Axior's Gnomes

The defining characteristic of Gnomes is their desire to learn.

They are typically about 3 feet tall, very curious, and can live to about 60 years old. Male Gnomes do grow facial hair. Female Gnomes can grow mustaches, although it is not typically fashionable for them to do so.

Gnomes revel in secrets, although they are lousy at keeping them. To them, secrets and knowledge are the most valuable currency, but when they are excited about something, they will usually drop hints and teases until they give it away.

The other thing that Gnomes really love is food; specifically the variety and quality of their food. Gnomish cuisine is famous for its quality, and because of their small size and therefore appetites, they can use exotic and expensive ingredients (because they only need to buy small amounts of it). They also love alcohol; good alcohol is worth more than gold to them. Alcohol affects them normally (unlike their Dwarven relatives).

Gnomes dabble with other intoxicants and hallucinogens. Magic mushrooms are strongly associated with Gnomes.

Gnomes are also known for having weird potions. This is mostly stereotyping, due to a popular series of stories involving a Gnomish alchemist (as a supporting character), who always has just the right potion for a situation; this varies from the mundane (healing potion), to the ridiculous (shark repellant).

There are two other famous stories involving Gnomes; in one they are basically Santa's elves (depending on who is telling the story, they may be happy working for him, or may be his slaves), and the in the other they are evil creatures that kidnap children.

The combination of their loves of food and secrets means that recipies are one of the most exchanged secrets among Gnomes.

Because of their size and nature, they are sometimes employed as spies. They typically do not last long, as they will often give themselves away. This means that a savvy employer will replace them before they know enough to give away anything important.

Gnomes, being small and not inclined to combat, are often treated badly. They are frequently abused or enslaved, occasionally kept as a stand-in for a lost child, or put to work doing industrial tasks. They do not typically earn any sort of title (as they make lousy knights), and are often just looked down upon by other races.

In order to be in a good place in society, Gnomes have learned to adapt. They tend to form tight-knit communities in cities, travel in groups, and carry knives. They typically distrust strangers, and are generally cowardly in unfamiliar situations, and so prefer to have strength of numbers wherever possible.

Gnomes often form gangs, initially to defend themselves, but they often just evolve into normal gangs given a few generations. Note that Gnomish gangs tend to be big fish in small ponds; against more cutthroat gangs in big cities, they don't usually cut it.

Knives carry some cultural significance to Gnomes, most notably, a marriage ritual among Gnomes is for spouses to exchange knives. This is mostly symbolic, but losing your spouse's knife is a big faux-pas. Losing knives in general is embarassing for a Gnome, though this doesn't extend to having them stolen from you or getting mugged, which is just unfortunate.

Gnomes in general get along well with Dwarves, Halflings, and Children. Dwarves tend to stick up for them, and their curious and intellectual nature makes them good compliments to the Dwarves. Gnomes are often employed by Dwarves to help figure out problems, or brainstorm solutions that they could not otherwise come up with.

Gnomes (being half-Dwarf) can be called on to continue a Line, although it does not fit their nature, and so it is often said that only a Dwarf can continue a line, and Gnomes are happy to let them.

Gnomes give birth normally, but have a short gestation period, only about 5 months. Twins are seen as being lucky; all Gnomish deities are twins, who usually represent opposites.

There are a few different places you might find Gnomes:

• Gnomish Villages – these generally are backed by a Gnomish Mage or gang. They do well for themselves, as much as any other village.
• As a minority in cities – typically downtrodden, but communities of Gnomes have been known to do well in some places.
• In Dwarven towns – they fit in well with Dwarves, and they generally do not have to worry about themselves among Dwarves, so are free to pursue their own interests.
• In the wild – these are often referred to as feral Gnomes; they live in the wild, and forage for food, or make mushroom patches in remote forests. They are masters of hiding, as the world is full of dangers. They typically only speak Gnomish
• As travellers: Gnomes tend to travel in groups, or with other groups of travellers. A lone Gnome is either a madman, an outcast, or a Mage powerful enough to fend for himself.

Another point about Gnomes is that they love games. Their natural curiosity lends itself well to learning rules, figuring out interactions, and devising strategies. Most Gnomish communities have a handful of locally developed games, in addition to the ones found throughout the realm. Being the creator of a local, popular game makes you a local celebrity; expect gossip about possible rule changes and what you are planning to create next (Gnomes love even the possibility of secrets!).

Axior's Dwarves

The following is a piece I wrote up about Dwarves. I'm doing some world-building for a D&D campaign, so there might be a few more posts about the land of Axior. Without further ado, here are my notes about Dwarven culture:

The defining trait of Dwarves is their single-mindedness. A given Dwarf will choose a profession (called a “Line”), and work without deviation towards it for their entire lives. The oldest Dwarven child of each gender will inherit the Line of the correspondingly gendered parent, although all others are free to choose their own Lines.

