#was not expecting Svirfneblin

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

SATYR

VS DEEP GNOME

First, the Satyr! First one is shooting you with a gay beam, and the second makes my lesbian heart thump, all is right in the world. Human sized, and if they're anything like traditional satyrs that picture needs every inch of calf to cover what they're packing. They're hedonists, wanting to sample every pleasure and live life to its fullest with every sense. Feasts, dancing, music, and notoriously massive libidos. They tend to just act, thought is a fool's errand. Live, act, be who you are.

The Svirfneblin, or Deep Gnome! 3​-3.5 ft (91​ to ​110 cm), can innately use "disguise self," and can see in the dark! Still the magical, curious, and clever gnomes, just a bit more surly and cynical because they live in a place where everything wants them dead or worse. They can still be happy, nothing gets that stony guard to crack like a cool gem or mineral, they just don't trust easy. They do thier job, pick a special interest or two that they love, and never expect to get much more than they already have. So basically just an average blue collar worker, but fun sized! :D

[littlemourningstarr]

Introductions (And New Beginnings)

For once, a visit to Lolth's Cradle doesn't feel daunting, but renewing. And even if Sekh is there with a purpose, it is still pleasing to see old friends again.

Read below or on AO3!

Pairing: Astarion x Transmasc tav

Part of the Eternally Yours series!

Tags: Transmasc tav, lots of future plot set up, underage drinking, who gave Yenna whiskey

The streets of Lolth’s Cradle were lively, but in a different way than Sekh and Astarion had last seen. Already there was a more diverse population walking the streets- a steady stream of drow, yes- but the hobgoblin numbers had arisen, and Sekh was silently pleased to notice none of them seemed to be dressed in the drab clothing of slavery he had previously seen. Duergar still made up a number of roaming inhabitants- but Sekh noticed now a number of svirfneblin- deep gnomes- had joined the ranks, and seemed to be moving without fear.

Next to him, Yenna was glancing around, green eyes wide and dancing at the sights. While Dalyria’s keep was indeed impressive, he knew it wasn’t a drow city- and he had to admit, he had a bit of pride welling in his chest over his girl seeming in awe at his culture.

For all its faults, Sekh still had some pride in his drow heritage.

He rounded a familiar corner, pausing outside the comforting sight of Wriath’s Lullaby. He smiled to himself, before he chanced a glance back at Astarion, who stood just a step behind him and Yenna.

The vampire seemed pleased as well, at the sight of the tavern. At the silent knowledge that within, there were friends.

And next to him, Dalyria was looking with just as much awe as Yenna.

Sekh pulled the door open, stepping in, his little party following. The tavern was bustling wildly- far busier than he even remembered. Behind the bar was a male drow he didn’t recognize, along with another flitting about the crowds, quite audibly checking in on patrons.

Had Dezz and Brindell hired help? Sekh had kept up communication with them via letters, and Dezz had mentioned that the tavern was busier than ever, but she hadn’t mentioned help.

He headed for the bar, just as the door to the back opened- and there was a familiar face. Brindell, with his pale blonde waves shockingly free, holding a rather large parchment and pen, as if he had been taking stock. He glanced up, and the moment he saw Sekh his face split into a huge grin.

Sekh wasn’t braced for him to run around the corner of the bar, to throw himself on him- but he had to admit, it was a lovely feeling. He wrapped his arms around the other drow, holding him tightly, rocking slightly as Brindell pressed his face into Sekh’s shoulder.

When he finally stepped back, there was a rather cute pink to his pale, purple hued skin. “Dezz said you were planning on visiting, but I still always half expect to never see you again.”

Sekh grasped one of his arms. “Never my friend.” Brindell glanced past Sekh and utterly beamed at Astarion, before he noted the rest of Sekh’s party- Yenna, standing at his side, looking attentive- and Dal, looking a bit confused.

“More new faces,” Brindell mused, before he switched from drowic to common, “sorry, I wouldn’t want to keep them out of the conversation.”

And, in nearly perfect drowic, Yenna said with a smug grin, “Don’t worry, I could understand you.” Brindell’s red eyes widened a bit, before he gave Sekh a proud little smile.

“She speaks like she was born here. Better than Astarion, even.”

The vampire scoffed, moving up to Sekh’s side. “Excuse me, I speak perfectly fine, thank you.” The vampire’s mock offense fell, and Brindell hugged him next, clinging just as tightly to the elf as he had to Sekh. Astarion went so far as to reach up, stroke back some of his hair- and Sekh heard the way Brindell’s breath caught.

The poor, easily flustered, precious thing.

“Give me a moment,” Brindell said, straightening up, “and we can talk somewhere quieter.” He moved back to the bar, saying something to the barkeep, who glanced past him, quite obviously taking in Sekh and the group. While Sekh might have expected a bit of morbid curiosity from the drow’s stare, considering his party was definitively not drow, there was only a look of gentle intrigue, before he nodded, and went back to work.

Brindell moved back around the bar, gesturing for the group to follow him. Sekh had expected that they might move to the back room, make the descent to Brindell and Dezz’s living quarters-

But instead they moved for the door, leaving the tavern completely. They crossed the street, approaching a cozy black stone building, which was built directly against its neighbors. Brindell fished out a key, opened the door, and gestured for the group to step inside.

The moment they were inside, the sounds of the city seemed to fall away. Faintly, Sekh could still hear the commotion on the streets, if he tried to listen- but inside it was the gentle tick of a clock, located off in another room- and from the set of stairs that faced the door, the melodic sound of music.

“Business has been good,” Brindell said, before Sekh could ask. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “We finally got a real place, instead of just the basement of the tavern.” He paused, a sweet, content smile spreading across his lips. “Never honestly thought it would happen.” He cleared his throat then, nodding towards the stairs. “Dezz is upstairs. She’d be royally pissed if I didn’t bring you right over to her.”

Sekh didn’t doubt that. He began up the stairs, the group following, the sound of music growing slightly louder. It was a soft melody, something soothing that sat in the background, could cradle the thoughts in one’s skull. It was coming from an open door, and when Sekh peeked inside, he found Dezz sitting at a desk, a mess of papers and parchment spread out. The music was coming from a little music box next to her- obviously enchanted to play an endless loop while it was opened.

“Hello stranger,” Sekh said. She tensed, before she turned- and the tension melted away. She grinned, drawing lines along her mouth and red eyes, before she shoved her chair back and stood up.

Sekh entered the room, moving right to her, accepting an embrace within her well defined arms. Gods, the muscle felt harder than the last time he had seen her. She was solid under his hold, warm- and he found it easy to relax against her.

When he stepped back, he took her in- she had chopped most of her pale blonde hair off, so it sat in messy waves along her temples, some strands curling behind her ears. But otherwise she had those same red eyes, that seem stark smile, that he remembered.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, grasping his arms, squeezing at his biceps. She paused, her smile turning wicked. “Why you feel solid. Have you been hauling your little vampire around over your shoulder?”

“Why does everyone assume I’m the one carried around?” Astarion asked, sweeping properly into the room and right up to the two.

“Because you’re built like a prince from one of those haughty, lewd novels that should be carried over the threshold of every room.” Astarion scoffed, but accepted the hug Dezz offered him- making a rather undignified, surprised noise as she hoisted him off his feet and actively spun around once, to prove her point. Once she had set him down, she glanced at the two new faces- Yenna, properly in the room, looking at her with excited eyes- and Dalyria, a few paces back, just beyond the door frame, where Brindell was now leaning, the drow grinning. “New faces?”

“This,” Sekh said, gesturing for Yenna to walk up properly, “is our Yenna.” The girl grinned, offering a full half bow- and Dezz, to her credit, gave a mock gasp and clutched at her chest.

“Charming.”

“I try.” Yenna said it with such ease that Dezz glanced at Sekh.

“Drowic?”

“She was a better student than Astarion.” The vampire frowned. Sekh turned towards Dalyria, switching to Common. “And this is Dalyria- Astarion’s… sister.” He paused, so Dalyria could give a little wave. “I haven’t yet gotten to teach her or any of the spawn undercommon.”

Dezz folded her arms, studying the new vampire. “Still wild to me that just a few days east there’s a whole hoard of vampires.”

“Your common is so smooth,” Dalyria said, stepping closer, quite obviously relaxing now that she knew she could communicate. “Have you been to the surface?”

“Not even once,” Dezz admitted. “Brindell and I taught ourselves in case the chance ever arose. But honestly, things have been good since little Sekh here helped overthrow the last house matron.” She jabbed an elbow into Sekh, who couldn’t help but smile. “We may never even need to.” She moved away then, shoving some papers around on her desk and hopping up onto it, sitting comfortably. She gestured to her chair, and Dalyria took the invitation, settling herself neatly.

Yenna hopped up onto the other side of the desk, kicking her legs a bit, not even hiding that she was trying to read any of the words scribbled on all of those papers.

“You’re here with a purpose,” Dezz said, “so spill it pretty boy.”

“I want to introduce Dalyria to Vrynelle.” Sekh placed a hand on the back of Dalyria’s chair. “The spawn have built a little world for themselves, but I think it might be good for them to interact with others.”

“I don’t disagree,” Dalyria said, “but I fear letting them loose in a city without some assurance that they won’t be immediately hunted.”

Duzz hummed. “Listen, we see every bit of life in this city- honestly, even more now that Nendra is dead- may her soul rot in the demon webs.” Behind them, Brindell snorted a little laugh in the doorway. “Vampires would be less unusual than just surface dwellers.” Dezz's face softened a bit. “But I imagine they are your family, and I understand wanting to protect them.”

She glanced back for a moment at Brindell, before turning her attention back to Sekh and Dalyria.

“I’ve meant every word in my letters, that Vrynelle has been good for this place. There was a bit of a tense transition period when she suddenly broke up the slavers selling on the streets- but that gave room for the rest of our city to flourish. Case in point- we have a home that isn’t under the tavern.”

Sekh appreciated the assurance. Dezz had spoken quite highly of Vrynelle in all of her letters, but ever since leaving after Nendra’s death, Sekh hadn’t spoken a word, written or otherwise, to the current house matron. He had nothing to go off of but his friend’s words and his gut.

But his gut had told him to continue trusting Vrynelle.

“We don’t have a lot of extra room,” Dezz said, bringing Sekh back from his thoughts, “but you’re all welcome with us. I promise it is more comfortable here than over the tavern.”

Sekh wouldn’t have cared if they had all been sleeping on the floor back in the basement of the tavern- he was just excited to be among his friends again.

*

Sekh noted that the guards outside the Duskryn house seemed less sullen than they had, upon his last visit. One wasn’t even a drow- but a stocky duergar woman, who was actually chatting with the drow standing at her post.

Sekh walked up the steps, and they paused their conversation, taking him in. He gave a half bow with an easy smile, offering up before they could ask, “I don’t have an appointment, but I was hoping the house matron might have time for a… friend.”

The drow studied him, before her brows shot up in recognition. “You, I remember you.” She stepped closer, but Sekh noticed her body was relaxed. “You helped take out Nendra.”

