Dragonlance: Our LotR?

[mhacdebhandia]

The halmark of all D&D and fantasy heartbreaker settings seems to be "how different can I make elves" -- it is like a badge of honor to make elves into twisted creations or totally nerfed imbeciles. At least Exalted had the respect enough to keep them godlings like Tolkien intended (though they are still twisted).

Personally, I think it's necessary. The traditional take on elves is part of why I'm not really interested in traditional settings - I don't think it's interesting in Tolkien and I damn sure don't want it in my games.

In my own settings, I deal with it by simply leaving them out. It's not worth going to the trouble of reinventing them into something useful. On the other hand, a setting like Eberron which didn't have that choice turned them into something I quite like - they're Elves In Name Only, though - and I admire that they bothered to go that far.

Didn't really go that far with their dwarves, though, but they're less troublesome to me anyway so I don't mind.

As far as gnomes go -- the only thing i hate more than tinker gnomes are gully dwarves, with kender a very close third.

I like the Eberron take on gnomes, too. They're not tinkers, but they're certainly not the half-assed dwarf-halfling hybrid rural burrow-dwelling pastiche that they are in, for instance, Races of Stone. They're deceptive, inventive, urban, and political. Good stuff.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

QFT! ROFL!!

Seems we have something in common despite the literary standards sir!

HOW DARE YOU!!!!

*Runs off crying*

Seriously, I think I am the only one here who likes Tinker Gnomes.

 

[CruelSummerLord]

The halmark of all D&D and fantasy heartbreaker settings seems to be "how different can I make elves" -- it is like a badge of honor to make elves into twisted creations or totally nerfed imbeciles. At least Exalted had the respect enough to keep them godlings like Tolkien intended (though they are still twisted).

As far as gnomes go -- the only thing i hate more than tinker gnomes are gully dwarves, with kender a very close third.

And that thing with the elves really, really, really bugs me. Frankly, I think there's a better way to keep them from being uber-demigods without making them twisted imbeciles. Why not simply illustrate that they too, can fail?

In my take on Greyhawk, for instance, it's the stupidity and short-sightedness of Sehanine Moonbow that led to the elves being so bitterly divided right from day one.

No fall from grace, no "golden age", and the elven gods are just as fallible as any human deity...surely that takes them down a peg or three?

 

[DragonLancer]

Seriously, I think I am the only one here who likes Tinker Gnomes.

You are not alone.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

You are not alone.

Hooray! I feel important!

 

[Gundark]

I think a lot of people missed the point of your post. And yeah I see what you're saying.

 

[Reynard]

I think a lot of people missed the point of your post. And yeah I see what you're saying.

To be fair, a lot didn't and just happened to disagree. It was just at the beginning there the responses made me think I had managed to completely fail to communicate my point.

On the upside, today we did char gen for running the Chronicles (using SP/MWP DL stuff) with a whole new set of heroes. It should be interesting.