As the name implies, a Line continues through generations, and a strong Lineage is a great honour among Dwarves. Due to the oldest-child-only inheritance though, Lines tend to be fairly short, and even a 4^th generation Lineage is respectable.

Dwarves are typically humourless, emotionally flat, and lack sex-drive. They care little for appearances (other than beards), and lack creativity. The two great exceptions to these are:

• If any of these traits are required for their Line. Because of their dedication, they will seemingly instinctively develop any required personality traits.
  • As a subnote, if a Dwarf does not think they will be able to complete their life's work in their lifetime, they will develop an incredible urge to procreate so that their heir may finish it. If their same-gendered first-born dies and their Line is broken without completing their life's work, they will fall into despair, or work madly with such a looming and literal deadline.
• Or, if they are drunk. Intoxicated Dwarves are generally quite uproarious, horny, emotional, and free-thinking. This boost to creativity is what drives many Dwarves to drink, although alcohol often causes as many problems as it enables them to solve.

Alcohol is prevalent in Dwarven society; because of the aforementioned lack of sex-drive, Dwarven populations only dwindle without alcohol, so they have “evolved” to include some form of alcohol in all Dwarven societies.

A Dwarf will follow their line to all ends of the earth; it is not uncommon for Dwarves to:

• Become hermits, producing whatever masterful works they have dedicated themselves to for its own sake
• Leave Dwarven society to pursue their craft; this is most common for anything artistic, as they will find little audience or market for art and performances there
• Create a single masterpiece in some obscure location; this may be a giant statue in the desert, an intricate dungeon beneath a wine-cellar, an epic mansion in the middle of a forest, or whatever
• Create an enormous number of the same thing, far beyond any market's demand for them.
• Beggar themselves when their Line is not profitable, or amass an unspent fortune when it is
• Choose a life of crime for their Line. Almost every famous pirate whose name ends in “beard” is a Dwarf. Remember that Dwarves will aim to be the best at what they do.

Stereotypes about Dwarves mostly come from a few famous Dwarves and their Lines. This is mainly miners and warriors.

Dwarves who do not inherit a Line are referred to as Progenitors, Firsts, Primes, Forebearers, or Bears. Firsts is the most casual, and most commonly used, as Dwarves care little for formality (Dwarves often address each other based on their Lineage number, so calling someone a Second or Fifth is common). They typically spend most of their childhood trying a bit of everything, and seeing what sticks with them. If a Dwarf cannot find their Line, they will often fall into alcoholism, and such Dwarves are referred to as Lost (collectively, The Lost), but this is less common than you'd think. A Dwarf typically irons out what his Line will be throughout puberty.

If a Dwarf refuses to inherit their rightful Line, they are typically shunned, and often become Lost or outcasts, even if the take up another Line. This is quite rare, due to the social stigma.

Some Dwarves will try and continue a Line with someone other than the first-born (either a later sibling or an adopted child); this is most common when the first-born dies, especially for miscarriages. This is generally accepted, although their Lineage is spoken with some disdain, as it is not been truly “earned” in public opinion.

It is difficult to find a Line, and many Dwarves end up helping out other Dwarves (i.e. being assistants, apprentices, salesmen, etc.). This can create the awkward position where a Dwarf's Line has become obsolete, or cannot be done anymore due to the death of their master Dwarf. They may get another Dwarf to take up their master's mantle (occasionally forcefully), they may take it up themselves in some cases, or they may end up going insane; sweeping the floor of a long abandoned shop, or selling wares that do not exist.

Dwarven debts are carried through a Line, although note that any Firsts are free from these debts. This includes financial debts, debts of honour or other obligations, and prison sentences.

Dwarves are very proud, although the only two things they typically care about are their Beard, and their Line. Various styles of beard exist, and this is the one area where Dwarves will care about fashion. Both genders of Dwarf have beards, although there are different styles associated with each gender, although this can differ geographically and temporarily. In many cases, an exposed chin is a sign of femininity, although there are several distinctly masculine styles with a naked chin. In general, simpler Dwarves like simpler styles, and more urban Dwarves have more elaborate tastes.

A shaved face is a sign of shame or repentance for a Dwarf, depending if they were shaved by themselves or someone else. Many feuds were started by cutting a Dwarf's beard, and several peace treaties were signed because of a clean shaven one. Such feuds typically only last as long as it takes to grow the beard back, but if further cuts are made during that time, then things can get messy.