Gnomes [Homebrew as an LA+1 race]

[Eldan]

"I hate those sneaky, back-stabbing, conniving, perfidious, underhanded, surreptitious, crooked, treacherous, fraudulent, malicious, guileful little bastards! No good ever came from them, and I doubt it ever will!"

-"Honest" Kihr Underfoot, Halfling "businessman", after being cheated by a gnome

"Above all, gnomes hold hard work, creativity and good humour in the highest regard, making them a people of industrious and pleasant people, well-beloved around the multiverse for their friendly demeanour and open minds."

-Findelwald Tungsten, gnomish scholar

Gnomes are a curious, some say even contradictory, people: both open and friendly to strangers and endlessly scheming against the world and each other, hard-working and raucously celebrating at every occasion.

They love illusions and trickery, and one can be sure that in any gnomish settlement, nothing will ever be as it seems at first: every building, no matter how poor, will be cloaked in glamour, and chances are good that in any given crowd of gnomes, one or two will have disguised their faces by magic.

In fact, magic is intrinsic to the gnomish culture and society: unlike elves, who study the ancient secrets of the arcane for dozens of years, gnomes are born with their magic. Gnomish children will just as readily scare each other with Ghost Sounds or play catch the Dancing Light than they will play with their lovingly crafted wooden toys. A gnomish housewife will clean with Prestidigitation, not with work, and as a result, almost all gnomes tend to be meticulously clean and well-groomed at all times. Magic is employed for all "common" tasks, leaving the individual gnome much time to invest in doing what interests him.

Gnomes love feasts: between fireworks crafted with alchemical talents and their master illusionists, dazzling displays of light and sound are commonplace in their society, and even newcomers and travelers will be readily invited to such festivities.

One should not mistake this openness for naivety, however: gnomish culture is full of gossip and intrigue. A gnomish city is a hotbed of intrigue between clans for council seats, between families of a given clan for leadership and between family members for succession. Despite all their friendly demeanour, trusting gnomes do not get far in that society. This intrigue is never spoken off in public, but any given gnomish head of state or clan leader will employ at least a dozen "faceless", agents with great skill in the art of illusion and infiltration. These agents lead a double life even more so than their brethren, and gossip about who may or may not be faceless are always the most juicy at any social event.

Despite all this, any individual gnome will quickly make himself at home in any society he chooses to live in: a life of practice at socializing and making allies mean that they can easily establish themselves as merchants, informants or courtiers.

Gnome Statistics:

Attributes: -2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma: between their quick wits and quicker tongues and their unshakable self-confidence, gnomes make friends fast rapidly solve complicated problems, but they are small, and slight.

Size and Type: Small humanoids

Low-light vision: gnomes see twice as far as humans in poor light conditions, such as starlight or candlelight.

Illusion familiarity: Gnomes have an inherent +2 saving throw against all spells and effects of the illusion school, and all such spells cast by them have +1 DC.

Born with magic: Gnomes are born with magic in their blood, and even their children use it instinctively. They can produce minor tricks at will, as if constantly under the effect of a Prestidigiatation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prestidigitation.htm) spell. If their charisma is at least 10, they can also cast Dancing Lights (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dancingLights.htm) and Ghost Sound (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/ghostSound.htm) once per day each as a spell-like ability. Gnomes with levels in a class spontaneously casting arcane spells from a limited list of spells known add Ghost Sound and Dancing Lights to their list of spells known.

Silver-tongued: Gnomes have a racial +2 bonus to all bluff, diplomacy and sense-motive checks. A common anecdote is that of the gnome who tells amusing lies to the first traveler he meets, only to be surprised that the stupid human does not realize that they are in fact not true, as every gnome would.

Sensitive Tongue: A gnome's tongue has a variety of skills other than just being quick when talking. Gnomes have an extremely refined sense of smell and taste. Therefore, they can identify liquids and edible items by sampling them. This is a craft: alchemy check, to which they have a racial +4 bonus.

