B/X Monsters A to Z: Gnome
It's been said that gnomes never really found their niche as a player-character race in AD&D, but as an NPC/monster type in Classic D&D I've always had a soft spot for these guys. To be sure, there is some overlap with dwarves, and to distinguish the two some sources have taken gnomes in a more comedic direction than I would like, but done well they've fit quite nicely into my own campaign settings. Regarding gnomes, the Basic Set says that they are related to dwarves but are smaller. Whether this means shorter, more slender, or both is not stated, but I generally picture them as being both shorter and less stocky of build than the typical dwarf. Like dwarves, they sport full beards (at least the males do; nothing is said of gnome-women, so indulge your own preference there) but are also stated to have long noses. While dwarves are typically dwellers in rugged mountains and deep caverns, gnomes are explicitly stated to prefer burrows in the lowlands. In theory, at