Warped cousins of Gnomes, twisted by Fomorian magic?

[doctorhook]

"Warped cousins of Gnomes, twisted by Fomorian magic..."

In 4E, there are at least three different types of humanoids which are said to be gnomes twisted by the dark magic of the fomorians: korred (Manual of the Planes), spriggans (aka "red caps" - MM2), and xivorts (MM3). ...But which one is the "real deal", or alternatively, your favorite? Why?

I'm also going to include goblins in this discussion, just because they have enough superficial and mythological similarities with gnomes to warrant a possible connection between the two in someone's home game.

EDIT: I voted for Spriggans. I just like 'em.
EDIT2: I'm pretty sure Xivorts are also called/used to be called Xvarts. Something about a translation error from Scandinavian mythology.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I went for the last entry.

 

[Bold or Stupid]

All of them except goblins. Fomor are quite creative types don't you know?

Goblinoids are in my campaign fey who left the fey wild millenia ago and have since become part of the world, but have a certain "morpability" that has allowed them to breed into several subraces.

 

[kaomera]

Wouldn't that just be all Gnomes in general?

 

[Kinneus]

I noticed that too, about the many, many "warped gnomes" that fomorians created. But that's when I realized that fomorians are supposed to be the feywild reflection of titans in the world. They command vast armies of cyclops (who are themselves reflections of the giants). The "warped gnomes" could be like the "warped dwarves" that were also transformed when they were slaves of the titans and giants, creating azers, galeb duhrers, and I'm sure some other dwarven sub-species.

So, the big fomorians and their obsession with tinkering with tiny men is just a natural side-effect of the giants and titans and the whole "Feywild is a brighter, more magical reflection of the world" thing.

 

[surfarcher]

I almost went for "Several of the above". And if I was in a more technically correct mood I would have.

However, it's Friday afternoon at work and I'm half tanked... And spriggans make me laugh!

So Spriggans it is!

 

[doctorhook]

All of them except goblins. Fomor are quite creative types don't you know?

Goblinoids are in my campaign fey who left the fey wild millenia ago and have since become part of the world, but have a certain "morpability" that has allowed them to breed into several subraces.

I totally figured someone played that angle with their goblins. Hell, 4E's Manual of the Planes says there's tons of goblins in the Feywild anyway.

(Also, the word you're looking for is "mutability". It means, "ability to change", and it's related to the word "mutate" not "mute", as many folk often incorrectly believe. I'm not sure what the word would be something that's "able to be muted"... "muteable", maybe? Anyway, there ya go.)

I noticed that too, about the many, many "warped gnomes" that fomorians created. But that's when I realized that fomorians are supposed to be the feywild reflection of titans in the world. They command vast armies of cyclops (who are themselves reflections of the giants). The "warped gnomes" could be like the "warped dwarves" that were also transformed when they were slaves of the titans and giants, creating azers, galeb duhrers, and I'm sure some other dwarven sub-species.

So, the big fomorians and their obsession with tinkering with tiny men is just a natural side-effect of the giants and titans and the whole "Feywild is a brighter, more magical reflection of the world" thing.

Three creatures with nearly identical backstories! That's the part that inspired me to make this thread. What gives?

Spriggans/Red Caps are pretty straight forward; they look like sort of like goblins, but they're more magical, and seem to have fomorians' "evil eye" in the MM2 artwork. They behave like magical goblins, and they can magically stretch their arms to reach extra far. High heroic tier.

Korreds aren't totally evil, just unaligned; they'd be CN in earlier editions, I'm sure. Their schtick is that they are extremely wild and obsessed with revelry and especially dancing. (How "fey" of them... ) They're cruel highly unpredictable. High heroic tier.

Xivorts/Xvarts are gnomes twisted by fomorian magic, like the other above, but with some hag magic and Shadowfellery tossed in, in case they didn't end up evil enough. They mostly live in the Shadowfell (but are still fey), and have some shadow powers. Low heroic tier.

I see them all doing things differently, but it seems kind of silly that there's so many kinds of "dark gnomes".

I almost went for "Several of the above". And if I was in a more technically correct mood I would have.

However, it's Friday afternoon at work and I'm half tanked... And spriggans make me laugh!

So Spriggans it is!

Where is this magical place that you get to have Friday afternoons a day early, AND get to drink at work?! Take me there.

 

[Mentat55]

Where is this magical place that you get to have Friday afternoons a day early, AND get to drink at work?! Take me there.

I think it's called Australia, mate

To stay on topic, I picked spriggans too. I like their artwork, and I like combining the redcaps and spriggans of previous editions into one creature, though they seem more redcap than spriggan.

 

[MarkB]

I had to vote "something else", as halflings weren't listed.

 

[doctorhook]

To stay on topic, I picked spriggans too. I like their artwork, and I like combining the redcaps and spriggans of previous editions into one creature, though they seem more redcap than spriggan.

Hey, I didn't know spriggans and red caps used to be different creatures! Thanks for filling me in. Can you point out their entries in pre-4E books?

I had to vote "something else", as halflings weren't listed.

Interesting! I hadn't even thought of that option; I guess I've always thought of halflings as pygmies or short humans, rather than as non-magical gnomes. Is this how you use halflings in your game? Also, do you really include a connection to fomorian magic in that equation, or are halflings merely a different evolution of gnomes?