Guides
Playing Gnome on The Last Camp
Tinkers of Ak'Anon — small frame, high INT, broad canonical roster including the Tinkering tradeskill, plus every The Last Camp exotic class.
Playing a Gnome on The Last Camp is the small-frame, high-INT, mechanically inventive choice. Gnomes are canonically Warrior, Cleric, Paladin, Shadow Knight, Rogue, Necromancer, Wizard, Magician, and Enchanter — basically every class except the priests of nature and the brawler classes. The Last Camp unlocks Druid, Ranger, Monk, Bard, Shaman, Beastlord, and Berserker on the chassis.
Gnomes have the second-highest starting INT in the game (behind Erudite), the small hitbox upside, and the canonical Tinkering tradeskill that every Gnome character starts with skill in.
At a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting city | Ak'Anon |
| Continent | Faydwer |
| Canonical classes | War, Cle, Pal, SK, Rog, Nec, Wiz, Mag, Enc |
| The Last Camp exotic classes | Rng, Dru, Mnk, Brd, Shm, Bst |
| Stat profile | Strong INT / DEX / AGI; weak STR / STA |
| Hitbox | Small — major dungeon and tank-spot upside |
| Race vision | Infravision |
| Cultural armor | Cultural Gnome |
| Faction baseline | Friendly Ak'Anon, Kaladim, Felwithe, Kelethin (Faydark axis); hostile Crushbone orcs, Neriak |
Why this race
Gnomes are the small-frame INT chassis with infravision and the only race with native Tinkering. Tinkering produces a stack of throwaway combat utilities (the Gnomish Heat Source, the Gnomish Mining Helm, the Salty Gnoll Snack-Pack), and the racial Tinkering bench in Ak'Anon makes it easier to start than for any other race.
The race also lands the rare combination of canonical Cleric, canonical Paladin, and canonical Shadow Knight — Bertoxxulous-aligned Necromancer-cousin SKs are part of the Ak'Anon clockwork-and-decay culture.
Stat profile detail
Gnome starting stats lean on INT (97) — third-highest in the game after Erudite and Dark Elf — and DEX (85). AGI (85) is good, WIS (67) is mid, CHA (60) is mid-low, and the melee stats — STR (60), STA (70) — are weak.
For pure-caster play, the INT floor is close enough to Erudite to make Gnome a top-tier choice with the small-frame upside compounding. For Cleric and Paladin (the canonical good-aligned picks), the WIS floor is a soft ceiling that gear corrects.
The race's +10 magic resist baseline is the best of any caster race and matters through the entire endgame against caster-mob encounters.
Canonical class fits
Gnome Wizard, Gnome Magician, and Gnome Necromancer are the signature picks — small frame plus high INT plus infravision. Enchanter works on the same chassis with the CHA penalty being soft. Cleric of Bristlebane, Cleric of Brell, and Paladin are the good-aligned canonical picks. Shadow Knight of Bertoxxulous is the canonical evil pick. Warrior and Rogue suffer on STR but Rogue's AGI/DEX curve makes the small-frame stealth pick worthwhile.
The Last Camp exotic combos
Gnome Druid and Gnome Ranger are mechanically odd but lore-defensible — the Bristlebane / Solusek line gives Gnomes a half-foothold in the nature deities, and Faydark is right there. Gnome Monk is mechanically wonderful — top-end AGI on the small frame, with Quellious or Bristlebane as workable deity picks.
Gnome Bard is delightful (think tinker-band with mechanical instruments) and runs strong on DEX. Gnome Beastlord with a clockwork or small-animal warder leans into the Tinker aesthetic. Gnome Shaman is the rare Tribunal-or-Cazic stretch — works best as a Bertoxxulous-themed disease-shaman build.
Faction implications
Gnomes wake up friendly to the entire good-Faydwer axis: Ak'Anon, Kaladim, Felwithe, Kelethin. They have the easiest path to PoK on The Last Camp — Lift up from Steamfont/Greater Faydark and book in. Most Antonican cities are neutral. The hostile factions to manage are the Crushbone orcs (next door over Steamfont), Runnyeye, and the Neriak axis.
For Necromancer or Shadow Knight Gnomes, the Bertoxxulous and Cazic-Thule alignments cause some long-term faction friction with Felwithe and Kelethin temples, but day-to-day life in Ak'Anon stays clean.
Recommended starting picks
Gnome Necromancer, Gnome Wizard, and Gnome Magician are the easiest first characters — strong solo curve, friendly newbie city, and the canonical Bertoxxulous-or-Solusek lore is well-supported in Ak'Anon. Gnome Cleric for the priest-first pick with an interesting deity choice (Bristlebane is signature).
For a player explicitly looking to lean into The Last Camp's any-race-class doctrine on a Gnome, Gnome Monk of Quellious and Gnome Bard are the cleanest exotic picks — both ride the small-frame AGI/DEX curve and don't require any deity gymnastics.
Cultural and racial gear
Cultural Gnome is a fine craftable set tuned for casters. The Ak'Anon and Steamfont quest networks are some of the densest in the game — Tinkering recipe quests, Bertoxxulous-cult quests for the dark casters, and a clockwork-themed leveling network through Steamfont's giant clockwork dungeon. Gnomish Tinkering produces unique combat consumables that no other race can craft.
Tradeoffs to know
- Tinkering racial is unique — Gnome characters get Tinkering at character creation while every other race must learn it from a Gnome trainer (and tops out at 50 skill instead of 250).
- Small frame plus infravision plus high INT is one of the strongest pure-caster chassis in the game.
- Ak'Anon's Steamfont path to PoK via the lift is one of the gentlest newbie travel routes on the server.
- STR/STA penalty is real on melee classes — Gnome Warriors and Rogues tank less and hit less than every other race except Halflings.
- Bertoxxulous is uniquely canonical for Gnomes among the good-Faydwer races — a Gnome Necromancer or Cleric of Bertoxxulous fits the city lore directly.
Group and raid role summary
- Best canonical fits: pure-caster DPS (Wizard, Magician, Necromancer of Bertoxxulous), small-frame plate tank (Paladin of Brell, Shadow Knight), debuff (Enchanter).
- Best The Last Camp-exotic fits: Monk (top AGI), Bard, Beastlord with clockwork or small-warder concept.
- Avoid: Warrior raid main-tank role (low STA, small frame matters less here than the HP gap).
Lore notes
Gnomes were created by Brell Serilis to serve as the curious, inventive, mechanical race of the underworld — they later migrated to the surface and built Ak'Anon. The city is a clockwork wonderland with a strong Bertoxxulous-aligned underclass (the King is a Bertoxxulous follower in some readings). Bristlebane, Brell, and Solusek are the core deity options; Bertoxxulous is the dark canonical option. Gnomes invented Tinkering and remain its only race-native practitioners.