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Why Do People Hate Gnomes?
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<blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 8693329" data-attributes="member: 6799660"><p>Race as class started with Holmes, which came out when AD&D started coming out, so gnomes coincided with that timeframe. However, I think the central premise is still pretty spot on. </p><p>Thinking back to playing AD&D and the basic-classic line back in the day and frankly, no one played anything other than elf, half-elf, or human unless there was a specific reason (usually RP). Humans had unlimited advancement and open class options (and their own form of multiple classing). Elves and half-elves had level limits high enough to usually not be an issue, had some of the good multiclass option (especially in 1E, where a fighter-magic user could cast in armor), and elves got longsword/bow bonuses while half-elves could be classes no other non-human could be; plus over in basic-classic elves' race-as-class was a pretty cool fighter-mage concept you otherwise couldn't do in the core rules. Compare that to dwarves and halflings and gnomes*, and it's just a niche situation where you choose them based on the game mechanics. Halfling thieves were on par with H, E, or 1/2E, and also fit the Bilbo Baggins motif. Dwarven fighters had some decided limitations** that depended significantly by which TSR-A/D&D used, but if you could handle them you could make a half-decent fighter and that also fit the Tolkien dwarven aesthetic. And then you had gnomes which... well, they got darkvision and magic/poison bonuses like dwarves and could be illusionists (and let's be honest, exactly how often did you play illusionists either?). That just wasn't a schtick big enough to build a race around. Sure, you could play a gnome thief, but that would be horning in on an already iconic halfling thief motif, and didn't really offer much that a dwarven thief couldn't already do. There's just not a central iconic concept for them as robust as dwarf with axe or halfling sneaking through shadows to prevent them from being overshadowed by TSR-era D&D's incentivization of 'when in doubt, consider human or elf.' Twenty-six years later, they could have with 3e done something with gnomes to give them a distinct identity, but by then they were decidedly also-rans and no one had a lot of will to do so.</p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">*and half-orcs, for that matter, and they <u>really</u> fell into the 'only saw them when someone wanted to try a cleric-assassin' camp.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">**although armor tended to already limit fighter speed, making the the biggest one -- dwarven speed --not be such an issue</span></p><p></p><p></p><p>It, like Illusionist BITD, is enough to make a themed character around the concept approximately once per player (or so). You might play dwarven fighters or elven gishes constantly, pirates or swashbucklers or gunslingers or pajama-ninjas every 3-4 years when you get the yearning, maybe something like a total pacifist or 'can I play as someone else's pet dragon?' twice, but 'wacky engineer' or similar you probably try once, decide <em>'it was a fun novelty, and I don't regret it (my party might), but after the novelty wears off you're trying to clear a dungeon or solve a serious adventure with a walking joke.'</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Willie the Duck, post: 8693329, member: 6799660"] Race as class started with Holmes, which came out when AD&D started coming out, so gnomes coincided with that timeframe. However, I think the central premise is still pretty spot on. Thinking back to playing AD&D and the basic-classic line back in the day and frankly, no one played anything other than elf, half-elf, or human unless there was a specific reason (usually RP). Humans had unlimited advancement and open class options (and their own form of multiple classing). Elves and half-elves had level limits high enough to usually not be an issue, had some of the good multiclass option (especially in 1E, where a fighter-magic user could cast in armor), and elves got longsword/bow bonuses while half-elves could be classes no other non-human could be; plus over in basic-classic elves' race-as-class was a pretty cool fighter-mage concept you otherwise couldn't do in the core rules. Compare that to dwarves and halflings and gnomes*, and it's just a niche situation where you choose them based on the game mechanics. Halfling thieves were on par with H, E, or 1/2E, and also fit the Bilbo Baggins motif. Dwarven fighters had some decided limitations** that depended significantly by which TSR-A/D&D used, but if you could handle them you could make a half-decent fighter and that also fit the Tolkien dwarven aesthetic. And then you had gnomes which... well, they got darkvision and magic/poison bonuses like dwarves and could be illusionists (and let's be honest, exactly how often did you play illusionists either?). That just wasn't a schtick big enough to build a race around. Sure, you could play a gnome thief, but that would be horning in on an already iconic halfling thief motif, and didn't really offer much that a dwarven thief couldn't already do. There's just not a central iconic concept for them as robust as dwarf with axe or halfling sneaking through shadows to prevent them from being overshadowed by TSR-era D&D's incentivization of 'when in doubt, consider human or elf.' Twenty-six years later, they could have with 3e done something with gnomes to give them a distinct identity, but by then they were decidedly also-rans and no one had a lot of will to do so. [SIZE=1]*and half-orcs, for that matter, and they [U]really[/U] fell into the 'only saw them when someone wanted to try a cleric-assassin' camp. **although armor tended to already limit fighter speed, making the the biggest one -- dwarven speed --not be such an issue[/SIZE] It, like Illusionist BITD, is enough to make a themed character around the concept approximately once per player (or so). You might play dwarven fighters or elven gishes constantly, pirates or swashbucklers or gunslingers or pajama-ninjas every 3-4 years when you get the yearning, maybe something like a total pacifist or 'can I play as someone else's pet dragon?' twice, but 'wacky engineer' or similar you probably try once, decide [I]'it was a fun novelty, and I don't regret it (my party might), but after the novelty wears off you're trying to clear a dungeon or solve a serious adventure with a walking joke.'[/I] [/QUOTE]
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