Illusion: (Sp): All gnomes can create small illusions, as per the spell Silent Image (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/silentImage.htm). The image can be kept up for up to five minutes each day, divided up however the gnome desires (however, each activation counts as at least one minute long.) The image can be no larger than one five-foot cube. Every four character levels, the size of the cube increases by five feet: a ten-foot cube at level 4, fifteen-foot cube at level 8, and so on. At level three, the image can include sounds, but not intelligible speech. Creatures interacting with the image can make a will save (DC 11+charisma modifier) to disbelief it.

Favoured Class: Bard (or Beguiler, if Player's Handbook II is available)

Level Adjustment: +1



Illusion Master:
Requirements: Gnome, Level 3, Charisma 13+
Benefit: Your racial illusion can include sounds, smells and thermal illusions, as a Major Image (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/majorImage.htm) spell, and can be up to twice as large as the racial illusion's normal limit. The DC of your racial illusion power is increased to DC 13+charisma modifier.

[Darkxarth]

Looks good, though weaker than the LA +1 Elves, in my opinion. If you are just using Core, then Bard is fine for a Favored Class. However, if you are not just sticking to Core, I would definitely replace Bard with Beguiler. No hesitation.

Unfortunately, I went with "treetop-living, animal-talking people" for my LA +1 Gnomes, so I don't really have much else to offer. I do love that they get constant Prestidigitation, though.

[Eldan]

Oh, I forgot beguiler. Yeah, that makes more sense. Thanks.

[nonsi]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't really see justification for LA +1 here.

Care to elaborate ?

[Eldan]

Permanent level 0 spell and a total of +2 in attributes? But yeah, perhaps they need a little more. Suggestions?

[T.G. Oskar]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't really see justification for LA +1 here.

Seconded.

Mostly, this is a gnome as per PHB but with one or two ridiculous things thrown out (such as speak with animals to talk to burrowing mammals). A sum of +2 in attributes doesn't make a +1 LA justifiable either, since you're making them Small, which has its own weaknesses and strengths.

If it had, say...powerful build plus +4 to Strength and perhaps one or two things, a race could be considered LA +1. Drow have their LA +1 cemented because of their Spell Resistance, which could easily represent a level in a class (and it does, if you manage to gain levels in the Monk class). A Level Adjustment is justified whenever you get a racial ability that effectively scales with levels and doesn't get subsided later on. I mentioned Drow, but both Githzerai and Githyanki are good examples: their total stats, their spell-like/psi-like abilities and their Spell/Power Resistance justify adding a Level Adjustment, albeit at least one since only SR/PR is the actual scaling bonus (the spell/psi-like abilities are pseudo-scaling since you get a SLA/PLA at a higher character level).

If you wish to make them great bards and sorcerers with a flair for the illusions and that actually deserve a LA, one good thing you could do is scale that illusion save DC bonus. Say that you begin with a +1 bonus on save DCs for illusion spells, plus one for every four levels in an arcane spellcasting class. That way, a 1st level gnome sorcerer would have a +1 on illusions, but a 20th level gnome sorcerer would have a +6 on illusions, which would make stuff like Phantasmal Killer and Wail of the Banshee lethal spells. Since you'd have a really potent benefit that scales with level, you could justify LA just by that (though it would really benefit spellcasters)

While it wouldn't truly increase their LA, say that you gain extra uses of cantrips every certain amount of character levels (say, that you can use any of dancing lights, ghost sound and prestidigitation once per day for every three character levels. To truly increase their LA, say that at character level 6th you gain the use of a 1st level illusion spell per day, plus one more for every 6 character levels. The sum of all benefits would dwindle with the increase of levels, but combining both factors make for a scaling bonus that eventually justifies a level; granted, most 1st level illusion spells aren't that powerful, but you can do impressive stuff with disguise self or silent image if you know how to use them.

Stuff like that would be reasonable enough for level adjustment; minor static boni to skills and ability scores are best considered pseudo-LA, since they make the character more powerful at early levels but at later levels their benefits are less pronounced (when, for example, a +2 bonus to Bluff plus all ranks in Bluff gets defeated at level 6 with a single glibness spell, you realize that doesn't justify a level). Some, though, may be more beneficial than others: for example, having Use Magic Device as a class skill for all classes would border on granting LA since UMD is broken.

