Orlanda's famous beastiary tome has this to say about Gnomes:
A small burrowing creature most often seen while above grounds in heavly wooded areas. They are more kin to spirits of the wood then mortal man. Smaller then elves, but larger then pixies, the gnomes burrow deep into the ground to make thier home. In certain places they even have whole cities buried under the ground, filled with rubies and diamonds. The average gnome will most likely stop by you in the woods and offer a bit to eat or a sample of his pipe if you happen to be curtious. Gnome society is a simple and peaceful one. They have knowledge equal to that of the dwarves but choose, rather, to do without. I hope to make an escursion to investigate thier under-ground cities this following spring.
Orlanda's slightly less famous amendments publication has this to say about Gnomes:
Filthy little critters that need to be wiped from the land. Never trust one, and never turn your back to one.
The Gnome is a stupid race to be. The only plus is that other gnomes usually don't try and kill you, so you can go pillage the gnome mines for a bunch of worthless glass before running as fast as you can for the surface. However, the same goes for the dwarf, which has better stats and stuff.
Grab the glass and
Flee