The Gnome Poll

[Mercule]

I forgot about Eberron gnomes. They are cool.

My main problem with gnomes is that they are now billed as bards, rather than mages or (better yet) earthy types like druids. I kinda got the gnome/illusionist thing, but gnome/druid always made more sense to me. Really, though, it'd be hard to be less appealing than schmuck-boy Neblin (or whatever the "iconic bard" was).

Unless, of course, you include halflings to the mix. Even Neblin was better than hobbits, kender, or the 3E kender-lite. Gnomes are a race with lots of potential that got botched. There's really no way to fix halflings.

 

[Dragon Snack]

I played a long running 3.0 Gnome Illusionist/Rogue (nuts to 3.5!) before I took over that particular campaign. I also played a Gnome Illusionist in 1e, but he wasn't one of my main characters.

I use Gnome NPCs as much as I use Elves.

I spanked my players good with a group of eeeeevil Gnome Druids in my last campaign. I spaced their Animal Companions, so it should have been worse. I killed off the Gold Dragon PC and almost got the Barbarian (I did get his Warbeast Rhino mount and the PC Druids Animal Companion) before they ran away (I don't just mean retreated, they ran from Turmish to the Dalelands and put 500+ miles and the Sea of Fallen Stars between them).

I played in another game that had a Gnome as one of the 12 BBEGs. Oddly enough, we actually worked for him on a couple of jobs (we knew OoC that he was a bad guy, but IC he had magic items and gold).

 

[SteveFoerster]

I've played a few characters for long period of time, rather than a lot of disposable ones, but one of them was a 3e gnome illusionist and it was fun to do something different. I also had a friend who enjoyed playing an extremely short 2e gnome thief, mostly for comic relief.

In my campaign setting, gnomes travel in family groups as traders, while halflings tend to be sedentary, being more hobbit than kender. I don't intend to change that just because they're getting it backwards for 4e, but I'll read what they have to say about these river halflings and adapt it for my gnomes if it's interesting.

-=Steve=-

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Haven't used one, but not out of any particular dislike of them. They just haven't really done anything for me, so I usually don't think about them.

I had one player in my group run a gnome in one campaign. He ran him with a lot of Kender-like aspects.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I played a gnome cleric briefly, a character which I liked well enough. DMing I've used plenty of gnome NPCs, mostly casters. In my homebrew gnomes are certainly behind the big three in importance (humans, elves, dwarves), and probably even behind halflings, but are still significant. I am a big fan of RoS and the gnome culture introduced there.

Gnomes are not at the top of my favorite races, but I've used them more than elves. I care about gnomes a lot more than half-elves or half-orcs (or tieflings for that matter).

 

[Counterspin]

Picked the first four, the NPC options only because I'm running in Ebberon currently. I am not particularly annoyed by their movement to the MM, as far as I'm concerned they're just as available to me there as they would be in the PHB.

 

[FreeXenon]

Do trust 'The Trust'

I think I have played one gnome in all of my 18 years of gaming.
In Eberron I would seriously consider playing one.

In fact, I am pretty much afraid of going anywhere near Zilargo.
I know they are watching me.

 

[KingCrab]

Picked the first four, the NPC options only because I'm running in Ebberon currently. I am not particularly annoyed by their movement to the MM, as far as I'm concerned they're just as available to me there as they would be in the PHB.

Well in 4e, arent the races supposed to provide your character with different options as you grow in levels? If the gnome is only in the MM we can probably deduce the initial racial bonuses and abilities, but we won't get a full range of options like we will for the races in the 4ePHB.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well in 4e, arent the races supposed to provide your character with different options as you grow in levels? If the gnome is only in the MM we can probably deduce the initial racial bonuses and abilities, but we won't get a full range of options like we will for the races in the 4ePHB.

Hopefully WotC will make good on their implicit promise and have a full PHB-style write-up for them in one of the other 2008 books. The rumored arcane magic book seems like a good spot for them. If not 2008, the Eberron core book seems like a good bet as well.

 

[WhatGravitas]

I think I have played one gnome in all of my 18 years of gaming.
In Eberron I would seriously consider playing one.

In fact, I am pretty much afraid of going anywhere near Zilargo.
I know they are watching me.

Have you read Hellcow's blogpost about gnomes? It condenses all the interesting stuff about Eberron gnomes and explains why they're friggin' creepy.

Cheers, LT.