Sekh offered a bit of a cheesy smile. The drow didn’t seem upset at him for it, which was a good sign. “I may be guilty of a bit of political uprise, yes.”

The duergar snorted, giving a deep chuckle. “He’s good in my book if he got rid of that annoying twat.”

“Gerryn,” the drow groaned, yet she didn’t disagree. The duergar just waved her off.

“Let us check that she’s available. Wait right here- and try not to cause another insurrection?” Sekh gave a nod, and the duergar stepped inside, leaving him with just the female drow guard.

“I expected a bit more of a hostile welcome,” he admitted. The drow leaned against the large halberd she was holding, looking almost aloof.

“Gerryn really wasn’t wrong- Nendra was a twat to put it nicely. I don’t serve the house because I feel some fealty towards the Duskryns- it’s a job, at the end of the day. And Vrynelle is quite an improvement.”

Sekh was relieved to hear it- he had wanted his gut to be right about the other drow, but he knew better than to put full faith in it.

The duergar reappeared quickly, a hobgoblin behind her- one that Sekh recognized. He had been present during his last visit- had been one of what he presumed were Vrynelle’s personal slaves.

He was dressed far differently now- even boasting a pin with the house sigil on it. He grinned when he saw Sekh, motioning for him. “The lady will gladly see you.”

*

The door was opened for Sekh and he stepped in. What had once been Nendra’s office was now filled with vibrant works of art- the mess of maps that had been along the wall replaced with paintings. Various flora were settled in vases and pots around the room, offering a number of pulsing lights.

And sitting at the old desk, pen in hand, working at a stack of paperwork, was Vrynelle. She looked much the same- her white curls free about her shoulders. She was dressed almost plainly in drow aristocratic sense, not boasting any of the showy bits of armor Nendra had worn, as if the previous matron had needed those around her to think she was some great warrior.

Vrynelle pushed her chair back as the door shut, leaving Sekh alone with her. “I almost didn’t believe it was really going to be you,” she admitted, standing to her full height- still shorter than Sekh, but the heels of her boots added an additional inch. Before Sekh could speak she crossed the room, briskly walking to him-

And tossing her arms around him. She embraced him tightly, and Sekh returned it, before Vrynelle leaned back, studying him.

“But gods be praised, it is you.” She gestured towards her desk, and Sekh followed her, perching on the corner of it as she settled back into her chair. “You could have written.”

“I figured you’d be a bit busy. Running a city doesn’t just happen overnight.” Vrynelle flashed a smile.

“No, it doesn’t. But I assume you’ve had someone updating you on how it has been going- and making sure I’m not becoming my sister- Lolth take her.” When Sekh didn’t answer, Vrynelle added, “I’m not asking for names, Sekh’met. I am just beyond sure that you have other contacts in the city. That is your business, not mine.”

Sekh saw no point in denying it.

“I also presume this isn’t a social call- although I must admit, a social call would be quite welcome.” Vrynelle paused, added, “It’s still quite lonely here, even without Nendra’s shadow consuming me.”

Sekh felt almost bad, in that moment, that it wasn't. It had seemed fairly obvious that Vrynelle hadn’t had friends, when Nendra had still lived. Friends would translate to allies, and that is something the late house matron would have not tolerated, Sekh was sure

“It’s not,” he admitted. Vrynelle gave a little nod. “But perhaps after, it can be.”

“If you’d trust having a glass of wine with me, I would be forever in your debt.”

Sekh had to smile at that. “Promise not to poison me?”

Vrynelle laughed at that, tipping her head back. “Swear it on this city. You’re not my type, Sekh. I only like women- and the consenting kind.” She stood up then, heading for a side table and flipping over two glasses. She lifted a bottle of wine and filled both quite full, carrying them back and offering one to Sekh. “And I have a feeling I’m not your type, either.”

Sekh took the glass, the wine a very light color, like pale sun. A dry white. “Believe It or not, despite my devilishly handsome husband, I have bedded plenty of women.”

Vrynelle’s eyes seemed to dance at the mention of husband, but she didn’t push. She raised her glass in a silent toast- to what, neither specified- and Sekh took a sip of the wine. “Speaking of, where is Astarion?”

“Off in the city, causing mild trouble I’m sure.” Sekh had considered bringing his entire entourage to the meeting, but in the end ultimately decided it would be best if he spoke to Vrynelle alone first. “I have a proposition for you.”

Vrynelle arched a delicate brow, taking a healthy drink of her wine. “Proposition? Look at you, being political.”

Sekh snorted. “Hardly. Look- Astarion’s family is here in the Underdark. His sister runs a keep with over a hundred vampires. They’re isolated, and I think they could benefit from purpose.” When Vrynelle didn’t interject, Sekh continued. “Many of them had trades they were skilled in. They’re growing resources they don’t need themselves. Resources perhaps the city might need.”

Vrynelle glanced at her wine, and Sekh watched her upend it, downing the rest. She stood, walking back to the side table, refilling it. “You’re asking me to welcome vampires into my city?”

“Yes. They’re in control of themselves, Vrynelle. They’ve been free of their former master for years. If they couldn’t control their hunger, they were put down.”

Vrynelle leaned against the small table, looking into her wine. After a moment, she sighed, sounding resigned. “I think before I knew you even I would think this a disastrous idea. But frankly, if you trust them… I want to.” She turned her stare back up to Sekh. “I haven’t truly trusted someone in so long, it’s freeing and terrifying. Just to be clear.”

Sekh offered her a soft smile. “It’s a good feeling, to trust again.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

“I am.” Sekh stood from the desk, didn’t bother launching into any tirade regarding his experiences over the past years- how he hadn’t trusted anyone aside of Syl until the Nautiloid had stolen him away and thrust him into a whole new world, a new life- with people who reminded him he could trust, with his whole heart, his whole being.

Vrynelle gave a second, more dramatic sigh. “Fine,” she said, “bring in your little vampires and I’ll welcome them with open arms.”

“If you’d like to meet one, I can arrange that. I promise she’s a treat.”

Vrynelle gave a sly, playful smile, nearly purring, “She?” And Sekh, he laughed.

“Yes, she.” Sekh set his glass down, offering his arm. “Allow me to escort you, mistress.”

Vrynelle took it, and Sekh felt a bit of calmness coming over him- that his gut had been right, to trust her.

*

Sekh had been right that his party hadn’t strayed much into the city- but had simply moved back across the street to Wraith’s Lullaby. By now the tavern was bustling, teeming with patrons. Brindell was running about, from one set of patrons to the next, while Dezz stood with her hands on her sturdy hips, eyeing the work of the bartender that Sekh didn’t know very closely.

When they stepped in though, the chaos seemed to calm down for a moment- heads turning to openly stare at Vrynelle. Yet Sekh didn’t feel as if it was in fear.

She smiled, a practiced, pretty one, and gave a little wave, before curling tighter to Sekh’s arm. And just like that, the tavern resumed its rowdiness. Had that been Nendra, Sekh was sure the tavern would have burst with many trying to get close to her, to earn her favor.

He didn’t think anyone needed Vrynelle’s- it was just freely given.

He could see Astarion, Dal, and Yenna at a table off in the corner, and escorted Vryenlle over. Astarion was in the middle of raising his cup to his lips when he saw them, and lowered it, grinning wide enough to show off his fangs. “Your majesty,” he teased, as they neared, Vrynelle reaching for a chair and settling down without much grace, body going loose as if she found it relaxing to be in the vampire’s presence.

Sekh presumed she did.

“Your grace,” she taunted back, giving a bow of her head. Sekh could see her eyes gleaming, and Astarion chuckled. Sekh could tell he was still guarded, as Sekh himself had been- but less so than if they were with a stranger. “Back to stage another coup?”

“Do we need to?”

“I hope not.”

“Good. Grand.” Astarion picked up his glass, giving a little wave between Vrynelle and Yenna, and the girl leaned her elbows on the table, looking at Vrynelle with these large, adoring eyes. She had looked at Dalyria in a similar way- as if she was seeing magnificence for the very first time.

Sekh wanted to laugh. His Yenna had a type, it seemed.

“I’m Yenna,” she said in her ever perfect drowic, “ignore Astarion. He’s an ass.” Astarion reached over with his free hand, messing with her short hair.

“A human speaking drowic? Today really is a day to remember.” Vrynelle glanced at the cup Yenna had in front of her. “What are you drinking little one?”

“Whiskey.”

“What?” Sekh glanced from Yenna to Astarion, as the vampire finished off his wine. Yenna had begun drinking wine on the occasion, and Sekh wasn’t naive enough to think she and her friends didn’t get into trouble- but to just be openly drinking whiskey, that had to be far stronger than any she had snagged on the surface, was a new level of brass.

“Dezz said it had tongue of madness in it. You grow a lot of those, so I figured it was fine.” She picked up her glass, downed the rest of her two fingers of whiskey and grinned. “It’s pretty smooth.”

Sekh tipped his head into his hand, while on Yenna’s other side Dalyria looked on- quite obviously not understanding anything being spoken. He’d have to give a proper introduction to Vryenelle for her, offer to translate. But it could wait- he was fairly sure he needed to sit down.

Astarion reached out, curled an arm around Sekh’s waist and pulled him onto his lap, happily nuzzling into the warm skin of his neck, still boasting little bruises and healing cuts from their tryst a few nights prior, in front of the spawn. “You’re going pale, pet.”

“You just let Yenna drink like that?”

“She was going to irregardless of what I said. At least she has good taste. I do believe you offered this same whiskey to a man we drained utterly dry, years ago.” Astarion dragged his lips against Sekh’s skin, and the drow knew he could smell the blood, beneath his healing cuts. “Quite a lovely set of memories.”

Sekh shifted slightly- he couldn’t argue that, but if Astarion thought he was going to completely distract him, he was quite wrong.

*

The night had been a success, he had to admit. Vrynelle seemed rather at ease with Dalyria- kept stealing little glances at her when she spoke common to the rest of the table, as if she wanted to memorize the way her lips and tongue could form the unknown words.

Sekh would set up a plan to teach the spawn undercommon. He couldn’t stay in the Underdark to teach them, but he could start, at least. Maybe find whoever might be the fastest learner and offer to teach them, so they could then share the knowledge.

There was another option, he knew- two very trusted friends who spoke common quite well and he was sure could teach the spawn. But he couldn’t ask Dezz to step away from her tavern- it was everything to her, the only more important thing was probably Brindell himself.

And Sekh felt guilty at the thought of asking to separate them.

Sekh shifted, arms folded across his chest, leaning against the tavern as Vrynelle lit a long, elegant pipe. The two had stepped out from the now quite rowdy tavern. The smoke that rose from it was earthy, a hint of mint- without much thought, Sekh rambled off a few various mushrooms as Vrynelle inhaled.

On her exhale, she laughed. “Clever as always. You know, there’s always a place for you here, if you’d like.” She took a long drag, and when Sekh didn’t answer, she gave a sad smile, the smoke seeming to escape through her teeth. “But I can tell by the look in your eyes that isn’t what you want. What then,” she paused, took a step closer, so close that Sekh could smell her perfume, “do you want?”

Sekh opened his mouth to speak, to claim it was exactly what he had done- he’d checked on the spawn, he’d made an introduction to further enrich their lives, he’d visited friends-

But there was something else, something he felt perhaps Vrynelle could help him with.

“When you transitioned, did you do it on your own, or with help?” Vrynelle paused her inhale, moving the pipe from her lips. “Because I was alone, and gods below I probably did some real harm to myself.”

“There was a family physician- she… assisted me,” Vrynelle admitted. “But why? Even if you’re concerned about what harm you may have caused, you’re quite obviously fine now. I’d argue more than fine.”

Sekh smirked- he couldn’t help himself, “I thought I wasn’t your type.”

Vrynelle laughed, holding her pipe out to Sekh, who took it, inhaling. The mint was a rush to his sinuses, but made his head feel achingly clear. “You know what I mean.”

Sekh exhaled, handing it back. He did, he was just stalling. Because this was a personal leap, a level of trust he hadn’t been sure he was ready to give her yet, but he didn’t know where else to turn- “I want to have a child.”

Vrynelle choked, coughed as she exhaled, leaning over. Sekh reached out, gently pat her back, before she straightened, looked at her pipe, and pinched out the smoldering end with her bare fingers. “I’m going to need something stronger than this.” She stowed the pipe, seeming to compose herself. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Sekh nodded. Yenna was growing faster than he had ever been ready for- and he had wanted to wait, yes- but a part of him was almost anxious, felt like perhaps the waiting had happened already, at this point. Besides, it would take time to figure everything out-

Gale was still hunting for information on Astarion’s own concerns regarding fertility, with Vette’s help- Sekh couldn’t just wait until they had answers before he moved to figure out his own.

“I can write back home,” Vrynelle said then, “I’m not on bad terms with the larger House- if anything, my overtaking Nendra put me in better standing.” That didn’t shock Sekh- even if Vrynelle was humane, unlike her sister- she would still earn respect for upstaging her older sister, and taking the city for herself.

Sekh smiled. It was all he could ask for.

Vrynelle inclined her head slightly, studying Sekh. “I guess you and Astarion would make beautiful little babies.”

Sekh laughed over that, reaching out and shoving her without much thought- as if she wasn’t aristocracy, but just another girl, just another friend- just another somebody who had struggles and pain that mirrored his own.

By the way her face cracked into a grin, it was all Vryenlle had ever wanted.

[dailycharacteroption]

Races Among the Stars 10: Gnome

It’s time for another look at the many alien species of Starfinder, and as usual we’re beginning with something a bit more familiar: gnomes.

Those familiar with gnomes in Pathfinder already know that gnomes were originally from the First World, banishing themselves to the Material Plane in a great mass exodus to find more novel experiences there. They also likely know that once they were there, they became susceptible to a new disease, the Bleaching, which occurs when gnomes fail to find novelty and interest in their life, leaching the color out of them as they are literally poisoned by banality.

Gnomes in the era of Starfinder retain that origin, but a few things have changed since then. Apparently some time during The Gap, some gnomes engineered a “cure” of sorts to the Bleaching, a genetic tampering that causes those that have it to be born as Bleachlings, but unlike those of the ancient past, these more serious gnomes are still able to feel joy and wonder, but it is tempered a bit, rather than being fully dour and jaded (though they still somewhat earn that reputation).

Meanwhile, the majority of gnomes are still “feychildren”, being passionate and vibrant and endlessly curious to a fault, and still subject to the normal and potentially deadly Bleaching should they fail to find wonder in the galaxy.

Much like in the distant past, gnomes are small humanoids with large eyes, wiry figures, and truly outrageous hair which can be nearly any color of the rainbow. Bleachlings, however, are devoid of color, their skin turning an ashen gray while their hair turns white.

Gnome society hasn’t changed that much since the era of Pathfinder, being very loosely governed if at all and being more focused on collective protection and helping every member find novelty and wonder in the world. Even the bleachlings seek novelty in their own way. Rather than seek new experiences to engage with, these more serious gnomes instead engage in intellectual curiosity and study.

While gnomes sometimes have difficulty relating to other species, they are very quick to make friends and compatriots out of anyone they meet. However, their somewhat alien mindset does indeed make things tricky, especially when this lack of understanding tends to condition them to not bother explaining themselves.

Interestingly, while modern elves have become xenophobic towards most other species, gnomes are an exception, and are allowed to freely travel to Sovyrian as they please, supposedly honoring some ancient pact of trust.

Gnomes tend to be tough, but physically weak. However, feychild gnomes tend to be more charming and passionate, while bleachlings focus more on intellectual pursuits.

Their innate curiosity does, however, lead them to ask many questions about the cultures of other species, giving them a vast pool of knowledge in such areas.

The hope and joy that not even bleaching can corrupt does make them naturally resistant to fear as well, and they can sometimes inexplicably turn defeat into victory.

Gnomes also have innate magic, mostly minor magical tricks, illusory sounds, and produced light.

They also sport sensitive eyes that can pick up even dim sources of light.

It would appear that in the far future, the old lines between gnomes and their offshoot svirfneblin kin have blurred. Now called gneblins, develop spiritual ties to whatever planet they make their homes on. And while they are not as tough as their kin, that spirituality does give them a greater capacity for empathy and wisdom. However, they too have become susceptible to the bleaching, presumably as the old pacts to the earth have diluted with intermarrying with their surface kin.

And of course, there are those gnomes that defy these expectations, including the driftborn, who have a curious connection to the drift and lack the dimorphism of other gnomes, instead being naturally agile thanks to their coordination in space. Others focus on joy over hope and therefore ignore pain and turn especially good luck into a rush of euphoria which further bolsters them. Some that grow up in other cultures temper their curiosity, but get better at reading others. Finally, some channel their curiosity into professional work, naturally developing greater skill in those areas.

With their natural toughness, gnomes make decent vanguards and nanocytes. Their dimorphism makes things more complicated though. Feychildren’s charisma makes envoy, solarion, witchwarper, social operative and the like good options, while the intellect of bleachlings lends itself to studious biohackers, mechanics, and technomancers. Gneblin of either ethnicity can make quite powerful mystics as well. Meanwhile, the Driftborn can make for good operatives, precogs, and long-range combat characters of any class. Their only real weakness is strength, making melee soldier, solarion, vanguard and the like a tough sell. However, it isn’t impossible to get around or even to pick a class that doesn’t match with the specific ethnicity. This is your character, and as always, feel free to mix and match, not letting a little thing like “optimization” get in the way.

That will do for today, but there’s some fun species we’ll be tackling later this week. Look forward to it!

[threerattsinatrenchcoat]

What can you tell me about "Loving a Difficult Person"? Sounds interesting~

That is a story about Barcus Wroot, Lia and Cal! Most of it is the three discussing loving someone who isn't always nice (Wulbren and Rolan, respectively, with efforts made to explore the differences between the two and why Wulbren is toxic and Rolan is not).

Most of the story focuses on them, although I open and end it with scenes involving the tiefling refugees. The beginning is under the cut!

Barcus barely sidestepped two tieflings rushing through the open gate, working together to roll a log.

"Sorry!" one yelled. "Didn't see you!"

"Pandirna's not exactly in control of this thing!" shouted the other, like he wasn't also contributing to its speed and direction.

"I'm looking for—" Barcus started.

"Can't talk, Kaldani will not be happy!" Pandirna waved vaguely over the bridge, where a tiefling paced back and forth. A tiefling settlement in the middle of the woods was not what Barcus expected to find, and frankly he was getting tired of the unexpected.

Dodging two more barrels, Barcus reached the bridge and said, "Barcus Wroot, at your service. Have you seen a svirfneblin called Wulbren?"

The tiefling blinked and said, "Kaldani. Charmed, I'm sure. And no. Not unless he's a druid who is also an arsehole."

"Not a druid, no."

"Guex! I said logs. Does that look like a log to you?"

Barcus looked at the clearing below, where a tiefling dragged a large branch, putting on a good show of struggle. He looked to where the tieflings were holding flame to the logs. He looked at the long nails and spikes driven into the walls. He said, "Ah! You're reinforcing the gate."

"Aye. Goblins are in this wood. A party reached our gates the other day." She glanced behind him, to a grave so fresh the flowers hadn't wilted. "It's only a matter of—'

"BARREL!" someone shouted.

Kaldani and Barcus threw themselves aside as a barrel careened down the hill, right towards an open campfire. Another tiefling leapt into action, raising his arms and shouting a spell. With a crack of thunder, a wave of force hit the barrel and brought it to a stop. Everyone let out a breath of relief.

"Aw, I wanted to see it explode," pouted a child.

"Gan! Get back to your training," ordered Kaldani.

"Explode?" Barcus's eyes lit up. An explosive material that was stable enough to bounce down a hill? Stable enough to withstand a spell? Wulbren would sell his ears for that! "What is it?"

"Oil."

"Oh. So not explosive? Merely flammable."

Kaldani shrugged. "I suppose. Listen, it's only a matter of time before they come for us. You should get out while you still can."

"As should you," Barcus observed. "You're carbonizing the wood and doing excellent work with the materials you have, but they will have iron. Real explosives. If you stay here you will lose."

"We have children. Elderly. Injured. Everyone who's here is willing to die protecting them."

Goblins, eh? Barcus looked down, where tieflings were gathering barrels of oil. He looked back at Kaldani.

"Asharak's idea," she said. "We'll bury them at the entrance and shoot fire arrows at them."

"That won't do you much good. It'll splash a little, and light on fire, and that's about it. What if I could make it splash a lot?"

[fersrsbizniz]

Finally finished Siege of Darkness!

Ngl, I was really worried there that I would be struggling with it for months. But as soon as Drizzt and Catti-Brie claimed friendship it became smooth sailing. For me, that is, the reader. Everyone else had a rough time.

Some highlights:

Really appreciated the Jarlaxle moments—he honestly carried the beginning chapters for me. Thank you, Jarlaxle for your cautious and duplicitous ways (and even some honest ways) for getting me past the Problem™️. I really felt for you when you realized you were in the toils and was glad that got all sorted out.

Guenhwyvar is amazing as always and even though I knew she couldn’t be gone for long I was still worried for her—the permanence of the word choice is what stressed me out. But then the pattern went back into play and I was calm again.

Lloth/Lolth - get your spelling sorted out plz but really it was fun to see the chaos bringer bring, well, chaos. You are an awful deity, keep doing what you do! Positive I know who you just gave to Errtu, though.

Bruenor…just so glad you got to be the one to deliver that blow! Also, so happy he met his ancestor! Finally!

BELWAAAAARRRRRR!!!!! :DDDDDDD

Drizzt used his bracers to do something to his legs, right? Since his arms couldn’t keep up? Idk it’s just the way the story kept mentioning and mentioning that he was weirdly fast that gave me that thought. Either way, ray of sunshine in bad times is here in the form of Drizzt.

Catti-Brie had a lot of cool fights! Especially near the end! She and the sword seem to be getting along. Don’t know how long that will last. But still cool!

