General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
Gamers Online Now: 1,340
306 members and 1,034 guests
Most users ever online was 4,029, 8th April 2009 at 06:04 PM.
Disclaimer: I helped generate a portion of the material for this text, providing a few derro items and one of the monsters. However, I did buy my print copy of this book. My PDF was provided by... [Read More]
Disclaimer: I contributed a bit of material (Some monsters and one background option) for this book by virtue of working on _Halls of the Mountain King_. I was not otherwise directly involved in its... [Read More]
The first thing that grabs you about the Imperial Gazetteer is the cover. Malcolm McClinton has once again put together a gorgeous image that wraps around to the back. It's fantastic piece of art and... [Read More]
This is not the first Doctor Who RPG. The first one published was a system created by FASA back in the mid 1980s, which used a similar system to their Star Trek RPG. I used to run that game back in... [Read More]
Gnomes are cool, but somehow they very often get forgoten. I once realised that there only seemed to about 10 gnomes in my entire campain world, and no gnome towns or anything. My worlds packed full of halflings, which have kinda became the joint dominant race alongside humans. I actually brought in a side plot thing about there being so few gnomes left in the world. I like them, but simply forgot to give them a place anywhere. :\
I wouldn't realy want to see either go. Not sure. The PHB should come with a 'Don't forget your gnomes!' warning.
__________________ You cannot go beyond the Edge. Only try.
Kind of a strange idea that WoTC would consider eliminating either one! How bout eliminating some of the prestige classes or alternative races like half dragon first? Both gnome and halfling are too ingrained. Hobbits are famous, and gnomes are extensively cited in historical fantasy literature. Very, very odd. I always liked the idea of the gnome as a trickster type, prone to using Illusionist class. The whole thing makes one wonder if there's simply a lack of ideas in the development of 4E.
I think your sarcasm meter might be broken.
__________________ SHADOWSLAYERS: A full fantasy novel, now available on Kindle for only 1 dollar! REALITY CHECK: Everything you know is wrong.
Kind of a strange idea that WoTC would consider eliminating either one! How bout eliminating some of the prestige classes or alternative races like half dragon first? Both gnome and halfling are too ingrained. Hobbits are famous, and gnomes are extensively cited in historical fantasy literature.
Except that 3.X halflings are no longer Hobbits, and 3.X gnomes have almost nothing in common with their mythological counterparts...
Just the *names* remain. The original concepts have been dropped years ago.
__________________ Come join us in the Awakened Animals thread
Questions? Check the SRD, the online d20/D&D rules,
the Official D&D Game Rule FAQ, and Official D&D Errata.
The modern incarnation of the gnome seems to be ripped from The Neverending Story. The New Halfling is kender-lite, wandering into dangerously un-PC gypsy stereotype territory.
I vote "stop reading posts you don't want to read."
/fishslap
Silly my trying to get some sense into people.
"I don't like this race so nobody should be able to use them."
__________________ Thoughts in Kae'Yoss
Quote:
Erik Mona:
Our new world is large enough to handle several styles of play, including this one.
There's really no reason to force everyone into playing the same campaign. Every DM has different tastes, and a good campaign setting allows him to find something that speaks to him and to his play style.
The Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting is all about options, not about dictating a single way to play D&D.
Last edited by Kae'Yoss on Wealday, Sarenith 23, 4707 AR at 10:59 AM. Reason: Late Unpleasantness
Except that 3.X halflings are no longer Hobbits, and 3.X gnomes have almost nothing in common with their mythological counterparts...
Just the *names* remain. The original concepts have been dropped years ago.
yeah, good point--like so much in 3rd edition that seems too compromised or "updated" to death--in any case, it doesn't matter what get puts in print by WoTC, as long as people play D&D, there will be folks using both races for PCs--after all, it is an open source system, right?
But Halflings? Sure, people play the halfling paladin as a joke. But tell me you don't immediately associate halfling with rogue.
I've played a halfling Druid, which was fantastic. It so fit the bucolic ideal. The abilities so fit the hobbit paradigm.
I've played a halfling Fighter - he was one of three brother halflings, the other two were a druid and a rogue. The character was stupid and thought he was a cavalier. That was a blast.
I played a halfling cleric of Yondalla - TPK made it less ideal as a memory but she was a cool character anyway.
I played one human Illisionist. He ended up as the putative Intelligence in a Wand of Wonder. That was pretty cool. Every other Illisionist I played was a gnome and it is a thing of gold... plate.... tarnished, but loads of fun.
I did play a gnome bard/paladin of the gnome god of the dead. that was interesting but it kept him being a pretty somber dude for a gnome.
Short rawks!
__________________ The test said I was a Neutral Dwarf Sorcerer
The physical stats were so lousy I stopped eating donuts, cut down on soda, started walking each day and swimming a couple of times a week. I'll redo the stat thing when things improve.
The modern incarnation of the gnome seems to be ripped from The Neverending Story. The New Halfling is kender-lite, wandering into dangerously un-PC gypsy stereotype territory.
If WotC had a copy of World of Darkness: Gypsy, things could be much, much worse.
Well, I voted Halflings for nostalgia reasons. I've never played a gnome, but I had a couple halfling PCs back in the Basic D&D days. And I've always thought little people with beards is too dwarf-like. On the other hand, my last DM hated halflings and used only gnomes, which he renamed "Waldleuti." I liked his little waldleuti - a lot. But they were more of a synthesis race than strictly "gnomes."
That's happening more and more in various sources. For example, Midnight's "gnomes" are more like traditional halflings to me, and its halflings are more like the elves from Elfquest.
Bottom line: here's what I really think. Little people are a cool concept. But by setting gnomes and halflings apart, you've basically tied the races to specific, and wiggy cultural roles. They exist to feel weird niches.
So scrap them both. Do away with all the baggage of 30+ years of D&D and start over with a single little people race. And make one that's flexible enough to cover Tolkien's Hobbits, Krynn's Kender, 3e's Nomads, Nelwyn, Warrows, or even George Martin's supposedly extinct "Children of the Forest." Look at the Faen from Arcana Evolved for one approach.
Then if you can also get rid of all the subraces of elves and dwarves (except MAYBE the evil ones), leaving only one of each, I'll be a happy panda.
Of course, since I'm working on my own homebrew campaign, I don't have to wait until 4e to realize my vision.
Gamers Online Now: 1,340
Linear Mode
