He was born the fourth son in a moderately wealthy family. His parents were both rather old when he was conceived, he was at best considered a mistake at the time. His mother (being of half Halfing blood) died during his birth and this began a rather difficult life.

As a result of her death he was named Snurdlen Rubyrock. Urdlen being one of the villains in the gnomish pantheon. Snurdlen is added to all names in his clan as a type of surname. However, he became his father's favorite son over the years as he developed into a responsible and ependable businessman. Because of his place in the birth order Snumkin was not allowed to be an active part of the families mining operations. They had a fairly prolific mine that had put the family in a place of growing distinction. Snumkin turned to brewing as a means of making a living. He became famous for finding a fungi that allowed him to expand the desirability of the Snirfneblin's famous beverage to other races. The power and taste of his brew, "Rubyfire", allowed him to gather a decent amount of money. This in turn allowed him to gain his initial training in the dark arts of the rogue.

He was not blessed with a reliable group of brothers. As the youngest of a large family he was picked on, mainly due to Snumkins half-halfing blood. His brothers were lazy and treacherous. They squandered the families wealth and grew more and more jealous of Snumkin's success. His brothers in order are Snubry, Snogondy and Snessing. They fell in with a group of outsiders and lost a great deal of the family wealth in failed business ventures. As Snumkin's father aged he lost more and more control of his famlies wealth. The elder brothers continued to take risks and eventually the family was left nearly destitute. Snumkin's brewery was the only reliable source of income. The brother's jealousy increased and this lead Snumkin to begin to train with the thieves so he could stay one step ahead of them.

Finally, the ultimate family insult occurred. The family mine was to be confiscated and the name would be disgraced. The brothers conspired to save their standing by sacrificing Snumkin to the authorities. They tried to make it appear that he had poisoned their father and then killed himself. Snumkin's snooping allowed him to learn of their plan too late to save their father, but in time for him to learn of their plan to have him killed. He was arrested and charged with the murder of their father. In court he defended himself well and was given three days to gather evidence to prove his innocence. His brothers needed to protect themselves and once again arranged to have him killed.

A half-orc was sent to murder Snumkin,and nearly killed him. However, he was able to escape with only a wound (caused by a poison knife which he now carries with him). This disruption in his investigation was enough to prevent him from proving his innocence. He was exiled from his clan and given the new name Snumkin Lumkin (meaning worthless sneak).

Snumkin is driven by a need to avenge his suffering.Although he is a heavy drinker,his main goal is to regain his good name and eliminate his brothers. He has a few details of his brothers involvement in illegal trading and the hiring of the assassins. He is always keeping an ear out to gather more information about the groups involved. However, he knows that they have made good use of the sympathy offered by the other clan members after his "treachery" was discovered. He believes that by improving his standing and power he can help himself return to a life that is more settled.