Gnomes

Gnomes are a diminutive, industrious race infamous for their constant technological progress. Gnomes tend towards alchemy and tinkering, creating marvels they are happy to share with the rest of the world, for a price.

Appearance
Gnomes are tiny humanoids, usually standing well under 4 feet. Gnomes physically tend to be rather chubby-looking, with round features, big heads, and stubby limbs. Gnomes have large noses but beady eyes, usually very prominent brows.

Gnomes tend to be fair-skinned with notably rosy complexions. Their eyes, however, are notably varied, coming in many shades of blues, purples, greens, or even reds, while their hair colors are usually relegated to blondes, light browns, or white. Gnomes grow thick facial hair which they like to wear in all manner of styles.

Gnomes live about 200 years, but reach maturity after only 25 or so. Gnomes reach what other races would consider middle-aged rather quickly and stay in that state for longer, giving most Gnomes a mature but not elderly appearance. Likewise, old age comes on suddenly and ends in death within only 30 years.

Overview
Gnomes are inquisitive by nature, and tend to be extremely punctual and well organized, although this trait often takes the form of "organized chaos" that varies between individuals. Gnomes are usually polite but to-the-point, being friendly without over-indulging in pleasantries or softening the truth. They do not hide their thoughts or feelings but do not say more than is needed. Most Gnomes fall into strict routines that they despise being interrupted, a fact sometimes hidden behind their tendency towards rather eccentric quirks.

Curiosity is the driving force behind most Gnomes and invention is the result. They value knowledge greatly and the application of that knowledge even moreso. They view the world as a series of problems to be solved, and Gnomes will either consume as much information on their field as they can, or wildly experiment until a solution is found. This mindset causes some Gnomes to start blurring the edges of morality and are prone to the "ends justify the means" argument.

Despite their rather quirky nature, Gnomish culture runs like clockwork with a strict hierarchy and set of laws. However, their individualistic attitude often leads to frequent shifts up and down the social ladder. Despite their friendliness Gnomes tend to be rather competitive and self-serving, which leads to frequent conflicts or rivalries developing. Gnomes are hesitant to accept outsiders unless they can prove to be useful to them, but fully embrace them once they do.

Religion
The Gnomes' patron deity tends to be a rather distant one, encouraging his people to take the world into their own hands rather than guiding them directly. This results in the Gnomes being a rather secular society with little organized religion to be seen. Churches tend to spend more time as academies, with students and scientists praying for inspiration more than anything else. Clerics of Wissenlehre are almost exclusively teachers but also play the role of counselors, giving good life advice to anyone who needs it.

Gnomes dislike turning to other gods for help, desiring only the knowledge required to get them through harsh times. Admitting to praying to another god or even over-indulging on prayers to Wissenlehre is seen as embarrassing. In general the Gnomes view Heaven and Hell and their denizens with less reverence than other races, seeing them as powerful forces of creation but still part of the grand clock of the universe, along with Elementals and other extra-planar entities.

Government
Gnomish governance reflects heavily on their desire for order, usually taking the form of surprisingly efficient bureaucracies with numerous departments. However, most Gnome governments distribute all functions between three main branches, each with an internally-elected minister. The divisions are Science, Economy, and Military, with each one being held accountable to the other two, although the specific checks and balances change heavily over the years.

The government is often treated with some reverence by most Gnomes, who depend on it to keep their lives running as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately this also tends to result in the rights of certain citizens being violated in order to keep things in order, especially during times of war or other crises. The bureaucracy also tends to become rather bloated, requiring frequent referendums to sheer out all the unnecessary laws that have accumulated.

Craft
Gnomes are the undisputed masters of alchemy and clockwork. Even their cities tend to be built in very particular layouts to facilitate the most efficient circulation of daily life possible, which to outsiders seem more like confusing, labyrinthine sprawls. Simultaneously, engineers and architects are happy to show off their ingenuity and as such city layouts tend to be rather eclectic and are constantly evolving. Gnomish architecture is usually simple brickwork, often constructed in rather strange layouts that make use of careful physics to achieve a more oddball designs with pipes and wires often scaling the walls like ivy.

Gnomes are always experimenting with ever-increasingly elaborate weapons, tools, and constructs. As a result, Gnomish gear is infamous for being powerful but unreliable, even much of the professional work breaking down without constant maintenance. Drill-hammers, rotating sawblades, automatic crossbows, and all manner of other sorts of gadgets are crafted and tested in Gnomish territory. However, most Gnomes also understand the value of simplicity, so more mundane tools are still significantly more common.

Gnomish artists usually express themselves in their practical arts, although many gnomes have a propensity towards painting and composing. Like everything else they make, their art and music are elaborate and finely-tuned. Gnomes are fond of self-powered instruments and music boxes, which combine their ear for music with their proficiency for gadgetry.

Military
Despite their physical weakness, Gnomes have militaristic tendencies stemming from their fear of other races subjugating them for their technological and magical know-how. Gnomes usually keep to themselves and fortify their borders to rather imposing levels with walls and moats. Unfortunately they are also known to preemptively attack others they believe to be a potential threat to them with little warning. They do pride themselves in their professionalism during war despite the common enthusiasm of testing their new weapons in practical settings.

As a general rule Gnomes prefer ranged combat, specifically firearms or chemical weaponry. Gnomes are generally credited as having invented the crossbow, only to abandon it once alchemical gunpowder allowed common use of rifles. They are also well-known for their use of steam or magic powered armor and constructs which make up for their lack of physical power, particularly their land-based tanks and imposing warships. Their siege and anti-siege capabilities are also very fearsome.

Gnomish Alchemists are rightfully feared for their tendency to employ wide-spreading and extremely hazardous chemicals, taking care that their own troops are either out of harm's way or somehow immune to the effects of the chemicals being used. While most Gnomes shun melee combat, Steam Knights are Gnomes who revel in it, albeit piloting large mechanical suits that make them larger than most other humanoids. Steam Knights are rightly feared, and make up the front line of many Gnomish armies.

Magic
Gnomes consider magic to be an extension of the sciences, and as such research it with just as much zeal as the more mundane fields. Initially Gnomes gave most of their attention to alchemy and the properties of existing chemicals and reagents to achieve magical affects, but soon showed a great aptitude for the arcane arts. Gnomes tend to be very liberal with their experimentation with magic and finding new applications for it.

Few Gnomes bother with Divine magic, since their principle God values self-reliance and experimentation and most of their medical needs are met with alchemy. Because of their lust for knowledge, Gnomes have little in the ways of taboos when it comes to magic, allowing the normally-forbidden practice of Necromancy within certain guidelines. They also have a reputation for delving into dangerous Eldritch Magic, looking to produce reliable psionics.

Fashion
Like the Gnomes themselves, Gnomish fashion tends to be very eclectic and eccentric, particularly favoring unusual hats. Most Gnomes simply use their manner of dress to express their interests, accomplishments, and personality traits. More socially-conscious Gnomes frequently change their styles depending on whatever trend happens to be going through their territory for the time being, but such trends rarely last more than a decade. In general, Gnomes tend to favor practical but well-decorated outfits with large, pointy hats.