Alustriel and the Silverymoon force. I had my qualms before but I like them all now. I feel bad for her…she has the VHD issue of: she was so beautiful! She moved her beautiful hair behind her beautiful ear, and beautiful-ed her way down the stairs beautifully. She is cool. Author needs to chill.

Some I wanted more of:

The Time of Troubles came and went REALLY quickly. I would have loved to spend more time on the houses losing their collective shit because their magic wasn’t working as expected. I really think it would have allowed for some insight on more of the houses.

More Svirfneblin stuff!!! Gimme more Deep Gnome lore :o

More Jarlaxle. Can’t get enough of that guy.

Things I could have done without:

The Relationship™️ which is a little bit of a mood killer since it’s canon (I LOVE both of them—just not with each other)

All of the sexual uncomfortableness with Catti-Brie. She’s a grown woman, yeah, but that was not how to get me to like Wulfgar’s people or his successor at all. And the sword thing? I would have found it more palatable IF it was literally the sword begging to be held and not possessed Catti-Brie. I think it was meant to be awkward, and uncomfortable, but it came off more like author trying to show that Drizzt was such a good guy for not doing her then and there and it was all kinds of unnecessary. (Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy smut, I enjoy a well written relationship…I will whine about this forever)

On the whole, I enjoyed the book. I think I would still place it before The Crystal Shard, but those are my two lowest rated books for the series rn. And I like them. So that’s good, right?

[cagemasterfantasy]

Deep Gnome (Svirfneblin) Ranking and Features (5e)

Guide

1=do not play this class as this race

2=can play but not recommended

3=decent choice

4=perfect

Elemental Evil Player's Companion

Forest gnomes and rock gnomes are the gnomes most commonly encountered in the lands of the surface world. There is another subrace of gnomes rarely seen by any surface-dweller: deep gnomes, also known as svirfneblin. Guarded, and suspicious of outsiders, svirfneblin are cunning and taciturn, but can be just as kind-hearted, loyal, and compassionate as their surface cousins.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Age. Gnomes mature at the same rate as humans, and most are expected to settle into adult life around the age of 40. They can live to 350 years on average, but it's not too uncommon for them to reach 500 years of age.

Size. Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and weigh around 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Superior Darkvision. Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

Gnome Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves against magic.

Stone Camouflage. You have advantage on Dexterity (stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain.

Languages. You can read, speak, and write Common and Gnomish.

Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Deep gnomes, or svirfneblin, are natives of the Underdark and are suffused with that subterranean realm’s magic. They can supernaturally camouflage themselves, and their svirfneblin magic renders them difficult to locate. These abilities have enabled them to survive for generations among the perils of the Underdark.

Like other gnomes, deep gnomes can live for centuries, up to 500 years.

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered a gnome for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a gnome.

Size. You are Small.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Gift of the Svirfneblin. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Disguise Self spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Nondetection spell with it, without requiring a material component. Once you cast either of these spells with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level.

Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).

Gnomish Magic Resistance. You have advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against spells.

Svirfneblin Camouflage. When you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you can make the check with advantage. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages.

Artificer 2 if you want a stealthy Artificer you’re going to build around Armorer in Infiltrator armor which will make Svirfneblin Camouflage redundant. Artificers can also cast Detect Magic so even that isn’t especially helpful. The only meaningful things that Svirfneblin brings to Artificer are Nondetection and Gnome Magic Resistance and while Gnome Magic Resistance is great for Artificer it’s not enough to commit your race to it when Satyrs and Yuan-Ti exist

Barbarian 3 with Darkvision and Svirfneblin Camouflage Barbarian can be decently stealthy. You won’t match Bard Ranger or Rogue but it still helps. Gnome Magic Resistance is a helpful defense for a class which is notoriously poor at mental saves and even the innate spellcasting is decent since it’s mostly only useful outside of combat

Bard 4 Bards get Expertise which can pair nicely with Svirfneblin Camouflage to make you a very effective Scout. Bards can also re-cast Svirfneblin's innate spells nicely complementing Bard’s limited number of spells known

Cleric 3 With the exception of Trickery Domain Clerics can’t cast Disguise Self and none of them except Knowledge Domain can cast Nondetection. Trickery Domains Blessing of the Trickster only works on other creatures. Svirfneblin neatly fills those gaps in capabilities. Trickery Domain is almost certainly your best choice of subclass to capitalize on Svirfneblin's traits

Druid 3 Svirfneblin's innate spellcasting isn’t great for Druid. Druids can cast Nondetection but Disguise Self is mostly useless because Druids can turn into animals. Gnomish Magic Resistance and Svirfneblin Camouflage MIGHT work while using Wild Shape. Neither discuss your character’s anatomy and they don’t seem to be dependent on your physical form

Fighter 3 for a Dexterity-based build Svirfneblin Camouflage is a passable replacement for Expertise in Stealth allowing you to more easily serve as your party’s Scout. Gnome Magic Resistance is a helpful defense for a class which is notoriously poor at mental saves and even the innate spellcasting is decent since it’s mostly only useful outside of combat. Eldritch Knight is a tempting option because you can re-cast the spells but they’re not consistently useful enough to build around them

Monk 3 Gnome Magic Resistance is a helpful defense for Monk since Monks aren’t proficient in any mental saves until they get Diamond Body. Svirfneblin Camouflage helps make up for not getting Expertise so you can almost compete with a rogue as your party’s Scout

Paladin 3 for a Dexterity-based build Svirfneblin Camouflage is a passable replacement for Expertise in Stealth allowing you to more easily serve as your party’s Scout. Gnome Magic Resistance is a helpful defense but with Aura of Protection in place it’s less impactful than it is for other martial classes. Paladin can recast Deep Gnome’s innate spells but that won’t be necessary most of the time

Ranger 4 Svirfneblin Camouflage mostly compensates for Rangers not getting Expertise making it easier for Ranger to compete with Rogue as a Scout. Deep Gnome’s innate spellcasting offers some occasionally helpful options and you can re-cast the spells using spell slots if you need to

Rogue 4 Expertise paired with Svirfneblin Camouflage makes you profoundly good at stealth. Evasion paired with Gnome Magic Resistance gives you broad protection on saving throws. Deep Gnome’s innate spellcasting can protect you from pesky methods of detecting you like divinations and like people knowing what you look like. Arcane Trickster is perhaps Svirfneblin’s most obvious class and subclass because Rogue pairs so nicely and Arcane Trickster allows you to re-cast Deep Gnome’s innate spells

Sorcerer 3 don’t expect to get anything out of Svirfneblin Camouflage but otherwise Deep Gnome’s traits are nice. Darkvision saves you a spell Gnomish Magic Resistance protects you on some saves and the innate spellcasting is occasionally useful

Warlock 3 don’t expect to get anything out of Svirfneblin Camouflage but otherwise Deep Gnome’s traits are nice. Darkvision saves you an invocation Gnomish Magic Resistance protects you on some saves and the innate spellcasting is occasionally useful and complements your tiny pool of spell slots

Wizard 2 Wizards can cast Disguise Self Nondetection Darkvision and Invisibility so Deep Gnome adds very little to Wizard.

[spsdraws]

More gnomes, but this time it's Deep Gnomes! The deeper down in the Underdark you venture, the more ancient the svirfneblin bloodlines, the more gnomes start to look less like the fellow on the left and more like the guy in the middle. Not a hair on the head or face, smaller in stature, with enormous eyes and ears for detecting potential threats.

I'm fond of the concept of Gnome Elders, usually an advisory role filled by the oldest gnomes of their respective communities. With forest and rock gnomes the goal is for as many as possible to eventually fill this role but in the Underdark things are somewhat different. Down where things are much more dangerous and most gnomes won't be expected to live to 200, any that live to be true elders are treated with a special reverence. Adorned with the finest jewels and gold, elders are thought of as the very heart of their communities. Protecting and elongating the lives of their elders takes high priority, this elder's got some special mushrooms attached helping with that task!

[dm-clockwork-dragon]

In your homo-sanguinem post you mentioned the affliction takes a different mutagenic route than with humans(human tieflings included I presume), what route does it take with a Bugbear(if they can get the infection ofc)

Within the lore of my own Setting, Umbraviralis, or "the Shadow Plague" only seems to have ever affected a few select races: - Humans afflicted by the mutation became"Vampires" - Elves affected were borne as either Drow or Shadar-Kai - Dwarves became Duergar - and Gnomeic victims created the Svirfneblin The reasons for this targeted infection rate are not entirely known, but likely have something to do with the hand-selection of the mad god who created the plague, and his mysterious intentions. That said, if other races were to be afflicted by the plague, it would likely present in a way unique to them. The core of the shadow plague seems to be a sort of deficiency within the soul, that causes severe psychological afflictions, as well as a "grayscaleing" of natural pigmentation Of all afflicted races, only humans seem to exhibit blood-related powers and conditions. Among other races, the Shadow plague most often manifests as a lack of certain emotions, or a crippling emotional or psychological hunger. Duergar are unable to experience joy, Drow commonly suffer from a deficiency of empathy or concern for others, Shadar-kai suffer from a severe depression that commonly leads to self-harm, and Svirfneblin are industrious to a fault, with a hunger for work and invention that frequently overrides any sort of morality. The overbearing commonality among afflicted races is that the plague somehow robs the victim of some aspect of their soul, and physical mutations form both as a reflection of that, and in response to it. A race robbed of their ability to feel joy, for example, becomes physically callous, and hardy enough to withstand extreme workloads. A race hungering for the satisfaction of work becomes increasingly energetic to try and fulfill this need. Vampires, whomost directly experience a sense of nondescript hunger, mutate the ability to literally feed on the souls of others through their blood. I might hazard that in more goblinoid races such as Bugbears, the Umbraviralis Plague might manifest as an inability to experience pain, perhaps coupled with a hunger for violence. Physically, you could expect the same "grayscaleing" effect, leading to black-grey fur and skin. And you might see secondary traits develop in line with the psychological manifestations, such as prickly, needle-like fur, or more strongly bestial traits. Teiflings, I suspect, might experience an Intense hunger for Sin, be that in the form or wrathful anger, or lustfull pleasure. I suspect these "grey-teiflings" might mutate in line with thier devil heritage, and gain abilities that help to incite these sins in others, so that they can feed on or gain some sort of fulfillment from the sins of others.

[monstersdownthepath]

Spiritual Spotlight: Nivi Rhombodazzle, the Grey Polychrome

True Neutral Demigoddess of Gems, Stealth, and Gambling

Domains: Community, Earth, Luck, Trickery Subdomains: Caves, Deception, Fate, Thievery

Faiths of Golarion, pg. 47~51

Obedience: Engage in a game of chance in which gems, money, or objects of value equaling or exceeding 10gp are at stake. Offer a prayer to Nivi Rhombodazzle out loud just before the wager begins (before the dice are thrown, the cards are drawn, the wheel is spun, etc). If there is no one else to wager against, make a bet against yourself on Nivi’s behalf, setting aside the winnings as an offering to her should she ‘win.’ In either case, afterwords, spend the remaining time in private reveling in the thrill of chance and steeling yourself for the moment when fate will turn against you. Benefit: Gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus to Bluff and Sleight of Hand checks. The type of bonus depends on your alignment; if you are neither good nor evil, you must choose whether it is a sacred or profane bonus when you first perform this Obedience and cannot be changed after.

