Trickfinger Folkor (Divine Prankster
Hello all.
Well, another two weeks has zipped by and here I am once again with another gnome non-player character. This is a divine prankster, a gnome prestige class that appeared in Races of Stone, by David Noonan, Jesse Decker, and Michelle Lyons (2004). Enjoy!
"Pull my finger."
Trickfinger (CG) is a mercurial, 167-year-old male forest gnome who delights in and excels at imparting wisdom through harmlessly devious pranks. Though a high-ranked cleric of Garl Glittergild, he claims no direct affiliation with any specific temple; neither does he call any one burrow his home. Rather, he sees himself as belonging to all temples and to all burrows, traveling only where Glittergold leads and staying only for as long as Glittergold wills. He offers the usual cleric services wherever he goes but he specializes in the “noble-has-no-clothes” and the “too-big-for-one’s-nose” life lessons. These lessons always come in the form of sly but good-natured pranks designed to impart the full force of their wisdom (in the most public of manners) upon those who believe themselves above their fellow gnomes. It is the only way to remind everyone of the two most important aspects of gnome life. First, a joyful laugh serves better than a grim frown. Second, “many heads and many hands make for light work.”
No one knows when Trickfinger might show up at their burrow’s front gate. Some claim he can be summoned simply by saying his name three times while drinking backward from a tankard of plum ale on a Tuesday evening when the fireflies are just getting up to no good. Others say he has a nose for knowing where he’s needed. Regardless, his arrival both delights and worries inhabitants: on the one hand everyone loves to see someone pranked but on the other hand no gnome wants the prank to be on them. This ambivalence doesn’t stop residents from honoring him with a warm bed, generous meals, healthy quantities of drink, and a slew entertainment for the duration of his stay.
Bond: I idolize Garl Glittergold and measure my deeds against his.
Flaw: I'm angered by the pompous.
Play Trickfinger as a flamboyant trickster capable of drawing attention to yourself as easily as most folk breathe. You love Garl Glittergold not only for his message of joy and cooperation but also for his practical-joking nature. It’s a nature that closely echoes your own. You cannot resist the opportunity to pull a prank, especially on those who think too highly either of themselves or of their status. This is doubly true when it comes to followers of more stuffy-minded deities who need to understand that neither god nor adherent is above it all. This even includes Glittergold and yourself. You expose delusions of grandeur in a time and manner that helps your fellow gnomes avoid getting so bogged down in the details of their own self-importance that they forget the true meaning of life.
Strongly Like: pranks that teach a life lesson, cooperative tasks
Like: pranks, Garl Glittergold, humorous inventions
Dislike: kobolds, goblins, lack of a sense of humor, selfishness
Strongly Dislike: The Glutton and his priests, pomposity
For those who are in agreement with the above, we have invented Super Feet. These elegant brogans appear to those completely uninitiated in boot-like accoutrements as ordinary and unassuming footwear. Of course, the springs, gears, and steamwork might draw the pedestrian attentions of the exceptionally perceptive (just as the canisters affixed to the heels, which make a rather pleasant sort of clanking when activated, might cause a few heads to turn), but we of Festo’s Footwear are confident that any sufficiently crowded and noisy environment will keep the true nature of these lavish shoes safely secret.
Once activated, tiny little explosions along the soles of these magnificent boots propel the wearer forward whenever they take a step. The design of the propellant system (patent pending) is so clever as to fire inconsistently and with varying force. This makes it that much harder to hit the wearer as they are kept off balance just enough to be distracting but not to affect their performance of physical activities in any way at all. The practical result, then, is that for one full minute, the wearer’s speed increases by 15 feet and their Armor Class increases by 1. They really are a fabulous thing.
Well, another two weeks has zipped by and here I am once again with another gnome non-player character. This is a divine prankster, a gnome prestige class that appeared in Races of Stone, by David Noonan, Jesse Decker, and Michelle Lyons (2004). Enjoy!
Trickfinger Folkor
(TRICK-fin-ger FOLL-core)"Pull my finger."
Trickfinger (CG) is a mercurial, 167-year-old male forest gnome who delights in and excels at imparting wisdom through harmlessly devious pranks. Though a high-ranked cleric of Garl Glittergild, he claims no direct affiliation with any specific temple; neither does he call any one burrow his home. Rather, he sees himself as belonging to all temples and to all burrows, traveling only where Glittergold leads and staying only for as long as Glittergold wills. He offers the usual cleric services wherever he goes but he specializes in the “noble-has-no-clothes” and the “too-big-for-one’s-nose” life lessons. These lessons always come in the form of sly but good-natured pranks designed to impart the full force of their wisdom (in the most public of manners) upon those who believe themselves above their fellow gnomes. It is the only way to remind everyone of the two most important aspects of gnome life. First, a joyful laugh serves better than a grim frown. Second, “many heads and many hands make for light work.”
