Homebrew Svirfneblin (Earth Genasi Heritage) Species Details

Svirfneblin Variant

Forest gnomes and rock gnomes are the gnomes most commonly encountered in the lands of the surface world. There is another subrace of gnomes rarely seen by any surface-dweller: deep gnomes, also known as svirfneblin. Guarded, and suspicious of outsiders, svirfneblin are cunning and taciturn, but can be just as kind-hearted, loyal, and compassionate as their surface cousins.

When you create a gnome character, you may choose the deep gnome as an alternative to the subraces in the Player’s Handbook.

 

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

 

Age

Deep gnomes are short-lived for gnomes. They mature at the same rate humans do and are considered full-grown adults by 25. They live 200 to 250 years, although hard toil and the dangers of the Underdark often claim them before their time.

 

Alignment

Svirfneblin believe that survival depends on avoiding entanglements with other creatures and not making enemies, so they favor neutral alignments. They rarely wish others ill, and they are unlikely to take risks on behalf of others.

 

Size

A typical svirfneblin stands about 3 to 3½ feet tall and weighs 80 to 120 pounds. Your size is Small.

 

Superior Darkvision

Your darkvision has a radius of 120 feet.

 

Stone Camouflage

You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in rocky terrain.

 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Gnomish, and Undercommon. The svirfneblin dialect is more guttural than surface Gnomish, and most svirfneblin know only a little bit of Common, but those who deal with outsiders (and that includes you as an adventurer) pick up enough Common to get by in other lands.

 

Extra-Planar Heritage

Since this band of Svirfneblin have Earth Genasi heritage, they often have interesting features like stone-like skin, fissures, or chrystals growing from the body! They also inherited some of the racial traits of this lineage.

Earth Walk

You can move across difficult terrain made of earth or stone without expending extra movement.

Merge with Stone

You can cast the pass without a trace spell once with this trait, requiring no material components, and you regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. Constitution is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

 

 

 

 

Svirfneblin (Earth Genasi Heritage) Traits

Your gnome character has certain characteristics in common with all other gnomes.

Ability Score Increase

Your Intelligence score increases by 2.

Age

Gnomes mature at the same rate humans do, and most are expected to settle down into an adult life by around age 40. They can live 350 to almost 500 years.

Alignment

Gnomes are most often good. Those who tend toward law are sages, engineers, researchers, scholars, investigators, or inventors. Those who tend toward chaos are minstrels, tricksters, wanderers, or fanciful jewelers. Gnomes are good-hearted, and even the tricksters among them are more playful than vicious.

Size

Gnomes are between 3 and 4 feet tall and average about 40 pounds. Your size is Small.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 25 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Gnome Cunning

You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Gnomish. The Gnomish language, which uses the Dwarvish script, is renowned for its technical treatises and its catalogs of knowledge about the natural world.