Welcome back to my occasional series of posts with personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws specific to D&D races. This time I’m tackling gnomes, but it’s harder than you’d think thanks to their low center of mass. Er. Actually it’s harder because they’re not found in Middle-Earth, so I don’t have Tolkien’s or Jackson’s works to draw upon as inspiration. Every race varies by setting, but some more than others – I personally don’t care for the comic incompetence of Krynn’s tinker gnomes any more than I like the “comic relief” gully dwarves. As a result, what I’ve presented here is a blend of the few times I’ve played gnomes, or had someone play one in a game I ran, and the gnomish writeup in the Player’s Handbook.

Edit: Please note that this post has been re-edited and released in Through Their Own Eyes, now available on DriveThruRPG.

Elves | Dwarves | Halflings | Gnomes | Half-orcs | Homunculi | Dragonborn | Tieflings | Goblins | Aasimar | Kobolds | Drow | Thri-Kreen | Veytikka

Now, the other races I’ve covered so far are divided by their subraces, but I felt like forest gnomes and rock gnomes are different enough that I gave each of them a few unique options. Each table below includes a die value with a second number in parentheses. Add +2 to each roll for rock gnomes only. (Or, if you don’t feel that personality differences between gnome subraces are relevant, roll one die size larger.) If you’re selecting personality features, just remember that the first two in each table are (in my thinking) for forest gnomes only, and the last two in each table are for rock gnomes only… and nothing will break if you disagree with me.

Except my heart, you bastards.

Personality Traits

Ideals

Bonds

Flaws

Design Notes

What I have tried to create here is a society torn between its desire to do good in the world through unconventional means and its need for secrecy amid many dangers. I think the typical gnomish adventurer would rather handle everything gently and kindly, but the absence of a centralized gnomish state and the harshness of the world push them to underhanded ruthlessness. No one takes them seriously enough to understand just how much damage they can do. At the same time, the PH writeup emphasizes joy over anger or resentment, and I think that’s cool – shades of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, maybe. (She’s actually a kind of amazing model for gnomes.)

Next up (whenever I get around to it) – half-orcs presumably? I love that 5e half-orcs don’t have rape as a default reason for their conception. It’s kind of a strange Behold my Manfeels writeup, but well done nonetheless.

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