SRD:Gnomes, Deep—Svirfneblin (Race)

This material is published under the OGL 1.0a.

Svirfneblin

Also see the gnome creature listing.

Also called deep gnomes, svirfneblin are said to dwell in great cities deep underground.

A svirfneblin has wiry, rock-colored skin usually medium brown to brownish gray. Only males are bald; females have stringy gray hair. The average svirfneblin lifespan is 250 years.

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –2 Strength, –4 Charisma.
• Humanoid (Gnome)
• Small: As a Small creature, a svirfneblin 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.
• Svirfneblin base land speed is 20 feet.
• Stonecunning: This ability grants deep gnomes a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework. A deep gnome who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search 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.
• Darkvision out to 120 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: A svirfneblin 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.
• Spell resistance equal to 11 + class levels.
• Weapon Familiarity: Svirfneblin may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
• Nondetection (Su): A svirfneblin has a continuous nondetection ability as the spell (caster level equal to class levels).
• +2 racial bonus on all saving throws.
• Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by svirfneblin. 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 all creatures. 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 Listen checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Hide checks, which improves to +4 underground.
• Automatic Languages: Undercommon, Gnome, Common. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Terran.
• Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—blindness/deafness, blur, disguise self. Caster level equals the svirfneblin’s class levels. The save DC is Charisma-based and include a +4 racial modifier.
• Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass svirfneblin’s rogue class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.
• Level Adjustment: +3

Table: Svirfneblin Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
40 years	+4d6	+6d6	+9d6

Table: Svirfneblin Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	3’ 0”	+2d4	40 lb.	× (1) lb.
Female	2’ 10”	+2d4	35 lb.	× (1) lb.

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