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

[Frozen_Heart]

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

I do sometimes wonder about just folding small and medium into each other.

Heavy essentially makes it so that you can't be small two handed characters, while mounted rules make it extremely difficult to make an effective mounted medium character (unless you want to put up with playing paladin)

 

[MGibster]

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 haven't read many fantasy books that heavily featured anything resembling the D&D gnome. For years I've wondered what purpose the gnome served that wouldn't be served by a dwarf or even a halfling. And now that we're decoupling traits like a penchent for mechanical shenanigans from race, er, species, I once again find myself asking the following question: Why do we need the gnome?

 

[Minion X]

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.

That is exactly what I meant. The original D&D gnome is like a mix of Christmas elves and various creatures from European folklore, like leprechauns and house elves, but I can't think of any antecedents in fantasy literature, and all subsequent appearances are in works that are directly derivative of D&D, like Warcraft and Warhammer.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Gnomes are a fantasy staple in the same way trolls are: in that they have zero cohesive identity unless a given creator was heavily influenced by D&D.

 

[Incenjucar]

Overall gnomes are the clever expert/nerd species, but that puts them into conflict with the human role in the game.

 

[Faolyn]

Overall gnomes are the clever expert/nerd species, but that puts them into conflict with the human role in the game.

Pretty much every race puts them into conflict with a human role, though.

 

[Minion X]

Gnomes are a fantasy staple in the same way trolls are: in that they have zero cohesive identity unless a given creator was heavily influenced by D&D.

The name "gnome" was made up by Paracelsus in the 16th century, while trolls have been part of Germanic/Scandinavian myth for at least a couple of thousand years and have attained a distinct folkloristic identity, just like elves, dwarfs, giants and dragons. The orc is closer to the gnome in this regard.

 

[Incenjucar]

Pretty much every race puts them into conflict with a human role, though.

Eh? Humans are defined in-game by being able to pick up more skills and feats than most. Dragonborn are defined by breathing and resisting energy and being generally tough, etc.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The name "gnome" was made up by Paracelsus in the 16th century, while trolls have been part of Germanic/Scandinavian myth for at least a couple of thousand years and have attained a distinct folkloristic identity, just like elves, dwarfs, giants and dragons. The orc is closer to the gnome in this regard.

Chubby, pointy-hatted stand-ins for the Victorian garden hermit?

 

[Incenjucar]

I could see a niche for gnomes in being able to break skills to do something a bit impossible, kind of like how 40K orks are able to believe a red vehicle is faster. This would make for a counter-point to halfling luck.