Much like Cayden Cailean, keeping Nivi’s faith on the down-low is more or less impossible. Thankfully, her faith is accepted (or at least tolerated) in more or less any settlement, aside perhaps in those where gambling is viewed with scorn.

This Obedience may at first seem like it’s difficult to do consistently because after all, you stand to lose 10gp every day! But note that it says that 10gp must be at stake, not that you, personally, must have contributed to the prize. If ten other people each donate 1gp and you toss in a single copper (or a button that looks like a copper in the right light and when not examined too closely), the thing still counts for your Obedience. You don’t have to spend a silver, you just have to be part of the wager.

Also note that this Obedience can very well apply to things like a party deciding who gets to carry the Cursed Artifact Of Horrible Death (certainly worth more than 10gp) for the day, though you CAN’T use it if someone’s spinning a chore wheel. Your labor may certainly be worth more than 10gp, but her Obedience demands that material goods be at stake.

Also, there’s nothing saying that you can’t simply give items back once you’ve ‘won’ them, or that other winners can’t give their ill-gotten gains back to their rightful owners. The alternative Obedience requiring you to bet against yourself also doesn’t say you need to donate or otherwise lose Nivi’s winnings, so you can just pocket them once more at the end. Nivi might look down on that, though--despite her penchant for gambling, she does not tolerate actual cheating--so do that carefully.

That benefit is pretty good, though. Bluff is a very valuable skill for moments where Diplomacy can’t be used, and though Sleight of Hand is much rarer, the moments where you NEED to use it will make you thankful you have the bonus.

Boons are gathered slowly, typically obtained when a given character has 12, 16, and 20 hit dice. Unlike fiend-worshipers, servants of the Eldest, and devoted of the Empyreal Lords, characters worshiping Neutral gods do not seem to have catch-all classes (though I could very well have just missed it)… but Neutral-aligned characters can enter the Evangelist, Sentinel, and Exalted Prestige Classes earlier than Evil characters, classing in as early as level 6 (they need +5 BAB, 5 ranks in a single skill, or the ability to cast lvl 3 spells); entered ASAP, one can gain the Boons at levels 8, 11, and 14.

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EVANGELIST

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Boon 1: Gambler’s Essentials. Gain True Strike 3/day, Augury 2/day, or Haste 1/day.

I love this ability’s name. Not above steering luck in her own favor (NOT cheating!), Nivi grants her followers the same blessing. 3/day True Strike is fairly decent, though as your levels climb, you may find it more and more difficult to justify giving up a round of actions in order to assure your next attack strikes. Augury I’ll usually never take even as a spell-like; it takes too long to cast, and knowing the future may cause it to change.

Besides, those two options are stacked up against Haste. They never really had a chance. Unless you desperately need a fortune told, Haste is always, ALWAYS the way to go every time it appears as a potential Boon.

Boon 2: Gambler’s Egress. 3/day as a swift action, you may cast Litany of Escape as a spell-like ability targeting yourself or an ally.

I had no idea Litany of Escape existed until doing this article. For those not in the know, it’s a Close-range (25ft + 5ft/level) spell that can be used on a willing creature (and yourself, which is a Gambler’s Egress-only blessing) to instantaneously pop them out of a grapple or a pin, and teleport them 10ft in any direction while getting them to their feet.

I know a lot of times I’ll say that an ability is invaluable or that it will save your life, but it goes without saying that instantly breaking a grapple regardless of how skilled the grappler is while also giving your friend 10ft of breathing room can stop an encounter from immediately ending. Even if you’re not in direct combat, this spell renders the old “knife to the throat” hostage situations a non-issue and keeps you from being kidnapped by some stealthy, grabby enemy. Normally, the litany is limited by its need for verbal and somatic components (difficult to use while grappled), but as a spell-like, it uses no components.

AND it’s a swift action! So not only can you squeeze out of a Purple Worm’s mouth, but you can then blast it/slash it/run screaming in the same round! I also appreciate the fact Nivi is generous enough to let her followers use this power three times a day.

Boon 3: Gambler’s Prayer. 3/day as a standard action, you may make a wager against Nivi Rhombodazzle. This wager manifests as a Wondrous Effect generated by a Rod of Wonder, which can be aimed towards a target up to 60ft away provided the effect does not affect the wielder. If the 88-90 result is rolled, the gemstones fired are blessed by Nivi and each successful strike deals additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier (min +0). 

It’s important that you know what a Rod of Wonder is so I’m linking it twice. These weird and wacky items can do everything from provide cover via a cloud of butterflies to instantly turning the victim to stone, to reducing the wielder by two entire size categories, to simply blasting someone with a Fireball. This is one ability that actually gets endlessly weirder to use depending on if your DM uses variant Wondrous Effect tables, which I highly encourage when using this power.

I adore this ability! Though how useful it actually as obviously depends heavily on how lucky you’re feeling. Fitting for someone worshiping a goddess who embodies the rush of a wager! But less practical for an adventurer who wants a situation handled, especially once you realize that the save DCs for the Wondrous Effects are pitifully low by the time you get this power (a blessing in disguise, as it reduces the chance of you getting screwed over). If nothing else, it makes for a great distraction, a good party trick, and a good trick to pull out when you just want to make things more interesting.

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EXALTED

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Boon 1: Faithful’s Fortune. Gain Bless 3/day, Misdirection 2/day, or Heroism 1/day.

Ehhh, not a lot here, really. Bless and Heroism are nice, though I’d lean more towards Bless; giving everyone a weak boost is usually better than giving one person a better buff, Heroism is obviously better if you have someone on you side who’s consistently making full-attacks, or someone you expect to be in the thick of it, so it’s a tossup about whether it or Bless is better to take each day.

Misdirection is a cute spell, but unlikely to come in handy unless you really need to hide information about yourself or another. It’s the niche spell in this lineup, one you’re unlikely to need, but will be happy to have when you do.

Boon 2: Gemstone Guardian. 1/day as a standard action, you can summon a Huge Earth Elemental. You gain 100ft of telepathy to commune with the Elemental, and it follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute/Hit Dice before vanishing back into the Plane of Earth. This called Elemental will never obey a command that would make it cause direct harm to a gnome or svirfneblin, though it can be commanded to grapple or otherwise restrain such a creature.

A Huge Earth Elemental is a CR 7 beatstick, undecorated and plain in stats but resilient and obedient. They possess a 15ft reach and two slam attacks which deal 2d8+9 damage. Nothing particularly special, another body on the field, but they do ALSO have the very interesting Earth Glide.

Earth Glide allows the Elemental to pass through anything short of solid metal while burrowing, making it an amazing scout despite its immense size. Earth Glide technically allows it to pass through even worked stone, allowing it to weave easily through stone fortifications protecting an enemy camp, a dungeon, or a castle, so long as it’s not reinforced with metal or wood. With 100ft of telepathy between the two of you, an Earth Elemental can easily report everything it sees to you, and even crossing out of that distance doesn’t mean they instantly die. They can come back and report on what they saw.

Note that the first time you use this to your advantage, it’s likely the DM didn’t forsee it. The second and beyond? Awfully weird how enemy vaults and bedchambers are so often lined with lead nowadays, eh?

That being said, having a bruiser big enough for you to hide behind is still decent, even though it becomes less useful as your level climbs.

Boon 3: Seven-Pipped Gem. As an immediate action, you can gain a luck bonus on any single d20 roll equal to half your total HD. You may use this ability after you’ve rolled, but you must use it before the result of the roll is declared. If you use this ability on a Sleight of Hand roll, or a roll pertaining to a game of chance, the luck bonus is equal to your total HD instead. You can safely use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier (min 1), but if you have no daily uses of this ability left, you may still invoke it. Doing so results in a 50% chance that your luck bonus becomes a penalty instead.

Any d20 roll. Any. Skill check, ability check, attack roll, saving throw, weapon damage roll with a ridiculous weapon, random chance rolls on specific weird abilities, death rolls... It’s really astounding how many d20 rolls a single player character makes in one session, isn’t it? And you, servant of Nivi, can get a preposterously huge luck bonus to any of them. Getting +4 to any roll is an amazing ability, and getting +6 is astonishing. You, at minimum, get +7 (fittingly enough), which rises all the way to +10 at level 20.

And if you’re doing some cute Sleight of Hand trick or dealing cards? +20.

Even at 1/day, the ability to get +7 and up to any single d20 roll is... Not particularly incredible compared to most final Boons, I’ll admit, but as your Charisma modifier rises, this ability goes from ‘useful’ to ‘outrageous.’ 2/day? 3/day? 4/day if you’re a Swashbuckler or Charisma-based caster? You basically become untouchable.

And, of course, if you’re feeling daring, there’s the chance of using this ability as often as you feel like in order to try and succeed. At a certain point, like with attack rolls and saving throws, there’s very little reason not to, because if you fail you’ve already failed and things can’t get any worse. But if that +7 would let you just squeak by? Go for it! If you’re going to die, you might as well try, right?

Just note that, because it’s an immediate action, you can only use it 1/round... And that a DM may take abuse of this ability as a signal they need to be harsher on your failures. Maybe you take a swing at a monster with 20 AC and roll a 13. You’ve already missed, right? So might as well try and use the Seven-Pipped Gem to succe--oh you got a penalty instead. Oh well, not like you lost anything! Unless the DM decides that your foul luck caused your weapon to slip from your hands, opening you up to an Attack of Opportunity...

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SENTINEL

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Boon 1: Communal Combatant. Divine Favor 3/day, Shield Other 2/day, or Prayer 1/day.

Back in Milani’s article, I discussed both Divine Favor (Exalted) and Shield Other (Sentinel), so just pop over there and give them a look if you need a refresher! Favor is a lot more useful for the traditionally-martial Sentinel than it was for the typically-caster Exalted, so it’s a pleasure to see here! Its power rises with your level, up to +3 to attack and damage rolls, and while its spell form quickly falls off in usefulness, its spell-like form is much more flexible. Its 1 minute duration will last likely an entire combat with some time left over (meaning you should slap it on the moment you detect trouble), and it’s always nice to have.

Shield Other is typically nicer to have, though. Granting your allies expanded durability is always good, and your own (presumably) fat HP bar buffering your fragile but more blaster-y friends will keep them from being downed the moment they’re focused.

Prayer is... Actually really good? It’s a very small bonus, but it applies to everyone in a 40ft burst, works on more or less every roll they make, and penalizes enemies at the same time. That’s a +2 swing in your favor, and it offers no saving throw. It won’t change the course of an entire combat, but it’ll certainly make everything run a little more smoothly. All three of these options are actually really good! It just depends on what your party needs, really.

Boon 2: Stone Strikes. 1/round as a free action when successfully striking an enemy with any weapon in the hammer weapons group, or any weapon with “gnome” in its name, you may attempt a sunder combat maneuver check against any one weapon or piece of armor your target is wielding/wearing. You get a +2 competence bonus to this check for each size category above yours your enemy is.

