Has there ever been a setting in which Gnomes aren't hot garbage?

Eberron.

Seriously, you don't fuck with the Trust.

That's not fair, everything and everyone in that game was oozing with pure writing prowess.

I like the ones from Dwarf Fortress. They're basically alcoholic gremlins that constantly try to sneak into your booze supply. The dark ones are so obsessed with alcohol that they'll try to steal your flasks and drink whole kegs even as you're slicing their limbs off.

So they made them less shit by making them dwarves?

Listen here you gigantic shit.

Gnomes in Arcanum are pure evil though.

In arcanum they are Soros-tier conspiracy jews

/TG civ quests.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Well, here they are big-nosed beardless dorfs...

Does Soros organize industrial grade eugenics and rape factories?