Here’s a rundown of the episode:

• 00:41 + Heard Any Good Rumours Lately? News from the Planes.
• 01:24 + Off To The Races: This episode features 
• 10:17 + You So Classy! This episode, we’re looking at 
• 18:30 + Background Check: 
• 22:31 + Monster Menagerie: 
• 27:17 + Lore Academy:

Total runtime - 32:54

Sources & further reading: Gnomes

• PHB: 35-37
• SCAG: 114-115
• XGTE: 178 (names only) 

Monk

PHB: 76-81

Noble

PHB: 135-136

Flumph

Monster Manual: 135

Links

https://discord.gg/QC9d2YQ- Discord server to chat with me and others

https://dnd.wizards.com/remote/freematerialWotC free materials page

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Flumph- FR Wiki on Flumph’s

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Bahamut - FR Wiki on Bahamut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamut_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)- Wikipedia on Bahamut

Welcome to Syrinscapesyrinscape.com - Syrinscape tabletop audio

Episode TranscriptCold open

Welcome to I Cast Pod, a D&D podcast about creating characters, taking chances, rolling dice and having fun. I’m Mike, your DM and guide to all things dungeonesque and dragon-y. 

In this episode, we’re talking about Gnomes, Nobles, Flumphs, Monks and Bahamut!

Heard Any Good Rumours Lately?Off to the RacesGnome

Gnomes love life. They try to enjoy as much of it as possible, which considering they live for 3-5 centuries, means they’re here for a good time AND a long time. Despite this lengthy lifespan, Gnomes still worry that they won’t get to see and do everything they want to do in the time that is given to them. 

Gnomes love to explore, create, invent, investigate and play, well into their adult lives. 

Gnomes love to laugh, enjoying jokes and pranks. Their workshops erupt in peals of laughter as often as minor explosions and plumes of smoke. 

Gnomes speak as fast as they think, which is generally pretty fast. Standing at slightly over 3 feet tall, and weighing 40-45 pounds, with tan faces and fair hair that has a tendency to strike out on it’s own in several directions at once, bright eyes and a cheerful disposition. Males are often bearded, and in contrast to their hair, their beards are well-kempt and often styled into forks or points.

These diminutive peoples, called the forgotten folk by some, are some of the least populous and influential in the world. Not having a major presence on the world stage would infuriate some races, but not the Gnomes - they revel in the anonymity it affords them and the protection that brings.

Legend tells that Gnomes first sprang forth on Faerûn from mystic gems buried deep in the earth. This explains both their love of gems and their predilection for living in underground warrens. The forest Gnomes came from emeralds, diamonds became the rock Gnomes, and rubies became the deep Gnomes, or Svirfneblin.

Gnomes tend to live in secluded, hidden places, away from other races, but will gladly work and socialise with humans, elves and dwarves, although Gnome interests often take second place to the concerns of the other races. Gnomes are often underestimated by the other races, but Gnomes have learned to use this to their advantage, both defensively and offensively, when required. Their homes are generally underground, but they come up into the sunlight more often than Dwarves. Their dwellings are hidden by a combination of clever architecture and illusions. Welcome visitors are quickly ushered into their bright little burrows, whereas those who are not welcome will likely never find them.

Gnomes have several names, having been given epithets by not only their parents, but aunts and uncles and the clan elder may chip in a name too, amongst others. When dealing with other races, they usually chose no more than three names - a personal name, a clan name, and a nickname - choosing the most fun ones to say in each category.

Forest Gnomes make their homes in simple hillside dwellings, deep in the woods. They could live only a few miles from a human or elf village, and the residents there would never know the Gnomes existed, such is their desire for seclusion. If discovered, and treated well, they make for fine neighbours, but still prefer to avoid contact with even friendly-seeming folk. Forest Gnomes have an affinity with animals, often keeping squirrels, badgers, rabbits, moles, woodpeckers and others as pets. They also have a knack for illusions that helps them stay hidden. If discovered, forest Gnomes will either pack up and move their whole town deeper into the forest, vanishing overnight, or else if threatened, will defend their homes with all the resources at their disposal. Forest Gnomes rarely leave the comforts of home to go adventuring, but those that do, use their gifts with magic and nature to become guides, scouts, mystics, or Druids.

Rock Gnomes are more commonplace than their forest-dwelling cousins, interacting regularly with other races. Rock Gnomes are inquisitive, seeking out people to learn new things from. They prefer to live on the edges of other settlements, in their own enclaves, but occasionally a rock Gnome will live in a human or dwarves city. Gnome wanderers also exist, travelling between communities to learn new things and trade both information and goods.

Gnomes who leave to live amongst other races, often find themselves a trade as jewellers and gem cutters - skills they have inherited from their race. Others find work as Tinkerers, Alchemists or Engineers. Gnomes find machinery of all types fascinating and love to figure out how they work - often by dismantling them. Gnome Sages and Tutors are found in human communities - their long lifespans giving them ample time to accumulate much useful knowledge to pass on.

