D&D General Should Gnomes be Tiny

[Ralif Redhammer]

As much as I love the Gnomes book, having been a fan since I was pretty much gnome-sized myself, I think making them tiny in D&D causes too much trouble downstream.

 

[Theory of Games]

Yes. Because their easier to cook:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Diced Gnome
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow, or mixed), diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes (or same amount of crushed or puréed)
• 2 cups water
• 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

For the garnishes:

• Sour cream
• Grated sharp cheddar
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Sliced scallions
• Chopped onions
• Avocado slices
• Shredded lettuce
• Chopped fresh jalapeños
• Fresh cilantro

Bon Appetit

 

[CreamCloud0]

Just out of curiosity. What are the new rules for size?

I don't see any general rules besides "space you take up In combat", and being in other creatures spaces.
And a few other ones like grapple, or "push large size or smaller".

And I missing anything?

So tiny gnome (with no other rules) would be able to wield a great axe and have a 5' reach without issue.

And you want to play one with 8 Str, you can do that.

i wasn't talking about there being new rules of a tiny creature being able to use equipment, i was talking about the old rules (or significant lack thereof) you mention and the appearance of the idea that, yes, the tiny gnome can wield the greataxe and have 5ft reach and frankly that's pretty unbelievable, by all logical sense they really shouldn't be able to at least not without significant penalties, so Wizards didn't make gnomes or fairys tiny so they didn't have to have people wonder 'what happens when my tiny player character picks up the greataxe the goliath was just using', it's the design equivilant of out of sight, out of mind.

 

[jayoungr]

Yes. Because their easier to cook:

Is that a recipe for Gnome Stew?

 

[Theory of Games]

Is that a recipe for Gnome Stew?

Best site name

 

[kapars]

Regarding the rule issues, it is already possible to cast Enlarge/Reduce and pick the latter option on a Small creature so it is not like WotC is unwilling to go there.

 

[Tonguez]

So a party of, say, 8 gnomes would get 8 re-rolls on every ability check?

yes, it simulates the chaos of gnome swarms dashing around together to make stuff happen "everybody roll, take the highest", and really how many times do you ever see a party of 8 gnomes?

Gnomes if tiny:
-8 STR
all weapons need to made to tiny size(3.5e style), reduce damage die size by 2 steps.
reach 0ft(need to be in space to attack with melee weapon), reach 5ft with reach weapons.
but can move freely in and from spaces of Small creatures or larger without provoking AoO

Being a combat game people always get caught up with the gnomes wielding great axes debate, but really a player wanting a Tiny sized character isnt there for the muscle fantasy, playing tiny should be about dodging around feet, hiding in small spaces and using wits rather than brawn.

*yeah I know absolutes arent allowed in DnD anymore but gnome barbarian should remain a joke character and accept that they arent swinging with the orcs (unless they swarm!)

Nothing stops you from playing a gnome with 8 Str.

But the main issue is that the penalties are an excuse to add extra benefits (I.e. -4 Str means +2 Dex),
But you can easily avoid any actual penalties (dual wield, cast spells).

Whats wrong with wanting +2 Dex?

 

[Stalker0]

Mechanically, a Tiny race does come with a number of benefits and challenges. It would take some doing to make it viable right out of the box, but it likely could be done.

My favorite using of the tiny size race was in Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved (back in the 3e days). In that case though you started as the small "faen", actually took levels in a race, and at 3 levels your form shrunk to the tiny spryte, so it was a true commitment rather than just something you started the party with. And so by the time you could get it, you were at the level where the party's had enough capability that being tiny, while a cool advantage in many cases, wasn't dominant in any way compared to the plenthora of other capabilities at that level.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I don't think there is a point of there being PCs other than medium size as the game refuses to have the size to mean anything.

 

[mellored]

Whats wrong with wanting +2 Dex?

It makes every monk and rogue into a gnome.

That's the issue with penalties, they make you want extra bonuses.