World of Warcraft/Races/Gnomes

The former denizens of Gnomeregan, now living in exile in Ironforge and in league with the Alliance.

Introduction and History
The eccentric, often-brilliant Gnomes are one of the most peculiar races of the world. With their obsession for developing radical new technologies and constructing marvels of mind-bending engineering, it's a wonder that any Gnomes have survived to proliferate.

Thriving within the wondrous techno-city of Gnomeregan, the Gnomes shared the resources of the forested Dun Morogh Peaks with their Dwarven cousins. Though the dwarves of Ironforge also have a propensity for technology and engineering, it is the gnomes who provide the critical, visionary designs for most of the Dwarves' weapons and steam vehicles.

The Gnomes served the Alliance well during the Second War...but strangely, they refused to send any personnel to aid their allies during the Burning Legion's recent invasion. Though their designs helped turn the tide against the Legion, the Dwarves and Humans were shocked by the Gnomes' decision to withhold their courageous troops and pilots.

When the war ended, the Alliance discovered the reason for the Gnomes' sudden withdrawal. Apparently, an ancient, barbaric menace had risen from the bowels of the earth and invaded Gnomeregan. Knowing that their allies' priority was defeating the Burning Legion, the Gnomes decided to make their stand alone. Though they fought valiantly to save their beloved city, Gnomeregan was irrevocably lost.

Nearly half of the Gnomish race was wiped out during the fall of Gnomeregan. The ragged Gnomes that survived fled to the safety of the Dwarves' stronghold of Ironforge. Committed once again to the cause of the Alliance, the Gnomes spend their time devising strategies and weapons that will help them retake their ravaged city and build a brighter future for their people.

Now, Gnomes can be seen living in numerous Alliance and Neutral cities, such as Darkshire, Gadgetzan and Auberdine. Their council is reunited at Tinker Town in Ironforge.

Legacy
The first account of a gnome is Erbag, a member of the Tirisfalen. He was already inducted by the time of eight-hundred and forty-eight years prior to World of WarCraft and spoke on par with his human and elven counterparts. Apart from the speculation that gnomes somehow evolved from the Earthen, no other dates or facts have been given.

Appearance
Gnomes are small and slight. They somewhat resemble dwarves, but are shorter and not as stocky. They have large noses and ruddy skin, their hair ranges wildly from white to black, and their ears are large and rounded. They are often seen with goggles, tool belts and other related items related to their technological inclinations.

Gnome Naming Policies
Gnome parents name their children at birth. Gnomes have family names that represent an honored ancestor's achievements, but they only keep these names until some time in their thirties. At this point, gnome society expects them to have made their own achievements, and thus the gnome invents a new name that represents his own accomplishments. This name then takes the place of his family name.

Racial Traits
Language Gnomish, Common

Classes
Gnome characters may play as a Mage, Rogue, Warlock or Warrior.

Gnomes have fair starting stats for the rogue class. This is because high agility benefits rogue's critical hit chance and dodge chance. The melee damage of rogues (and hunters) is based on agility as well as strength.

For Mage and Warlock classes, gnomes have an advantage (at low levels) because their high initial intellect means they have a larger mana pool (can cast more spells before running out of mana). The 5% intellect bonus given by the Expansive Mind trait is calculated after adding bonuses from gear, so it continues to offer an advantage even at high levels.

Gnome Warriors have the advantage of being the only Warriors able to escape a root without use of items.

Gnomes are the only race that have no classes with healing abilities. This is presumably because gnomes are not traditionally religious and would not become a Priest, Paladin, Druid or Shaman.

Why Gnomes in the World of Warcraft?
From Insider Interview &mdash; with Chris Metzen: Gnomes and Trolls as Playable Races from the Blizzard Insider: "I think we deal with it a little bit in upcoming D&D supplements. During Warcraft II, the Gnomes were, in effect, building weapons and lending designs to the Alliance - but they were staying out of any direct fighting. In Warcraft III and Frozen Throne, and even in World of Warcraft, it becomes clear that the Gnomes have had internal problems of their own for several years. As of World of Warcraft, they still offer support to the Alliance in terms of building tanks, designing weapons, sending flying machines, and so on. But they had a problem at home that has recently been discovered - an ancient menace from the depths of the underground, called Troggs. The Troggs invaded the Gnomes' city of Gnomeregan and wiped it out. The Gnomes decided not to let the rest of the Alliance know about this because they figured that they could deal with it on their own. But Gnomeregan fell, probably thanks as much to the Gnomes' own actions as to those of their enemies - they likely blew themselves up with whatever failsafe devices they used to defeat the threat. After the destruction of their homeland, the Gnomes fled to the safety offered by their nearby allies the Dwarves."