Gnome

Gnomes are a semi-common race of humanoids who usually live in Midgard. They live for about 65 years before they die of old age. Despite their short lifespan they tend to be extremely optimistic and have a knack of specializing themselves. Gnomes are not particularly known for their ambition. As a whole, the gnomes have little to no inter-racial feeling of honour or respect.

Physical appearance

Gnome skin is very lightly greenish when compared to human and their hair is usually a bright hue. They have a slightly scaly skin but the scales are sometimes not even visible. The shape of the head is slightly sharper and the hair is generally spikier than humans, the hair tends to go upwards. Compared to halflings, some gnomes have a tendency to overeat a little.

Biology

Gnomes have a scaly skin to protect them against the rougher forest environment. Their skin actually consists of hardly visible scales that are sometimes larger and more visible on some areas of their body, such as on the back of their hands and near the hairline on their heads. Gnomes have a very rapid metabolism, which results in a shorter lifespan, higher levels of activity and energy as compared to humans.

Diet

Gnomes are Omnivorous, like most of the intelligent races of Heimr. They tend to lean more to the carnivorous side of the diet scale when compared to humans though. Gnomes usually don't eat their meals raw, even though they can digest raw foods somewhat better due to their rapid metabolism.

Common Culture

Main article: common culture of gnomes

Most gnomes live in fellroot and see themselves as separate from Midgard and its culture.

Gnome culture is more practical as compared to either Asgard or Utgard. They deviate from Asgard as they they sometimes tend to choose beauty over comfort and Utgard because they don't have the crafting skills or need for comfort. But if compared to human culture, Gnomes concentrate on complexity where the humans concentrate on simplicity of use. Gnome culture is driven by effectiveness rather than efficiency, however they tend to choose for quantity over quality. Gnomes want to know how everything works, EVERYTHING. They would take apart the divines themselves just to see how they work. (Ganinisum, god of the gnomes actually did just that to himself, wanting to know exactly how Talor designed him.) Luckily for most gnomes they know how to put things together again to.... most of the time. This gives them great knowledge about the nature of things, but sometimes destroys the chance to actually use them. Most gnomes carry with them a personal booklet in which they make notes about their lives or copy interesting texts.

History

Full history of gnomes?.

The gnome race evolved from a hunter/gatherer community, using tools and traps to catch small animals to a community of nomads, travelling around with large herds of animals they keep in great fenced of fields the build with portable fences and even later (when the lands we now call Midgard) where cultivated, they settled into permanent settlements.

Most gnomes used to live in long ear forest but their drive to build a great civilization disturbed the tranquility and balance of the forest. They waged a short but bloody war with the feyfolk during this time. Large parts of the forest where burned down by the gnomes and fellroot is still reaping the bountiful rewards of these forest fires.