SRD:Gnomes, Deep—Svirfneblin (Race)

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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 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, –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, a –4 size penalty on special attack (bull rushes, grapples, overruns, and trips) checks, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but it uses smaller weapons than humans use, and its 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: A svirfneblin can see in the dark up to 120 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and a svirfneblin can function just fine with no light at all.
• Low-Light Vision: A svirfneblin can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She 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
• Effective Character Level: 4

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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