Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

76 CHAPTER 3 | GNOMES


Gnomes .....................................................................


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—Zil proverb

Gnomes possess a love of knowledge that many
would describe as lust. Most gnomes hate physical
violence and prefer to solve their problems with
words—whether that’s a wizard’s word of power
or a rogue’s careful threat. The common view
of the gnome is that of a friendly busybody,
always ready to lend a hand or share a story. But
in fact, that cheerful gnome is often gathering
information that could one day be useful.

GNOMES OF ZILARGO
It would be an exaggeration to say that every Zil
gnome is a ruthless schemer. But intrigue is the
favorite pastime of the Zil. As a Zil gnome, you’ve
been taught to manipulate and deceive since
childhood. You’ve been involved in dozens of
schemes and feuds, and you’re likely still tied up

in a few of them (consult the Zil Schemes table).
Even if you have a good heart and noble goals,
you may still prefer to use trickery and cunning
instead of relying on honesty or brute force.
Zil gnomes typically use the forest gnome
subrace. The natural illusionist trait is a part of
daily life in Zilargo, used both for entertainment
and for trickery. The <P]ZQUJIZZWLis a common
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purposes of creating music. The power to speak
with small beasts is likewise something often
put to practical use, and the Zil often use small
animals as messengers or guides. While Zil
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with Deception or Persuasion, these skills are
common in Zil society; you could take the
charlatan or criminal background as a way of
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As a player character, one question is why
you’ve left Zilargo and what ties you still have
to it. You could be a sage gathering information
for the Library of Korranberg, or an investigator
sending stories of your adventures back to the
Korranberg Chronicle. Family is very important
to the Zil, and you could be pursuing the interests
®½^‘«›Ã›Ý
1d10 ^ĐŚĞŵĞ
1 Your family is working on a new form of elemental binding, but they need Khyber dragonshards—
lots of them.
2 You have a mysterious contact who sends you missions via sending; when you follow their
ŝŶƐƚƌƵĐƟŽŶƐ͕LJŽƵŝŶǀĂƌŝĂďůLJƌĞĐĞŝǀĞĂƌĞǁĂƌĚ͘
3 You’ve acquired a plot of land in Xen’drik. You’ve never been there, and if you don’t visit it within a
year, you’ll lose the claim.
4 Due to an unusual twist of Triumvirate law, you share the same name with a number of other Zil and
you’re all legally considered to be the same person.
5 zŽƵ͛ǀĞĂĐƋƵŝƌĞĚĂƐƉĞůůƐŚĂƌĚƚŚĂƚĐŽŶƚĂŝŶƐĂǀĂƐƚĂŵŽƵŶƚŽĨƚĞdžƚŝŶĂƐĞĞŵŝŶŐůLJƵŶďƌĞĂŬĂďůĞĐŽĚĞ͘
6 zŽƵŬŶŽǁƚŚĞůŽĐĂƟŽŶŽĨĂǁĂŶƚĞĚǁĂƌĐƌŝŵŝŶĂů͘tŝůůLJŽƵƚƵƌŶƚŚĞŵŝŶ͕ŽƌƚƌLJƚŽŐĞƚƐŽŵĞƚŚŝŶŐŝŶ
ĞdžĐŚĂŶŐĞĨŽƌLJŽƵƌƐŝůĞŶĐĞ͍
7 You’ve been selling false treasure maps. But now you’ve found one that might be real.
8 You’ve acquired a controlling stake in a distant dragonshard mine, but the mine was abandoned
ĐĞŶƚƵƌŝĞƐĂŐŽĚƵĞƚŽ͞ƉƌŽďůĞŵƐ͘͟<ŽďŽůĚƐ͍ďĞƌƌĂƟŽŶƐ͍dŚĞƌĞ͛ƐŽŶůLJŽŶĞǁĂLJƚŽĮŶĚŽƵƚ͘
9 zŽƵƌĨĂŵŝůLJŝƐĨĂĐŝŶŐĮŶĂŶĐŝĂůƌƵŝŶĂŶĚƚŚĞLJ͛ǀĞƚĂŬĞŶŽƵƚĂůƵĐƌĂƟǀĞůŝĨĞŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞƉŽůŝĐLJŽŶLJŽƵ͘/ƚ
only pays out if you die under unusual circumstances, and they’re encouraging you to seek out ever
more dangerous adventures.
10 zŽƵ͛ƌĞƉĞĚĚůŝŶŐĂůŝĨĞĞdžƚĞŶƐŝŽŶƐĐŚĞŵĞǁŚĞƌĞĐůŝĞŶƚƐĂƌĞƉĞƚƌŝĮĞĚďLJĂŵĞĚƵƐĂĂŶĚƚŚĞŶƌĞƐƚŽƌĞĚ
ĂŌĞƌĂƉƌĞĚĞƚĞƌŵŝŶĞĚĂŵŽƵŶƚŽĨƟŵĞ͘
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