D&D 5E Goliaths WebDM Misses the Mark, but Sparks My Curiosity

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Okay. So...why aren’t Rock Gnomes part of this conversation?

Because Tinker Gnomes killed them and took their stuff, including their name.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Because Tinker Gnomes killed them and took their stuff, including their name.

Hey now let’s be reasonable, here!

They didn’t take speaking to critters!

Even though they’re still shown with badger pets as if nothing changed.

I just give Rock Gnomes critter talking, because the tinker stuff is a total ribbon anyway. I maybe eventually come up with something better like giving them access to some Artificer stuff, though.

I’m not actually sure what to give non-tinker Rock Gnomes in 5e.

 

[Mecheon]

Because Tinker Gnomes killed them and took their stuff, including their name.

Nah, its clearly those flying city gnomes from Mystera who showed up and absorbed the rock gnome population back into them

I’m not actually sure what to give non-tinker Rock Gnomes in 5e.

This has been a problem with gnomes forever. I know some people aren't 100% with it, but forest gnomes being the "Talking to animals, David the Gnome" gnomes whereas Rock gnomes are the "Inventive, magic using" gnomes at least gives the two a separate niche to each other which I can appreciate because gnomes have always had that trouble

 

[Don Durito]

Eeehhhhhh. I mean, it’s fun to poke fun at a world on that sort of basis, but I’m not willing to actually involve that sort of analysis in a serious discussion about the world, unless the discussion is, “how can we make the places that aren’t supposed to be crowded less crowded”, or something like that.

There's a serious worldbuilding issue here though. If you need some mountain ranges to put Goliaths in and you've already pretty much filled them, then it's easier to leave them out.

There's also opportunities too of course. There's no reason why Dwarves and Goliaths wouldn't share the same mountain range - given one is mostly below ground and the other above. However, it raises questions? What's the relationship? Is it symbiotic - do the Goliath's trade livestock for Dwarven weapons? Is there conflict - the Dwarves probably have to do some kind of above ground farming on mountain slopes - do these farms tend to block off Goliath nomad pastures? Do Goliaths who fight Dwarves get turned into slaves or prisoners of war in Dwarven mines?

I always thought that the whole Mountain nomad thing wasn't that well thought through anyway. To sustain a culture of Goliaths you probably needs something like the Andean altiplano or the Tibetan Plateau.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

There's a serious worldbuilding issue here though. If you need some mountain ranges to put Goliaths in and you've already pretty much filled them, then it's easier to leave them out.

There's also opportunities too of course. There's no reason why Dwarves and Goliaths wouldn't share the same mountain range - given one is mostly below ground and the other above. However, it raises questions? What's the relationship? Is it symbiotic - do the Goliath's trade livestock for Dwarven weapons? Is there conflict - the Dwarves probably have to do some kind of above ground farming on mountain slopes - do these farms tend to block off Goliath nomad pastures? Do Goliaths who fight Dwarves get turned into slaves or prisoners of war in Dwarven mines?

I always thought that the whole Mountain nomad thing wasn't that well thought through anyway. To sustain a culture of Goliaths you probably needs something like the Andean altiplano or the Tibetan Plateau.

What source puts all mountain dwelling races in large numbers in every mountain range in the world?

And it is or isn’t a world building issue regardless of any single race.

 

[Don Durito]

Nah, its clearly those flying city gnomes from Mystera who showed up and absorbed the rock gnome population back into them


This has been a problem with gnomes forever. I know some people aren't 100% with it, but forest gnomes being the "Talking to animals, David the Gnome" gnomes whereas Rock gnomes are the "Inventive, magic using" gnomes at least gives the two a separate niche to each other which I can appreciate because gnomes have always had that trouble

To my mind gnomes feature when once every ten years or so you find a player who says "I want to play a gnome" and you remember, "yeah, those guys".

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Wait. I skipped over a sentence in that post, @Don Durito .

Slaves!?

Your dwarves take slaves!? LOL what?

 

[Don Durito]

Wait. I skipped over a sentence in that post, @Don Durito .

Slaves!?

Your dwarves take slaves!? LOL what?

Sometimes. Lots of mining cultures throughout history have used slave labour. Anything to make Dwarves less tedious than they usually are.

But the Dwarves don't have to see it as slavery. From the Dwarf perspective: we found some land on the mountainside that no one was using and started growing potatoes because we'd just opened mineshaft 14k and needed to expand our food supply. Then the Goliaths attacked us yelling about something to do with their ancestral lands being stolen (as if they even use the land they just wander all over the place - why don't they just go somewhere else) and killed our farmers. That's clearly breaking the law - so it's only reasonable they pay off their crime against Dwarven society with a period of indentured servitude (after all we're not barbarians - we don't execute our criminals and just leave them out on the mountainside for the vultures too eat - we give them a chance to reform and mend their ways through the dignitiy of labour).

 

[Don Durito]

You could also have a Dwarven trade town on the edge of the mountains liker Bartertown in Earthdawn. This is where the Dwarves trade with aboveground lowland cultures and it could easily be full of young Goliaths looking for work in the big city.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I’ve never had someone play a Goliath because giants aren’t playable.

I'm talking just about my experience with Goliath, I don't think it's the common conception of what Goliath are.

But to me, Goliath are just that; their competiveness and "only the strong matter" is pretty much just Frost Giants. They have a couple traits here and there that make them different, but they are largely to me, giants that aren't as giant.

Which isn't entirely bad; giants are awesome. It's just I'd want to play as an actual giant, not a goliath.