First thing’s first: Note that there’s no daily limit to how many times you can use this power. There’s really, really no reason NOT to use this ability, beyond wanting to steal your enemy’s equipment for yourself, because even failing your check doesn’t cost you anything but a bit of extra time from rolling the dice. Going for a sunder build can see enemies peeled right out of their armor or robbed of their weapons in short order, though it should be noted that this ability doesn’t state that your sunder attempt doesn’t provoke an Attack of Opportunity. Easy enough to overcome with a single feat (Improved Sunder), and building your character with this ability in mind can make for a very, very fun but very, very frustrating (for the DM) character.

Note that sunder attempts take the object’s hardness into account, though. Without powerful magic weapons, you’ll likely only be hitting for 2 or 3 damage at a time. For enemies with unenchanted gear, this is often enough (a typical weapon has around 5 HP), but enchanting them boosts both their hardness and their HP, making actually shattering them extremely difficult to do. You can, at least, give them the broken condition relatively easily.

And, again, since you can do this for free on any successful attack, there’s really nothing stopping you from just tacking it on every single round until your enemy’s breastplate or longsword lays in a thousand pieces. I do like the touch that you’re better at breaking things that are bigger than you, though, which means you’re actually encouraged to get into a giant’s threat radius for once.

Boon 3: Strength of the Earth. As a free action, you may enter a specialized defensive stance. In this stance, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC, a +4 morale bonus to Strength and Constitution (which causes you to gain +2 HP per HD you possess), and a +2 morale bonus to Will saves. In this stance, you cannot willingly move from your current position, or the stance ends (it is NOT ended if you are forcibly moved by an enemy). You cannot enter this stance while raging. You may maintain this stance for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + your Constitution modifier, plus an additional 2 rounds per day for each Sentinel level you possess. Breaking or being broken from your stance fatigues you for 2 rounds for ever 1 round you maintained it (min 2), and while fatigued from this ability, you may use your Stone Strike ability 1/round against an enemy that strikes you in melee.

Hmmm... You know, on paper this looks good, but against any enemy that doesn’t actually want to fight you, this ability is defeated simply by walking away. Not a fan of that, unless you’re wielding a compound bow (or any ranged weapon, but a compound bow lets you use the extra +4 Str), in which case you’ve just become a shielded artillery platform.

I’m just really not impressed with this power, despite that. I am aware that most combats in Pathfinder tend to devolve into “standing next to the enemy and pushing the Attack Button,” but against enemies that DON’T want to stand next to you and attack away, like, say, around 60% of the classes in the game, this power translates to turning yourself into a Do Not Cross barrier. There’s a LOT of interesting things you could do with this ability, especially if you had a reach or ranged weapon, but, again, all an enemy has to do against you is walk away. If you break out of the stance to reposition, you get fatigued, and any enemy worth their salt will attack you at that point. They’ll probably lose their weapons for doing so, but being fatigued is painful nonetheless.

... All that being said, though, there’s a great many enemies who simply won’t recognize the fact you’ve just taken on your defensive stance, and will continue to stand next to you and attack without realizing why their strikes are being deflected more and more often, and without realizing that you’ve just gained +2 HP per HD and that you’re suddenly hitting much harder and much more often.

You can read more about Nivi here.

[chille-tid-universe]

Welcome to Daggerford

As the party continued down the dusty road, a light breeze drifted through the air. They had come across an increasing number of travelers, from obvious adventurers to merchants to small regiments of guards, and thus they knew they were reaching the next stop in their trek: Daggerford.

As the sun started to fall, the four spied the rising walls of the city. It was larger than any settlement they had seen since Orlane, but the walls showed signs of neglect, and wary guardsmen and women stood stationed atop the parapets, bows strung and with arrows in easy reach. There was a short queue of travelers ahead of the group, each person answering to a gatekeeper before being admitted. Brienne took all this in, eyes sweeping from crumbling stone to fidgety archers to stern gatekeeper, taking in the terse atmosphere around their fellow travelers. Wun Way softly teased a few notes from her pan flute, while Poc stood as far from Nissa as he could.

The gnomes had been frosty since the incident a few days past which had ended with Nissa’s crossbows pointed directly at Poc. The poor cleric had made sure to keep Brienne and Wun Way between himself and Nissa since then, but he still flinched whenever Nissa glanced his way. For her part, Nissa seemed to have moved past the whole ordeal, but during his night watch Poc could have sworn that he caught her eyes staring at him as he paced their campfire. He told himself that he was being silly, that being a member of the group meant they both had buried the hatchet, but she was a Svirfneblin, after all…

Poc was brought back from his musings as the merchant ahead of them was waved through the wooden gates. The gatekeeper raised his free hand as they approached, a tall halberd in his other. “What is your business?” he asked in a gruff tone, only the barest hint of inflection indicating a question. Wun Way stepped forward and flashed a smile to the guard, stating that they were a group of travelers passing through. The guard eyed her, but seemed otherwise unimpressed. When he pressed for how long they intended to stay in Daggerford, Wun Way smiled again and assured him they would be no more than a week. He grunted and raised his hand again, signalling for them to enter.

Before they did, Brienne asked if there was an inn or tavern the gatekeeper might recommend. He gave an almost mechanical answer, as if he had anticipated the question. “River Shining Tavern’s the oldest you’ll find in the city, and better run than most others. They’ll have room for ya.” Brienne thanked him, then lead the party into the city.

As they passed under the wall, Poc noticed that its ramshackle state extended to the buildings it hid. The city was busy, but not particularly well kept, with rotted timber and crumbling arches, especially out in the extremities of the city. As they continued on, however, Castle Daggerford rose before them, and Poc instantly recognized the solid craftsmanship of dwarves in its regal buttresses, in the sure blocks of stone that seemed to proudly stand above these lesser constructions as if to attest to its makers’ long-lasting accomplishment. Poc made a mental note to seek some information as to the construction of the castle.

As they continued down crowded roads, Nissa shook her head. “Last time you were recommended an inn, we almost ended up snake food.”

Brienne glanced at the cityfolk passing by, at the bustle of street vendors and hagglers. “Orlane is a long way off, and these folk seem much more… human.” Nissa shrugged, eyes darting from face to face, and Brienne sighed. “If you can find another suitable location, we can stay there, instead.”

Nissa only nodded, then shot off from the group. Brienne and Wun Way pushed through the throng of people, with Poc hanging from their cloaks, to find Nissa conversing with a halfling by the side of the road. As the group finally made their way to Nissa, the halfling walked away, and a gnomish grin spread on Nissa’s face. “I found a new place to stay!” she exclaimed. “The Happy Cow Inn!”

Brienne frowned. “And you trust this new place over the River Shining Tavern because..?” Nissa jerked a thumb at the receding halfling.

“He’s the size a normal person should be. More trustworthy.” Poc had the grace to look embarrassed for Nissa as Wun Way giggled. Brienne just shrugged and gestured for the svirfneblin to lead the way.

As they made their way in an arc around the central Castle Daggerford, they wound their way through many streets. Some were in better repair than others, and in one out-of-the-way alley, a shabbily cloaked beggar stumbled into their path. “Spare a coin?” the pitiful voice rasped. Though the other three made to skirt around the beggar, Brienne paused. She glanced around the alley, aware of potential threats, before reaching into the bag of holding and pulling out a couple of coppers. She placed them in the scabrous, outstretched hands, and was rewarded with a brilliant, toothy smile. Brienne smiled back, and caught up with the group. A few minutes later, however, there were two more beggars almost waiting for them around a turn. The other three rolled their eyes and stepped around the ragged forms while Brienne counted out the last few coppers, splitting them between the beggars. As Nissa sneered back at the generosity, Brienne simply shrugged.

Minutes later, the gang ended up before a spacious inn. As they stepped inside, however, Brienne rolled her eyes. “A halfling inn?” she asked Nissa incredulously.

Nissa couldn’t, or wouldn’t, hear Brienne’s tone, however. She nodded excitedly, gesturing at all the “normal sized” fixings of the inn. There was also an area of the room with larger tables, hosting a handful of humans and elves, and one strange figure playing, but the majority of the inn was miniature tables and a crowd of halflings.

Wun Way looked around doubtingly, but Nissa practically hopped to the bar and motioned to the halfling barkeep, a stout halfling woman who introduced herself as Nendy. Her first reaction to Nissa’s ashen features was slight surprise, as if she hadn’t been expecting Nissa, but that soon gave way to an easy joviality that seemed prevalent in the room. Nendy described prices that seemed fair and even offered a “tall folk” room for the two “giants.” While Brienne settled the tab, however, Wun Way had eyes only for the strange being playing in the corner of the “tall folk” section.

She was a brilliantly beautiful asimar, as Wun Way recognized her from tales of her father. With a voice like flowing honey, the woman’s song filled the room, a subtle undertone to the boisterous conversations. Like a moth to flame, Wun Way drifted over to the stage and sat enthralled.

Through her song, the asimar identified herself as Melpomene, an enchanting musician whom Wun Way took a shining to immediately. As Wun Way listened, Poc and Nissa were pulled into the boisterous crowd of halflings. Brienne called for Nendy and inquired about the happenings in the surrounding area. The halfling woman simply shrugged and said that things had been pretty normal around the city recently, other than a few bands of orcs and their “helpers” in the surrounding area. When Brienne pushed, Nendy suggested reaching out to the militia to see how they were faring. Satisfied, Brienne thanked her and settled in to enjoy the music.

The night wore on, and before too long the halflings had tired themselves out. As one, they seemed to decide the day had held enough excitement, and there was an exodus, both to the doors of the inn and to the stairs for those staying the night. Warm farewells were bandied across the room, and in a manner of minutes, the group of four was alone in the inn, apart from Nendy and the exotic Melpomene.

Nendy continued tending to the countless mugs that littered the bar while the party regrouped, and Wun Way began to approach the asimar. As she passed by a table, however, the light from its single candle flickered, then burst into a large flame that rose a foot off the table. With a start, hands went to weapons, and more flames erupted on the other tables. As maniacal cackling began to echo in the room, Nendy threw her hands into the air and retreated with a scream to the side door in the room. Nissa attempted to follow her, but seemed to collide with something in the open door frame. Wide-eyed, she backed into the room, and began brandishing her crossbows in various directions at the air.

Frowning, Brienne quickly reached into the bag of holding to remove the lantern of revealing. “Ready yourselves!” she cried, as she fiddled with the wick, borrowing from a jug of lantern oil behind the bar. As the lantern’s seemingly redundant flame sputtered into life, the winged forms of imps flickered into view, their invisibility dispeled. As the imps realized they could see their comrades, the cackling became shrieks of annoyance, and they swarmed the remaining patrons of the inn.

Wun Way raised her rapier, but the imps were too quick. With a series of opportune strikes, they felled the half-elf, gleeful jabbering filling the air as their tails pierced her. In a heap, she fell to the floor. Brienne, seeing this, cried out and struck at the swarming imps around her, the fell battleaxe cutting easily through a pair of imps in a single blow, the backswing taking another two. The remaining imp near her cackled, but it glanced warily at the fallen bodies on the floor.