Don't be scared to think big. You thought small, and that's good since it allows for being bold without risking going overboard and making the homebrew broken, but you thought too small. Now, you can give bolder steps; think about scaling bonuses for races based on character level, or abilities that really make someone think "darn, this is really powerful even at level 20, but it's fair enough for a LA race".

[Eldan]

Seconded.

Mostly, this is a gnome as per PHB but with one or two ridiculous things thrown out (such as speak with animals to talk to burrowing mammals). A sum of +2 in attributes doesn't make a +1 LA justifiable either, since you're making them Small, which has its own weaknesses and strengths.

If it had, say...powerful build plus +4 to Strength and perhaps one or two things, a race could be considered LA +1. Drow have their LA +1 cemented because of their Spell Resistance, which could easily represent a level in a class (and it does, if you manage to gain levels in the Monk class).


Drow are actually LA +2, with attributes only equaling +4. I'll admit that they are weak, though. Tieflings have a total of +2 attributes, as do genasi (IIRC). Aasimar have a +4 for LA +1, but they barely get anything else.



If you wish to make them great bards and sorcerers with a flair for the illusions and that actually deserve a LA, one good thing you could do is scale that illusion save DC bonus. Say that you begin with a +1 bonus on save DCs for illusion spells, plus one for every four levels in an arcane spellcasting class. That way, a 1st level gnome sorcerer would have a +1 on illusions, but a 20th level gnome sorcerer would have a +6 on illusions, which would make stuff like Phantasmal Killer and Wail of the Banshee lethal spells. Since you'd have a really potent benefit that scales with level, you could justify LA just by that (though it would really benefit spellcasters)

I think that actually a +1 on illusion save DCs is worth it at pretty much all levels, and a +6 is pretty much uncalled for and overly strong.



Don't be scared to think big. You thought small, and that's good since it allows for being bold without risking going overboard and making the homebrew broken, but you thought too small. Now, you can give bolder steps; think about scaling bonuses for races based on character level, or abilities that really make someone think "darn, this is really powerful even at level 20, but it's fair enough for a LA race".

Well, thinking big is okay, but really, some of your suggestions really do go overboard in my opinion. I'll add a few more things to them (actually my elves were even considered a little strong, if I remember correctly). I'll think about scaling bonuses, but yours seem a little too big.

[Milskidasith]

Another note here is that their +2 in stats is essentially meaningless; int is a nice stat, but not necessary, for anybody who isn't int focused, and charisma is useless unless charisma focused. A +2 to each is essentially only ever going to be a single +2 for the character.

[Eldan]

Well, both Beguilers and Bards can profit from both.

How about another +2 in constitution?

[Milskidasith]

Well, both Beguilers and Bards can profit from both.

How about another +2 in constitution?

That would certainly improve it.

And no, bards don't benefit from both... they get another skill point from int. They don't get any other kind of mechanical benefits from it, compared to, say, a warblade, which gets to-hit (while in sneak attacking position), critical confirmation, etc.

Beguilers... I can't recall if they had two stats relevant to casting, but if so, you have a point.

[Eldan]

Okay. Now they only need something else small and flavourful and preferably useful at all levels.

[nonsi]

Bonuses to spell schools are too narrowly focused. If you play a Crusader they will be meaningless.
Try to think of something that wouldn't be too constraining class-wise, which means something from which all classes would benefit more or less equally.

[Darkxarth]

Going from T. G. Oskar's advice, maybe you should expand their natural spellcasting ability to grant a 1st level illusion spell as an SLA every 4 levels.

Illusionist
At 4th level, Gnomes may gain a 1st-level spell of the illusion school as a spell-like ability 1/day. (Ex: silent image 1/day)
Every 4 levels (8, 12, 16, & 20), a Gnome may choose one of the following:
Add an additional use per day to one of his existing SLAs. (Ex: silent image 2/day)
Gain a new 1st-level SLA of the illusion school. (Ex: silent image 2/day & ventriloquism 1/day)
Replace an existing SLA with an SLA of one level higher of the illusion school. (Ex: ventriloquism 1/day & invisibility 2/day)


I generally avoid scaling racial bonuses, but in this case it might not be a bad idea. Besides, you could then keep the +1 DC and +2 saves for illusions and have it matter to a Gnome Warblade.

