What's with the Gnome Hate?

[Lurks-no-More]

Except for the fact that tieflings have only been around a handful of years,

Since 1994, IIRC, and they've been quite popular from the start.

gnomes have been around D&D almost from the start,

And have never been particularly popular. Keeping something in the game just because it's always been there is not reasonable.

And yes, just like everyone else, I don't hate gnomes, I just don't care about them. Beyond the "spellcasting dwarf" thing, they did nothing that either elf, dwarf or halfling did better, and generally lacked an interesting niche entirely.

 

[Hugh]

I don't hate gnomes at all. In fact, I had at least four gnome characters prior to 3rd edition.
I didn't care much for their artistic descriptions in 3rd edition...them and the halflings, well, they looked too similiar, and too different....and too serious. I thought gnomes and halflings were cuter in 1st and 2nd editions. (Well, perhaps not cuter, but just more to my liking). Gnomes were the comedy relief, and I liked it that way.

 

[Hugh]

Oh, and as far as the Dragonborn are considered, I decided I liked them. I have been working on my own campaign, and was planning on introducing a reptilian-type race (I was considering a variation of the Firenewt, but oh look, here's a reptilian race already written up, and its a core race!) Saved me the work to write up and entire race, I simply needed to add a little flavor to easily introduce them to my campaign.

I already have a friend who wasn't that interested in playing, only to have that interest rekindled when I showed him the Dragonborn.

 

[Desdichado]

Just replace the word "Gnome" with the word "Black" and I think you have your answer.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

 

[Doug McCrae]

1e gnomes weren't even particularly good illusionists. They couldn't go higher than 5th level unless they had really high stats, and 7th was maximum. Gnomes actually made better assassins (8th) and thieves (unlimited).

What they really were, primarily, was not magic tricksters but the race that lived in hills. Their racial abilities are mostly very similar to those of dwarves, though they have no attribute modifiers.

So they're kind of sub-dwarves in 1e. They were largely inspired by Hugi from Three Hearts & Three Lions, who looks just like a D&D gnome (three feet tall, big nose) but calls himself a hill dwarf. I guess the thinking was - forests got elves, mountains got dwarves, what do hills got? Not - we need a magical trickster race.

Magic trickster is probably the best way to go with them but it's a role they've never filled particularly well in the past. 1e gnomes were hill dwarves, 2e gnomes were mad scientists, 3.0 gnomes were part-time illusionists, 3.5e gnomes were part-time bards.

 

[Bump2daWiza]

Ok... umm... I'm not sure where to go with this one... I've occasionally modeled Gnomes on post diaspora Jews but wow... Just wow...

In the black community the gnome represents the oppression of our people. This comes out of the fact that garden gnomes are almost uniformly white and tended to be placed in suburban neighborhoods. For black people like me who are political aware, the removal of the gnome race from the PHB was a direct and virulent racist action.

 

[Nifft]

In the black community the gnome represents the oppression of our people. This comes out of the fact that garden gnomes are almost uniformly white and tended to be placed in suburban neighborhoods.

Gnomes represent black people because they are usually white?

For black people like me who are political aware, the removal of the gnome race from the PHB was a direct and virulent racist action.

Aw, c'mon.

-- N

 

[Bump2daWiza]

Gnomes represent black people because they are usually white?

Aw, c'mon.

-- N

No, they represent the oppression of black people, and have therefore become a symbol of our treatment by whites. Removing it from the PHB is like saying the oppression never happened my man.

 

[Nifft]

No, they represent the oppression of black people, and have therefore become a symbol of our treatment by whites. Removing it from the PHB is like saying the oppression never happened my man.

So you're against removing oppression?

"Can't relate, I'm Chaotic Good", -- N

 

[Vocenoctum]

Ok... umm... I'm not sure where to go with this one... I've occasionally modeled Gnomes on post diaspora Jews but wow... Just wow...

I think there are lots of analogies to past treatments of jews that could fit in easily with gnomes.

One thing I liked from Pact magic was the gnome from the ancient days when gnomes had huge cities and they were betrayed by, er... hobgoblins or gnolls, I always mix them up. It's easy to see others grow jealous of the polished gems of a gnomish city and destroy it out of a sense that the gnomes are hording/ secreting wealth and such.

Eberron's gnomes are the epitome of the zion conspiracy, except it's all true...