How do you like your gnomes best?

[Drowbane]

So, Gnomes...

Thoughts?

Gnomes: Dark Sun got them right!!

 

[Ry]

I really like Gnomes in their 3.5 incarnation - someone once pointed out how much they emulate the elves as presented in the Hobbit (before they all became too-cool-for-school in Lord of the Rings).

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I like the Zil gnomes from Eberron - they're obsessed with knowledge, so they're great spymasters and secret police as well as in possession of secret magical crafting techniques like elemental binding. Plus, their association with bards makes even more sense than it does in core, because of the bardic knowledge schtick.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

Gnomes never get nearly enough love. I think people automatically dismiss them because they kind of bled together with halflings and dwarves in 2e, and they're just annoying in Dragonlance. It's a social stigma. Gnomes kick five gallons of ass.

 

[Gez]

As masters of magic and knowledge, living in tune with nature, and pursuing strange philosophic researchs in their search for wisdom.

That is, to me, how a race with innate spell-like abilities, the ability to talk to (some) animals, a predisposition for illusion magic and alchemy, but physically weak (small, -2 Str) would behave.

I hate so much the Tinker gnomes from Dragonlance that in my Eberron campaigns, gnomes can't be artificers. Just because. Hate, hate, hate tinkers.

 

[Bagpuss]

extinct implies they existed in the first place, in my campaigns they never even happened.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Gnomes? What gnomes.

 

[Tonguez]

Gnomes imc are 15 inch tall feyish eusocial burrowers, wholey intune with the natural cycles of the world and able to understands its many secrets (favoured class Druid although many 'adventuring gnomes' are Bards).
Although feindly Gnomes are fiercely territorial and go to great lengths to protect what is theirs. Gnome clans usually feature around 100 members and have incredible ability to coordinate their efforts performing suprising feats of constructionand engineering despite their small size. Gnomes are hermaphrodites and only developing gender chracteristics at advanced maturity. Also generally only one gnome in the clan will develop female traits (and go on to become a new clan mother).
The more primitive Mountain gnomes paint their skin blue, but this practice is not common amongst more civilised clans

 

[rgard]

So, Gnomes...

Thoughts?

Always read the entire poll first. Voted 'Old School' before I saw the 'Dark Sun' option.

 

[diaglo]

Chainmail(1971) version

gnomes are dwarves