[Eldan]

How about making this a little bit more open: they get a general "illusion" ability, which lets them create an illusionary object x cubic feet/per level in size, with more components (sound, touch, temperature, smell) as they level?

[T.G. Oskar]

Drow are actually LA +2, with attributes only equaling +4. I'll admit that they are weak, though. Tieflings have a total of +2 attributes, as do genasi (IIRC). Aasimar have a +4 for LA +1, but they barely get anything else.

Think on the following: Spell Resistance alone guarantees at least an LA of +1. Think of the rest: +4 on stats PLUS darkvision PLUS spell-like abilities. That may not sum exactly another +1 (unless you're very creative with Darkness, Dancing Lights is always useful, and Faerie Fire...remember one of the reasons why Glitterdust is so good? The only weak thing they have is the +2 racial bonus on Will vs. spells and SLAs, since that is a tad focused, but that mostly means it'll be a tad more difficult to take down by enchantments.

As for Aasimar...the LA is actually because they're outsiders PLUS all of the other bonuses. Resist 5 to three elements is rather weak as things progress, and Daylight is also pretty meh, but Outsiders (and specifically native Outsiders) get some good stuff from which they can benefit quite well (namely, Alter Self, immunity to "- Person" spells, proficiency with all simple and martial weapons...). Compare to, say, Lesser Aasimar, which is almost exactly the same except no Outsider type, no Native subtype, and Light instead of Daylight. LA? +0. And 20 levels earlier than monks.


I think that actually a +1 on illusion save DCs is worth it at pretty much all levels, and a +6 is pretty much uncalled for and overly strong.

Resistance, a 0-level spell, takes that minor benefit and defeats it from level 1. Sure, it'll take actually getting that spell cast, and it will mean a minor loss of resources, but it does deal with something: what's equal is not an advantage, and what you seek on a Gnome using illusions is a reasonable advantage. Sure, you can go with the bonus AND [Greater] Spell Focus, but that's a hurting set of resources for a +3 bonus to your save DC on a single school, while your other schools will be hurting since they won't have the same benefit. So much for mastery of illusions.

A scaling bonus, on the contrary, confronts those buffs and makes your save DCs quite competitive. You might be scared of a +6 to illusion spells, but when you realize that the few spells that are gonna get a benefit from those are the Shadow spells and maybe the Phantasmal X spells the impact is lesser. Now, consider that True Seeing, blindsight and immunity to illusion effects hurts ALL Will-based illusion spells (since they automatically cause disbelief), and Mind Blank, immunity to mind affecting, or just being mindless nulls your mind-affecting spells means the actual benefit is far too circumstantial to actually be beneficial. Quite frankly, I'd be scared of 100% real shadows and mind-affecting bypass than of a bonus to DC, especially with Phantasmal Killer which has its own set of troubles (such as allowing a Fort save).

In the glimpse, a +1 to save DCs sounds reasonable, but in the big picture, it grows much more inconsequential when you realize that it's a minor benefit compared to scaling DC through ability scores or through magic items, which is far more effective.


Well, thinking big is okay, but really, some of your suggestions really do go overboard in my opinion. I'll add a few more things to them (actually my elves were even considered a little strong, if I remember correctly). I'll think about scaling bonuses, but yours seem a little too big.

Better to go overboard and fix that than go far too save and think it's a great option. It's usually better to nerf than to buff, since if you make it too weak, your buff might then go overboard and will cause a big headache.

Still: if you're scared of the huge bonus, you can play with it. For example: say it's every 5 arcane spellcaster levels (so a Sorc 20 will have a +5 bonus), or every 6 arcane spellcaster levels (a +4 bonus), or say it scales every four levels up to a certain level (say, up to a +3 bonus at level 10). That's the beauty; you can play with it at your leisure, and consider when it should be worthwhile to increase, right at the moment where you can expect monsters to get solid boosts in saving throws or a buffer for their saves. Or make it based off something else; actual spell levels, which means their first increase would be when you use 4th level spells, or base spellcaster levels (which means that prestige classes won't count for the benefit) for example.

