Gnomes (Rock, Forest, Mark of Scribing, Deep)
by Prince Phantom
Gnomes might not be a super common selection according to some analytics that WoTC released a while back, but that is honestly a shame. There’s some really good stuff here, one ability in particular that any character would beg and plead to have. Let’s get into the base Gnome features and then we’ll dive into the subraces.
Base Gnome Features
Ability Score Improvement: +2 Intelligence: This obviously works well with Wizards and Artificers, but your table is probably using the Tasha’s rules anyway so you can probably ignore this.
Size: Small: Small races can’t use heavy weapons effectively, but because they are small they can mount medium creatures like a Ranger’s Companion or a Battle Smiths’s Construct. I firmly believe that there are more benefits than downsides of being small, especially if you build with it in mind.
Speed: 25ft: Having a decrease in our movement speed is a big nerf, and I would honestly ask your DM about waving this since it seems like giving small races a 25ft speed isn’t something that the current design team of the game thinks is a good idea. The Deep Gnome for example has a 30ft speed.
Darkvision: Always nice to have.
Gnome Cunning: This is the big deal feature that Gnomes get and everyone else wishes they got. Advantage on mental saves versus all magic applies to a ton of stuff, even more than just spells. This is a defensive powerhouse of a feature, and any character would love to have it. Don’t be afraid to check with your DM if the thing inflicting this save is magical even if it isn’t a spell. Anything that is described as magical in the monster’s stat block is effected by this, including many of the new spell-like abilities introduced in Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse.
Forest Gnome Subrace
Ability Score Increase: +1 Dexterity: This is fine, but just use the Tasha’s rule, it’s much easier and more fun.
Natural Illusionist: Minor Illusion is one of the best cantrips in the game, so getting it for free is very nice. Still, it’s just a cantrip, so this isn’t that big a deal at the end of the day.
Speak With Small Beasts: This is mostly a ribbon feature, though I suppose there might be some potential to combo this with spells like Beast Bond or other similar magic. How exactly this will work is very DM dependent, and since the animals have no way to talk back to you, information gathering will be very difficult.
This subrace ends up feeling like a bunch of ribbons tacked on to the amazing Gnome’s Cunning. You really only take this if you like the flavor, as it’s adding practically nothing to the base Gnome.
Final Rating: 3/5
Rock Gnome Subrace
Ability Score Increase: +1 Constitution: This plus our Intelligence boost does line up perfectly with what most Wizards and Artificers want, but most people are using the Tasha’s rules anyway, so this doesn’t really matter.
Artificer’s Lore: This is incredibly situational, and when it does come up it isn’t even that huge of a bonus.
Tinker: This is one of the longest racial features in the game, so let me simplify it for you. It’s Prestidigitation. It even references prestidigitation in the feature as what you should base your creations off of. This makes this a neat roleplay feature, but not a ton else.
The Rock Gnome, like its Forest brother, is mostly just adding flavor and roleplay to the base Gnome. Between the two, it really comes down to which flavor you like more.
Final Rating: 3/5
Mark of Scribing Subrace
Ability Score Improvement: +1 Charisma: This doesn’t really work with many builds, as no one really wants both Charisma and Intelligence. Just use the Tasha’s rule.
Gifted Scribe: Both of these checks are incredibly situational, so I don’t think you’ll be using this very often at all.
Scribe’s Insight: We get Message, Comprehend Languages, and Magic Mouth. Message is a fine cantrip to have in a lot of roleplay scenarios, Comprehend Languages is a ritual, so getting it here doesn’t really mean much, and Magic Mouth is a very slept on spell with a ton of potential if you want to dive into it. Did you know you can make a computer with this spell? Seriously, look it up.
Spells of the Mark: This is a pretty boring list, filled mostly with roleplay focused spells and nothing really standout to build around. Silence, Arcane Eye and Divination are fine, but only fine.
Final Rating: 3/5
Deep Gnome (Svirfneblin)
Unlike how the Drow are the evil counterpart to Elves, Deep Gnomes are actually quite pleasant to be around, which I find hilarious. They’re one of the few denizens of the Underdark who wont kill you on sight, and while that doesn’t have any mechanical effect (you can play any race as good or evil) I just think it’s neat. The actual mechanics aren’t bad either, so let’s get into them.
Superior Darkvision: 120ft darkvision is actually a big deal if you plan to play in darkness a lot. It allows you to spot enemies who rely on darkvision before they can spot you given enough space, and helps a lot with scouting.
Gift of the Svirfneblin: From this we get Disguise Self and Nondetection, and can cast them once for free and then with spell slots. A race granting a 3rd level spell is unheard of, which makes it all the more shameful that the spell happens to be Nondetection. Disguise Self is fine, but this feature isn’t winning many awards.
Gnomish Magic Resistance : Don’t be fooled, this is worse than the standard Gnome’s Magic Resistance as it only applies to spells instead of all magical effects. This is still a great feature to have though, and we do get a bigger quantity of good features as a Deep Gnome than a normal Gnome does, so it kinda balances out.
Svirfneblin Camouflage: Advantage on a number of stealth checks equal to our proficiency bonus should cover a good portion of the stealth checks you make each day, and advantage is better than proficiency until the late game and stacks with proficiency. Stealth is also a tough skill to get advantage on, as if someone is taking the help action, they aren’t being stealthy, so that kinda blows the whole operation.
The revised Deep Gnome gets some really cool stuff, but none of it is really character defining or could be easily built around. This makes it a fine choice for a large number of builds, but it will likely never be the best option.
Final Rating: 3/5
Volo’s Deep Gnome (Legacy)
This is a legacy race and may not be available at all tables. Check with your DM before selecting this option.
Ability Score Increase: +2 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity : There’s a few subclasses and builds that want this, but most use the Tasha’s rule anyway.
Superior Darkvision: Same as the revised Deep Gnome.
Speed: 25ft: Note that the revised Deep Gnome does not have this reduction in speed. It definitely seems like small races having a 25ft move speed is a thing of the past.
Gnome Cunning: This is the standard Gnome Cunning that you’re used to seeing on the PHB Gnome, and it’s just as good here.
Stone Camouflage: In an Underdark campaign, this will come up constantly, but outside of that you may find that this isn’t very relevant.
The old Deep Gnome gets the old Gnome Cunning, but basically everything else about it is worse. Still, I think Gnome Cunning makes up the difference, making the two versions practically identical in terms of power in my opinion.
Final Rating: 3/5
Both Deep Gnomes are solid options for quite a lot of builds, and are also both probably the best versions of a Gnome. I also just love their lore, but I promise that didn’t sway my rating. Probably.
You play a Gnome because you want Gnome’s Cunning. No more, no less. None of the subraces are really adding much of anything, and the other features that the base Gnome gets aren’t either. If you want Gnome’s Cunning you take this race. Otherwise, move on to something else. It’s worth noting that Gnomes aren’t the only race to get an ability like Gnome’s Cunning either. Befalling in particular have an ability that blows this out of the water, so take a look at your other options as well.
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