Gnomes keep no history of themselves beyond the memory of their eldest
members. They have no written language. Because they don't have the
huge history of the elves, or a future boding the end of the race like
the dwarves, they tend to take things as they come. Gnomes have a great
deal of common sense. They have a natural tendency toward wisdom and
the ability to look beyond wealth and finery to find out the worth of
a person. Gnomes value their families above all things, then after
that whatever relatives they may come across, then other gnomes.
Everything else comes behind that. This however does not mean that ALL
GNOMES must be wise. This is a general characteristic. For purposes of
RP it is sometimes important to make a character who has no common sense
or wisdom. This is a general guideline.