Dire Gnomes
The content of this article is not part of official Warcraft lore, but has nevertheless become part of the World of Warcraft culture or community.
Background
Dire Gnomes are a rare type of mutated gnomes, altered by radiation from a Automatic cooking-device project, that are notably larger and more muscular than regular gnomes. They are about twice as tall, and also have a lot of fat and muscles. Due to their appearance, Dire gnomes are often mistaken for dwarves, although they are hairless, and they appear more malformed and muscular. They are also commonly hunched over slightly.
Dire gnomes do not have nearly the same level of intelligence as regular gnomes do, but due to their race's general high intellect they are capable of developing a decent level of intelligence. Dire gnomes are easily angered, and can quickly go into a frenzied state if offended, going into a trance-like state where they destroy and/or kill just about everything in sight until they manage to calm down.
A high temper, hairlessness and malformed characteristics are the best way to identify a Dire Gnome.
It is speculated that there are ways to better control Dire Gnomes, or even restore their minds to their original state. Unfortunately, due to a lack of interest from most scientists and magical users, no research are being conducted to restore them. Although some argue they could be a good edition to the Alliance military, most gnomish scientists compare them to Hobgoblins, and refer to them as "Slow, stupid, and both scientifically and practically useless" and justify the lack of care with their relatively short average life-spans of ten to twenty years.
Reproduction
If a Dire Gnome and Gnome reproduces, the result can be anything between. Although it is possible for the result to be a pure Dire Gnome, it's more common for the result to be a regular gnome. A regular gnome with the DNA of a Dire Gnome tends to be more muscular, and have a slightly lower level of intelligence than most. If two Dire Gnomes reproduces, due to their unstable DNA sequence, it is likely that their child will mutate further, becoming more malformed than their parents. The surroundings play a big role on how Dire Gnomes evolve, meaning after a few short generations a Dire Gnome could evolve into an entirely new subspecies. The gender of the participants of mating has a lot to say about whether it's more likely to be a Dire Gnome, or regular Gnome. If the Dire Gnome is female, it is more likely for the child to be a Dire gnome, and the other way around for regular Gnomes. The amount of female Dire Gnomes compared to the amount of males is very small, as most of the survivors of the failed Cooking-device project were males, and the only known cases of female Dire Gnomes are second-generation ones.
Dire Leper Gnomes
Dire Leper gnomes are extremely rare compared to the regular. Dire Leper Gnomes were Dire Gnomes exposed to the radiation in Gnomeregan when it was irradiated. Many of them didn't survive the exposure to radiation due to their unstable DNA sequence, causing a higher percentage of the Dire Gnome population to die than regular gnomes, although some very few did survive. Dire leper gnomes are extremely mutated, even compared to the regular Dire Gnomes. Their skin is green, with a yellowish hue, and random spikes adorns them, often growing on their shoulders or back, as well as fangs an claws that can potentially be poisonous. A low sizzling can be heard from them, as their thick hides fight for survival against the acidic properties of their radioactive sweat, much like Hobgoblins, but a lot more dangerous and radioactive.
Dire Leper gnomes hardly have anything of their original minds, as the maddening radiation and constant pain caused by their acidic sweat leaves them in constant pain and torment. Dire Leper Gnomes are extremely aggressive and bloodthirsty, and will usually attack anything they see on sight, apart from fellow Dire Lepper Gnomes, and in some cases, Leper Gnomes. Dire Leper Gnomes often rely on instinct, and will cannibalize corpses of other humanoid beings without second thought for the sake of survival.