Gnomes are cool. -2 STR, +2 Con with Small size is great for several classes. They get 4 spell-like abilities which improve their versatility a lot at low levels along with +1 DC to Illusion spells.


Gnomes also have lots of different variants that improve their versatility.

The Whisper Gnome is a very popular favorite, although they sacrifice some of their spellcasting boosts.

Chaos Gnomes are a great +1 LA race that get a lot of nice benefits if you're in a campaign with an LA buy-off. +2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Cha, +1 Caster level on Chaos Spells, a reroll 1/day, and 5 spell like abilities are great.

Forest Gnomes get Pass without a Trace at-will, +4 to hide and another +4 in forest areas

Lesser Deep Gnomes are amazing too. They keep all the gnome's advantages (except trading +2 Con for +2 Dex) and get a bunch of new bonus traits.