Shy, Industrious Fey Visitors
Native to Elfland, Gnomes are very small and have dark brown skin and white or blonde hair, with large eyes and noses and the men sporting chin-strap beards. They are Good-natured, generous folk with a big imagination and sense of wonder, calmer and warmer than Elves. They are also far more inquisitive, applying their learning to various arts and crafts, including metalwork (Gnomish Chainmail is this world’s equivalent of Elven Chainmail). NPCs are usually Neutral Good.
Elfland has a world beneath the roots of all its trees but still close to the surface, and this is where Gnomes are known to live in clans made up of several family units which often include multiple generations. Gnomish family structure is more defined than Elven, with every Gnome coming from a lifelong monogamous mother-father pairing. Gnomes are the only Fey of Elfland who marry.
Like Elves, Gnomes do not have gods. Titania and Oberon are their king and queen and they recognize no other authority. Unlike Elves, however, Gnomes love tradition and have a formalized religion of sorts paying homage to the Faerie Queen and the King of Shadows which allows for Clerics and Paladins.
The Gnomes of Elfland are all of the Forest Gnome variety as detailed in the PHB, pg. 37. Rock Gnomes are very rare, but descendants of those clans who left Elfland ages ago developed into the Tinker Gnomes of the Skyrealms and the Svirfneblin of the Underdark. Being born outside of Elfland, all Rock Gnome subspecies are considered non-Fey and are incapable of finding Fey Crossings like Forest Gnomes can.
- Forest Gnomes are considered Fey for rules purposes, but Rock Gnomes are not.