Gnomes and Halflings

[Tonguez]

i know this has been discussed before, but gnomes always seem to me to be half-dwarf and half-hobbit, so what makes em special? the mechanics? i'm not so keen on that... the illusion?

Kia ora Olive

While the 3e Gnome does NOT meet my ideal of gnomedom I am still a sworn Gnomeophile be it the little concrete buggers in the garden, Smurfs, TPratchetts Nomes or DnD Gnomes. To me Halflings were to much stuck between wanting to be human-elf crossbreeds.

Gnomes however a 'magical' they are an enigma and wise beyond understanding. They are not dwarves and in truth are probably more feylike, perhaps even elementals manifesting the very essence of nature!

They know the Secret and becuase if it have no need to worry and instead can play.

 

[rackabello]

put me squarely in the both gnomes and halflings camp. in particular i enjoy the playfulness of both races, the love of laughter and jokes.

i think of gnomes as being more lighthearted, full of puns and wordplay--i played a gnome fighter/illusionist in 1e days who was fond of asking strangers, "mind if i smoke?" if they answered no he'd use a silent image to produce billows of smoke from his ears. silly? kinda dumb? maybe, but just the sort of self-indulgent, mildly irritating joke i think is very gnomish.

halflings, on the other hand, have a more sly and devious humor, a desire to make buffoons out of those who'd take them lightly. my example here is cobb redleaf, a plug ugly halfling rogue i've played who sometimes pick fights in bars in hopes of luring drunks into the alley to be sapped and robbed. he isn't a killer, just a sour, sharptounged little guy with a chip on his shoulder.

to those who wonder about the cultural niche that gnomes fill, i think of them as people of the boundaries--not the mountains but the foothills, not the deep forest but the sheltering grove. they make great liaisons between stolid dwarves, aloof elves and burgeoning humans.

in 3e, halflings' cultural place is more problematic. in the core books and some supplements they've drawn out the sneaky aspect of the race (which i like), but they seem to want things both ways--thieving little gits who play nice for Yondalla when it's time to say their prayers. i was especially disappointed with the Halfling feature issue of Dragon a year or so ago. it had some great ideas, but included the rather bizarre suggestion that halflings communities wandered across the world in their gypsy wagons only to settle down for a while and play hobbit in permanent villages. i'll take my halflings with the Bilbo combed out of their hair, thanks very much.

no need to put shoes on 'em though.

 

[Nightfall]

Gnomes are a bunch of backward people and I'm glad they aren't on Ghelspad! They can stay and rot on Termana to my heart's content.

Halflings are fine, especially since Virduk oppresses them a lot.

 

[Corinth]

I can find uses for both, but I prefer neither. Halfings default to their hobbit roots in any game that I run, aside from Dragonlance and Dark Sun games, and I don't have both if I can help it. One such race is enough.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Despite gaming for many years with a commited Gnome liker by the name of Patrick, I've never really got into the idea of Gnomes or indeed, Halflings.

Although the legendary Gnome Phesant family, eternally searching for each other through every game world ever, all of them with first names that ended in -ostus, would have driven a lesser group of gamers insane.

 

[Nebin]

I like Gnomes of course cause I R 1 , as for Halfling who can't love em ? Even thru Lidda and I are seperated now doesn't mean that I don't still love a tight Halfling now and then,

Viva La Petite !!

 

[Mahiro Satsu]

[size=large]Halflings scare the crap out of me.[/size] They have no homeland, they have nothing to loose. They have been the butt-end of jokes since the beginning of time. They are quick, nimble, and hard to find. Even a non-rogue halfling has a decent chance of hiding from one of the larger races. They are quick and adaptable. Plus, they are hard to kill- they have bonuses to saving throws (or in FR they can have telepathic powers or a human's extra feat) a high dexterity, and a bonus on throw weapons in addition to their dex bonus.

To me they are the most desperate and clever of races. Everybody discounts them, and that means they wont see them coming. I watch for halflings at every moment. Only recently have I found the courage to play one. His name is Darabrac. He scares me.

 

[Tharkun]

I've actually never played a hafling or gnome but I really never had a reason too either (I tend to play humans, yes even way back in 1E & 2E) or elves but I have thought about doing a tolkien style halfling a few times.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

My halfings are more like toughened up versions of Tolkien's hobbits. They didn't have anyone protecting them all the time, so they're neither naive nor slow to defend themselves. They also aren't kleptomaniacs, something tht has always bugged me about RPG treatments of halflings.

I've always had a gnomish kingdom or to in my game, but I never know exactly what niche they fill. They're sorta like more cheerful dwarves without the agoraphobic tendencies.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I'm deeply on the side of gnomes. In the games I play in, I've got 2 gnomes (Conjurer and Barbarian/ Cleric) and a human paladin. In the SR game I'm in, I also have a gnome

I don't have anything against halflings. I'd like to have the mounted halfling, and a guerilla warfare oriented halfling paladin would be fun, but they're campaign dependant. The idea that halfling's draw their culture from those around them is the way I see them. The old GH races Stout, Tallfellow and Hairfoot matched up with Dwarf, Elf and Human quite well in outlook.

Gnomes on the other hand;
They're magical creatures, not elemental creatures (Dwarfies and elfies are elemental IMO) They don't care that they're short, they have warriors, rogues, wizards, everything. They have a wide selection of dieties.
Basically, they're a fantasy race with the most diversity IMO, whereas humans are diverse, but not exactly "fantasy".

If I was going to kick a race out, elves would go before the others. Their accessibility takes away from their elven/ air/ woodland persona. Dwarves can still be PCs and be a nice tough fellow. (Though, too many people consider them Belligerent Drunks IMO)