Have you played a Gnome?
- Thread starter Krug
- Start date
Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
My biggest peeve about gnomes (other than the fact that they are a bunch of nancy boys, natch) is that WOTC seems to have them confused with Dwarves.
Whenever they mention a fantastic weaponsmith, they mention gnomes (not dwarves).
I go to gnomes for finely crafted-- but utterly useless-- crap, like jewelry, clockworks, etc. You want a weapon, you ask a dwarf.
They recently did an article on giant killers. Dwarves? Nope. Gnomes!
Aaaaaaaaargh!
Wulf
Whenever they mention a fantastic weaponsmith, they mention gnomes (not dwarves).
I go to gnomes for finely crafted-- but utterly useless-- crap, like jewelry, clockworks, etc. You want a weapon, you ask a dwarf.
They recently did an article on giant killers. Dwarves? Nope. Gnomes!
Aaaaaaaaargh!
Wulf
Benben
First Post
And as a counter...
Poor gnomes.
In my home brew campaign I got tired of gnomes being so ignored.
I stripped them of their Dragonlance taint, and turned them more towards their linguistic roots. Gnome in ancient Greek means 'thought'.
I made them the progenitors of the current faith for my world's dominant culture. That religion is a mixture of modern Wicca and medieval Christianity. Since Wiccan ritual has a tie to the Kabala and Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism it made sense to give my Gnomes a European Jewish flavour.
I also gave them an intelligence derived divine spell casting class to show that they *carved* the shape of the heavens through their belief and intellect. The humans and elves in turn added to it, but the base form was created by the gnomes.
I know it's dangerous to play with cultures and stereotypes like this in games. I've seen many posters who are angry with some of the stereotypes seen in worlds like FR and Kalamar. I'm very careful to avoid stereotypes, and when I do use them they're always used to accentuate the positive.
Except for that one Fiddler on the Roof adventure I had my players go through...
Poor gnomes.
In my home brew campaign I got tired of gnomes being so ignored.
I stripped them of their Dragonlance taint, and turned them more towards their linguistic roots. Gnome in ancient Greek means 'thought'.
I made them the progenitors of the current faith for my world's dominant culture. That religion is a mixture of modern Wicca and medieval Christianity. Since Wiccan ritual has a tie to the Kabala and Christianity is an offshoot of Judaism it made sense to give my Gnomes a European Jewish flavour.
I also gave them an intelligence derived divine spell casting class to show that they *carved* the shape of the heavens through their belief and intellect. The humans and elves in turn added to it, but the base form was created by the gnomes.
I know it's dangerous to play with cultures and stereotypes like this in games. I've seen many posters who are angry with some of the stereotypes seen in worlds like FR and Kalamar. I'm very careful to avoid stereotypes, and when I do use them they're always used to accentuate the positive.
Except for that one Fiddler on the Roof adventure I had my players go through...
Laslo Tremaine
Explorer
No one in my group has played a gnome yet (out of three 3e campaigns), but I don't think anyone has an overt hatred of them...
I do think that in the next game I run, I'm going to make them EVIL!. The plan is to make them one of the main antagonists...
They will not be mechanical geniuses, but they will be arcane specialists. I'm thinking about making their prefered class any specialized wizard (not just illusionist). I hope to be able to play down thier short and lovable aspects and replace them with scheming, mono-maniacle, amoral tendencies...
Hopefully they will come off as unnerving, rather than cutesy...
I do think that in the next game I run, I'm going to make them EVIL!. The plan is to make them one of the main antagonists...
They will not be mechanical geniuses, but they will be arcane specialists. I'm thinking about making their prefered class any specialized wizard (not just illusionist). I hope to be able to play down thier short and lovable aspects and replace them with scheming, mono-maniacle, amoral tendencies...
Hopefully they will come off as unnerving, rather than cutesy...
Donatello
Explorer
I have a Forgotten Realms character who is a Rock gnome Wizard, but he plans to go for Master Alchemist as soon as he qualifies...
Of course.. alchemists are lame human guys who make potions. I'm a CONCOCTIONIST! I make CONCOTIONS! I don't work in a lab.. that's for alchemists... I work in a CONCOTIONARIUM! You pathetic outlanders know nothing of the wonders of Lantan.. stop trying to place your pathetic humanocentric labels on me...
Of course.. alchemists are lame human guys who make potions. I'm a CONCOCTIONIST! I make CONCOTIONS! I don't work in a lab.. that's for alchemists... I work in a CONCOTIONARIUM! You pathetic outlanders know nothing of the wonders of Lantan.. stop trying to place your pathetic humanocentric labels on me...
Roland Delacroix
First Post
I recently played a forrest gnome in a few games, he was a mad Sorcerer on the way to Alienist. I played him in the traditional lovecraftian tradition, cackling and always gibbering about strange other dimensions. And he had a deathly fear of certain weeds that he got from things he saw in the eldritch depths of the jungles, where civilization was never even a passing fancy to the dark gods.
It was one of my most fun characters ever, both for me and my group. Everyone was cool with the psycho Barbarian and the cleric of BeAt-aSS, but that 2 foot green guy, he's spooky....
It was one of my most fun characters ever, both for me and my group. Everyone was cool with the psycho Barbarian and the cleric of BeAt-aSS, but that 2 foot green guy, he's spooky....
RangerWickett
Legend
Hey Wulf, in the banner ad for Wild Spellcraft, that smug-looking sorcerer is a gnome. Just because he's got giant hummingbird wings doesn't mean he's not a bad-*ss
Wild Karrde
First Post
Gi ghave gnever gplayed ga gnome gand gi gnever gwill gcause gthey gannoy gme gfor gsome greason.
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