Serious lore for the gnomes

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight]

As I and several others have mentionned several times before, gnomes are ones of the least developped and most underexploited races in World of Warcraft and its medias. Not only they are often absent from the main Alliance story or the overall plot, and their quest to reclaim and repopulate their home of Gnomeregan has been kept in the fridge for ages, but they are almost always used as comic relief and most of their most advanced and formidable inventions are used only in their own or the mechagnomes subplots.

The serious and tragic sides of their story and people such as their defense against the Old Horde's invasion, the terrible loss of their home, as well as an immense portion of their people, as well as the terrible betrayal of Sicco Thermaplugg, and Gelbin Mekkatorque's guilt are also rarely shown and mostly used in short stories such as Gelbin Mekkatorque's leader story "Cut Short", or in Chronicles.

How would you like the developpers and writers of Blizzard to better explore their lore and use the gnomes ? To have them play a true role in the Alliance story and greater plot, and to create or developp some genuinely deep and serious lore for the gnomes ?

[shoc]

Was Mechagon a joke to you? The whole post-humanist cult thing it had going got pretty dark at times.

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight]

Was Mechagon a joke to you? The whole post-humanist cult thing it had going got pretty dark at times.

One too rare exception sadly, besides it would have been better and darker if we actually saw the results of king Mechagon's Mechoriginator in action other than just seeing that old gnome being turned into a braindead mechagnome in the Mechagon comics. For example showing king Mechagon testing his device on flesh living beings with the titanic descendants being turned back into titan-forged and the non-titanic races being killed by it, rather than hearing words about what the device can do without a practice test.

And also it was disconnected from the main storyline and barely had any impact on it.

[Stormdash]

Serious lore for an unserious race is always a tall order.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

One too rare exception sadly, besides it would have been better and darker if we actually saw the results of king Mechagon's Mechoriginator in action other than just seeing that old gnome being turned into a braindead mechagnome in the Mechagon comics. For example showing king Mechagon testing his device on flesh living beings with the titanic descendants being turned back into titan-forged and the non-titanic races being killed by it, rather than hearing words about what the device can do without a practice test.

And also it was disconnected from the main storyline and barely had any impact on it.

I mean, is it a fair criticism to say "gnomes haven't got any serious lore" when last expansion we literally had a whole plot of a previously unknown offshoot of gnomekind existing, a whole area dedicated to that story and then Gnomes and Mechagnomes reuniting under one king?

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight]

I mean, is it a fair criticism to say "gnomes haven't got any serious lore" when last expansion we literally had a whole plot of a previously unknown offshoot of gnomekind existing, a whole area dedicated to that story and then Gnomes and Mechagnomes reuniting under one king?

Well considering that it's the first gnome storyline in more than a decade, that gnomes could have shown their ingenuity and usefulness in many scenarios such as during the Burning Legion's invasion or during the Siege of the Undercity by findind and using machines or chemical solutions to counter the Forsaken's Blight, and that the main gnomish storyline of taking back Gnomeregan, desinfecting the city and curing the leper gnomes has barely progressed in more than 15 years I wouldn't say that it's an uncompletely unfair criticism.

It's nice for the gnomes to have had the Mechagon stuff, but it would have been better if it had a meaningful impact on BFA's main plot and that benefits for the Alliance and means to finally really change things at Gnomeregan were shown.

[MyWholeLifeIsThunder]

Well considering that it's the first gnome storyline in more than a decade, that gnomes could have shown their ingenuity and usefulness in many scenarios such as during the Burning Legion's invasion or during the Siege of the Undercity by findind and using machines or chemical solutions to counter the Forsaken's Blight, and that the main gnomish storyline of taking back Gnomeregan, desinfecting the city and curing the leper gnomes has barely progressed in more than 15 years I wouldn't say that it's an uncompletely unfair criticism.

It's nice for the gnomes to have had the Mechagon stuff, but it would have been better if it had a meaningful impact on BFA's main plot and that benefits for the Alliance and means to finally really change things at Gnomeregan were shown.

I just don't think it's a far criticism at all to sat "gnomes haven't had any serious lore" when BfA, the previous expansion, had a very important focus on their race, and their Leader.

Of course there are several plots that could be resolved, but that is true for EVERY race, but again, the criticism of "gnomes haven't had any serious lore" just comes across as inaccurate.

