Are Eladrin the New Gnomes?

[Nifft]

Fan: Hey, why did half-orcs get cut?
Designer: Oh, well, their origins represent something that we don't really like to think about.

Fan: So why are half-elves still in, then?
Designer: Oh, well, their origins represent something that we do like to think about. You know. Constantly. *smile*

I'm telling you: there's a vast, untapped market out there for elf porn.

Ears, -- N

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

No, the halfling niche has always been "small, dexterous thieves". They continue to fill that niche exactly.

Why are they called halflings? Grey elves are now eladrins.

Halflings, which was always an explicit way to get around the JRRT estate, implies things about the race that haven't been true since 2E.

"But, wait, Whiz, if you don't use the name 'halfling,' because you're not trying to fool anyone that they're getting to play a hobbit, what name would you use? It's not like there's any other small races out there that some folks insist need a makeover!"

Whereas, I still can't come up with a niche for Gnomes that makes any sense.

Tricksters. It's only worked for pretty much culture in world history. It encompasses illusionists, bards and rogues.

 

[lutecius]

Oh, and enjoy your not-halflings which we got for no discernible reason. They're not hobbits, they're not kender, they're dreadlocked swamp folk

Even that didn't stick. The male halfling in the phb entry is dressed in tan leather and fur and has light-brown straight hair. The girl is black, has braided hair and wears an armor. The background evokes some Japanese temple under the snow. I think swamps are only briefly mentioned in the article.
Maybe they realized that nobody liked their river rat halflings.

 

[Nifft]

I liked Faen from Arcana Evolved. They did the tricksy / quicksy / pixie triad as a single distinct race.

Cheers, -- N

 

[rhm001]

The problem I have is that half-elves are apparently ONLY half-elves. Whereas earlier editions had half-elf versions of nearly all of the subraces, in 4e, apparently, eladrin are not as "fond" of humans as their elven cousins. I happen to have had a pretty good idea for a half-eladrin character....

Sure, it's small, but it IS a little more than flavor, since half-elves specifically have access to elven feats, and not eladrin feats. It should be a relatively simple house rule tweak to swap the two, but it just annoys me that they didn't either include the alternative or provide some flavor text on why the alternative isn't possible/likely.

 

[pinbot]

Why is the question, they aren't particularly interesting; no more than any other race.

That's what having a high Cha does for you.

Similarly, notice the absence of half-orcs.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The entire point of introducing eladrin into the PHB is that they aren't a different type of elf. They're not a subrace of elves. They're eladrin.

So many people think they're elves. I think it's ... because they're elves.

Tricksters. It's only worked for pretty much culture in world history. It encompasses illusionists, bards and rogues.

I think that niche belongs to elves (the wild kind) and half-elves. Of course, not an entire species, but an entire non-serious species is a problem.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The problem I have is that half-elves are apparently ONLY half-elves. Whereas earlier editions had half-elf versions of nearly all of the subraces, in 4e, apparently, eladrin are not as "fond" of humans as their elven cousins. I happen to have had a pretty good idea for a half-eladrin character....

Sure, it's small, but it IS a little more than flavor, since half-elves specifically have access to elven feats, and not eladrin feats. It should be a relatively simple house rule tweak to swap the two, but it just annoys me that they didn't either include the alternative or provide some flavor text on why the alternative isn't possible/likely.

They're saving Half-Eladrin for PHB3 or something.

 

[Nifft]

So many people think they're elves. I think it's ... because they're elves.

From what I have seen so far, Eladrin are presented as close cousins to the elves and may be handwaves for high elves and/or gray elves.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Orius]

It needs high elves, half-elves, grey elves, wild elves, wood elves, aquatic elves, dark elves, fire elves, arctic elves, jungle elves, desert elves, star elves, ghost elves, painted elves, and winged elves. And maybe Santa's elves, just to round out the set.

(I know, the sins of the old edition do not nullify the sins of the new one, but I couldn't resist.)

You fergot Keebler elves, for shame!

I'm so, so tired of hearing opinions about gnomes stated as facts.

Same here. Gno one ever seems to like gnomes, always complaining about how they're a gniche race. Gnever any creativity applied to them, always confusing them with dwarves and halfings, complaining that they're redundant and ungnecessary. Gnow it's even worse, since the designers of 4e couldn't even be bothered to come up with an idea for them to be "cool" (i.e. overpowered either from actual game stats or powertripping from the LotR movies).