Gnomes are the second race created by
Brell Serilis, and are on good terms with their dwarven cousins. Where dwarves are strong and sturdy, however, gnomes are clever and quick. Gnomes created and developed clockwork technology, and are constantly pushing the bounds of what machines can do. It's also very common for gnomes to follow careers in magic (unfortunately including necromancy in a few rare cases), and gnomish spellcasters often work with dwarven clerics and paladins to form well balanced adventuring parties.
Small and generally quite frail, gnomes lack greatly in physical strength. But they make up for this shortcoming with extremely nimble minds and bodies, which make them excellent arcane spellcasters. They are also natural tinkerers. Much of their success as a race can be traced to their magical and mechanical accomplishments. Though not particularly attractive and rarely taken
seriously, gnomes tend to have easygoing and inquisitive personalities that allow them to get along well with several different races.
Homeland
The gnomes' greatest city is
Ak'Anon, the constantly ticking clockwork city found nestled safely in the
Steamfont Mountains. Built as an extension of a vast mine complex,
Ak'Anon is a city of many mechanical marvels, built to make the gnomes' lives easier. It is also a city of knowledge where some of the greatest thinkers and inventors in all Norrath gather to exchange ideas. In addition to its vast repositories of scientific knowledge,
Ak'Anon has magic libraries second only to those found in
Erudin, and an extensive zoo with an eclectic collection of creatures. A great palace is also found in this city, home of
King Ak'Anon, ruler of all the gnomes who live throughout the Steamfonts.
Demeanor
Gnomes have a natural desire to see how things work and to try to improve upon them. This enthusiastic inquisitiveness can get them into trouble, but also allows them to expand constantly their understanding of how to design and create things, ranging from clockwork automata to advanced magic spells. Gnomes often seem to lack common sense, and, some suspect, may have survived as a race only because of their quick wits and reflexes. Other races often gee irritated as a result, creating gnomes with some condescension, as if they were children, but rarely dislike them openly.
Gnomes take great pride in their accomplishments, especially in their mechanical inventions, which are highly prized by other races. However, unlike Erudites and high elves, gnomes rarely assume an arrogant air. Indeed, gnomes most often wish simply to share with their friends their joy in a job well done. Although members of other races must be alert constantly for the unexpected consequences of a curious gnomish companion's actions, they generally find the aid given by a competent gnome to be worth the occasional mishap.
Appearance
Aside from halflings, gnomes are the smallest of the common races in Norrath, having some of the squat appearance of dwarves. They are considerably thinner than dwarves, however, especially gnomish females, and have pointed ears more similar to elves. A typical gnome stands nearly 3 1/2 feet tall and weighs about 55 pounds. Male gnomes have very large noses, and female gnomes tend coward strong chins. Gnomish hair comes in almost any color, from red and brown through black, blue, and gray to light brown, yellow, and white. Many gnomes have great beards similar to dwarves, but others prefer mustaches or sideburns and some no facial hair at all. Gnomish women never have facial hair.
Gnomish clothes are always designed to be convenient and practical, with many pockets, buttons, clips and straps, but sometimes this goes to such an extreme the gnome ends up looking like a walking workbench. Gnomes appreciate finely crafted jewelry, often caring more about a particular piece of jewelry's workmanship than about the value of the materials used.
Religion
Most gnomes worship
Brell Serilis, though there are a fair number who give little thought to religion at all. Those few gnomes who turn to the paths of the necromancer or shadow knight worship
Bertoxxulous the Plague Bringer, though these foul ones are shunned by other gnomes and are usually cast out of gnomish society.
Quests
Gnomes generally begin questing either to find specific information about some subject they're researching, or else out of a burning desire to know more in general about the world around them. Often these quests end up being long and complex, taking up several years of a gnome's life. While some gnomes eventually find what they're looking for and return home, others feel that each answer found has merely created a new series of questions deserving investigation.
Delighted Dedication
As far as gnomes are concerned, being alive is a wonderful thing, and they squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of their three to five centuries of life. Humans might wonder about getting bored over the course of such a long life, and elves take plenty of time to savor the beauties of the world in their long years, but gnomes seem to worry that even with all that time, they can't get in enough of the things they want to do and see.
Gnomes speak as if they can't get the thoughts out of their heads fast enough. Even as they offer ideas and opinions on a range of subjects, they manage to listen carefully to others, adding the appropriate exclamations of surprise and appreciation along the way.
Though gnomes love jokes of all kinds, particularly puns and pranks, they're just as dedicated to the more serious tasks they undertake. Many gnomes are skilled engineers, alchemists, tinkerers, and inventors. They're willing to make mistakes and laugh at themselves in the process of perfecting what they do, taking bold (sometimes foolhardy) risks and dreaming large.
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