The gnomes of the underland are pale grey, with large black eyes, most are hairless though some may have beards in certain roles.
Underland Gnomes can turn invisible a number of times per day per level as the spell which is cancelled when they cast a spell or attack or pick up an object or drop an object. Most use mentalism and many learn arts to make their spells invisible.
Gnomes may trade their flat bread and mushroom beer which is known to keep well, be mostly nutritious (lacking in a few things humans should have) but cause meloncholia almost immediately. Gnomes may sell their advanced magical devices or potions.
Over the ages, Gnomes have developed these major schools of philosophy which exist in various proportions in their cities.
Many treat these like guilds in human civilisation and refer to them as the Grey Guilds or the 12 Glooms. Various factions are in and out of favour in different periods. Many of the world's grey gnomes are in small communities and often thrall to other beings. Their own cities are ruled by councils where these philosophies are seen the most. Various factions have been allied or enemies in the past. They have all varied from inward to expansionistic in various eras.
Gnomes don't know much or care much about the surface but do dislike the idea of Chagrinspire falling down and creating a massive earthquake above them. The ones who do know of the Black Sphere think them silly and wasteful.
The Black sphere are most associated with Nullist but they may have employed other factions for certain skills or data or machines.
d12 More Deep Gnome Philosophies
1 Nullism (NE) - the universe is bleak and disappointing and souls are recycled by rebirth and among the planes so only destroying all existence through all time will free liberate us from suffering and illusion. Some extremists went to the surface and founded the Order of the Black Sphere. They recruited ancient human alchemy guilds and disappointed cultists of the outer gods who betrayed and enslaved their former masters for the black sphere. The members who live in the deep think Chagrinspire is rushing it too much and giving a false promise of cosmic annihilation
2 Nodalism (LN) - all living beings are part of a vast computational array and only by contemplating maths and divination can one gain an understanding of the universe. Nodal monasteries undergo calculations of vast numbers to uncover secrets of the universe and to coerce lawful planar beings to reveal their secrets. Nodalists believe in teamwork over the individual as they favour collective will. They like to compile data and survey their members to determine how best to benefit the most people so their research can thrive into the future. Many people think they are boring but many thrive in gnomish government
3 Necrometrics (LE) - undead can be used to make computational engines but a vast area and number of undead are required. This school at most extreme conceives of all humanoids being rendered into undead running computations forever. Undead hold left or right arms or both and are given orders to respond to other undead arm positions for computations. They like to use undead for all kinds of industrial and domestic purposes and practice taxidermy on them to make them not smelly or fall apart
4 Machinists (LN) legalist materialists who hope to undo antiquated customs and traditions. They include the possibility of destroying gods and uniting all peoples under a single legal framework administered by golems and thinking automatons that cannot lie or be corrupt. They are popular with workers for their anti-royalty and rich stance. Seizing the automatons of the the powerful autocrats and subverting them to the workers of Machinism is one of their goals. Machinist agents travel the world freeing automatons and workers and spreading their ideas
5 Alchemetronism (LN) is interested in alchemical research and believes it will be able to make gold and silver worthless or other wild schemes to manipulate global metal prices forever. They believe in using alchemy without limits and they create golems and automatons but also human clones, orcs, abhumans and other monsters. Interesting creatures they capture and torment on industrial scales to make exotic ingredients but also sell them to dungeon keepers. Fund many strange research projects like making fake dragons, reconstructing dinosaurs and lost life, fusing married couples into 8-limbed hermaphrodites and other worthy projects
Underland Gnomes can turn invisible a number of times per day per level as the spell which is cancelled when they cast a spell or attack or pick up an object or drop an object. Most use mentalism and many learn arts to make their spells invisible.
Gnomes may trade their flat bread and mushroom beer which is known to keep well, be mostly nutritious (lacking in a few things humans should have) but cause meloncholia almost immediately. Gnomes may sell their advanced magical devices or potions.
Over the ages, Gnomes have developed these major schools of philosophy which exist in various proportions in their cities.
Many treat these like guilds in human civilisation and refer to them as the Grey Guilds or the 12 Glooms. Various factions are in and out of favour in different periods. Many of the world's grey gnomes are in small communities and often thrall to other beings. Their own cities are ruled by councils where these philosophies are seen the most. Various factions have been allied or enemies in the past. They have all varied from inward to expansionistic in various eras.
Gnomes don't know much or care much about the surface but do dislike the idea of Chagrinspire falling down and creating a massive earthquake above them. The ones who do know of the Black Sphere think them silly and wasteful.
The Black sphere are most associated with Nullist but they may have employed other factions for certain skills or data or machines.