A +1 bonus only becomes significant when you mix it with other bonuses, and when the net benefit of those bonuses far exceed the drawbacks. Any moment when you get behind on your saving throw DCs so that monsters fail on at least a, say, 13 or lower, and your bonus means nothing (a mild buffer, perhaps)

Finally: I'd need to see your elves. PHB elves (aside from high elf) are pathetically weak against humans, which can do miracles with a single bonus feat at 1st level...

[Darkxarth]

How about making this a little bit more open: they get a general "illusion" ability, which lets them create an illusionary object x cubic feet/per level in size, with more components (sound, touch, temperature, smell) as they level?

Interesting, but isn't that basically what the Silent, Minor, Major, and Persistent Image spells are?

[Eldan]

Actually... you're looking at this from the wrong angle, I think. They don't get a +1 bonus instead of resistance, the 0 level spell. They get the bonus and then can still normally benefit from resistance. It's an additional bonus. A gnome with resistance is still better than an elf with resistance. And that +1 bonus to DC? It's still a +1 bonus at every level, and at every level, makes your enemy's safe more difficult. A +1 doesn't suddenly become useless at level 10.

The difference, for your enemy, to hit target number X or X+1 is always 5% on a d20. Your +6? That suddenly makes this 30%. That's just too much. The gnome shouldn't get tripple the benefit of greater spell focus for free.

Darkxarth: basically yes. It's, if you will, a spell-like ability that becomes better spells at higher levels.

[T.G. Oskar]

Interesting, but isn't that basically what the Silent, Minor, Major, and Persistent Image spells are?

Um...I think that's the general idea.

Instead of getting the spells, you get a general ability that duplicates those things as they go (except they cannot be turned into shadow via Shadowcheese) and which can be used when necessary, roughly at the same level you'd get the spells.

It could make for a good "companion" to a Rogue, or an excellent decoy for example. Since it mostly depends on your imagination, it can replace most of the spells you wouldn't take independently (Illusory Wall, Hallucinatory Terrain, etc.)


Actually... you're looking at this from the wrong angle, I think. They don't get a +1 bonus instead of resistance, the 0 level spell. They get the bonus and then can still normally benefit from resistance. It's an additional bonus. A gnome with resistance is still better than an elf with resistance. And that +1 bonus to DC? It's still a +1 bonus at every level, and at every level, makes your enemy's safe more difficult. A +1 doesn't suddenly become useless at level 10.

The difference, for your enemy, to hit target number X or X+1 is always 5% on a d20. Your +6? That suddenly makes this 30%. That's just too much. The gnome shouldn't get tripple the benefit of greater spell focus for free.

Difficult is relative.

What's difficult for you? Difficult for me would be if I need a 15 or higher on my saving throw in order to succeed on the save, having Will saves reasonably high. If I can succeed on the magic number (10 or 11, which is the average roll on a d20) then it's an average roll, and if I require less than 10 then it's an easy roll.

Certainly, the +2 on saving throws vs. illusions turns the roll less difficult, but not for that much. A +2 on illusions won't save a Fighter from disbelieving at higher levels, as they probably won't have a high Wisdom and a high Will saving throw to begin with; the trouble lies in that they scale their saving throw poorly, and a static bonus won't make a world of difference. But my bone wasn't on the +2 bonus to saving throw DCs...

...but on the +1 to saving throw DCs of illusions, and how that's supposed to assist on a LA +1 character. Think about it: it's a LA +1 character They're going to be level 1 while your general character will be level 2; not much difference for the fighter (except that when you get level 2, they might get to level 3), but it means nothing against people with actually good Will saving throws, since you'll be always a level behind. Ever wonder why the gnome, despite having basically the same bonus, is considered a LA +0 character?

That means that, unless you buy-off the LA (and that might not always be the option), you'll be one level behind on saves, spells and whatnot. Now, if the bonus scaled later on to a +2 or to a +3, then the starting benefit gains a bit more relevance.

