Friend & Foe The Gnomes and Kobolds of Tellene Credits Author: Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams Editors: Brian Jelke & Don Morgan Art Coordinator: Mark Plemmons Cover Illustration: Caleb Cleveland Interior Illustrations: Caleb Cleveland, David Cooper, Keith DeCesare, James Hislope, Patrick McEvoy, Jean-Francois Trudel Project Manager: Brian Jelke Production Manager: Steve Johansson This work is dedicated to: Maggie - my wife and fellow gamer, Jake - my nephew and a future gamer, the staff at Kenzer and Company - for unleashing me on two more races, and finally everyone who liked Fury in the Wastelands. Table of Contents Book One: Hammer & Humor . .3 Book Two: Kin of the Dragon . .97 Rock Gnomes . .4 History . .98 History . .4 Kobold Anatomy . .99 Gnome Anatomy . .5 Social Structure . .101 Culture . .14 Culture . .109 Warfare . .32 Relations with Other Races . .116 Religion . .39 Trade and Tribute . .120 Forest Gnomes . .46 Alchemy . .121 Gnome Anatomy . .46 Calendar . .122 Half-Forest Gnomes . .47 Language . .123 Deep Gnomes . Sample. .61 Warfare file . .124 Half-Deep Gnomes . .62 Religion . .132 Gnomes as Player Characters . .74 Misconceptions . .140 Racial Traits . .76 Kobolds as Player Characters . .142 The Game Mechanics of Playing A Gnome . .77 New Feats . .145 An Example Character . .79 New Spells . .147 New Uses for Existing Skills . .79 Prestige Classes . .148 New Feats . .80 Bestiary . .153 Prestige Classes . .80 Kobold Glossary . .155 Professional Classes . .88 Bestiary . .90 Adventure Hooks . .157 Gnome Glossary . .94 © Copyright 2004, 2008 Kenzer and Company. All Rights Reserved. Questions, Comments, Product Orders? Phone: (847) 662-6600 Fax: (847) 680-8950 Kenzer & Company email: [email protected] 511 W. Greenwood Visit our website: Waukegan, IL 60087 www.kenzerco.com This book is protected under international treaties and copyright laws of the PUBLISHER’S NOTE: United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced, without the This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the express written consent of Kenzer and Company. Permission is granted to the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resem- purchaser of this product to reproduce sections of this book for personal use blance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. only. Sale or trade of such reproductions is strictly prohibited. With respect to trademarks: Kingdoms of Kalamar and the Kingdoms of Kalamar logo are registered trademarks of Kenzer and Company. Friend & Foe:The Gnomes and Kobolds of 1 Tellene and the Kenzer and Company logo are trademarks of Kenzer and Company. © 2004, 2008 Kenzer & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeon Master are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. Friend and Foe: The Gnomes and Kobolds of Tellene INTRODUCTION in: it is tremendously versatile. No matter what type of character you choose to play, you should feel confident that he Why the Kingdoms of Kalamar® Campaign Setting? or she will have an important place in the world of Tellene. The Kingdoms of Kalamar setting describes the world of The Kingdoms of Kalamar setting also provides a realistic, Tellene, a vibrant world alive with rich characters, imminent dynamic world for your character. Every sort of adventure can danger, complex intrigue and exciting adventure, all awaiting be found on the continent of Tellene. Whether you dream of your shaping hand. This robust world consists of many detailed finding great riches in the bellies of mountains or ridding the lands and cultures, both human and humanoid, that are rife desert of undead abominations, the Kingdoms of Kalamar with adventure possibilities. On Tellene, fantastic creatures setting provides the where and the how, all the while roam the wilderness, evil clerics worship evil deities hell-bent maintaining a commitment to realism that lets you experience on destruction and the dead rise again to spread terror your character’s adventures in the most satisfying ways. throughout the world. Complex political alliances mix with In the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting, your character has a marauding bands of humanoids and medieval technology and chance to stand out. In fact, you have a chance to be the greatest culture come face to face with magic and the fantastic. Tellene character in the campaign world. But greatness is different for combines the best of a realistic medieval world with all the every individual. While you may dream of conquering the elements of fantasy you have come to enjoy. While nearly any continent and bringing peace and prosperity to its people, campaign setting suffices for a single adventure, your characters others may wish for the ultimate in scholarly or magical will find the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting to be an engaging achievement. What sets the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting apart game world to explore long after the novelty of the “tourist is its ability to give you the opportunity to do all this and more bazaars” has worn thin. without sacrificing continuity or common sense. Here you are The underlying strength of the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting presented with the opportunity to become great. Realizing that comes from its geo-historical basis. The maps feel right because opportunity, however, requires skill, effort and a little bit of they are right, at least from a standpoint of verisimilitude. The luck. continents, lakes, rivers, forests and other geographical features all follow examples from the real world. This attention to detail ABOUT THIS BOOK clearly shows a setting built from the ground up, from the direc- Friend & Foe: the Gnomes and Kobolds of Tellene is unusual in tion of the prevailing winds to the plate tectonics. No glaciers that it presents not one but two races common to Tellene. lie in the middle of warm lakes nor huge jungles in temperate Hobgoblins and orcs have both been well detailed as player latitudes. The Kingdoms of Kalamar setting becomes the invis- character races of the KINGDOMS OF KALAMAR® setting in earlier ible backdrop for the real action: you. supplements; now it is the turn of the gnomes and kobolds, two The player character becomes the real hero of any D&D races with a long history of aggressive interaction. game. You rescue the princess and you recover the stolen The aim of this sourcebook is to provide both players and Whatzit for Lord So-and-So. You shape the campaign world Dungeon Masters (DMs) with useful information. Players will through your actions, not the other way around. Tellene, like be able to use the gnome section (the Friends part) to help create few other campaign settings before it, offers youSample the opportu- fileunique characters, full of the wealth of gnomish culture. Ideas nity to be a world-shaper. Life in Tellene grows from ordinary on suitable classes, new prestige classes, and feats can provide men and women with extraordinary courage and resolve. This assistance with building a character, and the plethora of setting gives you the information you need to allow your players background information is a great source for role-playing any to become one of those people. But fear not, for all the detail gnome sub-race. and background history that this setting provides add depth to Likewise, DMs can now elevate kobolds above “cannon your adventures without confining them. The Kingdoms of fodder” status, using them as deadly foes to harass even mid or Kalamar setting allows you to be the author of your own destiny high-level parties. The Foes section provides a DM with a view by providing the scenery but not the story. into kobold life and beliefs, giving insight into why they Of course, player characters cannot be everywhere at once. perform often seemingly random acts of aggression and cruelty. The world continues moving even when they spend weeks The chapter on warfare should enable DMs to unleash the fury exploring long forgotten ruins or dark forests somewhere. Evil of this often underestimated race upon player characters, cults spread their influence throughout a small town. A village changing kobolds from the “joke race” of D&D® into truly succumbs to a mysterious disease. A band of humanoids halts fearsome opponents. merchant routes between two cities. Villains even kidnap The gnome and kobold sections of this sourcebook have each princesses when heroes are not around to do anything about it. been written as a separate volume, with its own introduction, What happens then? Well, sometimes the princess escapes, but chapter listing, and racial information. more often the Vicelord has his way with her. For the NPCs of Tellene are not inept, else they would not be worthy (or WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY successful) villains. A world full of morons is no place to live. This campaign resource assumes that you have access to the The good, the bad and even the so-so must transpire in the three core rulebooks of the Dungeons & Dragons game: the campaign in order to make the party’s heroic deeds exceptional. Player’s Handbook (PHB), the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) After all, if every person on the block is a superhero, nobody and the Monster Manual (MM). This product uses updated stands out. material from the v.3.5 revision of the D&D rules. As this book The Kingdoms of Kalamar setting is designed to enhance is compatible with the Kingdoms of Kalamar fantasy campaign your D&D experience by providing a realistic backdrop for your setting, it is also useful (but not required) to have the Kingdoms 2 character. Every type of person you could imagine lives of Kalamar campaign setting sourcebook and the Kingdoms of somewhere on Tellene. In fact, that’s one of the reasons the Kalamar Player’s Guide and any of the other fine Kindoms of Kingdoms of Kalamar setting is such an enjoyable world to play Kalamar adventures and sourcebooks available.