Gnome (playable)

Core races
Human Dwarf Night elf Gnome Draenei Worgen	Pandaren Dracthyr		Orc Undead Tauren Troll Blood elf Goblin
Allied races
Void elf Lightforged draenei Dark Iron dwarf Kul Tiran Mechagnome		Nightborne Highmountain tauren Mag'har orc Zandalari troll Vulpera

This article is about the playable gnomes and the Gnomeregan Exiles faction. For general history of the race, see gnome.

Gnomes
Icon of Technology
Character classes	Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior, Death knight, Priest
Main language	Gnome
Secondary language	Common
Starting zone	Train Depot, Gnomeregan, previously Coldridge Valley, Dun Morogh
Racial leader	High Tinker Gelbin Mekkatorque
Capital	Ironforge, Dun Morogh
Racial mount	File:IconSmall Mechanostrider Small.gif Mechanostrider

The gnomes of Gnomeregan (aka Ironforge gnomes) is the faction of playable gnomes. Prior to the Cataclysm, the gnomes started their lives in Chill Breeze Valley, an area of Dun Morogh closed off by mountains. Currently, the gnomes instead start their adventures inside of their destroyed city, struggling to survive in a remade world.

Background

The eccentric, often brilliant gnomes are held as 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. Over the years, the gnomes have contributed ingenious weapons to aid the Grand Alliance in its fierce battles against the Horde.

Thriving in the wondrous techno-city of Gnomeregan, the gnomes shared the resources of the forested peaks of Dun Morogh with their dwarven cousins for generations. Yet recently, a barbaric menace rose up from the bowels of the earth and invaded Gnomeregan. The troggs — believed to have been unearthed from the Uldaman excavation – erupted beneath Gnomeregan and began to slaughter every gnome within the city. Though the gnomish defense forces staged a valiant defense, they could not save their wondrous city.

At the command of the High Tinker Mekkatorque, the gnomes opened the pressure valves of their giant, grinding machines and released toxic radiation throughout the city. Though the radiation killed the troggs, the gnomes soon discovered that it killed their own people just as quickly. Nearly eighty percent of the gnomish race died within days. Those that survived evacuated the great city and fled to the protection of their dwarven cousins in Ironforge.

There they remain, devising radical strategies to retake their beloved city at any cost. As a gnome of proud standing, it falls to you to answer the challenge and lead your curious people to a brighter future.

Character

Starting attributes

	Base	Death Knight	Mage	Priest*	Rogue	Warlock	Warrior
Strength	15	103	15	15	16	15	18
Agility	23	76	23	23	26	23	23
Stamina	19	98	19	19	20	20	21
Intellect	23	32	26	25	23	25	23
Spirit	20	42	22	23	20	22	20

• Priest class will be available for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion.

Racial traits

[Escape Artist] - instant - 1.75 min cooldown
Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect.
[Expansive Mind] - passive
Mana pool increased by 5%.
Arcane Resistance - passive
Reduces the chance you will be hit by Arcane spells by 2%.
[Engineering Specialization] - passive
Engineering skill increased by 15.

Reasons for racial traits

Despite their short limbs and large heads, gnomes are remarkably nimble. They can keep pace with taller races, jump twice their height, and can make quite the [Escape Artist] by slipping out of both conventional and magical traps.

The Expansive Mind of the gnome race is readily apparent to the casual observer. Many of the Alliance's best arcanists, scientists and tinkers have been gnomes.

Engineering Specialization is a defining characteristic of gnome culture, and gnome creations such as the Deeprun Tram regularly make life easier and (more or less) safer for the Alliance's citizens.

Gnomes take the same approach to the arcane sciences as they do to other technologies. Their carefulness and precision with magic has given them a slight Arcane Resistance.

Classes

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. A notable feature that sometimes may give a gnome rogue advantage is their very short height. An unprepared and less alert enemy player might not notice the dangerous gnome rogue creeping near him, especially if his camera is pointed upward or he is distracted. Of course this advantage rarely appears and an experienced player knows to be alert!

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.

There are playable Gnome priests in the next expansion, Cataclysm, in tradition of the already existing medics.

Why gnomes in the World of Warcraft?

From Insider Interview — 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.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

Gnomes have unique background art in Cataclysm

In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Gnomeregan Exiles have their own unique starting area within Gnomeregan, rather than sharing Anvilmar with the Dwarves.