In the ''
Dungeons & Dragons''
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s.
Some speculate that they are closely related to
dwarves; however, gnomes are smaller and more tolerant of other races, nature, and of
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
. Depending on the setting and subrace, they are often skilled with illusion magic or engineering.
Gnomes are small humanoids, standing tall.
Publication history
The gnome is a
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
race "often stereotyped as buffoons, illusionists, mad inventors, and many characters play them as intentionally "wacky" or "anachronistic"; a gnome often conforms to the
trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
archetype, and is "predisposed towards a "good" moral alignment".
Gnomes were originally introduced to ''
Dungeons & Dragons'' as a new alternative to
dwarves,
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
, and
halflings
Halflings are a fictional race found in some fantasy novels and games. They are often depicted as similar to humans except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly-sized dwarves. Similar to the depiction of hobbits in the w ...
. They were developed from mythology from a number of different sources, originally being a bearded, short race similar to halflings and dwarves. The gnome's niche in play was made magical, to separate it from the more warrior-like dwarf and the more rogue-like halfling.
''Dungeons & Dragon''s
The gnome first appeared in the
original 1974 edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and in its second supplement, ''
Blackmoor
Blackmore is a village in Essex, England.
Blackmore or Blackmoor may also refer to:
* Blackmore (name), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Blackmoor, Hampshire, a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England
...
'' (1975).
''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 1st edition
The gnome appeared as a
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
race in the original ''
Player's Handbook'' (1978). The gnome also appeared in the original ''
Monster Manual'' (1977). A new gnomish subrace, the deep gnome (
svirfneblin), was presented as a character race in the original ''
Unearthed Arcana'' (1985). Another gnome subrace, the
tinker gnome (minoi), focused on building mechanical devices, was presented in ''
Dragonlance Adventures
''Dragonlance Adventures'' is a 128-page hardcover book for the Dragonlance campaign setting for the first edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game.
Contents
''Dragonlance Adventures'' is a supplement which details ...
''. The humorous Solo Quest adventure ''Gnomes-100, Dragons-0'' featured these gnomes in their resistance against the
dragon army of
Takhisis
Takhisis is a fictional character from the ''Dragonlance'' universe. She is depicted as the main goddess of evil in the setting and head of the Dark Pantheon.
Titles and forms
Within the Dragonlance universe, Takhisis was a sister of Gilean a ...
.
''Dungeons & Dragons (Basic/BECMI)''
The gnome appeared in the ''
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set'' as a "monster". The gnome appeared as a player character class in ''
Top Ballista
''Top Ballista'' is an accessory for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game.
Contents
''Top Ballista'' is a supplement for a campaign setting in the city of Serraine, populated by the magical biplane-piloting skygnomes, and prese ...
'' (1989).
''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition
The gnome appeared as a character race in the second edition ''Player's Handbook'' (1989). The gnome also appeared in the ''
Monstrous Compendium Volume One'' (1989). Four gnomish races – forest, rock, tinker, and deep (svirfneblin) – were detailed as player character races in ''The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings'' (1993).
''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3rd edition
The gnome appeared as a character race in the third edition ''Player's Handbook'' (2000), and in the 3.5 revised ''
Player's Handbook''. Gnomes were detailed for the
Forgotten Realms setting in ''
Races of Faerûn
''Races of Faerûn'' is an optional supplemental sourcebook for the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting for the 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons.''
Contents
This book centers on the races which inhabit Faerûn, the fictional continent whe ...
'' (2003). Gnomes were one of the races detailed in ''
Races of Stone'' (2004).
Throughout ''D&D'' history, up to and including the third edition ''Player's Handbook'', spellcaster gnomes were either
illusionist
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
s or had illusionist as their favored class.
[Cook, David, et al. ''Monstrous Compendium Volume One'' ( TSR, 1989)] However, in ''
Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5'', gnomes' favored class has been changed to
bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
, as the favored class of "illusionist" was a subset of the wizard class. The wizard favored class was also already used by
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
. In ''D&D v.3.5'', gnomes are inventors and alchemists who love pranks and excel at engineering. The
tinker gnomes of ''
Dragonlance
''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...
'' are mechanically skilled, though their devices are quite prone to backfiring. It has been suggested that gnomes be given the Eberron class
artificer as a favored class, due to their technical aptitude.
''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th edition
Gnomes appeared in 4th edition as a player character race in ''
Player's Handbook 2'' (2009). The gnome appeared in the ''Monster Manual'' (2008).
''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition
The gnome was included as a player race in the 5th edition ''
Player's Handbook'' (2014).
Two subraces were introduced with it: the forest gnome and the rock gnome. The ''Player's Handbook'' connects the rock gnomes to the tinker gnomes of the Dragonlance setting.
The deep gnome (
svirfneblin) is also referenced in the ''Player's Handbook'', and is fully detailed in the 5th edition ''Monster Manual'' (2014).
The ''Elemental Evil Player's Companion'' (2015) presents the deep gnome as a player race.
Subraces
Gnomes in ''
Dungeons & Dragons'' have been further divided into various subraces:
* Rock gnomes are the standard gnome subrace of Third Edition. They live in burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills.
