Gnomes in Dungeons & Dragons have been further divided into various subraces:
Rock gnomes are the standard gnome subrace of Third Edition. They live in burrows beneath rolling, wooded hills. Friends to animals, rock gnomes have a racial ability that allows them to speak with burrowing animals.
Tinker gnomes are the common gnomes of the Dragonlance campaign setting. In that fictional universe, they dwell in the Mount Nevermind in the world of Krynn.
Svirfneblin, or deep gnomes, dwell in cities deep underground. They are more dangerous than the common rock gnome.
Forest gnomes are smaller than rock gnomes. They are a shy, secretive folk, living deep in wooded areas.[18]
River Gnomes are graceful and quick. They live in homes dug into the side of riverbanks and speak with river dwelling animals in place of burrowing mammals. They are non-magical but gain +1 to initiative and are proficient swimmers.
Arcane Gnomes are city dwellers. They generally keep to a small community within a larger city. Arcane gnomes are focused on the pursuit of knowledge making their populace, in large part, over-eager inventors or wizards.
Chaos gnomes are the most flamboyant gnomes. Brightly colored and rare, they are strongly inclined towards chaos, as their name suggests.[19]
Whisper gnomes lack the jovial outlook of other gnome races. Sly and suspicious, they are creatures of stealth.[19]
Ice gnomes dwell in the region of Frostfell in the Eberron campaign setting
Fire gnomes live on Bytopia, on the Outer Planes, where they help Flandal Steelskin, the Gnomish god of metal and crafting, in his work[original research?].
Sky gnomes appear in the Creature Crucible Top Ballista PC2 published in 1989. They are cunning engineers living in the flying city Serraine above the World of Mystara.
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, gnomes are also known as the "Forgotten Folk".
Note: Gnomes are a highly adaptable people. A gnome relocated to new environs may take on many of the characteristic features of another subrace. A relocated population of gnomes may adapt in as short a time as a generation