The Gnome battle-armor suit is a heavy assault battle suit manufactured by Clan Hell's Horses.
         Unlike most of the Clans, the Hell's Horses have long relied on infantry and conventional vehicles as much as 'Mechs on the battlefield.   In their own words, "the worth of the warrior lies in his own heart, not in his machine."   Contrary to the expectations of the other Clans, this emphasis on armored troops and vehicles has not appreciably lessened the effectiveness of their fighting forces.   Indeed, the Horses' failure to win a place in the initial Inner Sphere invasion force had more to do with the large number of Wardens among them than with the fighting ability of the Clan.
         Hell's Horses began developing the Gnome in 3054, shortly after the Clans began receiving reports of an Inner Sphere effort to develop assault BattleArmor to counter the standard Elemental BattleArmor used by all Clans for the previous century.   Aware that any successful Inner Sphere assault BattleArmor could threaten the Clans' edge in BattleArmored troops, Clan Hell's Horses immediately set up a program to study the feasibility of such a concept.   Citing prototypes of pre-Elemental armor, the Clan's scientists demonstrated that assault BattleArmor was possible.   That prompted Khan Malavai Fletcher to authorize the design of assault BattleArmor using Clan technology.   The new armor, Fletcher insisted, would have to retain the mobility of traditional Clan BattleArmor while incorporating increased firepower and the capability to withstand all but the most powerful weapons.
         Hell's Horses engineers based the design on an early, pre-Elemental armor-suit design called the Rhino.   A massive assault suit, the Rhino was one of several variant BattleArmor designs that Hell's Horses had been refining for several years.   (BattleArmor prototypes tailored for specific combat roles and terrain had long been discarded by most Clans in favor of the all-purpose Elemental suit.   However, Clan Hell's Horses had continued to experiment with these variant armors over the years with no significant breakthroughs.)   Incorporating new advances in metallurgical, electronic and Myomer technologies, the Hell's Horses engineers managed to overcome many of the problems associated with early versions of the Rhino and created a new design--the Gnome.

         The Gnome's armor incorporates the latest techniques in small scale, ferro-fibrous armor design and can withstand two strikes from Clan medium lasers.   Its' main armament is an extended range small laser in the right arm, with a fully articulated claw on the left arm.   In addition the suit features a permanently attached Streak SRM-2 launcher for greater range and accuracy than those afforded by a detachable launcher.
         The weight of the Gnome's weaponry and armor impede its mobility somewhat, but it is less ponderous than the comparable Inner Sphere Kanazuchi, thanks to the advanced Clan techniques used in its manufacture.   The Gnome retains jump capability, though at a 33-percent reduction in speed compared to the jump speed of standard Elemental suits.   However, the Gnome's sheer bulk so reduces the user's dexterity that effective anti-'Mech swarming attacks are impossible in the suit.

         The first Gnomes entered service in the Clan Hell's Horses Touman in the spring of 3056. Only a handful of them made it to the Inner Sphere in their first venture there, and all were destroyed when the Hell's Horses Occupation Zone was overrun. The Horses brought their entire store of Gnomes when they invaded Wolf Occupation Zone though, and they proved pivotal in a number of battles. The Hell's Horses continue to be the only major faction to use the Gnome in large numbers.