Warfare

"Dey come from da rocks of da ground, everywhere attackin' and killin', what wit dem bolts and dat majick! We din't see where dey wuz or where dey went, but when dey wuz gone all my pals wuz kilt.

"We had deez goblyns what wuz suzpozed to watch dat side--but dey run away! Da lucky ones ran, dat iz. Lots a dem wuz kilt too. Dem nomes, dey really whomped da goblyns--din't like 'em too much at all, I cud tell. Da goblyns wuz gonna turn to meet 'em, but da nomes come on too fast. Dey din't let 'em make da line or get off a shot. 'Course, dat's what you espect a' goblyns.

"Den I tought we ogres would stomp 'em, stomp 'em good. But dey wudn't fight fair, wudn't come out and let uz stomp 'em! Dey sat dere and shot wit' dem dang bolts, what poked out eyes and did all sorts a' nasties. We run at dem but dey hid--we din't know where dey went, 'till dey come up behind us and whomped us pretty good dat way too.

"Nope, sir, you kin tell me ta go but I ain't goin'--I ain't gonna fight no nomes no more!"

--from the battle diary of Barkan Delsuutor, Ogre veteran and brigade commander

Like halflings, gnomes are slow to anger and reluctant to wage war. However, also like their diminutive cousins, they become savage and tenacious fighters when fully motivated into battle.

Because of their small size, gnomes try to avoid combat situations that place them in open terrain where they must meet the head-on onslaught of much larger attackers. They prefer instead to fight in rough terrain, sheltered by rocks or trees, where their size can actually work to their advantage. In underground combat situations where they have sufficient time to prepare, gnomes like to excavate numerous low-ceilinged tunnels for mobility of attack and retreat.

They are not so adept with missiles as are halflings, but gnomish troops can nevertheless deliver a furious barrage of arrows and sling stones when such a tactic is needed. Firing in an undisciplined fusillade, they continue to pepper their targets with this painful attacks for as long as possible. They launch their arrows from sturdy shortbows or solid, albeit small, crossbows.

Though many of them wield spears, they prefer to use these as melee rather than missile weapons. Gnomes are adept (and very courageous) at setting these spears to meet the charge of much larger attackers. They will also use their quickness to strike from ambush, and when a force of gnomes can mingle among the troops of a larger enemy, their small size allows them to inflict a lot of damage. A favorite tactic, useable only when gnomes gain complete surprise (such as that provided by a mass invisibility spell), is to fearlessly dart among enemy horsemen, using their sharp daggers to cut the straps holding the riders' saddles onto their mounts. Such a tactic, when successful, can go a long way toward evening the odds of an unbalanced engagement.

When marching to battle, most gnomes will carry a missile weapon as well as a hammer, spear, or short sword, with a dagger reserved for the final line of defense.

Gnomes are also skilled at using deception, diversion, camouflage, and disguise as battle tactics. Their natural talents at illusionary magic help a great deal--gnomish illusionists will frequently create the appearance of the force in some unimportant area, while other spellcasters conceal the actual presence of the gnomes from enemy discovery. The sudden appearance of a gnomish force, virtually in the midst of the enemy, can be enough to throw the most veteran army into confusion.

They are also good at using these spells to conceal the true nature of the battlefield--either to create the appearance of obstacles where there are none or to conceal the location of hazards such as ravines, thickets, bogs, and streams. Many a thunderous charge has been broken when the howling attackers suddenly find out that what looked like solid ground is actually intersected by a twenty-foot deep gully, its bottom lined with sharp stakes.

Other uses of illusionary magic have stretched the creative bounds of military imagination. In one famous battle, gnomish illusionists concealed the actual location of the sun and replace it with a duplicate, causing the enemies' reinforcements to march five miles to the east when they were supposed to be going west! They have also used images of dragons, giants, beholders, and other horrors to distract the attention of their foes and keep them guessing as to the true nature of their opponents.

Another asset that gnomes carry into battle is the lack of the hubris that can so often be the downfall of human or dwarven command-ers. Gnomes show no hesitation when it comes to abandoning a lost cause; when things start to go bad, the gnomes will run away, preferring this pragmatic tactic to a doomed stand motivated mainly by pride. The retreating gnomes quickly scatter and (if possible) disappear down holes into the ground or vanish among the enclosing underbrush of a forest. Even if the victorious opponents pursue ruthlessly, they are unlikely to kill or capture more than a handful of the gnomish survivors. Of course, this scattering means that it takes longer to reassemble the force and prepare to fight again, but that is a drawback that any gnomish commander willingly accepts rather than see his or her forces annihilated.

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