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Description

Hidden in the depths of the Underdark live the svirfneblin, or deep gnomes. Reclusive, suspicious, and resentful of intrusion into their cavern homes, the deep gnomes share little of the humor or openness of their surface cousins. Where a rock gnome community bursts with energy, excitement, and laughter, a svirfneblin city is a dull and colorless place of echoing silence and furtive motion in the shadows. All hands are raised against the svirfneblin – or so the deep gnomes believe, anyway.

The deep gnomes may be the world's stealthiest and most elusive folk. Centuries upon centuries of surviving the deadly perils of the Underdark have bred in this race an amazing gift for avoiding attention. In their cavern homes they are nearly undetectable with magic, and even in the strange and threatening (to them) surface world, the deep gnomes' natural stealth makes them difficult to spot or catch.

Svirfneblin have gnarled physiques, brown or gray skin, gray eyes, and gray hair (although males are bald). They tend to be sullen, withdrawn, and suspicious to a fault.

Regions

Very few of the Underdark towns and strongholds of the deep gnomes are knwon to the surface world. Most svirfneblin characters can be described accurately enough by the deep gnome entry on Table 1-4: Character Regions (FRCS, p. 30).

Two years ago, several hundred svirfneblin from the city of Blingdenstone were driven to the surface in the Silver Marches when their city was overrun by drow-summoned demons. These exiles sought refuge in the lands of Silverymoon and are occasionally seen in the North.

Religion

Unlike statet in the Player's Handbook, characters in the Forgotten Realms almost always have a patron deity. See FRCS p. 39 for more details.

Combat

Racial Traits

Svirfneblin have all the gnome racial traits given in Chapter 2 of the Player's Handbook (pp. 15) except as follows:

• -2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -4 Charisma. Wuick and perceptive, svirfneblin are suspicious and retiring to an extreme.
• Darkvision up to 120 feet. This replaces gnome low-light vision.
• Spell-like Abilities: 1/day – blindness, blur, and change self (disguise self in D&D 3.5). These abilities are as the spells cast by a wizard of the svirfneblin's character level (save DC 10 + spell level). This abilitiy replaces the gnome ability to cast the 0-level spells dancing lights, ghost sound, and prestidigitation.
• Stonecunning: Like dwarfes, svirfneblin receive a +2 racial bonus on checks to notice unusual stonework. Something that isn't stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A deep gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a check as though actively searching and can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A svirfneblin can also intuit depth, sensing the approximate distance underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.
• Nondetection (Su): Svirfneblin have a continuous nondetection supernatural ability as the spell cast by a wizard of their character level.
• Spell resistance of 11 + character level.
• +4 dodge bonus against all creatures (no special bonus against giants).
• +2 racial bonus on all saving throws.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide checks, which improves to +4 in darkened areas underground.
• Automatic and bonus languages as mentioned above.
• Level adjustment +3: Svirfneblin are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerûn.