Dragon	Races	-	Best of Dragon, Vol. III	Dragon 62
Gnomes and deep gnomes	Character classes		Underground neighbors	-
1e AD&D	-	Dragon #131	-	Dragon magazine

Of all the underground-dwelling races of
demi-humans, the svirfneblin, or deep
gnomes, differ least in outlook from their
surface-dwelling cousins. Having moved
underground voluntarily (instead of fleeing a
lost war, as the drow and duergar did), the
svirfneblin have less animosity toward the
world in general and their surface-dwelling
kin in particular. [See “The Gnomish Point of
View” in the Best of DRAGON® Magazine
Anthology, Volume 3.]

Gnomes and deep gnomes
Like surface gnomes, svirfneblin love
jewels and do exquisite work with them.
Their jewelry is a much-prized article of
trade in the underground world, purchasing
things the deep gnomes cannot make
themselves. Svirfneblin and gnomes share
an affinity for jewels that closely parallels
the dwarven and duergar skills with
metal, or the elven love of living things.

Another area of similarity between deep
and surface gnomes is their sense of humor.
Pranks and practical jokes are a
major source of svirfneblin amusement,
and are often turned into a form of defense
or attack, particularly against larger
races. Svirfneblin jokes tend to be grimmer
than those played by surface gnomes,
since many of these jokes are played on
enemies. A svirfneblin who successfully
defiles a shrine to Lolth without the drow
catching on is regarded as a hero, just as is
the surface gnome who palms off a necklace
of strangulation on an enemy by
representing it as a magical necklace of
some other sort. To the svirfneblin, an
enemy?s discomfort is extremely humorous,
particularly if it proves fatal.

Svirfneblin culture differs in several
ways from that of the surface gnomes.
One obvious difference is the apparent
dominance of svirfneblin males in all professions
having to do with the world outside
their settlements. No female
svirfneblin willingly leaves the settlement,
except in the case of a dire emergency.
There are two reasons for this. First, the
relatively low birthrate among deep
gnomes makes it imperative that the females
(who are much more important in a
society with a low birthrate) be protected
from the terrible dangers of the underworld
as much as possible. Second,
whereas most surface gnomes confront
relatively stupid enemies such as orcs,
goblins, and kobolds, deep gnomes must
deal with exceptionally intelligent foes
such as the derro, drow, duergar, and kuotoans.
These dangers make deep gnomes
reluctant to risk their female population
outside of their protected settlements.
Svirfneblin do not understand or approve
of female surface-gnome adventurers, and
they do not like to see female adventurers
of other races, though they tolerate them.
They see female drow, however, as being
as despicable as the males (if not worse),
and they treat them both much the same.

Deep-gnome culture differs from that of
surface gnomes in another way. Surface
gnomes are on close terms with burrowing
mammals, but svirfneblin have much
more powerful allies in the form of earth
elementals. It is said that the first rulers of
the deep gnomes forged this relationship
by signing treaties and making alliances
with the leaders of the earth elementals.
In any case, those who would otherwise
have exterminated the deep gnomes tread
cautiously around them, since many
svirfneblin can summon up powerful help
on short notice. The dangers of their
environment make this alliance of great
benefit to deep gnomes.

For the sake of game balance, deep gnome
PCs have a greatly reduced chance
of summoning earth elementals (as noted
in Unearthed Arcana, page 11; otherwise,
everyone may want to be a svirfneblin,
and svirfneblin PCs will be much too powerful.
Perhaps a svirfneblin PC should be
required to go through a lot of effort to
summon an earth elemental, requiring
about six hours of absolute rest afterward.
Otherwise, a svirfneblin PC should have
only a 5-10% chance per level of successfully
performing such a summoning.

Character classes
Svirfneblin clerics are usually very influential
in their communities. They act as
judges, doling out rewards as well as punishments
to those who deserve them. The
svirfneblin realize that, in the threatening
environment in which they live, peaceful
arbitration of disputes is essential to survival.
As a result, svirfneblin clerics usually
have numerous healing spells at their
command; they also usually have a number
of spells designed to allow the user to
find out the truth. In case of squabbles
within the group, the svirfneblin cleric
usually does his utmost to work up a solution
that is agreeable to both sides. When
negotiations with other races are necessary,
svirfneblin clerics usually speak for
their people.

Svirfneblin fighters have a lot in common,
mentally, with their surface-dwelling
cousins. These characters see themselves
as ?giant killers," much as do surface
gnomes. When enemies are physically
smaller than the deep gnomes (as are the
jermlaine), the svirfneblin are usually
more merciful than they would be to
larger opponents. Resentment of being
?talked down to? by larger folk runs
deeply and bitterly with this race.

Like their surface-dwelling kin, deepgnome
fighters have no inhibitions about
using various tricks and traps to make up
for their relatively small size. A wily
svirfneblin general can earn a wonderful
reputation as a warrior without ever
fighting a pitched battle. Because of their
low birthrate, svirfneblin do not regard
each other as expendable, and every possible
avenue is explored to avoid direct
confrontations with foes.

Svirfneblin illusionists hold very high
status among their fellows. Other deep
gnomes respect the long hours of study
that are necessary to train an illusionist,
and a well-placed illusion has saved many
a svirfneblin community. Only the fact
that some of their worst enemies, such as
the duergar, are immune to illusion spells
limits illusionists? usefulness. Conscious of
their high standing, svirfneblin illusionists
are usually full of pride in their accomplishments
? ?cocky? describes their
manner well.

