Do you want gnomes in the first phb?

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I'll accept gnomes, but only as an alternative to the tiefling being in the PHB.

 

[Maliki]

Gnomes rock, they are not just small dwarves with a sense of humor. Keep them!

 

[shadow]

Why the gnome hate?

Seriously, why the gnome hate? Gnomes are part of the mythological tradition of the west. If anything, halflings should be dropped; they are all but ripped off of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings (no matter how much WotC tried to deny it in 3e). Almost anyone has some idea what a gnome is, but mention the word halfling to most people and you'll get a blank stare.

 

[crazy_cat]

Gnomes are an order of magnitude more boring than Tieflings, in my opinion.

Agreed. Lose the Gnomes.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Seriously, why the gnome hate? Gnomes are part of the mythological tradition of the west. If anything, halflings should be dropped; they are all but ripped off of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings (no matter how much WotC tried to deny it in 3e). Almost anyone has some idea what a gnome is, but mention the word halfling to most people and you'll get a blank stare.

Unless you're talking about tiny gnomes (like the David the Gnome types), the various forms of mythological gnomes are already pretty much addressed between halflings, goblins, dwarves, elves, and fey.

I've always felt that the gnomes as conceived in D&D rules were built to fill a niche that didn't exist. Subsequent attempts to create niches for gnomes -- like the tech-based gnomes of Faerun or Krynn -- have been an insult to the game.

Now if WOTC tweaked gnomes to make them truly strange, fey-like beings with an odd outlook and powers, I'd feel differently ... but as people discuss gnomes here on this board they almost always mean 1E/2E/3E gnomes which have always been unsatisfying to me.

Besides, if gnomes are so great, how come Tolkein left them out of Lord of the Rings, which arguably draws on more mythological tradition than any prior effort? It's 'cause gnomes are superfluous, obviously.

 

[Klaus]

Yes.

Gnomes are the most "magical" of the core races so far, with their spell-like abilities, and serve as a neat example of how a magical race could be construed with the rules.

My suggestion? Have gnomes kill the svirfneblin and take their stuff (i.e., at higher levels they gain the svirfneblin powers).

 

[Ahnehnois]

I don't object to gnomes, and I thought RoS presented them well.

OTOH, I've never done much with them and I wouldn't miss them terribly if they were gone.

 

[blargney the second]

Seriously, why the gnome hate?

I dunno about hate, but the freak out about gnomes possibly not being in the PHB is definitely getting old.
-blarg

ps - I like gnomes just fine - I do play in Eberron, after all!

 

[Malhost Zormaeril]

(snip)
Besides, if gnomes are so great, how come Tolkein left them out of Lord of the Rings, which arguably draws on more mythological tradition than any prior effort? It's 'cause gnomes are superfluous, obviously.

Technically, he didn't. "Gnomes" was his original name for the Ñoldor -- and Sindarin, then called Gnomish, was their language. Later the Gnomes had their name changed to Ñoldor, still later their language got changed to Quenya and their old language was given to the Sindar (Grey-elves) and had its name changed to Sindarin.

Sure, the look and feel of them is very different from D&D gnomes, but then again, Tolkienesque elves are very different from most portrayals of elves before them...

EDIT: Although, thinking about it, the Ñoldor were the best crafters and inventors of Arda, as well as being curious to a fault... Spooky coincidence? I think so, but it's true nonetheless

 

[whydirt]

Be it ever so humble, there's no face like a gnome