Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

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

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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