Gnomes
Personality & Relations | Religion | Lands & Architecture | Celebrations
Gnomes, though they give off an aura of carefree aloofness, are somewhat more serious than they appear to outside races. Their religion leaves them with a certain quality that other races lack; they fear nothing from death, and so they tend to worry less about their current lives. Although a Gnomish life is generally stress-free because of this, that's not to say that their lives are as happy-go-lucky as they may seem. One of the chief issues with believing in ghosts as strongly as they do is that they feel in a constant state of supervision.
As far as relations with other races go, Gnomes are neither liked nor disliked by most races. Because of their "bizarre" religious views and reversal of good and evil in some cases, Humans in particular tend to be rather wary of Gnomes. However, since they are one of the few ready healers, Gnomes are "needed" by most adventuring parties. Elves share neither Gnomish nor Human beliefs, but (although Elves tend to look down their noses at Gnomes) the two races get along fairly well. Dwarves have historically gotten along with Gnomes because of a shared passion for craftsmenship, although Dwarves think Gnomish beliefs are a little skewed. However, Gnomes get along decently well with all races, and well enough such that they don't particularly need their own lands, but rather integrate themselves seamlessly into any community.
Alone of all races, Gnomes believe that to heal one's body is not an act of evil or selfishness, it is an act of convenience and of general helpfulness. Gnomish clerics are the only clerics who spontaneously cast heal spells if they channel positive energy, and inflicts if they channel negative. this stems in large part from the most basic Gnomish belief: Life is transient, the body is but a vessel for the spirit, and when you die you continue to walk the earth as a ghost.
Similar to the Dwarven worship of their ancestors, Gnomes revere their familial dead, but they take it a step farther in believing that those who have died still walk the land. When someone dies, their spirit leaves their body and continues on to whatever they might desire. A common joke amongst Gnomes is to ask where someone goes when they die - the answer usually comes in the form of "I don't know about you, but I'm going..." to the brothel, to the forest, to Aunt Kim's house for pie, et cetera. Although most other races don't find it nearly as funny, it's as common a joke amongst Gnomes as the knock-knock joke is amongst humans. Gnomes are the most accepting of necromancy as a branch of magic and not simply an outlet of evil. Because they view the body as just a temporary holder of the soul, it is not something they believe can be defiled by reanimation. So if cheap labor is needed, or a battle is being fought, fallen dead are certainly not beyond raising to work or fight once more. Gnomes also find no wrong with ressurecting their fellows. The soul gets a choice to return to the body, and so if they refuse, no harm is done. Healing wounds is, as previously mentioned, an act of convenience for the most part. Why let someone die when they can simply be healed to continue on? Doing so does not damage the soul, and the Gnomish view of life-magic doesn't include the taint that humans associate with it. If the Human religion is considered the "base" Vedanic belief system, Gnomes are by far the most bizarre and abnormal in thier ideals.
On an interesting note, because Gnomes believe that all souls continue to walk as ghosts, Gnomes are among the only people that will build a shrine to unknown ancestors. Commonly found at crossroads, where these people tend to congregate, Gnomish shrines honor not just their own family, but all dead Gnomes. They act as beacons, and places of rest. To put it in perspective, a common Gnomish idomatic phrase is "I'm tired as a forgotten ghost!"
Gnomes have relatively few lands of their own, and in fact since their creation they have lived amongst other races. Originally they lived chiefly among Dwarves, with whom they share many aspects of culture, such as love of stonecutting, craftsmenship, and chivalry. Nowadays, Gnomes live wherever they feel like living at the moment. Nearly every settlement of any type contains at least one family of Gnomes, who are the stereotypical "healers" of the community. It's a sort of slight to tell someone "Go see a Gnome," rather like calling them a crybaby or a weakling.
Because they don't have their own communities, they often live in buildings exactly like their neighbors. However, they also have a tendancy to build things to their own smaller stature. Gnomish homes often look like miniture versions of adjacent houses, requiring visitors of medium size to stoop through low doorways and watch their heads for the continual bump against celings. The exception to this is when Gnomes live amongst Elves, whose celings are so high snd grand anyway that even when miniturized a normal sized person can stand comfortably within.
Another aspect of Gnomish life that is heavily influenced by their lack of own lands is their holiday celebrations. They only celebrate two days which are unique to their culture; however, they celebrate (at least in a secular sence) any holidays which might be in observence of their neighbor's religions. The human Feast of Galeron, for example, is a somber and honorific celebration, but the Gnomes, who never have worshipped or even understood the human idea of Galeron, celebrate this in the same manner that humans do, just without the feeling behind it. It is this way with all other races, as well.
The two holidays that Gnomes do hold sacred are the Denalakida and the Denasofida, or the Day of Death and the Day of Life. Occuring on the Winter and Summer solstice, respectively, their names suggest what they might celebrate. On the Day of Death, the Gnomes feast on pungent, aromatic food: onions, garlic, cheese, saurkraut, cabbage, and cookedvegetables are all common fare. The idea is that these strong foods are enough so that even the ghosts can taste them. And indeed, it is common knowledge that on this day ghosts walk the earth, even amongst those races that do not believe in them. On Denasofida, salads, milks, and other raw foods are eaten. These two feast-celebrations honor the recently dead and the recently born. Like most Gnomes partake in other racial celebratons, most other races partake in these two chief Gnomish holidays - not always religiously, but they definately get in on the feast.