Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Long-time visitors to this site might remember I've long advocated for a single unified version of gnomes as the tricky little guys who -- as a society -- can't outfight their enemies, who outnumber them and would slaughter them in a fair fight. Instead, they have to outthink them.
As someone who both DMs folks playing gnomes, has a major gnomish culture as a key part of the first half of my longest running campaign (now located on the other side of the continent from the main action, alas), and someone who's played the gnomiest gnome that ever did gnome for almost 12 years now, I like a lot of what I see in the One D&D document.
chef's kiss
That's a gnome that AD&D readers who read Roger E. Moore's The Gnomish Point of View would recognize as well as those who came to gnomes in the WotC era.
Gnomish stats are very good -- advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma saving throws feels very good and very thematic -- but I don't love the lineages.
Of all the little used tool proficiencies, tinkering is currently the most nebulous and useless one of all. (I have someone with the Brewing proficiency and it has been used in play.) Since very few people are likely wanting tinkering in its real world version in D&D ("I'd like my character to be a traveling merchant who can repair pots and pans"), why not make the rock gnome magical-mechanical effect how the tinkering proficiency works generally? It's not unbalancing -- it's not even as good as a lot of subclass ribbons.
Dump the idea of gnome lineages, make the default PHB gnome a forest gnome and either give them a free tinkering proficiency (which we're generally not doing, but it's hard to see what rock gnomes are doing as something completely uncoupled from proficiencies) or rename the Artisan background the "Gnomish Tinker" background instead, to steer folks that way, for all the gnomes from Krynn and Mystara.
As someone who both DMs folks playing gnomes, has a major gnomish culture as a key part of the first half of my longest running campaign (now located on the other side of the continent from the main action, alas), and someone who's played the gnomiest gnome that ever did gnome for almost 12 years now, I like a lot of what I see in the One D&D document.
chef's kiss
That's a gnome that AD&D readers who read Roger E. Moore's The Gnomish Point of View would recognize as well as those who came to gnomes in the WotC era.
Gnomish stats are very good -- advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma saving throws feels very good and very thematic -- but I don't love the lineages.
OK, first off, I don't buy that these are two distinct cultures (see my Unified Theory of Gnomes link above for more). But even if they are, wow, these two lineages are not even close to as good as one another. One gets two free spells that lots of spellcasters would choose anyway, and the other one gets to spend 10 gold to flavor Prestidigitation in a way that lots of DMs would just handwave as free roleplay flavoring?
Of all the little used tool proficiencies, tinkering is currently the most nebulous and useless one of all. (I have someone with the Brewing proficiency and it has been used in play.) Since very few people are likely wanting tinkering in its real world version in D&D ("I'd like my character to be a traveling merchant who can repair pots and pans"), why not make the rock gnome magical-mechanical effect how the tinkering proficiency works generally? It's not unbalancing -- it's not even as good as a lot of subclass ribbons.
Dump the idea of gnome lineages, make the default PHB gnome a forest gnome and either give them a free tinkering proficiency (which we're generally not doing, but it's hard to see what rock gnomes are doing as something completely uncoupled from proficiencies) or rename the Artisan background the "Gnomish Tinker" background instead, to steer folks that way, for all the gnomes from Krynn and Mystara.
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