User:Scribe-of-the-Sanos
This is the User Page for Scribe-of-the-Sanos. It provides a Sandbox for contributions to the Pathfinder Wiki.
I am setting up this page both to capture my thoughts and to provide a forum for comment from the community. My first attempt at a contribution is to fill in the Gnome article with additional "flavor" suggested by the racial description provided in the Campaign Setting. Comments are welcome!
The Pathfnder rendering of the gnome diverges from the one presented in the D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook (PHB) in several key respects:
- Gnomes are immortal "Fey"
- Gnomes are alien to Golarion
- The impetus for their immigration to Golarion is contested
- Gnomes maintain their en masse "Exodus" from the "First World" was a result of their native curiosity
- Non-gnomish scholars maintain the en masse "Exodus" occurred as the gnomes fled blame for a catastrophe they created
- Gnome immortality is susceptible to the Bleaching
The first "flavor" I propose is to add an article for the "Exodus." That page would describe the current debate between Gnome and non-Gnome scholars. I would do my best to layer in any known references to scholars or Pathfinder Scoiety members mentioned in current, Paizo-published source material.
It also describe the effect of the Exodus on current Gnome society. To do this I took a cue from the Sci-Fi's channel's "Battle Star Galactica" series wherein an ancient, complex society comes to the brink of extinction. The Campaign Setting mentions that Gnomes suffered greatly after their Exodus from the First World. Extrapolating directly from this reference, I will explore the potential result of a race that has faced genocide several generations prior.
Golarion gnomes came near extinction after the Exodus. The light bending shadow magic they relied upon to defend themselves on the First World was no longer effective, and their new world included no shortage of natural predators. Those elders that survived the Exodus instilled a deep sense of racial solidarity in succeeding generations. Survival in a harsh, scarred landscape with limited defenses dictated a cloistered wariness. This exacted a heavy toll on the psyche of a capricious race accustomed to unfettered, undemanding immortality. Suddenly, the considerable imagination and creativity that had been the hallmark of this fey people had to be wholly channeled into the exigencies of survival on Golarion: adapting their light bending magic, building defensible havens to repopulate their number, and confronting the cancerous effects of the Bleaching.
The tenacious and unrelenting curiosity that Gnomes assert led to the great Exodus now served them well. They succeeded in adapting their glamer for Golarion, and are now known to be skilled illusionists. They dispersed across the continent to establish communities in partnership with their neighbors and environs. Most importantly, they learned to counter the effects of the Bleaching through exposure to new and visceral experiences. The result is a scattered network of secure enclaves supporting a vital, highly communal way of life. The need to survive succeeded in siphoning off the effervescence and ingenuity of a previously unbothered fey people to create a class of citizen crafters.
All gnomes consider their current state an inspiration. For most it is a source of cosmic inspiration providing a sense of purpose on Golarion. But for a few, including Hanstig, it is source of tragic inspiration sufficient only to provide a starting point for seeking fulfillment. These gnomes are called “seekers.”