*
Tinker gnomes are the common gnomes of the
Dragonlance
''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...
campaign setting. In that fictional universe, they dwell in the Mount Nevermind in the world of
Krynn
''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...
.
*
Svirfneblin, or deep gnomes, dwell in cities deep underground. They are more dangerous than the common rock gnome.
* Forest gnomes are smaller than rock gnomes. They are a shy, secretive folk, living deep in wooded areas.
Friends to animals, forest gnomes have a racial ability that allows them to speak with small animals.
* River gnomes are graceful and quick. They live in homes dug into the side of riverbanks and speak with river dwelling animals in place of burrowing mammals. They are non-magical but gain +1 to initiative and are proficient swimmers.
* Arcane gnomes are city dwellers. They generally keep to a small community within a larger city. Arcane gnomes are focused on the pursuit of knowledge making their populace, in large part, over-eager inventors or wizards.
* Chaos gnomes are the most flamboyant gnomes. Brightly colored and rare, they are strongly inclined towards chaos, as their name suggests.
* Whisper gnomes lack the jovial outlook of other gnome races. Sly and suspicious, they are creatures of stealth.
* Ice gnomes dwell in the region of
Frostfell in the ''
Eberron''
campaign setting
* Fire gnomes live on Bytopia, on the Outer Planes, where they help Flandal Steelskin, the Gnomish god of metal and crafting, in his work.
* Sky gnomes appear in the Creature Crucible - PC2 - ''
Top Ballista
''Top Ballista'' is an accessory for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game.
Contents
''Top Ballista'' is a supplement for a campaign setting in the city of Serraine, populated by the magical biplane-piloting skygnomes, and prese ...
'' published in 1989. They are cunning engineers living in the flying city Serraine above the World of
Mystara
Mystara is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role playing game. It was the default setting for the "Basic" version of the game throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Most adventures published for the "Basic" edition of ''D&D'' ...
.
In the ''
Forgotten Realms''
campaign setting, gnomes are also known as the "Forgotten Folk".
Society
Gnome society had changed greatly over the different editions of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. In the first edition, they were portrayed as intensely curious and intellectual, keeping in theme with their spell-casting niche, with an interest in gemstones.
They typically lived in hills, and acted as intermediaries between dwarves, elves, and halflings.
In the second edition, gnomes received further background. According to ''The Complete Book of Gnomes and Halflings'',
[Niles, Douglas. ''The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings'' ( TSR, 1993)] gnomes have an intricate society based on their love of all kinds of arts, pranks, and their long lives. Their society is based on art; all gnomes must take up some form of art whether music, painting, cooking, building, or any other form that is considered creative by the time they come of age.
Gnomes are naturally friendly, highly social and fun loving people. They are respected by elves for their communion with nature and knowledge of arcane magic, admired by halflings for their humor, and sought out by dwarves for their gemcutting skills.
Religion
Garl Glittergold was created by
James M. Ward
James M. Ward (born May 23, 1951) is an American game designer and fantasy author who worked for TSR, Inc. for more than 20 years.
Career ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and TSR
Ward was one of the players in Gary Gygax's early Greyhawk games as Gygax ...
and first appeared in the "Nonhuman Deities" chapter of the original ''
Deities and Demigods
''Deities & Demigods'' (abbreviated ''DDG''), alternatively known as ''Legends & Lore'' (abbreviated ''L&L'' or ''LL''), is a reference book for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game (D&D). The book provides descriptions and game ...
'' (1980) as the god of gnomes.
Roger E. Moore
Roger E. Moore (born July 11, 1955, in Winchester, Kentucky) is a designer of role-playing games. He is best known for his long-running tenure as editor of '' Dragon'' magazine and was the founding editor of ''Dungeon'' magazine.
Early life
Mo ...
detailed several additional gnomish gods in his article "The Gods of the Gnomes" in ''
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' #61 (May 1982), including: Baervan Wildwanderer, god of adventure and thieves; Urdlen ("The Crawler Below"), god of evil; Segojan Earthcaller, god of earth and nature; and Flandal Steelskin, god of metalworking; these four newer gods then appeared in the original ''
Unearthed Arcana'' (1985).
All five of these deities were detailed for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' second edition in the book ''
Monster Mythology
''Monster Mythology'', published by TSR in 1992, is a sourcebook about non-human deities that can be used in fantasy role-playing games using the second edition rules for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'').
Description
''Monster Mythol ...
'' (1992) by
Carl Sargent, including details about their priesthoods; this book also introduced additional gods including: Baravar Cloakshadow, god of illusions, protection, and deception; Gaerdal Ironhand, god of protection, vigilance, and combat; and Nebelun (The Meddler), god of inventions and good luck. All of these gods also received a very detailed description for their roles in the
Forgotten Realms in ''
Demihuman Deities
This is a list of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' rulebooks for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, sorted by the edition of the game that they appeared in. This list does not include books designed for use as premade adventure ...
'' (1998).
[ Boyd, Eric L. '']Demihuman Deities
This is a list of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' rulebooks for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, sorted by the edition of the game that they appeared in. This list does not include books designed for use as premade adventure ...
'' ( TSR, 1998)
Further reading
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnome (Dungeons and Dragons)
Dungeons & Dragons creatures from folklore and mythology
Dungeons & Dragons humanoids
Dungeons & Dragons monsters
Fictional gnomes