The Deep Gnomes, or Svirfneblin, reside in the Underdark, along with the Duergar, (dark dwarves,) and Drow, (dark elves). Deep Gnomes are serious, careworn, and dour - especially when compared to the sunny, cheerful and optimistic dispositions of their surface dwelling cousins. One thing they do share is their love of privacy, and Svirfneblin homes are also hidden away, as well as well guarded.

Being in close proximity to the Drow, whose society prizes hostility and conquering, they live under constant threat of being relocated, destroyed, or pressed into slavery for the Drow. This in fact happened to Blingdenstone, which was one of the largest and grandest of the Deep Gnome’s strongholds, having existed for over two thousand years until it was overrun by Drow from Menzoberranzan, around a century ago. 

In contrast to their counterparts, Svirfneblin are lean with dark grey and earth skin tones, resembling rock. Males are bald and beardless, with females having hair on their heads. Svirfneblin adventurers are known, often living amongst the other denizens of the Underdark, or occasionally making their way to the surface. 

Stat Block

• Size: Small - 3-4 ft
• Speed: 25 ft
• Darkvision: 60ft
• Gnome Cunning: Advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma saving throws against magic.
• Languages: Common and Gnomish

Forest Gnomes

• Dex +1
• Natural Illusionist - You know the cantrip Minor illusion. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for it.
• Speak With Small Beasts - You can communicate simple ideas with smaller beasts with a combination of sounds and gestures.

Rock Gnomes

• Con +1
• Artificer’s Lore - you can add twice your proficiency bonus when making Intelligence (History) checks on magical or alchemical objects or technological devices.
• Tinker - You have proficiency with artisan’s tools. You can use 1hr & 10GP worth of materials to create a small clockwork device, with an AC of 5 and 1HP from:
• Toy - such as an animal, person or monster, which can move 5 ft in a random direction and makes noises commensurate with it’s appearance.
• Fire Starter - This device produces a small flame, which can light a candle, torch or campfire. Using it requires an action.
• Music Box - Plays a single song when opened, until it ends, or the device is closed.

You can have up to 3 of these devices active at any time, which last for 24 hours, at which point they cease to function. You can choose to repair them, spending another hour to do so. You can also use an action to dismantle a device, reclaiming the materials. 

Deep Gnomes

• Dex +1
• Superior Darkvision - 120ft radius
• Stone Camouflage - You have advantage on Dex (Stealth) checks to hide when in rocky terrain.
• Extra Language - Undercommon
• Svirfneblin Magic - You can cast nondetection at will, without a material component. You can also cast blindness, deafness, blur, and disguise self, using intelligence as your spellcasting ability, and regain the use of these spells after a long rest.

You So ClassyMonk

Monks utilise Ki energy - the magical energy that flows within living beings - to create magical effects and push their physical boundaries to be faster and stronger than their bodies would otherwise allow. 

Monks can also utilise Ki to impede the flow in other creatures, leading to debuff effects. 

Trained in unarmed combat in temples around the world, monks are seeking perfection or enlightenment via personal reflection and rigorous training. Many monks enter the monastery as children, perhaps orphaned by war, or by parents who were too poor to feed them. 

Some monks live apart from the nearest towns or cities, bathing in the spiritual and tranquil surroundings of the monastery. Still others live entirely isolated lives like hermits, heeding only the call of their leader.

Many do integrate into society though, making regular trips into towns and cities for provisions, cloth and other necessities. Sometimes they will barter their skills. More often than not, Monks will intervene if locals are attacked by bandits or monsters, adding their uncanny might to that of the guard or militia.

For a monk to leave the confines of the temple or monastery to become an adventurer is a much larger decision though, and a much different lifestyle to the communal living they may be used to. 

Monks may become adventurers for many reasons. It may be at the behest of their leader, who has a task for them. The PHB mentions monks becoming spies or assassins, which seems a little counterintuitive for a monk, especially when Rogues exist, but whatever. Maybe there’s a particular path that some monks can follow to gain these nefarious abilities huh? Cough Foreshadowing! Cough

Other reasons monks could leave to become adventurers:

• They see the wider world as the ultimate challenge for their skills and spiritual development.
• They wish to root out and destroy evil.
• They are just plain sick of the temple lifestyle and have turned their back on it in order to drink, fight, and generally raise hell.
• They have been exiled for breaking their oaths of monk-hood-dom, or for seeking out secret or forbidden knowledge.
• They fell in love with a local from the nearby town and left the monastery for them - only to have their affections spurned. Unable to turn to the monastery for help, they turned to adventuring as a way to survive and hone their skills.
• They want to wear colours other than orange and red.

For your monk’s backstory, you’ll need to think about their connection to the monastery - is it still strong or have they broken all ties? Are they still working secretly for the monastery?

Were they a resident since birth? Were they left in a basket on the doorstep with a note for the monks to take care of the baby, or did they have a spiritual epiphany later in life, and eschew their worldly possessions in order to follow a more serene path? Did you join to hide yourself away from people who wanted you dead? Did you join always intending to leave once you’d gleaned the secrets of Ki manipulation? Oh, the questions!

How do you feel striking out alone? Will you be able to relate to other adventurers from different backgrounds?

The PHB lists monks as almost always lawful in alignment, but what if something happened to make you hate your monastery?

