Photos of the new Gnome (PHB2)

[Tetsubo]

My first thought was, "They're elves?"

 

[The Green Adam]

Well I suppose it's better than the other takes on Gnomes where they end up looking like the little people from Wizard of Oz.

And that is bad because...?

Sorry my friends but Oz, like Middle Earth, Wonderland, Lanhkmar, Narnia and Melnibone', has been around alot longer then D&D. IMO this is just another attempt at getting away from the source material and trying to make everything look tough, sexy and badass.

Can't some stuff be funny, heart warming, mysterious or creepy. Its like the 90's when every comic book featured a Wolverine clone because Wolvie was so popular. We ended up this dozens of guys named Ripclaw, Warblade, Gutkill or whatever. What if I'm not a fan of that kind of character? Now I have nothing to read 'cause everyone's the same.

That's how 4E's visuals come off to me. Instead of some fun characters, some menacing characters and some slick characters, it all looks kind of the same.

I also find it odd that it doesn't match the written description.

I'm playing a 3.x Gnome this weekend in my friend's new homebrew campaign. He looks like this...

He originally wanted to be a 4E character but then he wiped off the blood, started putting on weight, decided he didn't look good in leather...

AD

 

[MrFilthyIke]

The big nose is missing.

 

[JackSmithIV]

I am absolutely a fan. They look kinda ruthless. Also, with strong fey orientations, I feel like they have more character. And they're more unique in the previous edition. They're not silly anymore, and they're not just halflings with magic anymore. I feel like they're their own unique thing, you know?

There's just something kinda... cool looking about them! Love the new direction.

 

[Byronic]

Good LORD I hate the racial descriptions from the PHBs. They sounded a lot better in the preview.

I'm also still not a fan of the art in the PHB, I think I'll keep the image from the MM for Gnomes which is slightly better. Not to mention far better dressed.

 

[davethegame]

Those pics have been out for a few weeks now. I forget the convention, but a guy got some pics from the PHB2 sample pages at the convention.

That some guy is me, and the convention was New York Comic Con

(gotta remember to start labeling my con coverage pics better)

 

[Klaus]

Apart from the black orbs as eyes, I think I got really close to the actual description of the gnomes when I did the cover to the Advanced Player's Guide:

Claudio Pozas - Dragons in Dungeons

 

[Spatula]

Note that the picture doesn't match the description:

"Gnome skin tones range from ruddy tan to woody brown to rocky gray. Their hair can be virtually any color, from stark white to blonde and various shades of brown to autumnal orange and green. Their eyes are glittering black orbs."

Seems to be a recurring problem with WotC art. 4e elves are also supposed to have darker skin tones by the text, but you'd never know it from the pictures in the books.

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

Not that's my kinda gnome.

 

[ferratus]

He originally wanted to be a 4E character but then he wiped off the blood, started putting on weight, decided he didn't look good in leather...

I don't know, your character looks pretty much exactly like the gnome in the picture, except he grew a beard and wears a conical cap. I certainly don't think the picture you gave couldn't be a 4e gnome. He doesn't have a monkey wrench in his hand for instance.

I always liked the forest gnome style of gnome in 2e, so I'm glad they were picked to be the main type of gnome in 4e.

As for the other gnome races, I imagine that Spriggans will be the servants of the Fomorians, and the deep gnomes will live in the caverns of the feydark.