Gnomes
Small, brilliant and endlessly inventive, the gnomes built a city of steam and gears under Dun Morogh, then lost it. In Forever they are exiles in Ironforge, helping the Alliance while they plan to take Gnomeregan back.
- Homeland: Gnomeregan in Dun Morogh, now lost
- Capital: In exile in Ironforge
- Starting zone: Coldridge Valley, Dun Morogh
- Home faction: Gnomeregan Exiles
What the client says
Gnome (Alliance)
Lore name: Gnome. Languages: Common, Gnomish. Starts in Dun Morogh. Classes: Mage, Priest (new in Forever), Rogue, Warlock, Warrior. Racials: Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Eureka!, Expansive Mind.
The client's character-creation text: Though small in stature, the gnomes of Khaz Modan have used their great intellect to secure a place in history. Indeed, their subterranean kingdom, Gnomeregan, was once a marvel of steam-driven technology. Even so, due to a massive trogg invasion, the city was lost. Now its builders are vagabonds in the dwarven lands, aiding their allies as best they can.
Who they are
Gnomes solve problems with intellect and machinery, often before anyone else has noticed the problem. Their underground city of Gnomeregan was a wonder of steam-driven technology. Then troggs poured up from below, and the city was lost. Now the gnomes live as refugees among the dwarves, still inventing, still cheerful, and still hurting.
Even so, due to a massive trogg invasion, the city was lost. Now its builders are vagabonds in the dwarven lands, aiding their allies as best they can.
From the game client: Gnome, the race description in the WoW Forever client
Warcraft background: The gnomes' leader, High Tinker Mekkatorque, ordered Gnomeregan flooded with radiation to drive out the troggs. It failed: the troggs stayed, many gnomes died, and some who remained were twisted into leper gnomes. Mekkatorque was betrayed by his adviser Sicco Thermaplugg, who still rules the ruins. The gnomes fought with the Alliance in the Second War, and their engineers are famous across Azeroth.
Homeland and capital
Gnomeregan lies under the snows of western Dun Morogh, now a dungeon full of troggs and irradiated gnomes. The exiles live in Tinker Town in Ironforge, where their workshops, trams and trainers are. The Deeprun Tram they built runs from Ironforge to Stormwind.
The former denizens of Gnomeregan, now living in exile in Ironforge and in league with the Alliance.
From the game client: Gnomeregan Exiles, the faction description in the WoW Forever client
Allies and enemies
- Allies: the dwarves of Ironforge, their hosts; the humans of Stormwind, linked to them by the Deeprun Tram; the Alliance.
- Enemies: the troggs, and the leper gnomes and traitors who hold Gnomeregan; the Horde; the Venture Company.
- Rivals: goblin engineers. Gnomish and goblin engineering are famously different philosophies.
Language and names
Gnomes speak Common and Gnomish. Gnome names are playful and bouncy, with rhyming or doubled sounds, and surnames often sound like inventions or mechanisms (cogs, sprockets, fizzles). Forever's second name is made for that.
Notable figures
The Forever client and Blizzard's Forever posts don't name any gnome leaders. The names in the background box above come from the earlier games.
Racial abilities as flavour
Escape Artist is a gnome slipping out of any trap; Expansive Mind and Engineering Specialization are their intellect and knack for machines. Forever's Eureka! is a flash of inspiration. See Races.
In WoW Forever
In WoW Forever: Gnomes can now be Priests, one of six new race and class combinations. A gnome priest brings a new angle to a very practical people: faith, comfort and the Light in a community that lost its home.
RP hooks and character ideas
- One of Forever's first gnome priests, who ministers to the refugees of Tinker Town and the families of those left behind in Gnomeregan.
- An engineer who swears their latest device will retake the city, if only the dwarves would fund it.
- A survivor who hid in Gnomeregan's lower levels for months and doesn't talk about it.
- A gnome warlock who wonders whether a little demonic help would solve the trogg problem faster.
- A tram conductor on the Deeprun Tram who knows everyone's business in both cities.
- A gnome mage heading for Dalaran, where magic and machinery seem to be going wrong in interesting ways.
Sources
- Gnome in the client (Races)
- Gnomeregan Exiles (Reputation)
- World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive Panel Recap (Blizzard)