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<blockquote data-quote="rackabello" data-source="post: 313989" data-attributes="member: 6293">put me squarely in the both gnomes and halflings camp.&nbsp; in particular i enjoy the playfulness of both races, the love of laughter and jokes.&nbsp; 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, &quot;mind if i smoke?&quot;&nbsp; if they answered no he'd use a silent image to produce billows of smoke from his ears.&nbsp; silly? kinda dumb?&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; they make great liaisons between stolid dwarves, aloof elves and burgeoning humans.in 3e, halflings' cultural place is more problematic.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; i was especially disappointed with the Halfling feature issue of Dragon a year or so ago.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; i'll take my halflings with the Bilbo combed out of their hair, thanks very much.&nbsp; no need to put shoes on 'em though.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rackabello, post: 313989, member: 6293"] 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 [I]silent image[/I] 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. [/QUOTE]

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