Gno more gnomes?

[Bopple]

It's strange if gnome is going to be dropped out of phb, while it has been one of the major races.
But tieflings, changeling and half-orcs whose population have been much smaller, will be in? *shrug*

 

[Visceris]

This is stupid. Gnomes and Half-Orcs have been in many many editions of DnD, and now they are going to cut them out? What a load of bullcrap!

The more I hear about 4e the more I hate it.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

At the same time they said that not all core races would stay core they said that those races dropped would find their way into other books pretty soon.


Here's what I think will happen: They'll drop the gnome from the PHB. Gnome fans will have to wait until August, because that's when the FRCS comes out, and it will have gnomes (can't do the Realms without gnomes).

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Oh, and while I don't like gnomes being kicked out of the core team, I won't cry for half-orcs, should they be cut from the roster. I don't mind them putting them in the monster manual and include rules for playing them as characters - same as they do with orcs and goblins and so on - but I never pictured them as one of the iconic types of adventurers.

 

[jstater]

Just because they don't give a race "official" space in the PHB doesn't mean you can't still play it...

It might not be that easy. It sounds as if races in 4E are going to be much more than stat modifications and a few special powers at 1st level. They seem to integrated throughout the 30-level class structure.

 

[Wormwood]

What a load of bullcrap!

The more I hear about 4e the more I hate it.

Remember, you have 8 months before the PHB comes out. You should pace yourself so you don't blow all that righteous fury prematurely.

Think about baseball. That's what I do.

 

[Visceris]

Remember, you have 8 months before the PHB comes out. You should pace yourself so you don't blow all that righteous fury prematurely.

Think about baseball. That's what I do.

I hate baseball.

 

[tsadkiel]

Speaking as someone who plays a lot of gnomes, I'm actually okay with the idea of them not being in the PHB. I'd rather the designers wait until they've figured out exactly what niche the gnomes are supposed to fill, rather than cobbling together an awkward mix of racial traits and shoving it in the core rules for the sake of tradition.

Of course, if the gnome were to kill the halfling and take his stuff, the whole gniche problem would be solved, but I doubt that would ever happen.

 

[Patlin]

I wouldn't like to play with a GM who only allows "official" "core" stuff.

When I DM face to face, I allow almost anything. When I'm part of a living world online, though, we have to be more selective.

 

[useridunavailable]

Not that I'm a huge fan of gnomes, but tieflings? They may as well throw in drow as a core race while they're at it.

Well, Drow as a core race would probably be an effective tactic to increase the popularity of the game. After all, there is a certain dark-skinned, scimitar-wielding individual who is presumably recognizable to a much broader audience than are most other available character archetypes. I would guess that a large number of new players come into the game saying, "I want to play a drow." IMO, at least without the UA option to decrease LA at higher levels, Drow in 3.x were essentially unplayable at +2 LA, especially when compared to certain other races (*looks accusingly at the guy with the +6 dex bonus and inertial armor*.)

As I see it, like it or not, the game's most recognizable character is a drow. As a company justifiably interested in making money, why would it not be the absolute best possible strategy for WotC to introduce drow as a core character option? For the most part, new players won't notice that gnomes are missing, and those who would notice their omission can just as easily get their stats from the MM. So what's the problem? That gnome lovers will have to wait an extra month to be able to play their favorite characters?

Personally, I would see it as a huge mistake for a company hell-bent on increasing the fanbase of D&D not to:

1) Include drow as a core race.
2) Make drow not suck mechanically.
3) Make rangers not suck mechanically (not really related to the thread's topic, but relevant to this tangent.)