Gnomes of Gero

Chaos and Laughter

Introduction

   The Gnomes of Gero are an odd lot, forever engaging in pranks
 and oddball stunts, to the confusion of those around them.



Physiology
   Geroan Gnomes are typical of the AD&D variety:  Short--about
 3', with slightly pointed ears and scruffy hair.

   Skin color ranges from pine-green to earthy brown, and does
 not seem to follow any sort of heredity or environmental
 influence.

   Eye color varies widely, and Gnomes who go have a propensity
 for Illusion magic (either as true Illusionists or as Fools of
 Smathpan) will almost always have different colored eyes--except
 when they don't.



Society

   Sages of other races who have spent long hours studying the
 social structure of Gnomish communities usually come out of the
 experience gibbering quietly and drooling.

   The problem is that there doesn't seem to _be_ any social
 structure, yet the Warren (as their underground communities are
 known) seems to manage just fine, with work getting done without
 any sort of authority figures at all to direct the labor.

   It even operates this way on the household level.  Chores and
 the like are completed at least as efficiently as they are in a
 typical human household, but no one seems to be calling the
 shots.  Indeed, chores are almost "assigned" at random;  one
 day might see the father cooking while the mother straightens up
 the the living areas, and the next day the children will take
 care of the clean-up while the mother cooks, and the father goes
 and trades some goods at the market.  This all occurs with no
 coordination or prior warning.  Diviners using high-powered
 magics to detect any kind of covert communications found
 nothing.

   The Warrens themselves usually are laid out in a disorienting
 non-pattern of criss-crossing tunnels and chambers that seem to
 slope almost at random.  Warrens have very few problems with
 invaders, as even a first-level Illusionist can conceal the
 entrace with a Phantasmal Force spell.



Family & Marriage

   'Marriage', in the sense of a lifetime commitment is almost
 unknown (and even unfathomable) to most Gnomes.  Couples usually
 stay together long enough to raise the children and then often
 move on to other partners.  In some larger Warrens, a form of
 extended polygamy may form involving up to ten different
 "spouses".  In such arrangements, the children generally treat
 all the adults as parental figures.




Names
   Gomish names can take hours to recite in full:  Every Gnome
 has a starting NWP slot that goes to a specific ability:
 Lineage.  A Gnome's full name consists of as many names as he or
 she can recall of his direct ancestors, plus his own name.  Only
 the direct line of ancestors of the same gender is so honored; 
 as a result, most Gnome families will seek to have at least one
 child of each gender, thereby continuing their "family name". 

   For every slot spent on the Lineage NWP, a Gnome can name a
 number of generations of ancestors equal to her Intelligence.



Special Abilities    
   Gnomes possess the following racial abilities:
       Save vs RSW or Spells at +1/3.5 Con
       20% chance of magic item failure
       +1 to hit Bugbears and Kobolds
       L- and G-class Humanoids suffer a -4 to hit
       Infravision (60')
       Tunnel Lore (within 10'):
           Grade or slope:  1-5 on d6
           Unsafe tunnel/chamber:  1-7 on d10
           Approx. depth:  1-4 on d6
           Approx. direction:  1-3 on d6
      

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