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Lore: Gnomes
Posted: 30 Oct 2006 05:06 AM |
((Unless otherwise specified, the following is COMMON KNOWLEDGE))
Overview
There's not much to say about Gnomes as a race; save for their shared biology and language, no two Gnomes share anything in common. More diverse even than Humans, they seem to have no concept of cultural identity, each individual Gnome seemingly a culture unto themselves and bearing little or no relation to other Gnomes.
Language
((The following is known to anyone who has ever heard a Gnome speak Gnomish, or seen Gnomish writing))
The Gnomish language is an enigma which has infuriated scholars for ages untold, one which no non-Gnome has ever cracked. It is not so much a means of communication so much as a way of thinking and being; as such, it's impossible for non-Gnomes to comprehend, let alone learn. Many an archmage has gone mad trying to unravel the Gnomish language, for it's rumoured that the arcane words and gestures used by modern wizards are derived from Gnomish.
As an example, the literal translation for "good evening" in Gnomish, if spoken at precisely two hours after sundown facing west on the night of a full moon, to a person the speaker is only passingly acquainted with and stands at nearly twice the height of the speaker, must take into account all the aforementioned factors, not to mention other environmental variables such as windspeed and direction, average ambient temperature, and local magical strength as measured by the Babblibudoc scale. Spoken incorrectly, a non-Gnome could easily say "you cheese pocket monkey in my nose" quite by accident, thus transforming a perfectly reasonable Gnomish greeting into utter gibberish. For this reason, all Gnomes have inherently good hearing.
The written language vaguely resembles complex arcane symbols, while the spoken language is impossible for non-Gnomish vocal cords to replicate, sounding like the mechanical clicking, whirring and humming of gears. Strangely, although organic life forms find it impossible to learn Gnomish, even the most lowly of golems can easily be enchanted to speak the language. The correlation between Gnomish and Arcana has led many to believe that the correct, or incorrect, combination of Gnomish words, gestures and/or symbols could possibly lead to accidentally or deliberately casting arcane spells. |
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Re: Lore: Gnomes
Posted: 21 Jan 2007 06:42 PM |
Monster Bait
It's a popular joke amongst adventurers that Gnomes are tasty delicacies. One often hears advice from seasoned travellers along the lines of: if you must flee from a monster, throw a Gnome at it to distract it. Colloquially, the slang "monster food" or "monster bait" is used to refer to Gnomes.
There is actually empirical evidence to suggest that there is some truth in this. Dragons have been known to pass up larger, more tempting targets simply to get to a single Gnome. |
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