Kicker Pack U1: Gnomes Released: August, 1998

Description

Gnomes are the first unofficial Dragon Dice kicker pack. They originated as an April Fools post that I made to the Dragon Dice mailing list, which announced them as a future kicker pack to be released in late 1998. There was so much interest in gnomes that I decided to actually design the kicker, along with stickers for the gnome dice. The kicker was "released" at the GenCon '98 Game Fair, where they were featured in a special tournament (a pictures of the winners is available, as are some other assorted pictures from the event).

The complete Gnome rules are now available in HTML!.

Gnome Champions!

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the initial April Fools announcement of Gnomes!, the first unofficial deluxe kicker pack was released on April 1, 1999: Gnome Champions. The Gnome Champion Rules are available online. Note that this deluxe kicker includes the actual Champion rules that will be used when the official Champions Deluxe Kicker is released

Stickers, Stickers, Stickers!

Here is the first release of the Gnome dice stickers. These are in the same format as those used at GenCon. Future plans include a colored background (blue, red, and gold) and a complete set of icons (right now some of the SAIs and all of the IDs are plain text). Note that the dice stickers are also in PDF format:

• Common dice stickers. Print these on Avery 8167 (or equivalent sized) labels. Each label wraps around 3 sides of a common dice, so it take two labels to make a common gnome. Make sure you use the correct pair of labels! Each one in the leftmost column is paired with the sticker to its right. The third and fourth columns (from the left) repeat the first and second column. There are 80 labels in all, so one sheet gives you enough stickers for 40 common dice.
• Uncommon dice stickers. Same size and layout as the common stickers.
• Rare dice stickers. Print these on Avery 5162 (or equivalent sized) labels. Each label will end up having 4 stickers on it, so you'll have to cut them into quarters. The stickers are paired left-to-right, as with the commons and uncommons. There will be some blank labels, as the numbers of stickers didn't divide evenly into the available labels. Each sheet will yield enough stickers for 25 rare dice.
• Monster dice stickers! Print these on Avery 5162 (or equivalent sized) labels, or on a full-sheet label (Avery 5165, 5265, or 8165 or equivalent), since you have to cut them out anyway. Each label will end up having 2 stickers on it, one for the "top" of the monster die, and one for the "bottom". You'll need to get an Exacto knife and cut the stickers out, as they are circular. Each sheet will yield enough stickers for 14 monsters.
• Champion dice stickers. As with the rare sticker, these are meant to be printed on Avery 5162 (or equivalent sized) labels. However, I've been having alignment problems with these stickers, so Iyou might want to try printing them on a full-sheet label (Avery 5165, 5265, or 8165 or equivalent) instead. If you print them on 5162 labels, each label will end up having 4 stickers on it, so you'll have to cut them into quarters. The stickers are paired left-to-right, as with the commons and uncommons. There will be some blank labels, as the numbers of stickers didn't divide evenly into the available labels. Each sheet will yield enough stickers for 20 champion dice

If you make a mistake when applying the stickers...

In keeping with the gnome spirit of adventure, discovery, and experimentation, if you accidentally put the wrong sticker on a gnome unit, it is legal in tournament play. However, if you intentionally create a misprint, that unit is subject to an immediate, automatic attack by the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen. It is entirely up to the judge as to what is intentional and what is accidental.

The Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen (aka Wooly Rupert) is a unique gnome monster. It cannot be used in play, but can be instantly summoned by the judge in a gnome tournament. This monster is of unusual size (even larger than a Tyrannohamsterous Rex), is highly intelligent, and is said to possess spellcasting abilities. He is not well-disposed to gnomes of any sort, especially intentional misprints, preferring to squash them under his titanic paws. Gnomes everywhere fear the wrath of Wooly Rupert.

In tournament play, when a judge suspects an intentional gnome misprint, he may invoke the wrath of Wooly Rupert by merely mentioning his name. The judge then rolls a 10-sided dice and uses the chart below to determine Wooly Rupert's effect on the misprinted die:

SAI Descriptions:

• Grind-Under-Paw: Kills and buries the target misprint unit with no saves possible
• Mash: Kills and buries the target misprint unit with no saves possible
• Squash: Kills and buries the target misprint unit with no saves possible
• Stomp: Kills and buries the target misprint unit with no saves possible
• Double Cantrip: Counts as 8 points of magic, which is always uses to cast Rupert's Crushing Paw. This spell in known only to Wooly Rupert, and it kills and buried the target misprinted unit with no saves possible
• ID - Counts as melee hits against the target misprint unit. The target misprinted unit may roll for saves. Of course, since Wooly Rupert is of unusual size, his ID counts for 8 points of effect...

You get the idea.

Gnome Pictures from GenCon '98

(the names of the participants have been omitted to protect their integrity.)