Gnomes of Largitas

Gnomes in Largitas are not bound to borders, kingdoms, or ancestral halls. They are a diaspora culture, a people without a homeland — not by tragedy or conquest, but due to a legendary misunderstanding. Their creator, the demi-god Gnom, was tasked with creating a people who could live anywhere and to make them in their image. Gnom took this literally. The result? A race of brilliant, chaotic, endlessly curious beings who exist everywhere — and yet, belong nowhere.

The Divine Misunderstanding

Where most peoples have a place of origin, Gnomes were never rooted. Gnom scattered their essence across the land, crafting children from their own divinity and seeding them into cities, forests, mines, and marketplaces. Rather than a central homeland, every Gnome carries a piece of home within themselves — quite literally, for each bears a spark of their god.

This spark gives Gnomes a strange form of pseudo-immortality. When one dies (usually in an explosion of their own design), another Gnome inevitably appears soon after, seemingly already familiar with their predecessor’s unfinished work. Their numbers remain roughly the same — always "several thousand," no matter how many have gone up in flames that year.

Lifestyle and Culture

• No Homeland, Only Homeplaces: Gnomes build temporary homes near their Obsession, whether it's gears, bees, sound, paint, or perfectly spherical objects. Once the local resources or social tolerance run out, they move on.
• Tool-Belt Philosophy: To a Gnome, usefulness is sacred. Their spaces are packed with inventions, half-eaten notebooks, and things that may or may not still be alive. Their clothing is more storage than fashion, with dozens of pouches, pockets, hooks, and often at least one smoldering gadget.
• Obsessions: Gnomes are defined by their capital-O Obsession — a lifelong focus or field of inquiry that dominates their thoughts. They will write symphonies about bricks or build a self-peeling potato engine because they must.
• Pseudo-Immortality: When a Gnome dies, another one with eerily similar mannerisms may arrive, gathering the remains and continuing the work. No one knows if these are reincarnations, spontaneous spawnings, or some cosmic recycling system. Even the Gnomes aren't sure.

Social Perception

Across Largitas, Gnomes are seen as indispensable and terrifying.

• In Dwarven Holds, they are given a workspace and politely warned not to ignite the air again.
• In Elven Groves, they are cautiously admired for making music out of root systems and squirrels.
• In Halfling villages, they are welcome as long-lost cousins, especially if they bring new tea infusers or cheese slicers.

Gnomish Goggles

Perhaps the most iconic (and dreaded) Gnomish accessory, Gnomish goggles are not just eyewear — they are the harbinger of chaos. Often multi-lensed, soot-smeared, and fitted with strange dials or small antennae, these goggles are donned only when a Gnome is about to do something "important" — which, in Gnomish terms, usually means dangerously experimental.

When a Gnome puts on their goggles, it's almost always followed by:

• An explosion
• A localized weather event
• Temporary or permanent reality distortion
• Loud swearing, giddy laughter, or both

Goggles are said to allow Gnomes to "see the solution," often at the cost of everything else. Entire taverns have been cleared when someone yelled, "Goggles on!"

Many towns have laws that state: "No goggles worn within 50 feet of a bakery, stable, or arcane structure."

"If you see a Gnome wearing its goggles, run in the opposite direction."

— A common saying across Largitas

Cultural Expressions

• Language: Gnomes speak fast, gesture wildly, and often invent new words mid-conversation. They usually speak the local tongue, but with heavy use of tech-jargon and sound effects.
• Art: Their art is kinetic — moving sculptures, edible paintings, and musical math puzzles.
• Spirituality: While not organized, Gnomes revere Gnom as both creator and muse. Shrines to Gnom often look like disassembled contraptions with "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH" signs written in glitter ink. (No one is exactly sure what the glitter ink actually is, or how the Gnomes get it, but they do.)

Notable Gnomish Contributions

• The Perpetual Cheese Grater (still grating after 200 years)
• The One-Note Symphony (a musical piece composed entirely of one tone at varying distances and densities)
• The concept of edible ink (regrettably)
• The Bloom-Safe Rat Glider (with a 12% success rate)

The Gnomish Legacy

Gnomes may have no nation, but their culture threads through every other, like ivy in stonework. Wherever there are fires to light, puzzles to solve, or rules to bend, a Gnome is probably already there.

They are the living proof that identity doesn't need borders — only curiosity, resilience, and a few dozen tools on hand at all times.