Gnomes are not native to Wildemount, and are relatively uncommon even in an age of swift boats from Marquet and flying airships from Tal'Dorei. They hail from the distant continent of Issylra and were largely content to remain there after
The Calamity. In lands inhabited by people taller and stronger than them, gnomes often resort to living exclusively among other gnomes for their own security. This attitude has kept the gnomes of Wildemount safe for generations, but it has also instilled many gnomish societies with a pernicious strain of xenophobia.
Two major gnome ethnic groups exist within the Dwendalian Empire, one centered in the mountain-city of
Hupperdook and the other in the wooded Velvin Thicket. The
Rock Gnomes of Hupperdook originally settled the
Silberquel Ridge, and formed their enclave as a defense against bandits and brigands who hunted their kind for sport. This settlement predated the rise of the empire, and after a long and unprecedented period of imperial diplomacy—rather than conquest—the Hupperdook gnomes were finally convinced to add their cultural knack for invention to the empire's might.
The forest gnomes of the Velvin Thicket have resisted imperial takeover for decades. As a result, though most people in the empire see gnomes as their loyal friends and allies, many folk in the empire's western reaches view gnomes as obstinate, backcountry hicks.
Gnomes on the Menagerie Coast
Large numbers of gnomes live within the
Clovis Concord, primarily in the city of Gwardan, where a group of gnomes who seceded from Hupperdook settled before the Concord's founding. Just as the
Elves of Gwardan were the metaphorical architects of the original concordance that founded the nation of city-states, the gnomes of Gwardan were the literal architects of the Clovis Concord's magnificent cities and halls of governance. A rock gnome by the name of Ionia Marbleweaver is revered as the grandmother of Concordian art and architecture for her innovative use of columns, frescoes, and friezes, all of which feature prominently in the great buildings of the Menagerie Coast's cities.
Gnomes in Xhorhas
Most Xhorhasians' only contact with gnomes is a brief glimpse of a deep gnome scurrying about the Underdark carrying armfuls of gems. The deep gnomes have little interest in surface politics, and even try to stay neutral in the underground war between the
Kryn Dynasty and the duergar rebels. For the most part, the deep gnomes and their settlements are small enough to remain unnoticed by larger folk.
