• Racial Statistics: +2 CON,-2 STR, +2 bonus all saving throws
• Darkvision 60ft
• All standard size bonuses
• No other gnomish bonuses.

Little is recorded of these subterranean gnomes, either at the final battle of Benzor, or during the time following. The Svirfneblin’s generally reclusive nature hides them from the sight of both men and gods. In the new lands they are the o­nly race that has no patron deity to guide them. This has suited this race perfectly, as they have adapted their talents from their previous home to the new lands. Before coming to the new lands Deep Gnomes had the uncanny ability to disappear into their underground homes with nary a trace. This made it nearly impossible for any other creature to attack them or meet with them, if they chose to avoid such contact. In this new land the Deep Gnomes adapted this talent to encompass all the space they occupy. These creatures have learned to disappear in plain sight, intermixing and occupying the lands with the other races in such a way that there is now not a single settlement that doesn’t have at least a few Svirfneblin living with them. They gave up any semblance of a unified culture in favor of disappearing within the cultures of others. Two millennia without contact from a deity solidified this intermixing of races, and now most of the other races simply ignore the gnomes’ diminutive presence among them, taking their presence for granted. Obscurity helps the Svirfneblins’ ability to disappear at a moment’s notice, as no o­ne gives much thought to their ever-present existence. Most individuals will admit knowing a few Svirfneblin, but very few can actually remember specific individuals.

Deep Gnomes take public jobs that allow them to take advantage of their ‘out-of-sight’ tendencies. They staff domestic positions such as servants, nannies, and cooks, where they can stay relatively out of sight and away from attention. In whatever role they take, they excel as long as they remain beneath notice. o­n the few occasions when they become the focus of attention, Svirfneblin inevitably freeze up, as they have little knowledge of social graces, and become phobic of attention from anyone other then another Deep Gnome. Behind the scenes many Deep Gnomes have developed into a well-organized and powerful information-gathering network. The overlooked nature of this race allowed them to become information brokers, spies and thieves, as very few members of other races bother to watch their tongues when talking or writing around Svirfneblin. Kings and businesses have fallen or been obliterated based o­n the information mistakenly let slip around Deep Gnome ‘servants.’ In addition, except in rare cases of notoriety, many Svirfneblin spies move from place to place unnoticed. To the other races the Svirfneblin lack individuality or distinctive features. The most skilled spies take contracts all over the continent with little possibility of discovery by local or regional law enforcement agencies. Most thieve guilds overlook these diminutive spies as well. The Svifneblin take advantage of this, often misdirecting their actions to that of the local branch of the thieves’ guild to make their escape easier. To more easily organize illicit activities, the Deep Gnomes formed their own series of guilds. The legal fronts for these guilds are employment agencies, often represented by the more common races; those trusted enough or those easily controlled by the Deep Gnomes to represent the private guild’s interests. These guilds are loosely organized through messengers and go-betweens; the agents hide among convoys, merchant trains and even pass as the occasional adventurer. All these methods are used to pass the necessary information, as well as job offers and whatever else needs to pass between the guild houses.

Organization within these guild houses is minimally structured. Jobs are handled by the employment agency fronts, and are passed to whomever can most ably handle that particular job. Often times employment opportunities are simply posted o­n a communal guild bulletin board and any agent that wishes to take the job is allowed to do so. When communal decisions are required all members of the Deep Gnome community make them. In these meetings each individual has an equal say, though the oldest and most experienced are given the most respect, their opinions given great weight in the discussions. When a decision is made, it is expected that all the others will abide by that decision, though each individual is responsible for their own actions. There is no system of punishment besides expulsion from the guild, and no reprisals are ever made. Mixed as they are amidst the other races the Svirfneblin community considers the lives of each Deep Gnome too precious to extinguish. Even in cases of o­ne gnome killing another reprisals are limited to exile, the offender shunned by all other Svirfneblin for the rest of their lives. The network of guild houses and societies, loose as it may be, is extremely effective at getting word of such banishments to all the others. Offenders quickly find themselves completely isolated from all other Deep Gnome communities, becoming as invisible to their own kind as they are to all others. For many complete disconnection from their own kind eventually drives them mad. Sometimes this madness manifests itself in violent tendencies. Exiled Svirfneblin may become psychotic killers who hunt down those who ignore their existence. Others become extremely extroverted, going to more and more extremes to make sure that all know their names, and recognize their existence.