Notes on An Unfinished (G/K/M/P)nome Game

29 Oct, 2026

All players begin as freshly decanted Noms with 1d3 HP.

DIRECTIVES:
ENTER TRASH STRATUM VIA EGRESS POINT NORTH OF OCTOTHORPE. MAP STRATUM LAOYOUT AND RETRIEVE OBJECTS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR SORTITION AND OFFWORLD EXPORT. 

SPECIAL DISPENSATIONS:
ITEM			                 CLIENT 
-------------------------------------------------------------
GLASS BEADS	                     CUMULAR ACADEMY
MUSICAL NOTATION                 PLANETOIDAL PHILHARMONIC
INFORMATION RE: GRAVITOR CORE    HRÖNIR RECTIFICATION OFFICE
RARE ISOTOPES                    THE ANOME

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SUCH AS GOLD AND SILVER TAKE PRIORITY OVER ALL OTHER NON-MAGICAL SALVAGE. THESE MUST BE DELIVERED TO THE TUNGSTEN TREASURY FOR IMMEDIATE HYGENIC DISPOSAL.

Noms who survive at least one excursion into the Trash Stratum may apply for epigenetic uplift. They must submit an uplift request form to the GeNom facility with their name, serial number, and a dossier of achievements, maps, and recovered treasures, plus a processing fee of 500 tungsten cubes (■).

The workings of the GeNom administration are inscrutable.¹ If a Nom's uplift request is denied three times, they are expected to report to Lower Slark for immediate recycling. On acceptance, they may proceed to the GeNom facility in Morgellon for epigenetic therapy lasting 1d3 weeks, emerging afterwards as a Gnome, Knome, Pnome, or Mnome.

Tungsten cubes (prices given below) may be used to purchase subsequent enhancements.

Gnomes

Gnomes have sturdy builds, steady hands, and dampened amygdalae. They can wear any type of armor and wield any weapon. They have infravision. They can open doors on 1-3.

Knomes

Knomes can wear light armor and are effective with daggers and ranged weapons.

They can also psychically communicate with worms. These worms can squeeze through tight spaces and burrow through soil and wood. Their sensorium is quite limited: they can report the presence/absence of air and water, approximate distances, and provide detailed breakdowns of soil nutrients. Furthermore, Knomes can use the psychic bond to induce a worm to coil in specific patterns -- this can be used to send rudimentary messages to other Knomes.

Knomes possess infravision and can echolocate by emitting sharp clicks.

Mnomes

Hypercephalic Mnomes can't wear armor or effectively wield weapons, but they can cast spells from the [blue magic school]. They possess ultravision and can cast spells written on scrolls.

Pseudoprophets can cast spells from levels 4-6 by making sacrifices. Each level above three requires a sacrifice. These can include:

• The brain of a monster with HD 4+
• Gems worth at least 1,000■
• Magic items, permanently sundered (may count for multiple uses depending on power level, at ref's discretion)
• Any innocent life.

Pnomes

The collected wisdom of the Cumular Academies is encoded into Nomish DNA. These genes can be expressed at the cost of certain forms of neural degeneration, particularly reflexes and fine motor skills -- Pnomes can wear armor, but a congenital lack of coordination makes them ineffective with weapons other than simple weighted clubs.

Pnomes possess ultravision and can cast spells written on scrolls. They are not innately magical in the manner of Mnomes, however, and instead practice various learned arts, listed below.

The learnings of a Pnome:

• Reprogram machines: see below
• First aid: Pnomes may apply their knowledge of anatomy to save their fellows from otherwise life-threatening wounds. Each use of a first aid kit heals as Cure Light Wounds, but for Orators and Magisters it improves to Cure Serious Wounds.

Reprogram Machines

Reprogrammed machines may be given simple instructions regarding "friend" and "foe" and one of the basic protocols (SENTINEL, DEFEND, EXTERMINATE, etc.). More complex instructions require weeks of effort, typically one week per machine HD, adjusted for the complexity of the task.

NoMart

(Where Noms buy stuff).

Notes

• The Trash Stratum is a layer of Nomworld's crust that is packed with the refuse of distant civilizations. Aside from canned whelks, Nomworld's primary export is salvaged treasures from this enormous midden heap.² I suspect that it is expansive horizontally but does not incorporate much verticality (i.e. conventional dungeon "levels") but I'm not certain.
• Infravision is specifically the ability to detect infrared signatures. Thus, it is useful for detecting (and fighting) warm-blooded lifeforms and other heat sources. It is not useful for determining the dimensions of a room. Echolocation can detect objects with extreme accuracy, but requires knomes to emit loud clicks that reveal their position to any creature capable of audition. Ultravision is primarily useful for reading magic scrolls.
• Tungsten cubes (■) are issued by the Tunsten Treasury looming over the city of Jouissance. They are the only legal currency on Nomworld. The Waste Management Office pays its employees in cubes for salvaged treasures and gold -- the latter is compensated at a 1-1 ratio and is strictly illegal to use for trade or barter.
• Certain organizations have reserved a claim specific salvage findings and will offer other payouts:
  • The Cumular Academy will supply magic scrolls in exchange for Castalian glass beads
  • The Planetoid Philharmonic will pay for musical instruments and scores.
  • The Anome will trade power cells and potions in exchange for isotope samples.

#game-design #nom-game #odnd #slush-pile