Garden gnomes,[4] also known as lawn gnomes[1] or stone gnomes,[2] were ornamental statues of gnomes meant for decorating gardens.[4][1] They were known in such far-flung places as the Blade Kingdoms,[3] Waterdeep,[1] and Loudwater.[2]
Description[]
These ornaments were typically small with pointy hats,[5] and had a tendency to be painted rather garishly.[4]
History[]
Sometime in the 15th century DR, a Waterdhavian citizen came into the offices of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors to absolve him of a bet he had made at a gambling table to a spellcaster that he believed to be Khelben Arunsun, despite popular consensus among Waterdhavians being that the Blackstaff was dead. The man claimed that the victor of the bet demanded he provide one of two impossible things by the next night: either an elemental of chocolate syrup or "a mermaid succubus who's human from the waist down". If he failed to provide either, the man would be polymorphed into either a lawn gnome or a myconid fountain forced to hold a selection of vegetables. The exasperated magist on staff that day, Maerlus the Magnificent, assured the man that the Watchful Order could provide him a short-term semblance of either in return for the appropriate fees.[1]
Reputation[]
"Look how it's painted, though. And what it's DOING. They're MOCKING us."
"I'm not certain humans are capable of mockery. Oh, they think they do, but...they'd never admit it, but they worship us."
Gnomes had mixed opinions on these strange ornaments, with some feeling that they were either secretly an act of reverence or mockery by humans.[4]
Notable Garden Gnomes[]
The gardens of the Enchanter's Ecstasy inn in Loudwater in the 1360s DR were "infested" with stone gnomes, as part of its cutesy decorations and kitsch décor.[2]
In the Thief's Knot hedge maze in Waterdeep's City of the Dead, there was a stone gnome carved to resemble the Master Thief's most respected rival, a thiefcatcher. Once stern of face beneath a pointy hat, weathering had rendered it more amused than anything. A trap triggering alarm bells was cunningly concealed behind it, and Sophraea Carver and Gustin Bone nearly set it off in the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR.[5]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
External Links[]
Garden gnome article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Ed Greenwood (July 2013). “Spin a Yarn: The Night Thelva Clovenaxe Flew”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #425 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 43.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ed Greenwood (1993). Volo's Guide to the North. (TSR, Inc), p. 192. ISBN 1-5607-6678-6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pauli Kidd (November 1996). The Council of Blades. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 16, p. ?. ISBN 978-0786905317.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Ed Greenwood (2021-02-25). Garden Gnomes in the Realms (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved on 2024-09-10.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rosemary Jones (June 2009). City of the Dead. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 21. ISBN 078695129X.