Gnomes

[mcbmagic]

IMC a use the standard gnomes, except for an ancient off shoot that worship a dark god of knowledge. They have a trading establishment in every large city. Each establishment is based in a very tall tower to which their merchant dirigibles anchor to.

Because their dirigibles cannot carry large, heavy loads, they usually trade in spices and gems. No, not Dune spice. In the Middle Ages many common spices we use today were worth more than their weight in gold.

Also each establishment is filled with clerks that copy every scrap of information that they come across, no matter how mundane. The resulting books are then carried off to their island homeland. The gnomes also collect a lot of gossip and have enough information to blackmail most of the rulers on the continent. However, they are still welcomed for the spices they bring and the fact that they will act as information brokers. However, their prices are steep and one must be careful what they ask because they will give you the literal truth to your answers.

Few people trust them for the knowledge they have and the hidden power they are capable of wielding, eventhough no one has ever caught them using their knowledge to blackmail rulers or to ruin people.

They are very serious all of the time, love illusions, magic and law. They make for some excellent lawyers where the rule of law is not corrupt. They prefer dark places, however, and their trade establishments are always dim and shadowy with little light.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

They are the Scientists and lore masters in my game. They often act silly and childish, but they are capable of being mature, they also tend to have a very "can do" attitude. They live mostly amongst the other races, and a Gnome can be found pretty much anywhere in the world. They love alchemy, and can spend long hours into the night messing around with different alchemical fourmlae. They on average live to be about 350 years old.

 

[Runesong42]

I've mentionned this in another thread somewhere, I think. In a campaign I've played in before and a model which I will duplicate in my own, Gnomes are simply the racial offshoot of the mating of Dwarves and Halflings, much like half-elves to Elves and Humans. Though unlike half-elves, Gnomes are welcome in either civilization of Dwarves or Halflings.

IMC, Dwarves are the equivalent of the Norse Vikings. Hardy, barbaric, they travel the high seas in seach of plunder and mayhem. They worry less about the raping part - they have their own women for that. And the halfling women, too.

Halflings, OTOH, are going to end up as the bardic wanderers similar to Gypsies. They lie, cheat, and steal rather than take things by force. They make their living as entertainers, fortune tellers, and do have some connection with nature. I might even consider allowing some bards to take Druid spells rather than Mage spells, but I haven't decided yet. Which makes me want to seek out the AD&D2 Complete Guide to Gnomes and Halflings. There was a halfling kit that let them "whistle up a storm", literally... that'd be the kind of halflings I'd like to see in my game. (When the creative process hits, I just go with it )

So Gnomes, I guess... are going to simply have traits common to both races with no real stand-outish culture to themselves.

As an aside, I can't remember the last time I've played or even had an NPC half-elf in any games I've played in or ran. They've simply lost all appeal to me.

 

[Templetroll]

Gnomes can be many things; they are nearly as adaptable as humans. Just cooler.

 

[VirgilCaine]

This lead to one of the most surprising aspects of my gnome. Guess which is the typical "elite combat class" for gnomes? Not fighter, not ranger or paladin, absolutely not barbarian... But monk. Gnomes are famous for their zen monasteries. As a whole, the gnome race is somewhat monastic, living a secluded, peaceful existence dedicated to the acquisition of wisdom, knowledge, and enlightenment.

If you want a tinker race, you'd have to go look to dwarves, who are famous for their engineers. Of course, the dour and grim dwarves are more noted for making large mills and similar utilitarian mechanisms than for silly explosion-prone contraptions. There are no silly explosion-prone contraption makers in my homebrewed campaign setting. I heavily dislike this concept and would never play in Dragonlance because Dragonlance is silly. It is silly because it has exploding gnomes, and anything that features exploding gnomes is silly. Unfortunately, explosive gnomes have invaded the other settings, like Forgotten Realms (see Lantan, which was a human country before). So the FR are silly. Not because of the Chosen of Munchstra, not because of Drizzle the Rainger, no no no. Because of exploding gnomes. So faced with this overflow of silliness that had contaminated all official campaign settings, I had no choice but to create my own homebrew. Which is not silly. Because I made it myself and it has no exploding gnomes.

You should see the Western monks thread--there was a version where alchemical substances were applied to the monks bodies, making them stronger, faster, etc.

I agree with the second part wholeheartedly.

 

[JEL]

My idea on gnomes that's never gotten any real use in a campaign yet:

Gnomes are the stereotypical trickster/illusionist sorts (though without any special propensity towards technology), but with one big secret: they're not real. The truth is that the entire race is nothing but an immensly elaborate and powerful illusion. It is a secret that every gnome will guard with his life because if it ever became known, people would start disbelieving them and they'd cease to exist.

 

[Kanegrundar]

My idea on gnomes that's never gotten any real use in a campaign yet:

Gnomes are the stereotypical trickster/illusionist sorts (though without any special propensity towards technology), but with one big secret: they're not real. The truth is that the entire race is nothing but an immensly elaborate and powerful illusion. It is a secret that every gnome will guard with his life because if it ever became known, people would start disbelieving them and they'd cease to exist.

THAT is a cool idea! Reminds me of the way magic and old ways were handled in Merlin mini-series.

Kane

 

[Altalazar]

My gnomes are something else altogether - and if you want to see for yourself, check out my story hour (about my ALL GNOME adventuring group, led by Riley)

... and then maybe you can tell me what that something else is... I'm still not sure.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

*cough cough*

Friend and Foe: Gnomes and Kobolds
(160 pages, hardcover)

Gnomes and kobolds have hated each other for ages – now learn why. This book contains detailed information on the kobolds and gnomes of Tellene, including history, culture, religion, social structure, subraces, and more! This supplement is an invaluable resource on all things gnome and kobold, and usable by players and Dungeon Masters in any D&D campaign setting. Remember, being small doesn't mean you can't think big.


I now return you to your regular programming...

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I chose "steampunk tinkers and artificers," but that's not quite how I work them. It's more like, each and every one of them, deep down, is Leonardo DaVinci. Renaissance men, one and all. They all have this drive to comprehend the world, and it drives them to experiment, muck about with stuff, invent things, and just generally figure out what makes reality tick. A gnome might build a windmill, or a water-driven seed-spreader, or an Archimedes' screw. But everything he does is infused with a raw sense of wonder at how freakin' amazing stuff really is when you get down to the nitty gritty of it.