Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Does Your Fantasy Race Really Matter In Game? (The Gnome Problem)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 7635038" data-attributes="member: 6704184"><p>So, I think part of why some folks tend to have trouble fitting a race in their world in a natural way is simply viewing the races as constructs with which to fill narrative niches, and also the habit of conceptualizing them via semi-reductive comparison to other races. </p><p></p><p>Ie “small humans”, and thus “why should there be another small humans race”</p><p></p><p>and </p><p></p><p>“are they zany dwarves or small elves?” </p><p></p><p>None of this actually helps understand the races. Gnomes aren’t any of those things. They’re hyper intelligent/creative small folk who like to live in burrow-houses with towns that are easy to not even notice if you don’t know what to look for, who love to create new things, and tend toward a fairly positive and socially well adjusted outlook as individuals, and value their privacy as communities. </p><p></p><p>They (meaning any race) don’t need to be “needed” in a setting to benefit it, nor do they need to fill a niche that no other race is filling. Not all niches need filled, and there is no out limit on how many races can fill a given niche.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="doctorbadwolf, post: 7635038, member: 6704184"] So, I think part of why some folks tend to have trouble fitting a race in their world in a natural way is simply viewing the races as constructs with which to fill narrative niches, and also the habit of conceptualizing them via semi-reductive comparison to other races. Ie “small humans”, and thus “why should there be another small humans race” and “are they zany dwarves or small elves?” None of this actually helps understand the races. Gnomes aren’t any of those things. They’re hyper intelligent/creative small folk who like to live in burrow-houses with towns that are easy to not even notice if you don’t know what to look for, who love to create new things, and tend toward a fairly positive and socially well adjusted outlook as individuals, and value their privacy as communities. They (meaning any race) don’t need to be “needed” in a setting to benefit it, nor do they need to fill a niche that no other race is filling. Not all niches need filled, and there is no out limit on how many races can fill a given niche. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Does Your Fantasy Race Really Matter In Game? (The Gnome Problem)
Top