If gnomes had the eladrin's powers would that make them more appealing?

[Falling Icicle]

The first thing I thought when I heard about Eladrin was "why couldn't Gnomes have been the fey caster race, rather than adding yet another Elf race to the game?" I still feel that way. We have enough bloody Elf races already. We don't need Elves, Half-Elves, and Eladrin in the PHB! And by the way, why are there only Half-Elves and not Half-Eladrin? I think they should have left half-elves out and put general rules for making half-races in the MM.

 

[A Passing Maniac]

Since they revealed the Eladrin, I've been thinking pretty much the same thing as Falling Icicle. WotC made a perfectly good niche for the gnome, but then gave it to an elf clone, announced they couldn't find a place for the gnome in the PHB, and kicked him into the Monster Manual.

Ah, well--at least the gnome's in good company there. Gith, kobolds, hobgoblins, warforged, changelings, shifters, minotaurs... the MM's offering a much better selection of races than the Player's Handbook, in my opinion.

 

[Falling Icicle]

Ah, well--at least the gnome's in good company there. Gith, kobolds, hobgoblins, warforged, changelings, shifters, minotaurs... the MM's offering a much better selection of races than the Player's Handbook, in my opinion.

The part that makes me sad is that MM races won't have the support, feats, etc that the PHB races get. So they will have fewer options and will probably end up weaker as a result.

 

[Lackhand]

Gith, kobolds, hobgoblins, warforged, changelings, shifters, minotaurs... the MM's offering a much better selection of races than the Player's Handbook, in my opinion.

Pretty sure that's traditional

 

[Fifth Element]

Blasphemy! He hath invoked the dreaded RQ reference!

and he forgot Lunes, to boot.

I thought it was an alchemy reference. Paracelsus and all that.

 

[Keenath]

Aren't Gnomes one of the nine confirmed (by Mike Mearles IIRC) player races in the MM appendix?

The others were Bugbears, Warforged, Shifters, Changelings/Dopplegangers (a changeling is a player-run dopple, not a different thing), Minotaurs, and three others I can't recall just now -- and the actual MM will have between three and twelve other monstrous player races.

No need to make them renamed Eladrins. They're in the MM.

 

[Keenath]

I thought it was an alchemy reference. Paracelsus and all that.

It is. Legend of Mana just borrowed Paracelsus' names for the four elemental creatures.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Gnome get the "magic using fey" niche that fits enough of the mythological concepts of gnomes that it will do.

That is the elven niche. Elf + Eladrin = magic using fey. I don't know about before Tolkien, but ever since Lord of the Rings became popular, elves have been portrayed as magical fey.

I'd rather Eladrin be combined with Elves (and call the race "Elves") rather than creating a new race, but even so that does nothing to help gnomes.

I've only seen cool gnomes in one setting. Eberron. Too bad I played my gnome a couple of years before Eberron came out.

 

[Campbell]

Nope. They would still be gnomes.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Giving Gnomes the Eladrin racial powers would make them much less appealing. It'd take so much more work to spit and roast them if they're fey stepping all over the place.