D&D (2024) How did I miss this about the Half races/ancestries

[Vaalingrade]

Gnomes have two issues with their core tropes: The tech-savvy version tends to be flanderized into 'lol, technology is goofy and stupid and you should hate it' trope in technology stasis loving D&D, and 'the magic short elves' thing tends to be subsumed into 'annoying trickster character'.

Plus, the designers and a certain segment of the fan base tend to form 'verisimilitude' into a powerful spear to shove through all Small characters' chests, making them crappy at any of the non-magic classes for no good reason.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Plus, the designers and a certain segment of the fan base tend to form 'verisimilitude' into a powerful spear to shove through all Small characters' chests, making them crappy at any of the non-magic classes for no good reason.

How would you change small sized characters?

 

[Bedrockgames]

My main introduction to gnomes was through WoW, and they're the definition of tinker gnomes. To the point where they use steam powered mechs as war machines.

Tinker Gnomes in Dragonlance were different I think (I don't play WoW so I am not sure) but they didn't have that aesthetic that steam punk has (they were more like inventors you see in a lot of standard fantasy). I could see how that part of gnomes could have been paired with steam punk (I think most peoples reaction to steam punk isn't so much the steam power----Hero of Alexandria made steam powered devices but you could use a figure like him without it being steam punk---as much as it is the more superficial trappings of the setting, particularly the clothing).

 

[Faolyn]

I wasn't clear.
So your issue with orcs is that you consider their current write up as 1 dimensional with the possibility of encouraging racism - which to be fair is basing it off how they are depicted within FG, 5e's setting of choice.
Would the PHB, or if not a playable race, would the MM reflect a number of flipped scripts along with the Standard above? That is what I meant with variants.
How do you imagine it being depicted?

EDIT: Cause you could do the same with the script for elves, less civilised, less magically adept - more cunningly savage, horror of the woods, heavily ritualistic...etc. How does one reflect these variants, separate supplement? in new settings?

Ah, I misunderstood. OK, here's what I would do, if I had actual control over how D&D was presented:

In the MM, I would include 1-2 page write-up for each humanoid species, which included the good, the bad, and the neutral for each of them, making them as three-dimensional as possible in the space allowed. This would include both their player stats, for people who wanted to play them, and a less-complicated mini-template. So, for instance, the orc player statblock would grant Adrenaline Rush, Darkvision, Powerful Build, and Relentless Endurance (or whatever they end up having in this hypothetical edition), while the mini-template would grant +1 HD/+4 hp, +2 Strength and Con, Adrenaline Rush, and Darkvision. (I would have the standard races in the PHB, but I'd reprint them here in the MM for ease of reference.)

Then I would include a chapter of NPC statblocks, like in the current MM. Guard, noble, bandit, cult fanatic, etc. Only I'd have more of them for all tiers of play. Guards and elite guards, for instance.

Then, if you wanted an orc guard, human noble, elf cult fanatic, or tabaxi bandit, you could stick the mini-template on NPC statblock.

Non-humanoid creatures (beasts, fey, monstrosities, etc.) would get actual statblocks.

I realize that 5e moved away from templates, possibly to make it slightly easier to run straight out of the book without having to do math, but I like templates. Templates that are between 3x's and 5e's in terms of complexity should be fine. OTOH, with the number of people who use D&D Beyond, throwing a template on a statblock could probably be easily automated. And the actual book could contain ideas on how to personalize these templates for important NPCs.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Then, if you wanted an orc guard, human noble, elf cult fanatic, or tabaxi bandit, you could stick the mini-template on NPC statblock.

A full section for templates you can apply over statblocks would be nice. The concept is so underutilised in 5e.

 

[Minion X]

Gnomes are such a fantasy staple that it seems odd to chuck them out. And really makes life hell for all the people with gnomes as a major species in their setting.

Are they? I have the distinct impression that they are a Dungeons & Dragons staple, like the cleric.

 

[Remathilis]

I wonder if it's because they're always depicted as the 'clockwork steampunk people' in a lot of media?

So anyone trying to make a tolkien-alike setting struggles to know where to put them.

Gnomes have had the worst identity crisis of all D&D races. 1e gnomes were part dwarf/part lawn ornament with a love of illusions. 2e kept that but also added the tinker/artificer part. 3e tried for a bardic bend, 4e went for fey trickster and 5e threw up their hands and said "all of the above".

Part of the problem is that neither of the two major themes (fey illusionist and steampunk artificer) don't go together well. The former is all folklore whimsy and fey mischief and the other is all mad science and technology. Illusions and explosions. Maybe WotC could do something with that duality (other than a lineage choice of illusions spells vs clockwork toys) but so far, they just opt for one or the other, if they even think about it at all.

 

[Vaalingrade]

How would you change small sized characters?

Burn the Heavy weapon property in the deepest pits of hell.

 

[Frozen_Heart]

Are they? I have the distinct impression that they are a Dungeons & Dragons staple, like the cleric.

They're one of WoW's major playable species. And they also exist in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, but never got expanded on too much there.

 

[Faolyn]

Gnomes have had the worst identity crisis of all D&D races. 1e gnomes were part dwarf/part lawn ornament with a love of illusions. 2e kept that but also added the tinker/artificer part. 3e tried for a bardic bend, 4e went for fey trickster and 5e threw up their hands and said "all of the above".

Part of the problem is that neither of the two major themes (fey illusionist and steampunk artificer) don't go together well. The former is all folklore whimsy and fey mischief and the other is all mad science and technology. Illusions and explosions. Maybe WotC could do something with that duality (other than a lineage choice of illusions spells vs clockwork toys) but so far, they just opt for one or the other, if they even think about it at all.

Maybe they need to move from steampunk to biotech. They could keep the mad science and technology but instead of using metal and steam power, they modify plants and possibly even animals through both magic and arbotecture. Or as another idea, they could go heavily into the gemstone aspect of their lore, using magical gems in wood or other organic material with minimal amounts of metal. These would tie into fey trickster, which would tie into their illusions--and their illusions could also tie into the gemstones (as sort of a refracted prism thing).