[Steelangel]

Up until Mechagon, you'd be right. Gnomes didn't get a lot of lore love.

Now, though, I'm pretty sure that most of them have had at least some time in the Lore spotlight, excepting the allied races which are a bit lore-weak (lookin' at you, Void Elves!)

I would like more Panda lore though. Pandaria's story focused a lot on the Mogu or the Old Gods but there's a rich history of.. Pandaren? They can't have literally sat around for 10 thousand years doing nothing except fight back the Mantid every few decades. Was Liu Lang the only Pandaren who thought "I wonder if there's more to life?" or was Shaohao's influence so strong that they stagnated.

Because if that's so, then Pandaren have a history far more tragic than any other race on Azeroth---their entire society had been frozen solid since the sundering.

[Powerogue]

Was Mechagon a joke to you? The whole post-humanist cult thing it had going got pretty dark at times.

Isn't the dark future you travel to one where they manage to ignite the atmosphere and kill everyone?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

17 years and still waiting for the Gnomes to retake Gnomergan.

- - - Updated - - -

I would like more Panda lore though.

Yeah. Tushui and Huojin ceased existing after the intro zone. Would have loved to have seen more Pandaren migrate out into the world. Stormwind could have a Little Pandaria/Chinatown district, which would make sense given how the Alliance would be in the good graces of Pandaria for fixing up the barbarian horde's mess. Jinyu allied race would be cool.

[Aucald]

Isn't the dark future you travel to one where they manage to ignite the atmosphere and kill everyone?

I don't know if it ignited the atmosphere, per see; but King Mechagon's improvised re-origination device failed spectacularly and ended up incinerating most of the lifeforms on Azeroth (in what was described as a "global firestorm") as opposed to turning them into cybernetic versions of themselves. The atmosphere in the alternative timeline is still viable and breathable by us when we visit, though.

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight]

I just don't think it's a far criticism at all to sat "gnomes haven't had any serious lore" when BfA, the previous expansion, had a very important focus on their race, and their Leader.

Of course there are several plots that could be resolved, but that is true for EVERY race, but again, the criticism of "gnomes haven't had any serious lore" just comes across as inaccurate.

I said that there was a lack of general serious lore for the gnomes, by which I am talking about the entirely of WoW story and about the main plot too. I was not denying the existence of Mechagon and its storyline, but I think that much more content and strong lore could have been touched or explored over the various expansions of WoW.

For example we could have learnt more about gnomish society and government, how and when the High Tinker is elected and who are the ones electing him, and how a high tinker may end his functions.

The plight of the gnomes and Gelbin Mekkatorque, as well as the leper gnomes' one, and the efforts to cure them could have been at least slightly expanded on.

We could have seen more of the gnomish's importance to the Alliance and how their efforts to better the Alliance's weapons and defenses, for example them searching and finding counters to the Scourge plague and then to the Forsaken's one, them creating weapons to fight the Burning Legion during their invasion or the Horde, etc..

Of course I am not asking for them to be in the spotlight in each expansion or pack, but at least for things to be fairer to them and to the other neglected races who are left in the fridge and whose stories stagnate while the orcs, humans, forsaken and night elves take all the spotlight until the writers finally decide to use them ages later.

[Super Dickmann]

Isn't the dark future you travel to one where they manage to ignite the atmosphere and kill everyone?

King Mechagon, if not stopped, defeats the Old Gods by frying everyone on the world. He does so by accident. He's also better motivated than either BFA antagonist. Him not being part of the main plot only enhances his quality.

Gnomes are mostly considered a meme race like their goblin counterpart, as sadly are dwarves, who have far more going for them than most other races. Pandaren are even more screwed, but the Wandering Isle pandaren are mostly just kind of boring at the end of the day and really should've just left the factions after SoO.

[Gelannerai]

Gnomes have pretty great lore in Chronicle, though granted barely any of that is hinted in-game.

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight]

Gnomes have pretty great lore in Chronicle, though granted barely any of that is hinted in-game.

Yes the story of the female gnome who sacrificed herself to free the dwarves from their statistiques, without her the dwarves may still be sleeping in Uldaman and it would have ofc radically changed the history of Azeroth. This gives a particular meaning and depth to the dwarves' first meeting and ensuing friendship with gnomes.

And their defense of Gnomeregan that was a good, perhaps even better than the dwarves' defense of Ironforge against the Horde, showing how formidable they can be as foes if you push them too far.