Gnome (Dragonlance)

In the Dragonlance setting of novels and role-playing games created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, gnomes are a fictional humanoid race. The gnomes of Dragonlance (minoi, pronounced [minoj]) are sometimes called tinker gnomes^[1] to differentiate them from the gnomes of other Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.

Background

Although gnomes existed in the Dungeons & Dragons environment, they were heavily modified for the Dragonlance environment. Jeff Grubb suggested that they would be like real engineers, spending their time repairing things previously created by other engineers, based on his own experience as an engineer. Tracy Hickman found the idea hilarious, and both adopted the new characterization for the novels and gaming modules.^[2]

The gnomes of Krynn live in Mount Nevermind, on the isle of Sancrist. Gnomes are the tinkerers of Krynn, designing grand machines for every imaginable task. They were humans that were cursed by the God Reorx to be short as him and took from them the skills he taught them but left them with the desire to build, invent, and construct. Gnomes who chased after the Greygem of Gargath are said to have been transformed into dwarves and kender, depending on whether they coveted the stone or were curious about it.^[who?] The original gnomes were not present during the transformation and were not affected but wanted the Greygem to fuel a device to take them to the moons.^{[original research?]}

Publication history

The gnomes of the Dragonlance setting first appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons with the tinker gnomes and the mad gnomes in Dragonlance Adventures (1987).^[3]

The gnomoi appeared in the second edition in the Time of the Dragon set (1989). The tinker gnome (minoi) appeared in the Monstrous Compendium Dragonlance Appendix (1989),^[4] and then in The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings (1993).

Characteristics

Gnome names

Gnome family names and naming standards are a comical satire of Arabian family names. In Arabian naming conventions it would not be uncommon to have one's ancestry traced back through the patriarch several generations with the divider of Ibn (which means "son of") in between each name. Gnomish standards take this to the extreme by tracing their entire lineage through their names without the divider all the way back to their progenitor. This is the primary reason for the Gnomish language being spoken in such a rapid state, otherwise introductions would take hours.

Life Quests

Gnomes have what are called Life Quests. These are tasks that are set to each gnome, which they are required to complete before they die as to go peacefully into the afterlife by their god Reorx. As gnomes tinker in everything, the life quest could be anything.^{[original research?]}

Some examples of Life Quests are mapping the magical ever-changing maze at the Citadel of Light, to make a submersible ship, or to make a better way to travel, which was completed by inventing the catapult, initially as fast and long distance transport, until humans started using them as weapons.^{[original research?]}

Many times they are not able to finish their Life Quests. In these cases, it continues down generations of his family until it gets completed. Once a gnome's Life Quest is complete, his entire ancestry is then allowed to rest comfortably in the afterlife.^{[original research?]}

Speech

Gnomes speak Gnomish, which is essentially a highly accelerated form of Common, as a natural language, (see Gnome Names). They figure life is too short to waste talking. When speaking to outsiders they often are forced to slow down and repeat themselves.^{[original research?]}

References

1. ^ Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (1999). "Book 2, volume 1, chapter 5, The riot. Tas disappears. Alhana Starbreeze.". The Annotated Chronicles (1st edition ed.). Wizards of the Coast. p. 527. ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dlant/887780000. Retrieved 2006-07-01. 
2. ^ Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (1999). "Book 3, chapter 4, Yuletide guests.". The Annotated Chronicles (1st edition ed.). Wizards of the Coast. p. 789. ISBN 0-7869-1870-5. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dlant/887780000. Retrieved 2006-07-01. 
3. ^ Hickman, Tracy; Margaret, Tracy (1987). Dragonlance Adventures (1st ed.). TSR, Inc. ISBN 0-8803-8452-2. 
4. ^ Swan, Rick (1990). "Gnome". Monstrous Compendium: Dragonlance Appendix. TSR, Inc.. ISBN 0-8803-8822-6. 

Other books

• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2002). The Second Generation. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2694-5. 
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2003). Dragons of a Fallen Sun: The War of Souls vol. I. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1807-1. 
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2002). Dragons of a Lost Star: The War of Souls vol. II. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2706-2. 
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2003). Dragons of a Vanished Moon: The War of Souls vol. III. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2950-2.