# How do you differentiate Gnomes from Dwarves and Halflings?



## Rinulin (Mar 18, 2002)

I've been giving some serious thought regarding the next character that I would like to play, and I got to thinking about the Gnomes.  To me, they seem to be pushed to the side by the Dwarves and the Halflings.

How would you play a Gnome?  What are some of the general personality characteristics of Gnomes?  How do you differentiate them from both Dwarves and Halflings (two races which, I believe, are fairly well established)?

Is there any published materials that can provide a good background?

Thanks in advance!


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## jollyninja (Mar 18, 2002)

gnomes = tricky fun loving types with a knack for illusionary magic. that's what i get from them anyway. I usually play them as witty frat boys.


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## gamecat (Mar 18, 2002)

I differentiate on kicking distance: Halflings seem to be naturally aeroodynamic and attracted to the goal posts, gnomes fly kinda flat, and you can't get any air with a fat dwarf. Thank You and Good Night.


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## Randolpho (Mar 18, 2002)

I like to use old skool descriptions of gnomes: old and leathery looking even as adolescents, browns for hair and skin tones, tendency to get white hair early in life, big noses.

Personality wise, I let them run the gamut just like I do all other races, but in general mischevious. Sorta kenderlike, but using illusionary magic for their mischief.


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## Lizard Lips (Mar 18, 2002)

I was in the same position when I started my latest campaign... what to do with Gnomes. I reread the descriptions of the three short races several times and relaized how 3E had altered them. Halflings are much more Kender like, full of wanderlust, ever eager to be on the move. Gnomes on the other hand are the agrarian homebodies, dwelling in cozy hidey holes in the rolling hills of their homelands. Sounded like Hobbits to me. 

So, Halflings = Kender.
Gnomes = Hobbits. 

At least, that's how I see it.


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## Lizard Lips (Mar 18, 2002)

I was in the same position when I started my latest campaign... what to do with Gnomes. I reread the descriptions of the three short races several times and realized how 3E had altered them. Halflings are much more Kender like now, full of wanderlust, ever eager to be on the move. Gnomes on the other hand are the agrarian homebodies, dwelling in cozy hidey holes in the rolling hills of their homelands. Sounded like Hobbits to me. 

So, Halflings = Kender.
Gnomes = Hobbits. 

At least, that's how I see it.


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## GWolf (Mar 18, 2002)

*I know...*

Read Dragon 291


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## kengar (Mar 18, 2002)

There was a recent issue of "Dragon" magazine that had a cover story on Gnomes and gnome characters. I can't remember which month it was. I especially liked the article on day to day life in gnomish culture. 

Gnomes are described as social pranksters. Not malicious but mischievious. They are also great engineers, alchemists and inventor types. A gnome illusionist with ranks in alchemy and some craft skills as sort of "Nutty Professor meets MacGyver" could be a lot of fun to roleplay. Just be sure to throw in enough firepower (color spray, magic missle at low levels) that the more combat-oriented members of the party don't think him useless in straight dungeon crawls.

Just my 2cp


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## Xahn'Tyr (Mar 18, 2002)

I would emphasize the gnomish affinity for magic and technology to set them apart. The halflings seem fairly childish and carefree. The dwarves are dour and stolid. The gnomes are clever and inquisitive. Pranksters perhaps, but "dignified" pranksters


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## Brown Jenkin (Mar 18, 2002)

There is none. Its all part of the conspiracy.


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## Wolf72 (Mar 18, 2002)

*Re: I know...*



			
				GWolf said:
			
		

> *Read Dragon 291 *




... I sense a massive 1/2ling conspiracy to capitalize on the RPG and fantasy industry ...

put on a fake beard and nose ...viola!! a gnome

take steroids and pu on a fake beard ... viola!! a dwarf ...

devious may be an understatement.


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## mmadsen (Mar 18, 2002)

This brings up the wider question of whether there should even be a difference between Halflings, Gnomes, and Dwarves/Dwarfs.  In a Tolkienesque world, you certainly want homebody Hobbits and warrior Dwarves, but in any other campaign, is that the case?  And a Tolkienesque world wouldn't have any Gnomes, just Hobbits.

The Dwarfs of Norse myth and the "little people" of folklore are generally pretty gnome-like and pretty indistinguishable; they're all small, live underground (or otherwise out of sight), know secrets men don't know, etc.

Also, do we need to differentiate Kobolds, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Bugbears, etc.?  A lot of those monsters exist to fill a specific hit-die niche, not because they're qualitatively any different.


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## Tonguez (Mar 18, 2002)

As background material I suggest TERRY PRATCHETT - my take on gnomes is based on the Discworld Pictsies and Brownies (see Wee Mad Arthur) and especially the Nomes of the Bromeliad trilogy (Truckers/Diggers/Wings)- Another inspiration was Smurfs

For DnD I also add in the spice of the East African Mole Rat!

ergo 

Gnomes imc are inventive, pranksters with an affinity for alchemy, illusion and engineering. They are irreverent and have little respect for non-gnome social convention which sometimes gets them into trouble. Because of their size they use their inventiveness and engineering prowess to achieve big works which the average bignob (ie Human) takes for granted - eg when opening a human sized door a gnome might rig up a systems of pulleys and ropes to accomplish that task, when erecting a 9 foot standing stone they will use a similar invention.

