Gnome (Dragonlance)

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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.

Contents 1 Background 2 Characteristics 2.1 Gnome Names 2.2 Tinkering 2.3 Life Quests 2.4 Speech 3 References 3.1 Other books

[edit] 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 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. 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.

[edit] Characteristics

[edit] 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.

[edit] Tinkering

Because of the curse gnomes have, they are driven to invent, but lack any practical engineering skill and are divinely incapable of creating anything worthwhile. As a result all gnome inventions have a Rube Goldberg quality. They are overly complex, often involving dozens (if not hundreds) of moving parts, to do relatively simple tasks. Most gnomes take their curse as a cultural birthright and embrace the challenge of building overly difficult machines that ultimately fail. Gnomes that consistently succeed in their engineering projects are shunned by their community and are usually social outcasts. Every once in a while, a gnome will invent something the other races find useful, like the crossbow and the catapult.

Compare the Gnomes of Lantan (Forgotten Realms, advanced technologists) and the one of Dragonlance (more like a gigantic comic relief, the fact that they are able to both speak and listen at the same time make them even harder to cope with).

[edit] Life Quests

Gnomes have what are called Life Quests. These are tasks that are set to each gnome at birth 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.

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 making the catapult initially as fast and long distance transport until a Dragon Highlord forced them to be made as weapons.

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. His dead family members are held in a spiritual realm until someone completes the quest and they can then move on to the afterlife.

[edit] 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. Often they are forced to slow down and repeat what they said to other species.

[edit] References

[edit] 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.