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<blockquote data-quote="Rich Baker" data-source="post: 6891438" data-attributes="member: 6746624"><p>Mostly it was about looking for ways to make the setting a little more distinct from "standard medieval fantasy world." Keep in mind that TSR was publishing Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, and Mystara all at the same time. All those worlds look a lot alike--basically, if it was in the MM or the PH, it was in the setting. Birthright's "high concept" hook meant that it was yet another world that was all about knights and wizards and castles, etc. -- the idea of "you play the king" could have been implemented in any of those other worlds. </p><p></p><p>I would also add that gnomes in 2e were really redundant with dwarves and halflings. It took a lot of work in 3e to make them look and feel different from dwarves. Every time you add a PC race to a setting, you have to answer the questions of "Where do these guys live and why are they in the world?" Adding unnecessary races takes up space and diverts the reader's attention from the things you want him or her to become invested in; it's a distraction that doesn't add to the story you're trying to tell. So, we omitted the gnomes.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Rich</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rich Baker, post: 6891438, member: 6746624"] Mostly it was about looking for ways to make the setting a little more distinct from "standard medieval fantasy world." Keep in mind that TSR was publishing Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, and Mystara all at the same time. All those worlds look a lot alike--basically, if it was in the MM or the PH, it was in the setting. Birthright's "high concept" hook meant that it was yet another world that was all about knights and wizards and castles, etc. -- the idea of "you play the king" could have been implemented in any of those other worlds. I would also add that gnomes in 2e were really redundant with dwarves and halflings. It took a lot of work in 3e to make them look and feel different from dwarves. Every time you add a PC race to a setting, you have to answer the questions of "Where do these guys live and why are they in the world?" Adding unnecessary races takes up space and diverts the reader's attention from the things you want him or her to become invested in; it's a distraction that doesn't add to the story you're trying to tell. So, we omitted the gnomes. Rich [/QUOTE]
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