D&D General Why Do People Hate Gnomes?

[Vaalingrade]

You not liking how they made it doesn't mean they didn't do it. In Eberron they absolutelly have a meaningful and coherent place in the world... you just don't like it.

Thread's about how we feel, dude.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Because the game is not just a toolbox. It is also a product. Products need to sell. Things sell better when they appeal to the interests of a variety of customers. There's a reason (even though people got SUPER PISSED about it back in the day) that 4e left gnomes for the PHB2 rather than featuring them in PHB1. They just aren't particularly popular, and there are good reasons why they aren't popular, even if those reasons don't logically apply to EVERY world ever created.

But you lose the pro-gnome crowd when you take them out (as you point to in this post). Putting them back in, I don't think that loses the anti-gnome crowd. Like I didn't like Dragonborn or Tieflings, but it wasn't the thing that made me walk away from 4E (I could easily not include those in my setting). And now, as much as I don't like them, I think taking them out would probably be a mistake for the reason you site here (you lose the people who want those in there games). Gnomes might not be as popular but they still have their defenders.

 

[Bolares]

Thread's about how we feel, dude.

But you didn't say that. you said D&D never actually tried to make them meaningfull... you not liking their attemp doesn't erase the attempt

 

[Bedrockgames]

I mean they can work; D&D just hasn't actually tried thus far to make them a meaningful, coherent part of their worlds. They're just this obligatory thing they keep putting in by rote and trying to force it to become a thing, like 'fetch' or the thousand Gith wannabes 3e threw at us.

But you didn't say that. you said D&D never actually tried to make them meaningfull... you not liking their attemp doesn't erase the attempt

We are also talking about core book appearance here. How that plays out in different settings is another issue. The question is whether they are a good core book race. Personally I always found just as good a space in my campaigns for gnomes as I did dwarves and elves.

 

[Bedrockgames]

"Eccentric academic" is, again, relatively niche, though more practical than the previous ones. The main problem is that it pigeonholes most gnomes into being...well, Wizards, or Artificers. There's not really any other options.

this I don't see as niche at all. This is a pretty big trope in literature, history and fantasy. It is probably the most grounded way to use gnomes. The gnome scholar is definitely something I have seen work well in campaigns. And you wouldn't have to be just an artificer or wizard. A priest would work. Bard might also work. Maybe even a thief.

 

[Bolares]

this I don't see as niche at all. This is a pretty big trope in literature, history and fantasy. It is probably the most grounded way to use gnomes. The gnome scholar is definitely something I have seen work well in campaigns. And you wouldn't have to be just an artificer or wizard. A priest would work. Bard might also work. Maybe even a thief.

Curiosity and light-heartedness are big characteristics too. And they could fit a lot of interesting character ideas

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Curiosity and light-heartedness are big characteristics too. And they could fit a lot of interesting character ideas

Sure. And those are also characteristics of the current D&D halflings which have absorbed a good amount of kender DNA.

 

[Jer]

Man - before reading this thread I thought the people hating on gnomes were just engaging in an internet joke. A harmless bit of foolery like posting rickroll links or memes about cats.

Who knew that passions could get so inflamed by gnomes of all things?

 

[Bedrockgames]

Man - before reading this thread I thought the people hating on gnomes were just engaging in an internet joke. A harmless bit of foolery like posting rickroll links or memes about cats.

Who knew that passions could get so inflamed by gnomes of all things?

It will get worse when someone brings up Tom Bosley

 

[Celebrim]

Can you imagine two gnomes with very different personalities?

Case closed.