Another bit of surprise in Lost Caverns: there is a entire gnome village to be “visited.” According to the module, the gnomes raise sheep and goats there, plus their usual gem mining. And, from what it looks like, they also spent a pretty fair amount of time praying and studying spell books. I never thought that gnomes were particularly adept in the arcane arts; sure, they get to be illusionists, but that is more to play cruel practical jokes and trick kobolds into falling into their own pit traps. But check out the spell casters hanging out in the Vale:
a) 4th-level cleric with command, two cure light wounds, hold person, and speak with animals to name a few.
b) 2nd-level illusionist with color spray and wall of fog.
c) Two 3rd-level clerics with cure light wounds, spiritual hammer, and chant.
d) A 7th and 5th-level cleric with the usual suspects (cure light wounds) and animate dead, sticks to snakes, hold person, resist fire, and dispel magic.
e) A 7th-level illusionist with blindness , hypnotic pattern, and 10′ invisibility.
Judging from the amount of cure light wound spells that these gnomes have, these must be some clumsy earth dwellers, constantly hitting their own hands with picks and shovels. We are talking some low dexterity rolls here people.

The number one cause of gnome accidents