Stat Block

As a monk, your primary stats should be Dex and Wis. For a quick build, choose the hermit background.

• HP @ lvl1 == 8+Con mod
• HP == 1D8 (or 5) + Con mod/lvl
• Hit dice: 1D8/lvl
• Armour: None. Better hope that Ki stuff works eh? Don’t worry though, because you get something called:
• Unarmoured defence - when not wearing armour or holding a shield, your AC == 10 + Dex mod + Wis Mod
• Weapons: Simple weapons, short swords
• Tools: One type of artisans tools or a musical instrument
• Saving throws: Strength, Dex
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, History, Insight, Religion, and Stealth
• Equipment: 
• A shortsword or any simple weapon.
• Dungeoneer’s or explorer’s pack
• 10 darts

Other Monk mechanics:

Martial arts: When using simple weapons or short swords, provided they are not two handed or classed as heavy, and not wearing armour or using a shield, you can - 

• Use Dex instead of Str for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed and monk weapon strikes
• Roll a D4 instead of the normal damage of unarmed or monk weapon strikes. This die changes with levels
• You can make an additional unarmed strike as a bonus action

Ki - Starting at lvl 2, you gain Ki points, which scale with levels. To start, you can use these points to fuel the features, Flurry of Blows, Patient Defence, and Step of the Wind. You learn more Ki abilities as you level.

• Flurry of blows - you spend 1 Ki point to make 2 unarmed strikes as a bonus action
• Patient Defence - 1 ki point grants you the ability to Dodge as a bonus action
• Step of the Wind - 1 ki point enables you to disengage or dash as a bonus action

You regain Ki points after a short or long rest, provided you use 30 mins to meditate.

If a Ki feature requires your target to make a saving throw, the DC is 8 + prof bonus + wis mod.

Your base speed also increases by 10ft from 2nd lvl and scales with levels too, with the usual proviso that you aren’t wearing armour, holding a shield, are only using monk weapons and haven’t consumed any dairy within the last 72 hours. Ok, I might’ve made that last bit up. 

At 3rd level you choose between monastic traditions:

• The Way of the Open Hand - Masters of martial arts, they can use Ki to push or trip opponents; can heal themselves, and learn powerful meditations to protect from harm. Star Wars fans (for the force push,) and Kung Fu movie aficionados will enjoy this path.
• The Way of the Shadow - Essentially ninjas. What, you thought all monks were peace loving hippy types? Not these badasses. They learn to cast darkness, darkvision, pass without trace, or silence - without the need for material components. They can also teleport between shadows, and follow up with advantage on their first melee attack. If you’ve ever played Dishonoured or Thief, this might be the path for you. 
• The Way of the Four Elements - You learn to harness the elements. Some monks stick to one, others integrate several or all. You can cast elemental spells, such as thunder wave, stone skin, cone of cold, burning hands and more. A particular favourite is “Clench of the North Wind, which makes it sound like you’re holding in a fart, but in reality you cast hold person. Combined with the fact that adepts of this path often tattoo themselves, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender will love this path, along with fans of Storm from the X-Men.

Some other fun monk features, include being able to deflect ranged weapon attacks, extra attacks, slow fall, and the ability to understand all spoken languages. 

Obviously as always there are loads more features for the monk generally and in each path than I have the time, energy or inclination to cover, so get reading if a monk is in your future character bank.

Background Check Noble

Born of privilege, Nobles see the world very differently to commoners. They understand wealth and power, having significant sway in the political spheres. Their family will own land and collect taxes. You will probably have some form of title - as well as the responsibilities that come along with it. 

Were you born of aristocracy, a pampered and out of touch sort - aloof and entitled; or the child of a wealthy mercantile family, raised to the nobility by years of hard work? Or perhaps you were disinherited - your family turning their back on you for some slight, leading you to fend for yourself on the cruel city streets. You could even be a benevolent land owner, who cares about the people who live and work on your land, perhaps fighting to defend both your territory and it’s people.

If you have a title - what is it? Work with your Dm to come up with not only a title, but some sense of what import it carries, and what ties, bonds and responsibilities it drapes over the shoulders of its carrier.

How much influence does you family have over you? Do they expect you to carry on the dynasty, or are you not a direct heir, so were mostly left to your own devices. Does your family have a reputation? How are they regarded by the other nobles in the region? Does their reputation cover more than one region - perhaps even world renowned? 

How do you feel about inheriting your title? Do you stand proudly, an example of noble superiority? Or do you feel it as a millstone around your neck?

How does the family feel about your adventuring career? Are you representing the nobility with a quick wit and a flashing rapier? Or maybe you’re trying to distance yourself from your past, proving to yourself that you don’t need fawning over by sycophantic servants, preferring pitched battles to pampering.

Do you wear your families livery and coat of arms emblazoned on your chest, or perhaps discreetly on a signet ring?

Do you have a manservant? Or maybe you travel with a squire?

Stat Block

• Skills: History, Persuasion
• Tools: One type of gaming set
• Languages: One of your choice
• Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a signet ring, a scroll of pedigree, and a purse...