Nissa ducked beneath the stinging tails and fired at the cretins, reaching her blade up to strike at the winged menaces while Melponene revealed a blade from the folds of her cloak and struck out with a beautiful war-cry. Poc, seeing Wun Way fall, darted between the flitting enemies and reached for her fallen form, chanting to his god as life flowed from his fingers into her unconscious body. With a gasp, Wun Way sat up, sheepishly grinning thanks at the gnome.

With Wun Way revived, the party was reinvigorated, and in short order they had regrouped and cut down most of the imps. As they fought, however, the devilish fires spread, and soon tables and chairs joined the conflagration. In less than a minute, the last three imps glanced about the room and flew up to a high window, smashing it. “Oh no you don’t,” Wun Way grunted, then prestidigitated the appearance of the unbroken window back into its frame. This flabbergasted the imps for another second, in which time Brienne’s thrown axe cleaved one of them in two, but when an imp attempted to break the window again, it comically fell through the illusion, sending it drifting like a cloud. With a shriek, the last imp fled after its fellow.

The imps gone, the party’s attention turned to the room. The fire was spreading, and smoke was beginning to gather at the ceiling. Melpomene shouted over the roar, “There’s a barrel of water in the back room, where Nendy ran!”

Brienne nodded and pointed to the door. “Go bring it in here! We need to get everyone out!” At this point, confused patrons from the sleeping quarters had begun peering down the stairs. Wun Way motioned for Nissa and Poc to stand back, then shattered the wall near the burning entrance, leaving a gaping hole to the chilled outside air. With a gesture from Brienne, the halflings began picking their way through the burning tables to the outside, but not before Nissa could dash through the rubble. Brienne darted up the stairs around the halflings and began banging on doors, making sure each room was vacated.

Poc and Wun Way began using the heavy curtains to beat out the flames as Brienne ran back down the stairs. Noticing that Melpomene still had not returned, she darted into the back room. There, she found Nendy curled up in a corner, rocking herself back and forth, while the asimar struggled with a large barrel of water. “Let me help,” Brienne offered, gripping the wide barrel and hefting it over her shoulder. As the two carried it back to the burning room, Wun Way motioned for them to lay the barrel on a table near the middle of the room. With concentration, the half-elf centered another shatter spell in the middle of the barrel, sending bits of wood and gouts of water spreading across half the room.

By this time, a bucket brigade had formed outside the inn, passing buckets of water into the room. Poc placed a protection spell on himself and went to the front of the line, taking the buckets and tossing their contents over the remaining flames before passing them back. The flames were beginning to recede, though it didn’t seem like it would be fast enough, until a lone figure walked out of the night’s darkness, in cowled robe and holding a tattered scroll. He spoke a powerful word and unfurled the scroll, and a sphere of floating water materialized within the room. He gestured and uttered another word, and the water spread, coating the room in a manner of moments. After that, only a few smoldering spots remained, which were contained easily by the volunteers. As the old man turned and walked away without another word, Brienne asked one of the halflings about him. He explained it had been Ol’ Man Ondanbarl, the Wizard of Daggerford.

After the party had found Nissa again, they stood and stared at the scorched inn. “Guess we’ll be going to the River Shining Tavern, after all,” Poc commented, drawing a sharp glance from Nissa. Wun Way glanced over at Melpomene, instrument slung over her shoulder, staring furtively at the blackened husk of an inn. The half-elf walked up and cleared her throat, drawing the asimar’s attention.

“You know… If you’re looking for a new place to stay, we were going to head to the River Shining Tavern. In case you wanted to join us.” The asimar grinned slyly, remembering her last interaction with the Tavern’s owner.

“I suppose I’ll be needing a new hall to play in,” she mused, voice like crystal in the night air. She nodded at the other bard and followed her back to the party. As she approached, Brienne nodded a greeting.

“You fought well, and I appreciate your help with the flames,” the human said. “We’d be honored to travel to the Tavern with you.”

There were thankfully no more burning buildings as the augmented party made their way around the city to the River Shining Tavern, and although the hour was late the innkeeper had been roused by the commotion nearby. They were welcomed to their rooms and tiredly set up watch, the long night catching up to them. As most of the party sunk into sleep, mad cackling could be heard over the rooftops, far across the city.

[runningourgame-blog]

Uncommon Races: Gnome

A constant hum of busy activity pervades the warrens and neighborhoods where gnomes form their close-knit communities. Louder sounds punctuate the hum: a crunch of grinding gears here, a minor explosion there, a yelp of surprise or triumph, and especially bursts of laughter. Gnomes take delight in life, enjoying every moment of invention, exploration, investigation, creation, and play.

Vibrant Expression

A gnome’s energy and enthusiasm for living shines through every inch of his or her tiny body. Gnomes average slightly over 3 feet tall and weigh 40 to 45 pounds. Their tan or brown faces are usually adorned with broad smiles (beneath their prodigious noses), and their bright eyes shine with excitement. Their fair hair has a tendency to stick out in every direction, as if expressing the gnome’s insatiable interest in everything around.

A gnome’s personality is writ large in his or her appearance. A male gnome’s beard, in contrast to his wild hair, is kept carefully trimmed but often styled into curious forks or neat points. A gnome’s clothing, though usually made in modest earth tones, is elaborately decorated with embroidery, embossing, or gleaming jewels.

Delighted Dedication

As far as gnomes are concerned, being alive is a wonderful thing, and they squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of their three to five centuries of life. Humans might wonder about getting bored over the course of such a long life, and elves take plenty of time to savor the beauties of the world in their long years, but gnomes seem to worry that even with all that time, they can’t get in enough of the things they want to do and see.

Gnomes speak as if they can’t get the thoughts out of their heads fast enough. Even as they offer ideas and opinions on a range of subjects, they still manage to listen carefully to others, adding the appropriate exclamations of surprise and appreciation along the way.

Though gnomes love jokes of all kinds, particularly puns and pranks, they’re just as dedicated to the more serious tasks they undertake. Many gnomes are skilled engineers, alchemists, tinkers, and inventors. They’re willing to make mistakes and laugh at themselves in the process of perfecting what they do, taking bold (sometimes foolhardy) risks and dreaming large.

Bright Burrows

Gnomes make their homes in hilly, wooded lands. They live underground but get more fresh air than dwarves do, enjoying the natural, living world on the surface whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden by both clever construction and simple illusions. Welcome visitors are quickly ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome are unlikely to find the burrows in the first place.

Gnomes who settle in human lands are commonly gemcutters, engineers, sages, or tinkers. Some human families retain gnome tutors, ensuring that their pupils enjoy a mix of serious learning and delighted enjoyment. A gnome might tutor several generations of a single human family over the course of his or her long life.

ALWAYS APPRECIATIVE

It’s rare for a gnome to be hostile or malicious unless he or she has suffered a grievous injury. Gnomes know that most races don’t share their sense of humor, but they enjoy anyone’s company just as they enjoy everything else they set out to do.

Gnome Names

Gnomes love names, and most have half a dozen or so. A gnome’s mother, father, clan elder, aunts, and uncles each give the gnome a name, and various nicknames from just about everyone else might or might not stick over time. Gnome names are typically variants on the names of ancestors or distant relatives, though some are purely new inventions. When dealing with humans and others who are “stuffy” about names, a gnome learns to use no more than three names: a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname, choosing the one in each category that’s the most fun to say.

Male Names: Alston, Alvyn, Boddynock, Brocc, Burgell, Dimble, Eldon, Erky, Fonkin, Frug, Gerbo, Gimble, Glim, Jebeddo, Kellen, Namfoodle, Orryn, Roondar, Seebo, Sindri, Warryn, Wrenn, Zook

Female Names: Bimpnottin, Breena, Caramip, Carlin, Donella, Duvamil, Ella, Ellyjobell, Ellywick, Lilli, Loopmottin, Lorilla, Mardnab, Nissa, Nyx, Oda, Orla, Roywyn, Shamil, Tana, Waywocket, Zanna

Clan Names: Beren, Daergel, Folkor, Garrick, Nackle, Murnig, Ningel, Raulnor, Scheppen, Timbers, Turen

Nicknames: Aleslosh, Ashhearth, Badger, Cloak, Doublelock, Filchbatter, Fnipper, Ku, Nim, Oneshoe, Pock, Sparklegem, Stumbleduck

Seeing the World

Curious and impulsive, gnomes might take up adventuring as a way to see the world or for the love of exploring. As lovers of gems and other fine items, some gnomes take to adventuring as a quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Regardless of what spurs them to adventure, gnomes who adopt this way of life eke as much enjoyment out of it as they do out of any other activity they undertake, sometimes to the great annoyance of their adventuring companions.

Gnome Traits

Your gnome character has certain characteristics in common with all other gnomes.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

Age. Gnomes mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500 years.

Alignment. Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or inventors. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious.

Size. Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision. Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Gnome Cunning. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Gnomish. The Gnomish language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world.

Subraces

Two subraces of gnomes are found among the worlds of D&D: forest gnomes and rock gnomes. Choose one of these subraces.

DEEP GNOMES

A third subrace of gnomes, the deep gnomes (or svirfneblin), live in small communities scattered in the Underdark. Unlike the duergar and the drow, svirfneblin are as good as their surface cousins. However, their humor and enthusiasm are dampened by their oppressive environment, and their inventive expertise is directed mostly toward stonework.

Rock Gnome

As a rock gnome, you have a natural inventiveness and hardiness beyond that of other gnomes. Most gnomes in the worlds of D&D are rock gnomes, including the tinker gnomes of the Dragonlance setting.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Artificer’s Lore. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to magic items, alchemical objects, or technological devices, you can add twice your proficiency bonus, instead of any proficiency bonus you normally apply.

Tinker. You have proficiency with artisan’s tools (tinker’s tools). Using those tools, you can spend 1 hour and 10 gp worth of materials to construct a Tiny clockwork device (AC 5, 1 hp). The device ceases to function after 24 hours (unless you spend 1 hour repairing it to keep the device functioning), or when you use your action to dismantle it; at that time, you can reclaim the materials used to create it. You can have up to three such devices active at a time.

When you create a device, choose one of the following options:

Clockwork Toy. This toy is a clockwork animal, monster, or person, such as a frog, mouse, bird, dragon, or soldier. When placed on the ground, the toy moves 5 feet across the ground on each of your turns in a random direction. It makes noises as appropriate to the creature it represents.

Fire Starter. The device produces a miniature flame, which you can use to light a candle, torch, or campfire. Using the device requires your action.

Music Box. When opened, this music box plays a single song at a moderate volume. The box stops playing when it reaches the song’s end or when it is closed.

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

KENDER

VS DEEP GNOME

Kender, gnome offshoots in 5e, which is BY FAR the most charitable version.3-4 ft (91-122 cm) tall, near immune to fear, supernaturally annoying, and incredibly curious. Combine that with the belief that the worst eternal torture of Hell is literally just "being bored"...you can imagine they get into trouble. They have shrill voices, short attention spans, and have a habit of stealing everything in sight then forgetfully walking off with it (though 5e acknowledged that some are knowing thieves playing dumb). They are quite loyal though, the "friendship is the real treasure" type, and feel emotions strongly.

