EMP: Section 1 Characters - Gnome

Gnome

Requirements, Ability Modifiers, and Ability Min/Max are all by the book.

Racial Characteristics are the same as the LL version, with the following changes:

* Gnomes retain their enhanced detection abilities as per LL rules, but there are no modifiers to Skills.

* Gnomes may only speak their native tongue unless they have exceptional intelligence or are taught another language.

* Gnomes receive +2 to DEX saves, +4 to CON saves, and +2 against any magical effect (not cumulative with the prior two saves).

Game Lore

Gnomes are a cousin species to Dwarves and share some of their characteristics but are still a unique people. Where Dwarves would ply their arts for practical purposes, Gnomes would tends towards the fantastic. Their homelands exist in the Alps and Pyrenees along with the hills and lowlands that connect them. Living in these mountainous regions and spending much of their time underground, Gnomes developed a different relationship with ancient Human civilizations.

Gnomes enjoyed relative peace and quiet with their neighbors in Hispania, Gaul, and Cisalpine Gaul through much of the Republic years of Rome. They were accused, at various times, of supporting both 'sides' through history, such as Hannibal over the Alps and Julius Caesar in Gaul. Regardless, Gnomes traded extensively with their Human neighbors but were able to resist Romanization and Christianization by virtue of their mountainous homelands.

Some people, and many Gnomes, say that these stout people were the true Renaissance men who brought about Europe's rebirth instead of the artisans of northern Italy. In modern times, Gnomes share dominion of the Alps with the Swiss, helping to reform the Swiss Confederacy's army and technology, and are associated with the Basque peoples of the Pyrenees, much to the chagrin of both Spain and France.  Gnome adventurers and tinkerers are found throughout Europe and are appreciated for their talents with less prejudice than many people have of the Dwarven race.