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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 2252551" data-attributes="member: 5143">The reason to have a "niche" is to make each race unique and interesting.  Niche is really the wrong term.  It assumes they do something no one else does.  What you really want is a reason for each race to be different than the other races.Elves are interesting because of the long life span, their inherant tie to magic, their tie to the wilderness.  They are mysterious and very different from humans.  It is hard for us to comprehend how they think.  But they are close enough to humans that we can TRY to understand them.  So, we want to play them and try to see the world from their eyes.Dwarves are the same.  They are dour, they are down to earth.  They revere metal, stone, strength, drink.  There might be some humans out there who think like dwarves, but for most of us, they are something we'd only like to explore for a while and try to imagine what it's like living in that world.Halflings are a bit less clear cut.  This is because they've been changed in personality a couple of times.  In their current form, they are unique in that they are small, fast, agile, cunning.  They are the perfect thieves.  People underestimate them due to their size.  They live in a world where everyone expects the bigger and stronger you are, the better you are.  They live to disrupt that world.  We, as humans, love to explore that side of us.Half-orcs:  Big, strong, not especially bright.  Mostly, these interest us because we just want to take a break from thinking and just be stronger and tougher than everyone else for a while.Half-elves: They get the best of both humans and elves.  Plus, they are rebels.Gnomes: Umm...they have illusions.  They MAY like to tinker.  They can talk to burrowing animals.  Does anyone know how their personality varies from the jovial halflings, dour dwarves, or joyful elves?  Who are they really?  What is it that you are exploring when you play a Gnome?  Halflings are already known as tricksters and are probably better at it.  So, if you want to explore that, you play a halfling.  They aren't more dwarf than dwarf.The big question is, as either an intellectual or powergaming standpoint, what is the point of playing a Gnome?  I can't find one.  So, I've never been a gnome.</blockquote>

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