Gnome (starting race)

This article is about the playable race in NetHack and its variants. For other uses of the term, see gnome.

Gnomes are one of the five playable races available to a hero in NetHack. A gnome hero will appear as G if the showrace option is set on, and is part of the gnome monster class. According to the guidebook:

Gnomes are smaller than but generally similar to dwarves. Gnomes are known to be expert miners, and it is known that a secret underground mine complex built by this race exists within the Mazes of Menace, filled with both riches and danger.

Gnomes are always neutral, and can be played as Archeologists, Cavepeople, Healers, Rangers, or Wizards.

Racial benefits and restrictions

Gnomish heroes possess infravision and can use uncursed touchstones as if they were blessed. Their attribute caps are more than decent, though they cannot train their physical stats to the same extent as some of the larger races.

All monsters with the gnome monster attribute are considered the same race as a gnomish hero for purposes such as cannibalism and same-race sacrifice. Dwarves and other gnomes that are not undead will always generate as peaceful towards a gnomish hero, while humans that are not undead will always generate as hostile. Gnomish heroes that die and leave bones where they arise from the dead will resurrect as gnome mummies and gnome zombies, depending on their killer—in practice, there is no means of killing any hero that causes them to rise as a zombie.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit aeb0ea65, if the hero is killed by a zombie or a lich, they will rise from the grave as a zombie of their race's type, and will be present as a zombie if a bones file is created. Per commit 3c421da7, a mummy or zombie left in bones this way will have the same intrinsics as the former hero.

Attributes

Character Race	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution	Intelligence	Wisdom	Charisma
Gnome	18/50	18	18	19	18	18

Level bonuses	Starting	Pre-cutoff	Post-cutoff
HP gain	1	d1	0
Energy gain	2	2	2

Gnomish heroes have a lower strength cap than human heroes, but are level with them in other aspects and even have a higher intelligence cap of 19. This makes them more capable of spellcasting, while their physical capability is still more than sufficient for melee damage and maximizing carrying capacity.

The HP growth of a gnomish hero is tied for the lowest among playable races with orcs, with only +1 to starting HP, +1 for each level gained while they are below their role's "cutoff" level, and no HP for each level gained while at or above the "cutoff". For energy, gnomish heroes have the second-best growth after elves, with +2 to their role's starting energy, +2 for each level gained while below their role's "cutoff" level, and +2 for each level gained while at or above the "cutoff" level.

Racial items

There is one racial substitution made for gnomish heroes involving the crossbow: gnomish heroes in roles that start with a bow and arrows instead receive a crossbow and crossbow bolts, which only applies to Rangers. Gnomish heroes (along with other gnomes) also receive a +1 multishot bonus for firing crossbow bolts from a crossbow, and only require 16 strength to avoid multishot penalties as opposed to 18 for other races.

While the aklys and candles are not defined as racial equipment, they are heavily associated with gnomes due both to default monster starting inventory mechanics and to gnomes in unlit Gnomish Mines levels generating with lit candles.

Strategy

Gnomish heroes are generally more frail on average than human heroes, in exchange for better spellcasting capabilities from their intelligence cap and energy growth—as with dwarves, the Gnomish Mines will also have more peaceful denizens and less dangerous hostiles to face, making Minetown a more favorable early game destination for a gnomish hero.

Overall, gnomes are somewhat more ideal to play in spellcasting-focused builds such as Healers (especially for protection rackets), some Archeologists, and Wizards, but are the most challenging race to play as Cavepeople in particular, who rely on melee and physical prowess. Though most gnomish heroes can work well enough with their strength cap to not necessitate the use of items such as gauntlets of power, they cannot raise their bonuses from strength beyond +1 to-hit and +3 damage without the assistance of those items.

The racial multishot bonus is less useful than it appears since all gnomish roles other than Rangers are restricted in crossbow, and even if the skill is gained through crowning, Healers and Wizards cannot gain Skilled multishot from crossbows—this leaves gnomish Archeologists and Cavepeople as the only combinations that can unrestrict crossbows and expect to benefit from their racial multishot bonuses. Even for gnomish Rangers in particular, equipment substitutions present their own unique difficulties: crossbow bolts are somewhat harder to procure compared to arrows (though they are still fairly plentiful with centaurs), and their quest artifact The Longbow of Diana utilizes an entirely different skill from crossbows, which also means forgoing several multishot bonuses.

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.

Per commit 55ec68ef, Rangers gain a +1 multishot bonus while wielding the Longbow of Diana and shooting any type of arrows from it.