No one knows when Trickfinger might show up at their burrow’s front gate. Some claim he can be summoned simply by saying his name three times while drinking backward from a tankard of plum ale on a Tuesday evening when the fireflies are just getting up to no good. Others say he has a nose for knowing where he’s needed. Regardless, his arrival both delights and worries inhabitants: on the one hand everyone loves to see someone pranked but on the other hand no gnome wants the prank to be on them. This ambivalence doesn’t stop residents from honoring him with a warm bed, generous meals, healthy quantities of drink, and a slew entertainment for the duration of his stay.
Using Trickfinger
Ideal: A sense of humor is the food of right thinking and the dessert of civilization.Bond: I idolize Garl Glittergold and measure my deeds against his.
Flaw: I'm angered by the pompous.
Play Trickfinger as a flamboyant trickster capable of drawing attention to yourself as easily as most folk breathe. You love Garl Glittergold not only for his message of joy and cooperation but also for his practical-joking nature. It’s a nature that closely echoes your own. You cannot resist the opportunity to pull a prank, especially on those who think too highly either of themselves or of their status. This is doubly true when it comes to followers of more stuffy-minded deities who need to understand that neither god nor adherent is above it all. This even includes Glittergold and yourself. You expose delusions of grandeur in a time and manner that helps your fellow gnomes avoid getting so bogged down in the details of their own self-importance that they forget the true meaning of life.
Recurring
There’s a chance the party will encounter Trickfinger as the victim of a life-lesson prank or as part of quest sponsored by a temple of Garl Glittergold. More likes indicate a growing friendship and willingness to help out the party when they're in a jam. No amount of likes will render the party immune from pranks though. More dislikes indicate a fouling of the relationship.Strongly Like: pranks that teach a life lesson, cooperative tasks
Like: pranks, Garl Glittergold, humorous inventions
Dislike: kobolds, goblins, lack of a sense of humor, selfishness
Strongly Dislike: The Glutton and his priests, pomposity
One Off
As a prank, Trickfinger does one of the following: convinces the area militia that the party is the group of bandits that has been robbing the locals, acquires a number of keepsakes/treasures from the party and scatters them around a nearby forest, leaves false clues for the party to follow regarding the location of a fabulous treasure, sends the party on a fake quest to rescue a gnome prince/princess from the evil clutches of a kobold warlock.Story Arc
Trickfinger enrolls the party’s aid in completing an important divine quest handed down from none other than Garl Glittergold. The quest is one of the following: free a gnome merchant lord from the clutches of a goblin army, prevent deadly sabotage at the dedication ceremony of a new temple to Garl Glittergold, retrieve a holy relic of Garl Glittergold from a wicked priest of Urdlen who has been terrorizing area burrows, locate an ancient Temple of Garl Glittergold in a long abandoned burrow and clear the surrounding chambers of the creatures that have infested it.Side Quest
Trickfinger enrolls the party’s aid in one of the following: gather any tokens of Garl Glittergold they might find, destroy all symbols of The Glutton they might stumble upon, taunt and prank any followers of Gelf Darkhearth who cross their path, publicly celebrate the wonder of Garl Glittergold and of gnome civilization every chance they get.Divine Pranksters
As mentioned in the introduction, divine pranksters were a prestige class in Races of Stone. It targeted gnomes that multiclassed as cleric/bards. As a general rule, divine pranksters follow the teachings of their god Garl Glittergold with heavy emphasis on his prankster nature. They teach primarily through practical jokes that serve as object lessons. No one is immune from such guidance. They might even be called upon to "welcome" a newcomer to a burrow by playing a prank on them. The visitor's reaction to being so treated helps the inhabitants of the burrow to quickly measure the character of their guest, earning the guest either some amount of appreciation should they take the prank in stride or a cool reception should they take it all too seriously.Gadget: Super Feet
There comes a time in every adventurer’s career when a rapid relocation of the self is the most efficacious means of bringing an unexpectedly robust encounter to a satisfactory conclusion. Those of a wicked nature might refer to such a practical action as “running away” but we of Festo’s Footwear see it more as a common-sense approach that ensures adventuring for another day.For those who are in agreement with the above, we have invented Super Feet. These elegant brogans appear to those completely uninitiated in boot-like accoutrements as ordinary and unassuming footwear. Of course, the springs, gears, and steamwork might draw the pedestrian attentions of the exceptionally perceptive (just as the canisters affixed to the heels, which make a rather pleasant sort of clanking when activated, might cause a few heads to turn), but we of Festo’s Footwear are confident that any sufficiently crowded and noisy environment will keep the true nature of these lavish shoes safely secret.
Once activated, tiny little explosions along the soles of these magnificent boots propel the wearer forward whenever they take a step. The design of the propellant system (patent pending) is so clever as to fire inconsistently and with varying force. This makes it that much harder to hit the wearer as they are kept off balance just enough to be distracting but not to affect their performance of physical activities in any way at all. The practical result, then, is that for one full minute, the wearer’s speed increases by 15 feet and their Armor Class increases by 1. They really are a fabulous thing.
The following is the stat block for this gadget, using the rules in my Epic Gnomish Inventing supplement available on the DM's Guild (link below).
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