d12 More Deep Gnome Philosophies
1 Nullism (NE) - the universe is bleak and disappointing and souls are recycled by rebirth and among the planes so only destroying all existence through all time will free liberate us from suffering and illusion. Some extremists went to the surface and founded the Order of the Black Sphere. They recruited ancient human alchemy guilds and disappointed cultists of the outer gods who betrayed and enslaved their former masters for the black sphere. The members who live in the deep think Chagrinspire is rushing it too much and giving a false promise of cosmic annihilation
2 Nodalism (LN) - all living beings are part of a vast computational array and only by contemplating maths and divination can one gain an understanding of the universe. Nodal monasteries undergo calculations of vast numbers to uncover secrets of the universe and to coerce lawful planar beings to reveal their secrets. Nodalists believe in teamwork over the individual as they favour collective will. They like to compile data and survey their members to determine how best to benefit the most people so their research can thrive into the future. Many people think they are boring but many thrive in gnomish government
3 Necrometrics (LE) - undead can be used to make computational engines but a vast area and number of undead are required. This school at most extreme conceives of all humanoids being rendered into undead running computations forever. Undead hold left or right arms or both and are given orders to respond to other undead arm positions for computations. They like to use undead for all kinds of industrial and domestic purposes and practice taxidermy on them to make them not smelly or fall apart
4 Machinists (LN) legalist materialists who hope to undo antiquated customs and traditions. They include the possibility of destroying gods and uniting all peoples under a single legal framework administered by golems and thinking automatons that cannot lie or be corrupt. They are popular with workers for their anti-royalty and rich stance. Seizing the automatons of the the powerful autocrats and subverting them to the workers of Machinism is one of their goals. Machinist agents travel the world freeing automatons and workers and spreading their ideas
5 Alchemetronism (LN) is interested in alchemical research and believes it will be able to make gold and silver worthless or other wild schemes to manipulate global metal prices forever. They believe in using alchemy without limits and they create golems and automatons but also human clones, orcs, abhumans and other monsters. Interesting creatures they capture and torment on industrial scales to make exotic ingredients but also sell them to dungeon keepers. Fund many strange research projects like making fake dragons, reconstructing dinosaurs and lost life, fusing married couples into 8-limbed hermaphrodites and other worthy projects
6 Psychogeographers (N) a college of masters of mentalism and training people in powers of the mind. There is even a secret school for spies or where psionics are banned). They will infiltrate other peoples to spread mentallism. Some are terrible frauds. The organisation claims to shun gnome politics and teach for the sake of knowledge. They place experts in key positions and influence gnomes of all government stations. They also are paid by merchants for advantageous divination so they make good money as information dealers. They think interest in planar beings is for subservient simpletons and may aid anti-deity plans of other sects. They recruit young gnomes with promises of ultimate power without restraint
7 Archeogeographers (CN) once roamed the world raiding exotic peoples for magic, artwork and books. Now they catalogue and process the data they obtained then in hopes of informing future conquerers in a future age. While a shadow of their golden age they still operate vehicles, and machines for travel and send expeditions across the world cataloguing threats or stuff to steal. They operate museums and libraries of their collections and works. They operate secret secure labs in isolated places for stolen magic research
8 Harmonians (LN) study maths and music and use them to deconstruct matter and control the universe. Have an elaborate theory of souls transmission, reincarnation and music. One of their projects was to summon planar beings and unravel their existence with music and songs of uncreation. They believe this vacuum left in the cosmos allows mortal souls to ascend to other planes more freely. They are opposed to planar nobility and want to destroy them. They hope to ascend to rule the multiverse and exterminate death by these methods
9 Panopticonists (LN) seek to monitor events across the multiverse and record them and then keep them secret for their own use. They rarely speak to outsiders or bother debating. Many begin by using magic to spy on others and are required to compile many such reports to advance. They have been constructing a magical panopticon chamber so their grand master may view all the cosmos at once. To help this project they will leak information to the right place and people to make profitable wars or invasions.
10 Monopolists (LN) philosophers of the gold cube wish to sell or convert all matter in the universe to gold and collapse the universe into an ultrasolid golden cube. Here the faithful will live forever when time is over. They are merchants mostly and happy to sell books and pamplets of monopolism with images of the eternal palace of gold. Their gold cube symbol shows 3 cube facets from above. Mostly they are just really greedy and claim the riddle of gold is all things have a price and any fool may be parted with it
11 Elementalist (Any) schools for gnomes working with elementals to improve life of the community by dominating planar beings. Some schools specialise in one element in one work district and claim their element was first in the cosmos. Some worship the older elemental gods. The elemental unity herecy unites the elements and then claim they can control demons too which can end badly for them and mixes them with demonology. They claim to be ready for the next chance to take over the world
12 Chronomists (LN) believe the universe is cyclic and so to know the future they study the past. Time travel is hard so retrieving artefacts and documents and fossils. Finding remains of the previous universes to prove their theory is their quest. Many travel to the deepest fires of the underland or try to leave the world with trips to the moon or the enclaves of the star spirit folk. They only care about politics or money to fund their expeditions. Some keep secret museums
d12 Signs Gnomes Are Spying on You
d12 Signs Gnomes Are Spying on You
1 A lesser spirit spies on party
2 Someone has a metal implanted surveillance device
3 Find gnome footprints around your campsite from invisible scouts
4 Animal spies follow the party and report to gnomes
5 Glass eyeball hidden in a crack, in jewellery or rolling along ground
6 Find gnome scout ration wrappers (gnomebix) and a spent chem heat pack
2 Someone has a metal implanted surveillance device
3 Find gnome footprints around your campsite from invisible scouts
4 Animal spies follow the party and report to gnomes
5 Glass eyeball hidden in a crack, in jewellery or rolling along ground
6 Find gnome scout ration wrappers (gnomebix) and a spent chem heat pack
7 Addicts leave odour and traces of their habits, made from exotic blended lotus stalks or mushrooms d4 1=pipe ash 2=cigarettes butt with asbestos filter tips 3=snuff powder 4=syringe or drug ampule 5=spent matchsticks 6=empty matchbox or pipeweed pouch
8 Find spy holes drilled through walls
9 Hear scuttling gnomes inside secret wall spaces they dig
10 Mechanical eye in telescopic stalk pops from water or drain then hides if seen
11 Skittering clockwork bug follows the party
12 Find cool magic ring, used for gnome scryers to locate and spy on user
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