llO
HIDDEN
BUT HOMEYDeep
gnomes protect their e nclaves
with labyrinthinetunn
els, traps, and armed guards,
all designed to makethe
entrance to a settlement
uninviting. But inside itsborders, a deep
gnome settlement is a warren
shapedand
decorated by the svirfneblin
to make the place wel-coming
and comfortable.Although they are skilled
stonemasons, svirfneblin
ap-preciate the beauty of natural
stone and prefer either
tocarve to accentuate
its features or to
leave it unchanged.Their architecture
is marked by smooth,
curving shapesrather than
straight lines and hard
edges.Svirfneblin
are intensely community-minded
and havelittle concern
about privacy among
themselves. Thus,they don't
close off living spaces
with doors or windowcoverings.
Most of their homes
are sparsely furnisheddwellings of one
or two rooms. Bed spaces,
often carvedinto the cavern walls,
are strung with hammocks
foreach inhabitant,
but often are otherwise
empty exceptfor
stone coffers holding a few
personal effects.GNOME
GODSWHO FORGED THE CHAINS
THAT BIND TIAMAT
INAvernus?
Why do the modrons go on
the Great March?Who is the Lady of Pain, real()!?
I can't tellyou. but the
an-swers lie in the
Colden Hills. And if Carl and
his gang don'tknow, it can't be
known.- Griballix, gnome
of Sigil
It shouldn't
be surprising that gnomes,
inveterate inven-tors that
they are, have· an incredible
number of legendsthey tell
about their deities. Every
warren has its uniquerepertoire of tales-some
of them no doubt
groundedin fact, while others
could be the products
of imagina-tion.
The distinction isn't important
to the folk who takeinspiration
and pride from
the stories of their gods,
be-cause
each legend is true
in its own way.GNOME D E I T I ESDeityBaervan
WildwandererBaravar
CloakshadowBlereddCallarduran SmoothhandsFlandal
SteelskinGaerdal lronhandGari GlittergoldGelf DarkhearthNebelunRill CleverthrushSegojan EarthcallerSheyanna
FlaxenstrandUrdlenAlign ment
ProvinceNG WoodlandsNG
Illusion, deceptionN
Labor, craftN
Mining, stone carvingNG MetalworkLG ProtectionLG
Primary god of gnomesCN Frustration, destructionCG Invention, luckLN Law, thoughtNG Earth, the
deadCG
love, beauty, passionCE
Greed, murder*Appears
in Xanathar's Guide
to Everything**Appears
in Sword Coast Adventurer's
GuideCHAPTER 5 I HALFLINGS
AND GNO~ESEach deity in the gnome
pantheon is an expert
inmultiple fields of activity
who is capable of incrediblefeats. Yet th
ese heroes also display
shortcomings, suchas hesitance or selfishness.
Only the chief gnome
deity,Gari Glittergold, can convince
the others to set
asidepersonal concerns
to embark on a
grand excursion or towork together toward
a common goal. And according
tothe gnomes,
it is proven that their
gods can accomplishthe impossible
when they band together.Perhaps
because of each commun
ity's particular out-look or because the
gods frequently use illusory
guises,several diverse ideas
exist about the membership
of thepantheon. In some
communities, the gods
are thoughtto be
all male or all female; in
some they are animals,
orconstructs
made by Gari Glittergold.
Some gnomes
sayGari
has five allies, while others
tally eleven.A consensus
of sorts emerges from the
totality ofthese beliefs.
Most gnomes believe that
Gari Glittergoldand his seven
able assistants dwell on,
in, or underseven summits known as
the Golden Hills. This
is theplace from where new
gnomish souls are sent out
toexperience the wider
world, and to which they
return tojoin the hallowed
community of those
who have comebefore them.
Urdlen is the only gnome
deity that doesn'tdwell there,
having been exiled
by Gari for its refusal tocooperate with the
rest of the group.The Gnome Deities
table lists the members
of thegnome pantheon.
For each god, the table
notes align-ment,
province (the god's main
areas of interest andresponsibility)
, suggested domains
for clerics who servethe god, and a co
mmon symbol of the god.
Several of thegods in the table
are described below.Suggested
DomainsNatureArcana,'~*
TrickeryForge,* LightKnowledge, NatureForge,*
KnowledgeWarTrickeryWarForge,* Knowledge, TrickeryKnowledgeGrave,* LightLightDeath, WarCo
m mon SymbolFace of a raccoonDagger
against a hooded cloakIron
muleGolden
signet ring with six-pointed starFlaming hammerIron
bandGold
nuggetBroken
anvilBellows
and lizard tailInterlocking gearsGlowing gemstoneTwo silver
gobletsWhite-clawed
mole emergingfrom
ground