The changes to gnomes in 3.5e

[Pants]

A bard's spellcasting has the same limitation though, nay?

Not really. An Illusionist's strength relies on his spellcasting ability. Thus, if he multiclasses, he's going to take a bigger hit than a bard, whose strength lies in being diverse. He has his songs, his impressive list of skills, his (average) combat abilities, and then his spells.

Personally, I prefer 3.5 Gnomes as Bards, but it's still not perfect. IMC I gave Gnomes a favored class of Wizard, dropped their nature-y background, and turned them more into magical inventors (not tinkers). Elves got a FC of druid and the other races mostly stayed the same.

I could see the gnome filling the role of either the wizard or the nature-loving druid, but... bard is kind of strange (even though it fits, conceptually) and illusionist is FAR too limiting for a favored class.

 

[MerricB]

Remember, favoured class means "the class a race multi-class best with", rather than "the class a race is best with". There's a big difference.

Cheers!

 

[Gez]

I kinda like the new gnome, but bard...

IMC, gnomes are druids or wizards. Specialist gnome wizards are not allowed to ditch the schools of Illusion and Divination.

The bard class has one thing that fits for my gnomes, and it's bardic knowledge. All the singing and prancing stuff -- oust.

So, I just made a racial feat (can only be taken at first level, like the new FR regional feats) for gnomes that give them bardic knowledge no matter what the class, and here they go.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I dislike rock gnomes very much -- 3.5 did little to improve them IMO. You make a good case, Merric, but they still seem like a dwarf/halfing mish-mash. (I don't own Races of Stone, so I cannot comment on how they were fleshed out there.)

If you ever played Vampire: The Masquerade, they've been turned into the Ravnos. It's ... interesting.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Hey, what do you expect? You're talking to the guy who, just last month, was actually able, entirely in-character during a game, to utter the phrase, "Please don't squeeze the shaman."

One of my long-standing goals is to have an NPC called "Manuel of the Planes" as a pivotal and important (i.e. can't be killed by outraged players) figure in a campaign.

 

[Sejs]

One of my long-standing goals is to have an NPC called "Manuel of the Planes" as a pivotal and important (i.e. can't be killed by outraged players) figure in a campaign.

He would also have to be very physically adroit - strong, healthy, and fast. *nod* You know, so he could be Manuel of Gainful Exercise, Manuel of Bodily Health, and Manuel of Quickness of Action.

Manuel is quite a man.

 

[Li Shenron]

Remember, favoured class means "the class a race multi-class best with", rather than "the class a race is best with". There's a big difference.

In fact, while I was reading the thread I was thinking that IMO the change is not a big deal to me (although I admit my opinion is influenced by the facts that (1) we rarely see PC gnomes and (2) when I DM I disregard multiclassing penalties). A gnome bard doesn't seem to me a better bard than any other race, while a gnome wizard/illusionist (or any other gnome illusion-focused spellcaster) is always slightly better than any other race. 3.5 actually made gnome illusionists better than 3.0, even if in theory you can't avoid the xp penalty when taking a level in another class.

 

[CapnZapp]

Forest gnomes can fill the niche of diminutive forest folk -- elves are too tall, regal, and human-like to do this.

But now I can't remember -- do forest gnomes also have "bard" as their favoured class?

I don't have the books in front of me, but I believe their favored class is Druid.

As always, though, remember that a race's favored class doesn't make you a better member of that class; only that you can dabble in that class without worry of multi-class penalties.

 

[Gez]

Nope, their favored class isn't mentionned at all, thus by default, it's the same as for the other. Yep. Shy creatures living hidden in the woods, best represented with a wandering minstrel class.

At least they had to common sense to change the Svirfneblin's favorite class to rogue... It's just bad they didn't have that common sense concerning the forest gnomes, which can't seriously be anything but druids.

 

[johnsemlak]

I'm just creating a Gnome Illusionist for a campaign starting right now (figured I'd put Races of Stone to good use right away). I'm actually using the Ice Gnome sub-race found in Frostburn.

Races of Stone allows Gnomes to become even better illusionist, with the Gnome-Illustionist substitution levels. They able to cast several spells at a level lower than normal.