D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

[payn]

Maybe I'm misremembering (it's been a while), but wasn't it common knowledge back then that the gnome was just being pushed to PHB2, and wasn't actually disappearing as a player option?

Kinda, but not before it rolled across the internet that a lot of stuff folks liked in 3E PHB would not be in the PHB1 of 4E. Being told all the stuff you like will be in PHB2 or 3 didnt go over well.

 

[Remathilis]

Yes, and that that fact was being made light of, like it didn't matter. It clearly mattered to those folks.

Hmmm. I hope those people remember that pain when they argue about how orcs made the jump from the MM to the PHB or how dragonborn and tiefling fans feel when people say they don't belong in the core books.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Hmmm. I hope those people remember that pain when they argue about how orcs made the jump from the MM to the PHB or how dragonborn and tiefling fans feel when people say they don't belong in the core books.

I hope they do too. It's worth noting, however, that neither group is being ridiculed, even if they are being disrespected. That difference matters to some folks.

 

[Zardnaar]

That has been my experience since about 2008 when I started frequenting this and WotC's old forum. It opened my eyes to how vastly different the game can be, and is, played by different groups. Across time and all editions.

I had tgat thought around 20
02. 3.0 wasn't being played irl like forums assumed.

 

[FrozenNorth]

Please, elaborate on how they found putting gnomes in the monster manual (with jokes about them getting a lair, badgers minions, and treasure) as offensive. Was it that they were upset that they were reduced to a creature in the monster book that is only designed to kill and take their stuff alongside orcs and drow? Perhaps they were upset that they were being considered the butt of a joke like they are in Dragonlance or Warcraft? Maybe they were upset they weren't playable (like in BECMI) or they were relegated to monsters and had to wait and get another book to play them (like dozens of other humanoids)?

I'm genuinely curious what about that skit was offensive to them. Cite specifics.

The skit in question. BTW, I agree with you. As a fan of gnomes, I don’t see anything that could be considered objectionable.

 

[James Gasik]

As I recall, the Gnome was removed because it's niche was questionable. What is a Gnome? They are short and live underground, but are not Dwarves or Halflings. They are an innately magical race with ties to nature, but are not Elves. Pushing them back to a later book allowed them to create new lore for the race (tying them to the Feywild) so they had a more distinct identity. YMMV if they succeeded.

 

[TiQuinn]

I hope they do too. It's worth noting, however, that neither group is being ridiculed, even if they are being disrespected. That difference matters to some folks.

“Some folks” is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting.

 

[Micah Sweet]

“Some folks” is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting.

Are you making the assumption that people who react even more poorly to being made fun of then generally disrespected are a vanishing small minority and shouldn't be considered? Or am I off about your intentions with this statement?

 

[Zardnaar]

As I recall, the Gnome was removed because it's niche was questionable. What is a Gnome? They are short and live underground, but are not Dwarves or Halflings. They are an innately magical race with ties to nature, but are not Elves. Pushing them back to a later book allowed them to create new lore for the race (tying them to the Feywild) so they had a more distinct identity. YMMV if they succeeded.

That's the reason but it was flawed.

Wish they would power creep the Gnome to hell and back just once lol.

 

[TiQuinn]

Are you making the assumption that people who react even more poorly to being made fun of then generally disrespected are a vanishing small minority and shouldn't be considered? Or am I off about your intentions with this statement?

“Made fun of” is doing an awful lot of heavy lifting too.