"Despite the presence of one of our own, I see no reason why I should not throw you out of the city immediately. You may have already seen the entrance, but I should hardly reward this betrayal of our city's strictures by allowing you to remain a moment longer. If you are wise, you will tell me right now why you offer anything of value to Corengal."

-Mayor of Corengal, Blenawin Issifurth

Svirfneblin Culture

Children of the Mist

The first Gnomes were almost entirely concentrated in the Great Jungle Kingdom of Yongara, since their ancient past. There, partnering with humans and kobolds, the gnomes built a massive flourishing Kith kingdom, the first of its kind to rival those of the Dwarves or Elves. However, all was not meant to be so. With golden years came an apocalypse, and the Collapse of the Great Jungle pushed all its children west and east, desperately seeking to escape the complete collapse of their once vibrant ecosystem. Most gnomes settled on the coast of the Outer Glittering Sea, building a civilization there that still, in some form, stands today. Many gnomes however were more than doubtful of their prospects of survival, pressed up against the sea by an ever growing desert. Many gnomes therefore arrived on the doorstep of the Dwarvish Underkingdom of Broagdoor, the former patron of Yongara. These gnomes were temporarily housed in the city as refugees, but their prospects dwindled surrounded by Broagan dwarves who were quickly becoming more insular and paranoid. However, simultaneously in Broagdoor there grew a great need for a certain kind of individual. Most dwarves there, who had their pick, would become miners, smiths, or soldiers. However, key to the Broagan economy was trade with other dwarven underkingdoms. The Underdark was the primary means of transport, and enabled dwarves to travel directly under otherwise impassible barriers on the surface. Unfortunately, the Underdark had become, since its creation, steadily more and more hostile and unstable. Few dwarves dreamed of leaving their families for weeks on end, traveling through poorly patrolled trade routes, forever running the risk of a sudden end. The gnomes on the other hand... the gnomes were incredibly desperate to carve out a new life for themselves. Some gnomes left the mountains, and a few found work in the city proper, but most found themselves working the Underdark trade routes. It didn't take long before these gnomes traveled far beyond Broagdoor, and began working the trade routes in the nascent trading companies of the time for all of the major dwarven settlements, most finding themselves at some point in the heart of dwarven civilization, Drumshiel. The gnomes were valued in this respect for their work ethic, their mercantile traditions, and their ability to hide or blend in when trouble came near, reducing the need for heavily guarded caravans. Overtime, these Underdark gnomes left for the surface less and less, eventually seeing the sun less than the dwarves themselves. Their physical appearance and eyesight slowly changed to help them adapt to their new conditions, and they developed a unique kinship with the stone of the subterranean world. Most could blend in readily in the shadows of the Underdark, appearing to passerby as rocky shapes in the endless dark The most ingenious of the gnomes began to create passageways for their trade routes, and over time, a complex web of tunnels and paths, tiny in size, and completely unknown to the dwarves, began to take shape. It became natural for the deep gnomes, as they were coming to be known, to on occasion dig out an outpost connecting to one of their pathways, a place to hide from raiding parties, or rest on long voyages. Outposts became watering holes, watering holes became fortresses, and fortresses, and fortresses became settlements. This slow evolution made the deep gnomes into what they are today. As the gnomes built up their settlements, their need to work for the dwarves decreased, as they took to mastering their own crafts, stoneworking chief of them all, and created little city states that dotted the Underdark. They maintained their ties to the dwarves, but crucially, remained highly independent. Always fearing spies from the Duergar, the Drow, the Illithid, or some other faction at work in the Underdark, the deep gnomes kept to themselves, and kept their cities completely secret. The entrances to their cities were often hidden with secret doors, protected by runes, camouflaged as stones, or hidden with illusion magic. The deep gnomes truly became masters of the deep, and no force in the Underdark has ever succeeded at subduing or dominating them; they'd have to find them first. Due to this elusion from outsiders, the deep gnomes eventually became known by the old Yogi word Svirfneblin, meaning Children of the Mist.

