The Athasian gnomes would have barely survived as a race, and their history and limited numbers would make them different from the gnomes of other worlds. With so few of them remaining, every gnome would personally know each other gnome by name. Likewise, these are not the happy but paranoid, ever-scheming gnomes of Eberron’s Khorvaire, nor the “forgotten folk” of Faerun, or the obsessive tinkerers of Krynn and wildspace. They are still tinkerers, but Athasian gnomes would be more preoccupied with maintaining what they managed to salvage than about creating new and innovative solutions. They would still be philosophers, but their philosophical focus would have changed from the future and its possibilities to the mysteries of the past and the dangers of the present. Humor would still be an important part of gnomish culture, but they would have shifted from jokes to practical jokes because, while wit would still be appreciated by the gnomes, practicality would have become a well-appreciated virtue given their limited resources.

In an alternate timeline where the gnomes survived, those who escaped annihilation retreated to a hidden stronghold protected by illusions and powerful psionics, but made a desperate last stand when Gallard managed to find them and attack. King Garal the Laughing, a powerful illusionist and last king of the gnomes, bravely challenged the Champion of Rajaat and managed to stall him long enough for the king’s contingency plan to be implemented. The gnomes simulated the deaths of their people as their city collapsed, secretly escaping to a demiplane they had created; Garal died by Gallard’s hand with a smile on his lips, as he had fooled the future Shadow King. The gnomes stayed hidden in their hidden demiplane of Dorrock for centuries, but only four generations passed for them, as time in the demiplane passed more slowly than on Athas. Recently, however, the energies that maintain their demiplane have started to fade and the gnomes have begun to return to Athas.

The returning gnomes are absolutely terrified by what Athas has become. The Green Age wasn’t especially peaceful or idyllic, but it was a veritable paradise compared to present-day Athas. Adept at seeing through lies and illusions, gnomish spies quickly realized the true identities of the sorcerer-monarchs, and the gnomes fear what might happen if they once more come to the attention of Rajaat’s Champions. They have been especially careful to avoid Nibenay, as they still deeply hate and fear Gallard, Bane of Gnomes, but the city-state of Nibenay is far enough from their ruined former stronghold and the entrance to Dorrock for them to still feel safe - at least for now.

If the gnomes have just returned to Athas, they would have had few interactions with the inhabitants of the Tablelands, and those that did occur would have been fleeting and relatively peaceful, due to the gnomes’ extreme cautiousness. The present-day would probably be the safest time for the gnomes to return, with the Dragon and many of the other sorcerer-monarchs dead, Rajaat imprisoned, and the Order in disarray, the various powers of the Tablelands would be too preoccupied to be much of a threat to the gnomes of Dorrock.

If they had returned to Athas much earlier, such as any time before the death of Kalak, the gnomes would have had much more time to explore Athas and integrate into its society, but they would have likely had a much harder time of it, as the sorcerer-monarchs were arguably at the height of their power, and the Dragon, the Order, and each of the sorcerer-monarchs would likely be in a race to capture and interrogate gnomes in an effort to learn their ancient psionic secrets. Would Dorrock have survived or would it have fallen to its enemies? If the gnomes survived and kept their sanctuary intact, it would have likely been by learning to carefully play each power-player against the others. Returning earlier would also have given the gnomes more time to attempt to recover their ancestral lands - with different amounts of success - and their society would probably grow steadily less peaceful as they adapted to the brutal world around them.

Regardless of when they returned to Athas, it will have likely been the youngest generation of gnomes to leave the security of Dorrock, driven by the desire to explore the world around them. Always a curious and nimble-minded people, the gnomes would probably have mastered sorcery as quickly as they had psionics, rapidly coming to the attention of the Veiled Alliance. Already a secretive and presumably hunted people, the Veiled Alliances of the city-states would likely see the gnomes as potential allies in the struggle for freedom. For their part, the free city of Tyr is the only city-state the gnomes would even consider making contact with.

If the gnomes were surprised by the world they returned to, none of the great movers and shakers of the Tablelands would be more surprised by said return than the Shadow King. Nibenay still vividly remembers the fight against Garal the Laughing, and he had judged the smirk on the lips of his opponent as the last act of defiance of a defeated, desperate wretch for centuries; with the return of the gnomes, the Shadow King would come to know that it was the smile of victory. Nibenay would have no urge to finish the job he had begun ages ago, but he would be very interested in the secrets the gnomes took with them to Dorrock. For the time being, the Shadow King would be content with trying to covertly capture and interrogate a gnome.