The Svirfneblin, or Deep Gnome! 3​-3.5 ft (91​ to ​110 cm), can innately use "disguise self," and can see in the dark! Still the magical, curious, and clever gnomes, just a bit more surly and cynical because they live in a place where everything wants them dead or worse. They can still be happy, nothing gets that stony guard to crack like a cool gem or mineral, they just don't trust easy. They do thier job, pick a special interest or two that they love, and never expect to get much more than they already have. So basically just an average blue collar worker, but fun sized! :D

[wanderingmoonsword]

Gutslug

An adherent of the worms-with-teeth school of monster design, gutslugs are underground predators with an unnerving resemblance to the entrails of a giant given a perverse life of their own. They hunt warm-blooded prey and have difficulty sensing cold-blooded life that doesn’t get too close. Despite their worm-like shape, gutslugs have one other trick beyond blindsight – they can fly, something that you just don’t expect. Salt and alcohol have their uses – salt wounds them as it does many slugs and alcohol makes their ability to coil around prey far less potent – but the best deterrent is force employed aggressively to end the threat as fast as possible. With their strange appearance, gutslugs are excellent horrors from below – or beyond – the earth, a reason to delve deep to uncover what has driven them to the surface and stem the tide of monsters. Of course, the gutslugs may be just the harbinger of something far, far worse if you dig too deep…

Within the depths of the earth, opinions on gutslugs vary between races, although many will leave a nest on a strategic avenue in place if it’s far enough away. The svirfneblin and duergar show an uncommon consensus on the point of exterminating any nest too close by, sometimes employing fire and acid to scour anywhere their eggs might lurk. Drow are similar but occasionally harvest reagents using slave labor (or bait, which they regard as much the same thing). Troglodyes simply ignore them, as do kobolds unless a draconic master forces them to do otherwise. The mongrelfolk, ever pragmatic and unusually tolerant of strange sources of sustenance, often hunt gutslugs as a rich source of protein. Possibly the strangest are the

Lairing among the stalactites far above, gutslugs are an unpleasant but common hazard in the drow-dominated trading city of Shylfalduahr. Trusted slaves who have fallen out of favor or the occasional down-on-their-luck sellswords and mercenaries are frequently sent to clear them out, tightly belted into the saddles of the mammoth cave lizards (treat as giant gecko lizards with the giant template applied). The gutslugs mostly ignore the geckos but oftentimes make a meal of their hunters, something the drow aren’t overly concerned about. Indeed, many building owners make some extra copper dizalas renting out space on roofs and terraces to watch the spectacle.

Although thought of by most who know of them as underground predators, gutslugs also like to lurk in the underbelly of karsts, using the numerous caves to hide from the light of the sun. When night falls with the air humid and heavy, they emerge from their caves to fly through the air, stalking anyone foolish enough to be outside. Regions with subterranean gutslug infestations often have heavy undergrowth, the common mammalian grazers and browsers thinned out and hunting cats and wolves driven elsewhere. Terrestrial reptiles fare better, sometimes growing to unusual sizes not seen elsewhere in the region.

- Tome of Horrors Complete 360

[dailycharacteroption]

Fermenter (Alchemist Archetype)

(art by Christian Lachel on Artstation)

 The art of distilling and fermenting is perhaps one of the earliest acts of chemistry that humanity ever discovered, so it only makes sense that alchemists would have a specialization centered around it.

While some dismiss them as mere moonshiners or drug chemists, these fermenters are always eager to see the results of their work first-hand, and are unafraid of testing their concoctions, particularly tinctures, on themselves.

Tinctures are a type of alchemical consumable that is suspended in alcohol, and has plenty of useful effects at the cost of drawbacks due to the imbibers altered state of mind. Needless to say, these alchemists learn to make the most of them, and push the boundaries of their limits with their research.

There is some credence to the stereotypes about them, however, as testing on themselves means they have intimate knowledge of what mixtures have pleasing effects, and therefore, are a good way to make money from home-distilled booze or handmade designer drugs. However, they may find themselves unwelcome in places where such practices are heavily regulated or outlawed.

As we will soon see, the fermenter boasts fun ways to enhance themselves both in and out of combat.

 These alchemists put a lot inside their bodies, and as such, they develop a high tolerance for alcohol, as well as a decent resistance to the addictive effects of drugs, and even the harmful effects of tinctures. All of which only grows with their mastery, until they take no penalty at all from tinctures, and can down copious amounts of alcohol without noticing the effects.

Being in an altered state of mind does, however, make them heavy-handed with their bomb ingredients though, and when so affected they tend to create bombs that are more volatile and dangerous, but harder to aim.

As masters of distilling, they have learned to brew tinctures en masse, able to brew multiple doses in a single batch, rather than one at a time.

This archetype expects to character to brew large amounts of tinctures, drugs, and the like and use them to enhance their abilities. Tinctures cross the line of the limits of what alchemical buffs are supposed to allow, so they maintain their use even into high levels, especially since fermenters eventually negate all the drawbacks as well. If all that appeals to you over poisons, perhaps this archetype is for you. I personally recommend a combined blasting and utility build able to destroy foes with bombs in great store and have the right buffed skills and abilities for the situation.

 While this archetype heavily makes use of intoxicants to buff themselves and activate certain other abilities, please remember to enjoy anything in moderation and safety.

In any case, there’s a lot of inspiration you could take from the aesthetic of moonshiners, rum-runners, and other prohibition-era tropes, but remember that these are hardly the only sort of fermenters you might see in the game setting depending on local laws.

  Mighty wollipeds are herded for their fur and meat on Lokas, but the world is also famous for it’s low-temperature brews of local fruit, something the alchemists living there have developed for years, including a variety of intoxicating mind-altering substances of varying levels of legality. Some of these even make it off world through the portal gates.

 The brewing and selling of liquor was banned by Alcos the Stoic, but despite the best efforts of his men, he can’t stamp out the underground brewing economy, which is lead by many crafty alchemists, who only grow more creative and daring once they begin imbibing the fruit of their labors.

 Though grumpy and grim to most, Balgan Blessed the svirfneblin knows exactly how to get a party started, constantly tinkering in his lab to create all sorts of intoxicants that even the drow seek him out for, though occasionally someone gets it in their head to kidnap him for exclusive control of his work, a decision that often heralds raids by others deep world factions.

[shonikado]

Warning: Contains "Shonikado Does Tabletop: Episode 8"

this was another mini-session because we were missing most of the crew BUT had all of the people for the mini thing

SO WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, good question, time for me to try really hard to remember

Well for starters, the barbarian fought the drow and the svirfneblin up in their room, while the monk fought the duergar down outside of the inn. Also the flan mech ran upstairs to try and engage in a bit of damage control, because they expected the duo to be way more discreet. Anyway, the svirfneblin leaped out the window to escape and the duergar tried to go invisible, but the monk handily smashed both of their faces in. The barbarian did a decent job fighting the drow but was cut off by the mech outright murdering the drow and stuffing their body in a cart they'd intimidated a staff member into giving them.

So the flan mech was like "hey this went really badly so in order to keep this on the down-low I'm gonna have to dispose of all three of these fools and hire actors to pretend to be them"

and the party was like "oh, uh, jeez, okay"

this is also where I started keeping track of who witnessed what because I'm gonna have a field day trying to figure out what the fallout of all these shenanigans are

anyway, having "successfully" dealt with the Undertakers, the party decided it was time to gunk up the goblin-piloted gelatinous cube mech. The flan mech chainsaw'd open some bars blocking an entrance to a tunnel system that a resistance group used some centuries ago (said resistance group, evidenced by some flags still left inside the tunnels, successfully took over the city and is now the faction that runs it). The duo, sans Whiskers, went into the tunnels and went through the secret entrance into the goblin-inventor-guild building. There were two goblins busy working on Something, so the monk snuck around - one of the goblins went to the mech to put the Something in but the monk knocked them out (which minimal Getting Noticed involved) and threw some molasses into the inner workings, and made it look like the goblin slipped and hit their head. Then the monk bolted without the other goblin noticing, and all was well

although they found the entrance they came in at blocked by an armored elf and a halfling, who seemed to be investigating the destroyed bars, so the party took a different route out which led out to a cliff facing the sea. They managed to climb up - the monk tried some absolutely ridiculous shenanigans that involved spending 3 ki points and nearly sent him flying into the ocean on two occasions. Meanwhile, the barbarian just did an athletics check.

at this point the only official sabotage target left was the time-stopping paladin. The flan mech provided the duo with some Awakening Ale - a special brew that can give immunity to sleep for a few hours - with the intent of using it to keep the paladin from getting a long rest and regaining their once-per-long-rest time stop ability (with them hoping that it'd been used up already). The barbarian managed to sneak in just fine and used the fireplace to turn the ale into a hardly-visible mist, accomplishing that task just fine

and then they decided not to sabotage the people they're fighting next because they want a fair fight, and that's where the session ended

~DING~ SO WHAT WENT WRONG, OR JUST GENERAL THOUGHTS I GUESS

Aside from the fact that recording stuff in a summary is a bit more difficult and also something I'm less interested in being thorough about, everything was pretty okay. I think it wasn't as high-flying fun as the previous session was, but it was still decently enjoyable. Once again co-DMing has some pretty good perks, though I think I'm still largely getting in the way of things.

I think I'm decently good at improvisation but am very held back by the ideas I've already come up with

ALSO I was pretty happy with how combat went with the Undertakers - I've lately been trying more tactical combat, but since I didn't see that as a tactically-interesting fight, I was a lot more freeform and quick with it.

also somehow me and the co-DM sync up REALLY well by accident. The main instance of this was the resistance tunnels being connected to the faction that currently controls the city - the co-DM invented resistance tunnels as a way to sneak into the goblin guild, and I was like "oh this sounds like something that fits well in my world". I was really happy how that worked out

I KEEP BREAKING THE DM ILLUSION THOUGH AND I'M SO MAD ABOUT THAT. It's just my habit to talk about what I'm doing honestly. Hopefully I'll get better there

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

GNOMES

VS DEEP GNOMES

Gnomes! Not your pointy hat lawn gnomes, though they are only 3-4 feet (91-122 cm) tall. They're excitable, cheery, curious, clever, and can see in the dark! Playing and enjoyment are the goals of life for most gnomes, trying to cram as much pleasure and new experiences into thier 400 years as possible. They love having tons of names and nicknames, talking, and jokes (especially witty wordplay). Some can talk to small animals, some are great at tinkering with clockwork trinkets, but all of them or notoriously cunning.

The Svirfneblin, or Deep Gnome! 3​-3.5 ft (91​ to ​110 cm), can innately use "disguise self," and can see in the dark! Still the magical, curious, and clever gnomes, just a bit more surly and cynical because they live in a place where everything wants them dead or worse. They can still be happy, nothing gets that stony guard to crack like a cool gem or mineral, they just don't trust easy. They do thier job, pick a special interest or two that they love, and never expect to get much more than they already have. So basically just an average blue collar worker, but fun sized! :D