D&D General Why Do People Hate Gnomes?

[Hussar]

Dalakhar is in Dragon Heist and... kind of is important in a backstory kind of way, but doesn't interact with the players for reasons related to mortal coils. Does he count?

Oh, man, it's been a while since I read the adventure and ran it.

Spoiler

Dalakhar is the one that blows up on the way to the tavern right?

Sorry, gonna spoiler tag that.

But, yeah, that's probably the most perfect example of the use of a gnome in an adventure. At least Stonky in Candlekeep gets a pretty cool role. But, again, being a gnome doesn't really figure into it at all. You could easily change him into virtually any race and it would be the same.

 

[Hussar]

The most efficient use of space is for something to not exist until it becomes relevant.

Heh.

I'd point out though, that we do wind up taking up space in the PHB with a race that just isn't really rocking anyone's world. Why not swap it out for something else that might get a bit more traction?

If I ran the world, and I was going to bang out a new PHB every 10 years or so, why not make it a bit of a Survivor series where the bottom one or two races each time gets bumped to the DMG in favor of something new? If the new thing doesn't catch on, so be it, it gets bumped out for the next try. If it does catch on, then, well, whatever scrapes the bottom of the barrel next time around gets bumped. So on and so forth. At least it makes the PHB relevant to what is actually getting played at people's tables.

I guess I don't understand the idea that we must not change the PHB simply because of decisions made nearly 50 years ago. I mean, we have new classes and other classes have gone away. We have new equipment and other equipment has gone away. The 5e spell list is about half the length of the 3e one. Why not try a little bit of fresh flavor for the races as well?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'd point out though, that we do wind up taking up space in the PHB with a race that just isn't really rocking anyone's world.

Sure.

And I would say a good many of the traditional lineages are falling out of fashion. Nothing needs to be in the PHB so long as you can point people who want to use it to a source.

 

[Hussar]

Sure.

And I would say a good many of the traditional lineages are falling out of fashion. Nothing needs to be in the PHB so long as you can point people who want to use it to a source.

Oh, hey, I totally wouldn't advocate bumping gnomes or halflings out of the game. Not at all. I think they can be nudged over to the DMG for those who want the mechanics, or maybe an appendix in the Monster Manual (which I do think the reprint Monster Manual should have - Chargen stats for common races isn't a bad idea - not full write ups, but, at least enough of the mechanics to get the job done). I think that since the PHB is the book that most players read, we want a PHB that appeals to the broadest number of players.

I mean, heck, my current group of 5 PC's, only 2 are drawn from the PHB - a tiefling and a dragonborn. In the last campaign, of the six or eight PC's, most were not from the PHB. So on and so forth. Given that WOtC now has access to the DDBeyond data, they must have a pretty good idea of what's getting played or at least looked at.

As I mentioned before, I'm holding out for an Anthropomorphic Animal Race where you have maybe a Fey background of sorts and maybe something like 3 flavors - Bird, Scale and Fur Folk. Each flavor has a couple of racial abilities (maybe a small menu of options, pick 2, something like that) and we're off to the races. I'd also kinda like to see a Big Folk race, like a giant kin or whatnot that is actually a Large creature. Since reach isn't really an issue anymore, at least not like it was in other editions, let's have an actual BIG PC race to go with the small ones. But, that's just me spitballing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Oh, hey, I totally wouldn't advocate bumping gnomes or halflings out of the game. Not at all.

No, of course not. And the same goes for elves, dwarves and humans. There is no need for any "special status" races, a setting where everyone is an anthropomorphic animal is just as legit as sub-Tolkienism.

One can assume that any player wants to play X has a good concept of what X is like. Let them do the work.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Since reach isn't really an issue anymore, at least not like it was in other editions, let's have an actual BIG PC race to go with the small ones. But, that's just me spitballing.

This is a diversion, but it pertains to a thread on a Call of the Netherdeep playthrough I am planning on starting shortly. Trying not to be too spoilery, but there is an NPC party that includes a large (12 foot tall explicitly) character. In the first chapter that character is expected to swim through a tunnel that is three feet wide and five feet high!

 

[Mind of tempest]

The Hobbit, which is light reading for children...?

the subject is light, text is dense and built for a different time which is to say it is a good story but a chore to read it took me weeks to read.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

the subject is light, text is dense and built for a different time which is to say it is a good story but a chore to read it took me weeks to read.

It's a good one to read to children.

 

[FrozenNorth]

But, yeah, that's probably the most perfect example of the use of a gnome in an adventure. At least Stonky in Candlekeep gets a pretty cool role. But, again, being a gnome doesn't really figure into it at all. You could easily change him into virtually any race and it would be the same.

That’s true for 95% of NPCs in published adventures. Once in a blue moon you’ll get a plot point that matters because the NPC is 100 years old. Otherwise, does it matter the halfling bard in RotF was a halfling or a gnome?

 

[Mind of tempest]

It's a good one to read to children.

well, I read it when the old perter Jackson film came out some years ago the three called the hobbit.

That’s true for 95% of NPCs in published adventures. Once in a blue moon you’ll get a plot point that matters because the NPC is 100 years old. Otherwise, does it matter the halfling bard in RotF was a halfling or a gnome?

would it matter if they were human or lizardfolk?