That reminds me: at level 20, your gnome would have a +6 to the saving throws of illusion spells. Your gnome, unless it bought the level adjustment early on, will be at ECL 21 and thus will be a character fighting epic challenges, most of which won't be dented by a +1 to your illusions since, as mentioned, they will either be immune to your illusions or have Will saves strong enough to deal with them. And that is IF you reach epic levels. Most of the time you'll always be a level behind. That's what level adjustment means: you're more powerful than someone with X levels more than you.

I know it sounds harsh, but look at a different angle: a +1 bonus to attack rolls will mean a 5% chance to hit. Does that make Weapon Focus worth a feat slot? Even 1 HP means you'll take one more point of damage before going unconscious or dying. Does that mean Toughness is worth a feat slot? The problem with both is that they don't scale according to the challenge: by higher levels, the AC of creatures will do well with appropriately buffed characters with magic weapons and whatnot, with several of those smaller bonuses culminating in a large whole. The +1 to illusion saving throws works a similar trend: it will make one part of your spells more powerful (5% more difficult to resist), but is it worth losing a level in which you might get the same benefit for ALL of your spells, or actually better spells to deal with the challenge?

Now, sure: you also have the Int and Cha bonuses, which means an extra +1. However, that doesn't compare when you're still using a 2nd level spell when your pals are using 3rd level spells with much more different benefits, and when you might probably won't take most of the spells that actually require Will saving throws in the school of illusion. If you're going to make having a LA penalty be worth it, it means you should provide something that actually serves as a great counterbalance. That, as it can be seen, is a minor counterbalance for what you actually intend to provide, which will be only beneficial to a certain section of the options you have to play with (though, the fact that those are some if not THE strongest has to mean something).

What might worry you is that the scaling is actually too steep. You can minimize the benefit so that it sounds a bit more reasonable, true; after all, it's your homebrew, not mine. But, do it considering that your race will have one less HD right from the start, which is quite a strong penalty enough so as to consider having a +1 bonus on saving throw DCs and +2 bonus on saving throws in ONE school a reasonably strong benefit. Or a +2 bonus on two ability scores with a penalty on a third, when you may not even use that benefit altogether. It has to be a benefit that won't be reduced in effectiveness by something simple, while considering you have a penalty on several other things. And both being Small AND having one less HD to play with are two penalties that you have to consider.

Finally: yes, I sound harsh. But I try to be fair; I might be a tad biased, but in the case of races, they should be worth more than 1st level mechanical benefits that become weaker as you progress on your class.

[Darkxarth]

Darkxarth: basically yes. It's, if you will, a spell-like ability that becomes better spells at higher levels.


Um...I think that's the general idea.

Instead of getting the spells, you get a general ability that duplicates those things as they go (except they cannot be turned into shadow via Shadowcheese) and which can be used when necessary, roughly at the same level you'd get the spells.

It could make for a good "companion" to a Rogue, or an excellent decoy for example. Since it mostly depends on your imagination, it can replace most of the spells you wouldn't take independently (Illusory Wall, Hallucinatory Terrain, etc.)

Ok. Just making sure I understand. If that is the case, I think that solidly fills out the Gnome's LA +1. At first glance, it would seem more powerful than your Elves, but I think it is relatively balanced.

[Eldan]

Hmm. Could probably drop the +2 Con again, then. It's not really necessary anyway.

[cooperflood]

Personally I think these additions would make them a +1 LA. Born with magic may need wording to prevent it from working with Shadow Craft Mage, I'm not totally sure.

Born with Magic: Gnomes gain a number of Spell-Like Abilities based on their hit die. Each has a caster level equal to hit die and DC based on CHA.
1: Silent Image 3/day, Ghost Sound 3/day, Prestidigitation At-Will
3: Ghost Sound At-Will
5: Minor Image 3/day
7: Silent Image At-Will
9: Major Image 3/day
11: Minor Image At-Will
13: Hallucinatory Terrain 3/Day
15: Major Image At-Will
17: Persistent Image 3/day
19: Programmed Image 3/day

Subtle Magicians: A gnome who knows the feat Silent Spell or Still Spell automatically learns the other as a bonus feat. Additionally if he is a spontaneous caster he may apply these metamagic without increasing the casting time.

[Eldan]

Added an illusion power and a racial feat.

[Darkxarth]

Added an illusion power and a racial feat.

Looks good to me.