Deep Gnomes, often also known as Svirfneblin, are oft considered the evil
reflection of their surface kin, as Drow are to elves, and Duergar are to
dwarves. In fact, Svirfneblin are as good-hearted as their surface cousins.
After centuries of dealing with the Underdark, however, they have become much
more distrustful of outsiders, unlike their sunnier kin. To a Deep Gnome,
the only people you can trust are deep gnomes within your village, if not
your family.
Deep gnomes are gnarled and calloused folk, with little fat at all on their
wiry bodies. Their skin is the color of the rocks amongst which they live,
almost as if they sprang from the rocks of their underground homes. They
have dark gray eyes and the females similarly colored hair, while most of the
males are both bald and beardless.
Most Svirfneblin tend to become Illusionists, and even those that do not,
including their clerics, favor illusion spells, divination spells to help
them seek the materials they mine, and conjuration spells to summon mighty
elementals of Earth to aid them.