Bleaching

Left: A gnome starting to bleach. Right: A fully bleached gnome

The Bleaching is a unique racial curse suffered by the Gnomes of Golarion in the original Pathfinder game. It is believed to stem from their origins in the First World, and mark that their race still has not truly adapted to the less fantastical Material Plane.

This curse first rears its ugly head when the gnome reaches middle-aged; unless kept at bay with a steady diet of novelty, wonder and excitement, it steadily floods their mind with apathy and despair, even as their once-brightly colored hair, eyes and skin dulls into ashy grays and palest whites (hence the name of the curse). At its peak, the Bleaching is usually fatal; the victim becomes so depressed and apathetic that they stop breathing and their heart stops beating. The Gnome is literally bored to death. Ironically, the Bleaching is also self-perpetuating, which means that the downward spiral is vicious once a gnome first begins to succumb to its touch; as the gnome becomes increasingly depressed and withdrawn, their dulled curiosity leads to them having less desire to seek out new experiences, which leads inexorably to further bleachings.

The Bleaching turns the world into a single, unbelievably bland experience, seemingly exhausted of all its possibilities, and succumbing to this horror is often a gnome’s greatest fear. This is the reason behind the palpable manic edge that surrounds many gnomes; knowing that every day without wonder and creativity is another step towards a horrible death is a lot of pressure.

While gnomes often sympathize with those suffering from the Bleaching, there is a palpable cultural fear surrounding such individuals, and it is common for all but immediate family to shun them. Moreover, many sufferers are greeted with a certain amount of blame from their communities, as the affliction — though horrifying — is generally preventable, and those gnomes who don’t take the time to save themselves from certain death are considered to be “doing it to themselves.”

However... on very rare occasions, a gnome hits the rock bottom of the Bleaching - and breaks on through to the other side! Somehow, they survive the experience, which seems to purge them of whatever lingering fey essence caused the Bleaching in the first place and connects them more intensely to the natural world. These pale, dreamy-aspected beings are known as Bleachlings, and gnomes distrust them even more than they distrust those of their kind suffering from the Bleaching! To the typical gnome, a bleachling has somehow managed to survive something that no gnome should have survived, and the effect is eerie. Almost like they came back from beyond the grave of their own free will.

Mechanically, the Bleaching looks like this:

Type: Curse

Save: Will halts or reverses (see text)

Onset: Middle Age

Frequency: 1/Year

Effect: Upon reaching middle age, any gnome who in the GM’s opinion does not adequately seek out new and interesting experiences runs the risk of experiencing the Bleaching. Each year that the gnome doesn’t act to mitigate his boredom, he must make a Will save with a DC equal to the amount of ability damage he’s taken from the Bleaching so far or 10 + his level, whichever is greater. If he fails, he takes a 1d6 drain to Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma respectively. This drain cannot be healed in any manner short of a wish or miracle. If at any point the gnome undergoes sufficiently interesting experiences, he does not need to save that year to avoid further drain and may instead attempt a save that year at the curse's current DC to remove 1d4 points of ability drain from each affected ability score. If one of the gnome’s ability scores reaches 0 because of the curse (not as a result of some other ability damage or drain), he must immediately make a final save at the curse's current DC. If he fails, he dies and cannot be resurrected; if he succeeds, he becomes a bleachling. A bleachling is immune to the Bleaching and is immune to further effects of aging as per the druid’s timeless body ability, though he retains any age-related penalties already incurred; additionally, any ability drain due to the Bleaching is reversed. The colors of his body are muted, he treats druid as an additional favored class (including retroactively gaining favored class skill ranks which he may apply to Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills), and he can cast speak with animals at will. The Bleaching cannot be cured by magic; it persists even in areas where magic does not function.

The Bleaching is detailed and statted in the splatbook "Gnomes of Golarion".