what would you expect to see in a gnomish village? - (My players STAY OUT!)

[BOZ]

does that warning ever work? well, doesn't matter, they won't learn too many secrets from this thread...

what are your ideas on what might be found in a gnomish village? and don't say "gnomes" because they've all either been killed or disappeared. i mean, what sort of structures, atmosphere and items? my PCs are about to be exploring an abandoned gnomish villages, and i'm looking for ideas on buildings, places, and layout.


for reference only - http://www.nutkinland.com/showthread.php?t=2641 (please do not post in this thread, but there is an OOC chat thread if you wish to post there)

 

[DragonLancer]

I would have thought you would find what what usually be found in a village. Homes, farms, a smith's, a couple shrines (maybe a single temple) and shoppe.

Even considering gnomes, I doubt there would be anything different.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

Gnecromancers.

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And for the non-wiseguy answer:

Few torches (low light vision r0x0r)

Music everywhere (Gnomes have bard as a favored class and their innate magic would enable them to have music in the background)

Small vegatable bins (they can talk to burrowing mammals, the kind that prey on gardens. So some sort of accord would sound reasonable: the gophers stay out of the garden and get fed in exchange)

 

[alsih2o]

long overgrown herb gardens

gnomish construction devices, even if it is just a simple ladder.

a gnomish graveyard.

a lookout post, which may be hard to recognize as what is high for a gnome is probably not that high.

perchance some unsprung traps, probably guarding the more mundane points of the village.

undiscovered burrowholes, either disguised or just undiscovered, possibly some of them lead to underground storehouses of both the mundane (root cellar) and the amazing (booty!)

hints to the location of the druid/wizard/sorcerer/shamans hideout not far from town.

maps of the surrounding area, with things a gnome would care about pointed out.

a recipe book worth its weight in silver- to a gnome.

alchemical labs, probably more than one, possibly for purposes from the mundane to combat.

illusions still guarding important points.

alternate homes, made from fallen logs, piles of rubble or baked earth.

 

[BOZ]

nice one clay.

 

[diaglo]

in 1edADnD dayes gnomes were handy with gemcutting and smithing. they were good with illusions. friendly with burrowing animals.

in the DL dayes they expanded them to have long names and trouble with mechanical equipment

this carried over to Spelljammer and the Forgotten Realms of 2edADnD. they also added a love of forests.

the new bard gnome is whole new beast.


so maybe they have a huge ampitheater for performances. a guild or school for poetry.

 

[alsih2o]

nice one clay.

i actually have several fully written up gnomish villages with maps, but i hesitate to take them to a publisher as i have had 3 experiences with publishers, and all 3 were bad

perchance i should just post them to plots and places...

 

[Limper]

Gnome bodies piled as high as my shins!


Fire from their nasty little hillocks!

 

[BOZ]

i actually have several fully written up gnomish villages with maps, but i hesitate to take them to a publisher as i have had 3 experiences with publishers, and all 3 were bad

perchance i should just post them to plots and places...

please do. i'll modify one up for myself or something...

 

[shadowlight]

My default answer is a Death Slaad, but I'd also throw in a healthy dose of freaky mosses.