Notes on gnomes, for the Arthea campaign

Cheeky lil tykes, gnomes

On the verdant surface of Arthea, there are two types of gnomes: the Fiahla Aonar (or Lone Gnomes) and the Mari Sraid (Town Gnomes). The Fiahla live alone in forests, communing with nature and listening to the tree spirits, animals and plants. When large numbers of people are around, they drown out the voices of nature, creating a cacophony that sensitive gnomes can find discombobulating. Tribal/town gnomes find more satisfaction in the harmony of a community of peers, and work closely with each other, in speechless synergy, to a degree other species find eerie.

Gnomes are all very talented with their hands, often dedicating themselves to gardening, knowledge of plants and potions, or to finely crafted machinery. Their keen eyesight and nimble fingers allow them to create incredibly small, intricate devices. Some work in tandem with wizards, producing delicate automata. These are strictly regulated, and stamped with the insignia of the approved wizard orders, lest they be burned as instruments of The Devil.

There are still some Fiahla gnomes living in Pelshire, although their numbers are greatly diminished thanks to logging. Several ancient forests have been cut down to build the great merchant fleets of Juna, and to heat the great city in winter. This has caused tension between the fey and authorities of Avalon. Although a treaty was signed decades ago, verderers and druids have clashed repeatedly with nocturnal loggers, illegally cutting down trees, and fey have raided logging camps. Gnomes have built ingenious traps and devices to protect the trees in the area, and they are blamed for anything that goes wrong in the logging camps. Farmers adjacent to forests, too, hate gnomes, whom they suspect of sabotaging their crops.

Many displaced gnomes found themselves in the city of Juna, where their abilities are highly coveted. That does not prevent some from being press ganged into dim factories, where they are ruthlessly exploited by cruel overlords. The Guilds of Juna do their best to prevent this sort of abuse of their most prized workers. There is even a semi-recognized guild for gnomes, the Gorman Clair.