History

The gnome starting race is introduced along with the other playable races in NetHack 3.3.0.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, a gnomish hero can be played as an Archeologist, Caveperson, Flame Mage, Healer, Ice Mage, Ranger, Undead Slayer, or Wizard.

Gnomish heroes retain their traits from NetHack, and additionally gain stealth at experience level 5. They start with the vanish technique and gain the tinker technique at experience level 7, which allows them to upgrade certain items.

In earlier versions of SLASH'EM, including ancestral variants, the Gnome existed as a playable role similar to the Elf, with their own quest: their leader is Ruggo the Gnome King, their quest guardians are gnome warriors, and the quest sees them fighting Lareth for The Pick of Flandal Steelskin, an artifact pick-axe. Ruggo the Gnome King and gnome warriors are repurposed along with the quest home level, and all appear on the Mine king level below Mines' End.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, gnomish heroes have several significant differences from NetHack.

Gnomish heroes remain neutral, and can be played as Archeologists, Binders, Cavepeople, Healers, Madpeople, Rangers, Troubadours (Bards), and Wizards. They can also be played as Convicts, which will always be chaotic regardless of race.

Gnomish heroes are small like non-player gnome monsters: due to the changes around monster size as well as the size of weapons and armor in dNetHack and its derivatives, this means that their starting inventory will consist of weapons and armor primarily designed for small monsters, medium-sized weapons will always be two-handed for gnomish heroes, and their carrying capacity is heavily limited. This also means that gnomish heroes burn nutrition at half the rate of medium-sized heroes, and gain twice the duration of temporary intrinsics from consuming corpses, blood or tins.

Gnomish heroes have second-level low-light vision that allows them to see in dimly-lit areas, and can use uncursed touchstones as though they were blessed as in NetHack. Gnomish heroes gain an extra die of weapon damage when firing bolts from crossbows, and can always reach Expert skill in escape spells, pick-axes, crossbows, and clubs, and those that are not Undead Hunters can also reach Skilled in smithing. Their special spell is invisibility.

Gnomish heroes have the standard 75 points to distribute among their starting attributes, which is lowered to 65 if they have an inheritance. They retain their attribute caps from NetHack, while their HP and energy growth rates are changed:

Attribute	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution	Intelligence	Wisdom	Charisma
Minimum	3	3	3	3	3	3
Maximum	18/50	18	18	19	18	18

HP gain	Starting HP	Pre-cutoff	Post-cutoff
Gnome	1	0	1+d6
Energy gain	Starting energy	Pre-cutoff	Post-cutoff
Gnome	12	4	2+d2

While gnomish heroes have more consistent HP growth across all levels, it is still the lowest of the playable races in dNetHack after orcs—conversely, with the exception of the incantifier (who use magic energy as a form of "nutrition"), gnomes also have the best energy growth by far.

Gnomish heroes that are not Madpeople start with knowledge of the gnomish pointy hat, aklys, dwarvish helm, dwarvish mattock and dwarvish cloak. A gnomish hero will always start each game with 1-2 tallow candles, and those that are not Archeologists also start with a medium-sized gnomish pointy hat (as Archeologists are given theirs via racial substitution). There are five racial substitutions made for gnomish heroes:

• Gnomish heroes that start the game with a fedora will receive a gnomish pointy hat instead, which affects the Archeologist and is resized as described above.
• Gnomish heroes that start with a bullwhip or club will receive an aklys instead.
• Gnomish heroes that start with a bow and arrows will receive a crossbow and crossbow bolts instead, as in NetHack.

NetHack Fourk

In NetHack Fourk, gnomish heroes have increased skill caps for crossbows and clubs.

Encyclopedia entry

... And then a gnome came by, carrying a bundle, an old fellow three times as large as an imp and wearing clothes of a sort, especially a hat. And he was clearly just as frightened as the imps though he could not go so fast. Ramon Alonzo saw that there must be some great trouble that was vexing magical things; and, since gnomes speak the language of men, and will answer if spoken to gently, he raised his hat, and asked of the gnome his name. The gnome did not stop his hasty shuffle a moment as he answered 'Alaraba' and grabbed the rim of his hat but forgot to doff it.
'What is the trouble, Alaraba?' said Ramon Alonzo.
'White magic. Run!' said the gnome ..
                        [ The Charwoman's Shadow, by Lord Dunsany ]
 
"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn.
"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods..."
There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.
"Geroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.
It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.

[ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling ]