UA:Desert Gnomes

This material is published under the OGL

Desert Gnomes

Desert dwarves may dig and maintain wells, but desert gnomes pay for them. Desert gnomes establish and operate fortified trading posts around wells and oases, cultivating crops wherever possible and scouring the surrounding desert for the wealth of buried civilizations. Desert gnome outposts are rarely quiet, doing business both day and night.

Racial Traits: Desert gnomes have the following racial traits.

• +2 Constitution, –2 Strength.
• Humanoid (Gnome).
• Small: As a Small creature, a desert gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Desert gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: A desert gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Familiarity: Desert gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• Heat Endurance: Desert gnomes gain a +4 racial bonus on Fortitude saves made to resist the effects of hot weather.
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by desert gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects.
• +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.
• +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.
• +2 racial bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks: Desert gnomes are skilled at haggling and negotiating.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. In addition, a desert gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to desert gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A desert gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + desert gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.
• Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass desert gnome’s bard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.
• Level Adjustment: +0.

---

Back to Main Page → Variant Rules → Races → Environmental Racial Variants → Desert Races