Frontier Gnomes

Coming from a high-magic environment, Gnomes are masters of combining magic and technology. The whole of their civilization was built upon their in-depth knowledge of arcane magic and how to combine it with other things into mechanical stratums to serve their wants and needs. And they had many, given how harsh their homeworld was. Gnomes shared their world with a number of violent aberrations that considered them particularly delicious meals and would often go out of their way just to capture gnomes for later torture and consumption- this in turn drove your race to develop golemancy and necromancy and several unique martial weapons and techniques to drive off their enemies, such as the vicious Hooked Hammer. With their would-be predators held at bay by various innovations, the Gnomes would build up small empires that rarely warred against each other, always seeking ways to improve their arts and develop a means of dominating their world and its environments.

Honor and discipline are highly prized virtues by Gnomes- they must be, for their survival depended on it so. Skill at magic, which comes naturally to Gnomes, is also prized because magic has always been their primary defense against the alien horrors that sought their deaths. Though arcane magic is preferred, nature magic practiced by monk-like shamans and rangers was also valued. All leaders in Gnomish society- from the simple mayor to the mightiest empress- had to be potent spellcasters, or they would be rejected by their people unless they could prove supreme competence and cunning despite their lack of magecraft. Though often forced into war, within itself Gnomish society was not very violent and- not counting their magitechnical developments- enjoyed the simple pleasures most, perhaps because of the frequency with which their enemies denied them these.

Aesthetics of the Gnomish civilizations are reminiscent of feudal Japan and imperial China circa the Ming Dynasty.

Gnomes lose their racial bonus vs goblinoids and kobolds, and instead gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls vs Aberrations.

Frontier PC Races

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