Gnome

Gnomes are small folk related to both dwarves and halflings with an affinity for engineering and illusion. An adventuring gnome crafts bizarre but useful mechanical contraptions and practices a bit of illusion magic. They are hard to hit due to their size and reflexes.

Stats

| | | |---|---| | Life | 4 + Level (5 at L1) | | Attack bonus | +0 | | Defense bonus | +½L | | Armor allowed | Light armor, leafsteel armor, clockwork armor | | Weapons allowed | Light weapons, sling, hand weapon, bow, handgun, clockwork weapons | | Saves as | Rogue |

Illusion Magic

Gnomes can cast the Illusion spell a number of times per adventure equal to their Level. Each morning, the gnome studies their contraption for a few minutes and memorises their illusion spells. They add +L to Illusion spellcasting rolls.

Scroll use: Gnomes cast scrolls as first-level casters (+1 to the roll). Exception: for Illusion, Phantasmal, or Illusionary spells, they add their full level.

Other Class Bonuses

• Hard to hit: +½L to Defense rolls.
• Resistance: +L to saves vs. poison and gases.
• Trap Disarmer: adds Level on rolls to disarm traps (no gadget points required for this base bonus).

Gadgeteer Points

At the beginning of every adventure, the gnome receives Level + 6 gadget points. These can be spent at any time during the adventure.

Gadget Uses (cost in points)

| Cost | Effect | |---|---| | 1 | One-shot ranged weapon — add +L to one ranged attack. Spends 1 more point to repair for reuse. | | 1 (+ bonus) | Open lock / disarm trap — roll Save vs. trap/door level; add gnome L + extra points spent. Extra points must be committed before rolling. | | 1 | Free someone from restraints — Save vs. 6 (or captor's level if higher). May retry unless a 1 is rolled. Cannot free self. | | 1 | Smokescreen bomb — party flees without suffering attacks. Doesn't work vs. fire/air elementals. A non-gnome using it has 2-in-6 failure chance. | | 1 | Portable door — add or remove a door where none exists, or lock a lockless door. Stays in place until destroyed or unlocked. | | 2–5 | Grenade — deals (points spent − 1) damage, max 4. Thrown before combat as a ranged attack (if not surprised); thrown during melee also hits party members (each rolls d6 for damage up to the grenade's power). Each point of damage kills one minion/vermin or deals 1 damage to a boss/weird monster. | | 1 | Gadget-enhanced weapon — add +L to all melee attacks for the encounter. Gnome is immune to disarm effects while using it. | | 1 | Clockwork armor activation — defense bonus of clockwork armor increases to +3 for the current encounter. Clockwork armor counts as light armor and costs 25 gp in materials to build. |

Expert Skills

From Four Against the Abyss: Acute Hearing, Arcane Tanner, Brawler, Continual Light, Detective, Negotiator, Quick Footed.

From Concise Collection of Classes: Alchemical Training, Bomb Crafting, Surgeon Training.

From Wayfarers and Adventurers: Troll Training.

Role in the party

The gnome replaces the rogue's trap-disarming role while adding significant utility (grenades, smokescreens, lockpicking) and a weak but useful illusion spell. The gadget pool is generous at early levels; spending it wisely over a whole adventure is the core challenge of the class.