Svirfneblin thieves and thief-acrobats
usually take up the trade for the same
reasons members of other undergrounddwelling
races do: to serve their community
and people by plundering enemy
goods, to aid exploration parties with their
skills at climbing and lock-picking, and to
strike from the shadows at the backs of
enemies. Like other gnomish thieves,
svirfneblin of this class adore puzzles and
often try to steal something thought unquestionably
safe, merely to find out if it
can be done.

Svirfneblin assassins are the grimmest of
their race. Like other gnomes, they enjoy a
joke, but they prefer ?gallows humor?
over anything else. They hold higher status
among svirfneblin than surface-gnome
assassins do in their societies, for the same
reasons that other underground-dwelling
peoples grant assassins higher status than
they receive on the surface. Open warfare
or interclan feuding could spell universal
doom; thus, when a deep gnome is sentenced
to death, an assassin is usually
dispatched to do the job. As with other
underground peoples, assassins also do
much of the fighting against enemies of
other races. Since deep gnomes are small
and, some think, easy to enslave, the presence
of assassins among them is one way
to ensure that slavers will probably regret
it bitterly. Assassins are sometimes added
to commando-style raiding parties, with
orders to eliminate certain powerful opponents
during the raid. Assassin guilds do
not exist as such among the svirfneblin,
though informal networks exist through
which they gain their training.

Since the deep gnomes have long childhoods
(which often last for the better part
of a century), multiclassed svirfneblin are
not uncommon. If a young deep gnome is
seen as having talent in more than one
area, he receives training in more than
one profession. Multi-classed deep gnomes
hold higher status than single-classed ones
do, and in the councils, their word usually
carries much weight.

Underground neighbors
Svirfneblin live in a dark, dangerous
world, and have many enemies, but the
most bitter feud is the one they carry on
with the drow. Svirfneblin and drow hate
each other, and both sides delight in mutual
torment. Svirfneblin often force drow
prisoners to slaughter spiders, and the
drow retaliate with interest when they
catch svirfneblin. Competition for food,
living space, and gems embitters relations
already poisoned by the difference in
alignment between drow and svirfneblin.

The svirfneblin hardly know that surface
elves exist. When they first encounter
surface elves, svirfneblin are usually nonplussed
at finding elves with such different
coloring, who do not worship Lolth,
and who share a lot of their outlook with
the deep gnomes. Once their initial suspicion
is overcome, the svirfneblin will be
very curious about surface elves, peppering
them with questions about their lives.

The second most bitter feud carried on
by the svirfneblin is with the duergar. The
gray dwarves and svirfneblin compete for
food and living space, as do the deep
gnomes and drow. Dwarven greed, inflamed
to a white heat in the duergar by
their worship of Abbathor (Unearthed
Arcana, page 111), makes them passionate
hunters of deep-gnome caches of gems.
Not surprisingly, the deep gnomes retaliate
whenever possible. One revenge tactic the
svirfneblin favor is slipping into a duergar
treasure vault and emptying it out, then
putting a few traps on it that the gray
dwarves aren?t aware of. When the two
races manage to meet peacefully, the
svirfneblin are incapable of understanding
the duergars? regard for dignity, and find
it difficult to resist playing pranks on these
stolid folk. Puncturing the dignity of others
is regarded as great fun, but it does get
the svirfneblin into many fights.

Svirfneblin regard other dwarves with
some suspicion ? at least until the surface
dwarves establish clearly that they are not
in sympathy with the duergar. Svirfneblin
pranks are not popular with surface
dwarves, but the absence of a history of
warfare between the races keeps the
pranks under control.

Svirfneblin barely know halflings exist.
The halfling life of peaceful pastoralism
generally appeals to deep gnomes, although
the deep gnomes have a hard time
believing that life can really be that quiet
and peaceful. When svirfneblin and halflings
meet, the halflings? small size helps
the svirfneblin feel friendlier and less
threatened. Of course, svirfneblin who?ve
lost cherished jewels to halfling thieves are
an exception to this rule.

Svirfneblin do not like half-orcs any
more than they do other humanoids, such
as orcs or goblins. Since svirfneblin live a
lot farther down in the underworld than
orcs generally do, they seldom meet halforcs,
although they are aware of the wellearned
reputation half-orcs have on the
surface. A party containing half-orcs can
expect a chillier reception from deep
gnomes than would otherwise be the case,
but this reception will not be as bad as
that given if the party included drow or
duergar. To the deep gnomes, their occasional
run-ins with orcs are not nearly as
pressing a problem as their wars with
other horrors of the underworld. Most
deep gnomes would much rather deal
with a whole tribe of orcs than with one
mind flayer.

Humans are viewed neutrally by deep
gnomes. In general, humans meeting deep
gnomes can expect the same treatment
they afford the svirfneblin. As with any
outsiders, the deep gnomes will play
pranks, but no real harm is ever intended,
unless the humans intend to harm the
pranksters. Svirfneblin respect humans
with abilities they don?t have, such as the
ability to use magic. Humans who have
attained higher levels in classes available
to the svirfneblin are also treated with
respect. Often, the svirfneblin make offers
to hire humans with skills they need. The
deep gnomes can be trusted in these deals,
and humans taking up their offers can
expect to return to the surface when their
contracts are completed much richer than
they left it.