might receive a modest token of appreciation in return. Sometimes the deity reveals itself before giving the gift, and sometimes the item simply appears on the recipient’s pillow or in a loot sack. Typical gifts include a golden whistle that can mimic any bird song, a clockwork beetle made of silver that can fly and obey simple commands, and a seed that, when planted, grows into a miniature fruit tree and bears fruit within a few hours.

The Golden Hills

Seven hills set in a ring on Dothion, the more pastoral half of the plane of Bytopia, are the homes of the gnome gods. Each one of the Golden Hills, described below, is the domain of a certain deity, except for Callarduran, who dwells deep beneath them all in a set of caverns called Deephome:

Glitterhome

Garl’s hill is no larger than the rest, but it glows more brightly than the others beneath the light of the eternal sunset that gives the place its name. Yet the true “glitter” lies inside-treasures from Garl’s many adventures, displayed in a hall tiled with gemstones.

The Mithral Forge

Mines containing every kind of mineral run throughout Flandal’s hill, which also features tunnels that lead to large ore deposits on other planes. When Flandal is at work, the whole hill vibrates to the rhythm of his hammer working at the forge for which his hill is named.

The Hidden Knoll

Baravar conceals the entrance to her hill with illusions and riddles, never allowing any who visit her to enter twice by the same way. Those who persevere through her trickery to discover her inner sanctum might be rewarded with a treasure.

Whisperleaf

This hill takes its name from the impossibly large oak tree that grows from its top and spreads out to shade much of its slopes. Even when Baervan and Chiktikka aren’t present in their cottage at the base of the tree, its boughs and roots and the grassy slopes of the hill are always alive with mischievous animals.

Stronghaven

Gaerdal’s home is a fortress that contains a confounding maze of tunnels, designed to defy any attempt to invade or infiltrate. Gaerdal, ever watchful for any threat to the Golden Hills, is almost always inside, not to be found unless she wills it so.

The Gemstone Burrow

A small round door just below the summit of Segojan’s hill opens onto a network of tunnels and burrows, illuminated by brilliant gems. All sorts of burrowing creatures live peaceably with gnomish souls here.

The Workshop

Nebelun’s hill is festooned inside and out with structures and contraptions of mysterious purpose in various stages of completion. Only the Meddler can say how she plans for any of these inventions of hers to work. From time to time she gifts one of them to a worthy follower, promising that its use will bring success-but offering no guarantee that it will function the way it was supposed to.

Gnome Adventurers

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a gnome turn a dead end into a wonderful opportunity.

• Delaan Winterhound

When a gnome leaves the burrow, the force behind that decision is almost always curiosity-an insatiable need to seek out and experience what the world has to offer. Sometimes the adventuring life is the natural outgrowth of a gnome’s research project or experiment. A rock gnome alchemist who discovers a new form of fungus growing in a nearby cavern might wander farther afield from the burrow, looking for knowledge about other fungi in the world. A forest gnome who hears about a master illusionist in a faraway realm could embark on a journey to find that person and learn new tricks. A rock gnome artificer might become determined to locate any deposits of a rare metal, willing to travel the world high and low in search of it. Even a deep gnome might be born with an irrepressible urge to leave the Underdark and join a group to pursue a life of shared purpose.

Some gnome communities make a practice of sending young adults away from the burrow as a rite of passage, encouraging them to explore the realms of humans, dwarves, and elves for a time, with instructions to bring back information and new ideas for the community. Most of these folk return to the burrow at the appointed time or even sooner, their curiosity having been satisfied. But a few of them take readily to life in the outside world and don’t come back on schedule, returning to the burrow only after spending years or decades away as a member of an adventuring party.

The Pull of the Stars

Because of their extensive travels, gnome adventurers often become fascinated with the grandeur of the cosmos as seen in the motion of the stars across the sky. They view the cosmic array as a giant machine of wonderful complexity-a banquet for a curious gnomish mind. Many renowned astronomers, wizards, and extraplanar travelers are gnomes, having undertaken those disciplines in the hope of better understanding the workings of the multiverse.

A Gnome’s Role

Gnomes are valuable members of an adventuring party for a number of reasons, derived from both their innate abilities and their unique mind-set.

Possessed of higher intelligence than most other races, a gnome can be an important source of knowledge, and can devise solutions for many problems an adventuring party encounters. A rock gnome rogue on a dungeon expedition, if not lost in thought, can steer a party clear of many obstacles. Even the most complex magical or mechanical traps can be disarmed by a rock gnome who takes pride in solving difficult puzzles.

A forest gnome’s skills are invaluable in the wilderness. Forest gnomes can spot subtle tracks, uncover clues that others would miss, and locate the safest path. Their illusion magic taunts, deludes, and terrifies enemies at the same time it delights their friends.

Forest gnomes and rock gnomes also contribute to a party by being a source of optimism and levity. Even in the worst circumstances, a gnome can find something to be hopeful for-an attitude that is infectious and thus can keep the group from falling into despair.

A deep gnome, pragmatic and cautious, brings a sense of duty rather than a sense of humor to an adventuring group. With their grit and iron will, deep gnomes meet adversity with hammers, picks, and their dour, dry wit—or no wit at all—as their weapons of choice.

Deep Gnome Characters

At the DM’s discretion, you can play a deep gnome character. When you choose the subrace of your gnome, you can choose deep gnome, using the following rules to create your character.

• Gnome (Deep)

Gnome Tables

This section provides several tables useful for players and DMs who want to create gnome characters.

Gnome Personality Traits

Gnome Ideals

Gnome Bonds

Gnome Flaws