D&D 4E 4E Race Anti-Survivor

[Drowbane]

4e Races

Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human, Tiefling.

Gnomes to be released in thier own splat book.

Half-Elf and Half-Orc as optional Feats in the DMG.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

I'd much rather have full-blooded orcs than any-blooded tieflings as core races, gotta say.

I would think its reasonably likely that they may replace Half Orc with Orc. I doubt they will remove that archtype completely though. As has been said, it is too potentially Iconic, and quite frankly, they will probably only cut things that players do not use.

I have seen Half Orc characters. I have not seen anyone rushing to play Gnome or Half Elf.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Half-Orc.

The brute has a definite place but the half-orc implies a violent non-good character. I bet the core books are a little more upbeat.

The core books with the Tiefling race in them, which, contrary to Planescape, 3E established as "almost always" evil and full of deception?

 

[Thurbane]

There's only 2 things I ask of 4E race-wise:

1/2 Orcs that don't suck and are balanced against the other core races.

1/2 Ogres! If not as a core race, at the very least include them in the core MM.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

If gnomes aren't in the Players Handbook, I won't be buying 4e. Period.

 

[Shade]

Please, please, please be the half-elf! Make them a feat or background, not a full race.

 

[Gez]

Looking at the miniature database from Vesivus:
Half-Elf: 3*.
Gnome: 5.
Half-Orc: 6*.
Halfling: 16.
Dwarf: 32.
Elf: 44*.
Human: 136.

* Half-elves and half-orcs are counted along their parent race since it's sorted by subtype. This makes their count potentially wrong since I have only counted those with "half-" in their name for the halfbreeds.

 

[Galieo]

If the human PC is no longer going to be the template or default PC race, then I could see both of the 1/2 races (i.e., 1/2 elf and 1/2 orc) departing. With the push to having "monsters" as viable PC races, the need for the 1/2 orc is diminished (not to mention certain details around the conception of such PCs that WOTC would like to downplay) and the 1/2 elf is the appendix of Tolkien, a vestigial homage to old J.R.R. that could be phased out.

In addition, the naming convention will have to alter. If the human is not the default, the understood and unspoken second half of these two races, then the name would need to be "1/2 elf 1/2 human" or "1/2 human 1/2 orc." There will not be enough spaces on the field on the internet forms for these two races and therefore they will be illegal in 4E.

 

[Gez]

Gnomes to be released in thier own splat book.

Never going to happen.

WotC could publish "Complete Elf", "Complete Drow", "Complete Half-Elf", and "Complete Elf 2", each with 320 pages full color, and make a stupendous profit on each.

A "Complete Gnome", on the other hand, would be bought by about twenty-three players worldwide, on a span of ten years. Seventeen of these buyers would wait until it's in the bargain bin before getting their copy, though.


I like the race, personally. But looking at EN World makes one thing very clear, they're the least popular race, for the following reasons:

• Dragonlance contamination. While the Halfling dodged the kender stigma, the gnomes didn't. This race with illusions and nature power is still pigeonholed as lame mad scientists, who'll die when their steam-powered automatic turnip toaster will explode (during the first test), and who will never -- even if they had Int and Wis 18 -- have the idea of making something useful.
  Because of that, they're much hated. With reason, I hate Dragonlance gnomes too.
• Niche. Looking at the description and abilities of gnomes, they have one blatant niche, which is that of the mystical nature-loving race. They have supernatural powers, can talk with animals, are good with magic-related stuff like alchemy, etc. But! That niche is already taken by the elves, even though it doesn't make as much sense. (Honestly, gnome wizards and elven bards would be much more appropriate than the reverse, which is what they went with. Sigh.) So, no niche.
• Garden gnomes. Yeah, they don't look anything like them; and in fact these garden gnomes are usually dwarfs (like the Disney "Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs characters). Doesn't matter. That's a big stigma. Which makes the classic name "gnome" worse than the ugly neologism "halfling". (Seriously, "halfling" as a race name is ugly.)
• Not in LotR. This is the killing point. Despite all the influences listed for D&D. Despite how magic is completely different. Despite the myriad of monsters that would never fit in the Middle Earth. Despite that all D&D settings are very different from the Middle Earth. Despite a lot of other factors as well, the fact that there are no gnomes in the Lord of the Rings means that most gamers just will never think of them. They'll play Legolas, Gimli, Frodo or Elrond, sure. But gnomes? What's a gnome?
• Miniatures. Seriously, on twelve sets of miniatures released, there are a total of five gnomes. Except for the half-breeds, all the other races have had at least one mini per set.

 

[Fifth Element]

Half-elves are in, they're mentioned on the new site. And they have an "inspiring presence".