Sadras
Legend
But why do their characters hate them?
And unless the gnomes are evil, the question arises Are the characters generally evil?
Do We Really Need Half-Elves and Half-Orcs?
But why do their characters hate them?
And unless the gnomes are evil, the question arises Are the characters generally evil?
delericho
Legend
I know this is intended as a joke, but... no, even humans aren't strictly needed. Granted, the vast majority of settings (and RPGs) will allow for human PCs, but there's no particular reason why they must be present.
(Consider, if you will, a Cybertron-based Transformers game, or one based on the old cartoon "Reboot". Or "My Little Pony"... not that anyone would be crazy enough to write such a thing. In fantasy a fairly common trope is that elves and others emerged before humans did, so you could set a game in that ancient time readily enough. Or, indeed, do a variant "Dark Sun" where the Sorcerer Kings are all gnomes and it was humans who were hunted to extinction. Or whatever, really.)
*cough*MyLittlePony:TalesOfEquestria*cough*
delericho
Legend
Dessert Nomad
Adventurer
A person specifically said that a race not fitting the setting "doesn't cut it" as a reason for not allowing a player to play a particular race, and went on to state that if adding arbitrary races that don't exist in the world undoes the feel of the setting, that the fault lies with the setting. Three people gave XP for the post. There is a long running discussion where at least one person insists that following the world background for Ravenloft is bad if a player wants to play a gnome in the setting, and feels that extensive argument for such a ruling simply isn't enough. So I am weighing in against that sentiment, this thread is not just about 'oh I don't like half elves so I'm banning them' any more.
Dessert Nomad
Adventurer
You don't even need the setting actually - you could run a campaign where the world is typical D&D, but players are all members of one of the 'monster' races and see humans only as obstacles. Playing a bunch of kobolds making their way against softskins is certainly a reasonable setup for a campaign.
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
I think it's a throw-back from the annoying Dragonlance gnomes with the silly names and annoying personalities. The players just can't get over it. To be honest, even outside my usual group, I haven't ever played with anyone who played a gnome in a way that I enjoyed so I'm happy to not include them in any games I run. Unless I reskin them as something completely different.
Azzy
ᚳᚣᚾᛖᚹᚢᛚᚠ
Funny, in the last game I ran, one of the players played a gnome life cleric. He played it pretty strain—there was nothing silly or annying about the character.
MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
People ate Bigfoot? And now they are going after Yeti. I never knew culinary cryptozoology was a thing. No wonder they keep themselves well hidden!
Henry
Autoexreginated
Sounds like Dragonlance had some really powerful imagery for gnomes to get people hating them so much. Looks like they did their job TOO well, because so many people can't think gnome without immediately associating "tinkerer with gadgets"...
...I think Paizo's take on gnomes is pretty cool, a race with strong ties to fae realms and the constant wariness over the Bleaching. Eberron's gnomes are another cool take that borders on outright scary -- when any random gnome you encounter might start rattling off intimate details about your life, and a whole nation of gnomes who all work for a shadow spy organization whom you never even know are observing you? Not exactly "silly" or outrageous...
...I think Paizo's take on gnomes is pretty cool, a race with strong ties to fae realms and the constant wariness over the Bleaching. Eberron's gnomes are another cool take that borders on outright scary -- when any random gnome you encounter might start rattling off intimate details about your life, and a whole nation of gnomes who all work for a shadow spy organization whom you never even know are observing you? Not exactly "silly" or outrageous...
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