          Svirfneblin seem to the surface dwellers of Adra a highly mysterious culture; few in Adra even have a reason to learn about the Svirfneblin, much less have the opportunity to meet one. As such, rumors abound, tales of cannibalistic cults carousing around volcanic vents, half-fish men mutated by priests of the Old Ones, or violent feral killers, hellbent on enslaving the civilized world, much akin to the Duergar. However, all of these rumors are completely off-base, a result of the deep gnomes' success at keeping themselves hidden from the world at large. To the races of the Underdark, the Svirfneblin represent in many ways the final frontier. In the endless wars of conquest and domination between Duergar, Drow, Mind Flayers, and Aboleth, the Svirfneblin loom near in the minds of the evil subterranean empires. Stories of vaults filled with gold and mithril are common in Duergar war camps; the Drow say that deep gnomes are conspicuously obedient, and once caught will obey one's every command, without any need for indoctrination; the Mind Flayers mostly discuss what deep gnome brains must taste like. In all cases, there is a consensus that few have ever been to a Svirfneblinish city, and returned to tell the tail. In reality, more than a few have, curious merchants, wizards seeking strange knowledge, or dwarven allies. However, all such visitors are sworn to secrecy, and are sometimes even enchanted with terrible curses which befall any who betray the deep gnomes to outsiders. This is all to say that the most dominate trait among the deep gnomes is their fear of being widely discovered. They excel in crafts and scholarly pursuits, many create works of art or become prolific magi, but very few are skilled in the art of war. For a deep gnome settlement to be discovered by even a small Duergar raiding party would mean its likely extinction, and so keeping hidden was always the wisest policy. Svirfneblin are incredibly hardworking and crafty, forced to make use of limited resources in settlements that only see outside trade once a year at most. Gnomes spend most of their free time with their friends and neighbors, having parties, eating feats, and hosting large dances called Under-Waltzes. The Svirfneblin, taking cues from the dwarves that long sheltered them, are adept at crafts and stonework, but often ply their trades with a gnomish whimsy that the dwarves traditionally lack. Art and ingenuity is valued, but threats to the status quo are always feared mightily. Most threats to the status quo involve those who wish to establish more frequent trade, or travel to other settlements, or bring visitors from the surface. While the occasional visit is a necessity, and a welcome break from boredom, too many visits are a threat to security. Eventually, someone will be witnessed entering through a secret door, someone will be captured and interrogated, or worst of all, someone will be a spy, selling their information to the highest bidder. So, while ideas that lead to better mushroom yields, more beautiful architecture, or a more secure city portal are all welcome, any idea that involves rejecting a strict policy of isolation is taboo. Due to this, it is not uncommon for young and idealistic deep gnomes to leave their homes in search for a change of scenery. The more cautious of these gnomes will simply travel to the nearest settlement of their kin. The more adventurous and rebellious will leave the Underdark all together, wandering foreign lands in search of new people, new ideas, and new experiences. Most of these gnomes will have some fun, meet people, and return home happy for the experience, only to settle into their elder years never leaving the city again. A few however never return, finding the outside world to be endlessly exciting, and often they find a great need for help on the surface that their underground kin blissfully ignore.

          The Svirfneblin people exist almost entirely in the Underdark, hidden away safely in their secret cities, connected by webs of tiny pathways of which only they know. The occasional Svirfneblin can be found in dwarf settlements, valued for their specialized knowledge, which in stonework often outstrips even the dwarves. On rare occasions, Svirfneblin wander Adra in search of meaning, adventure, and a breath of fresh air. The vast majority of the Svirfneblin are themselves Svirfneblin, or deep gnomes. There are some dwarves, often refugees from Drumshiel who have come to live permanently in Svirfneblin settlements, but other races are very rarely found. Religion is often important to Svirfneblin, but no unified state religion exists, for obvious reasons. While there is the odd exception, most Svirfneblin settlements are split between the worship of either Yeshaya's Pantheon, or Melteos's Pantheon. The Svirfneblin tend to be industrious, cautious, and creative. They also tend to be paranoid, isolationist, and stubborn. The Svirfneblin communicate among their own in Gnomish, the old Yogi having faded long ago in all but a few settlements. However, Undercommon is extremely common as well, used often to speak with outsiders, especially when deep gnomes are forced to travel to Underdark trading posts.

If you choose Svirfneblin Culture, you gain the following:

~Either a +1 to your Dexterity score or a +1 to your Intelligence score~

~A -1 to your Charisma score~

~As a known language, either Gnomish or Undercommon~

~A Sub-Discipline in every knowledge skill on checks relating to Svirfneblin Culture~

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