Another important aspect often overlooked is their affinity for nature - gnomes know hidden secrets and strange knowledge which even Druids envy and rangers long to learn

In play this manifests as wilderness knacks - like finding a berry bush when hungry, water when thristy or a hole to hide in when being chased. (check Wilderness Lore)

IMC all PC gnomes are slightly shorter (15inch average) than standard and all carry a grapple and rope to allow them to climb onto counter tops and buy ale.

Finally gnome society is eusocial and hive like (like ants, bees and ther East African Mole Rat) Gnomes work as a single unit for the benefit of the clan which is lead by a single brood mother and her male mate (a la Papa Smurf)

PC gnomes are an anomaly in that they have left the community of the clan and must learn to operate in bignob society.


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## trentonjoe (Mar 18, 2002)

My favorite gnome trick is to use the dancing light spell in swamps to create false will-o-wisps.

I did that once to a party and they almost killed me.

I am also a big fan of creating giant illusionary sandwiches and handing them out to party members.


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## Rune (Mar 18, 2002)

In most of my games (including my current one, but not my next one), halflings are treated by all non-halflings as children playing at being grown-ups.  I have one player who frequently plays halflings who attempt (in vain) to show the bigger peoples that they can do big things, too.  In my next game, the halflings are going to be the oppressors of the world.  I can't wait to see what he plays in that one!


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## Deedlit (Mar 18, 2002)

I envision gnomes to be like minoi in personality, but fond of a little trickery(We use Minoi for most gnomes in our game)


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## -Ekimus- (Mar 18, 2002)

i agree on the comments about halflings being hobbit-like and kender-like, but i disagree about gnomes. as someone else said, they are technical geniouses, and im dissapointed that 3e made them +2 con instead of +2int, so my dm changed that back. gnomes are very cool though, and my nxt character is going to be a gnome fighter monkey-gripping a greatsword


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## el-remmen (Mar 18, 2002)

Like This.


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## Mark Plemmons (Mar 18, 2002)

Well, I suppose it depends on what kind of gnome, halfling, or 
dwarf you're talking about.  In Kalamar, we've got three kinds of gnome and two kinds of halfling, for example.

However, overall, the "personality" of the dwarves, halflings, and gnomes is just the label that the human races puts on them, I think.  ALL the members of a specific race (like halflings) shouldn't have the same personality.  The humanoid races should have the same amount of variety in them that human races do.

Two cents... who wants change?


Mark


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## Nightfall (Mar 19, 2002)

*SL Gnomes, Dwarves, Halflings Oh my! *

Unlike your generic type of races, the world of Scarn/Scarred Lands "short" people are pretty distinguishible from each other.

Dwarves fall into three types: Mountain dwarves (regular dwarves), Charduni (religious warriors that follow an evil god), Forsaken (wild type of dwarves)

Halflings are much more numerous than either race but still have a grand rougish streak that make them good at that field.

Gnomes are a wild, uncivilized race that use illusion and trickery to hide from the unnatural and foul creatures both divine and titanspawn.


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## Squire James (Mar 19, 2002)

I'll toss out a few ideas... personally I favor option 3, so the others may show a bit of negative bias on my part.

1.  Trickster gnomes.  They live like eternal children, literally living for laughs.  If life ceases to be funny, it is the gnome's responsibility to mend the matter.  Whether it is little pranks, illusion spells, or non-stop jokes, the gnomes are the best.  I'd consider shifting the Con bonus to Dex (though this encroaches on halfling territory... in most campaigns the halflings should probably be the tricksters).

2.  Krynn tinker gnomes.  Gnomes make many complicated designs that explode a lot.  Of course, if they try to make a device that's SUPPOSED to explode a lot, it won't!  Not recommended for serious campaign play - they're comic relief and little else.  The Con bonus stays put... they need it!

3.  Serious tinker gnomes.  Think of them as "hobbit geeks".  While they are mostly homebodies, they are normally right at the maximum limit of the campaign's tech level.  If guns exist in your world, chances are most gnomes have them!  Definitely shift that Con bonus to Int.

4.  Elizabeth Moon "Deed of Paksenarrion" gnomes.  Sober and serious to a fault.  VERY lawful-minded, lawyers and merchants rather than inventors.  They prefer not to fight at all, but are not averse to hiring others to fight... as long as it's legal.  Not sure where the ability bonus belongs, so leaving it at Con for now.

5.  "David the Gnome" gnomes.  Diminutive dwarf-like druids.  Yeah, about as big as a toad (though slightly prettier).  Interesting, maybe, but probably not very applicable to D&D.  Larger (ie: Small) versions of them might work out, though.  Shift the Con bonus to Wis.


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## Number47 (Mar 19, 2002)

In my campaign, the primary gnome race are the best sailors around. They are little swashbucklers, most of them salt-crusty and foul-mouthed. Then, of course, are the elite gnome captains and navigators. They get bonuses against racial enemies of lizardfolk and minotaurs. They get a +4 dodge bonus to armor class while aboard a ship. For that reason alone, you do NOT want to mess with a gnome ship unless you fireball it from afar.


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## Nebin (Mar 19, 2002)

~Sniff~ WE are the Smart ones


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## I'm A Banana (Mar 19, 2002)

This is all IMC, by the way, so no offence intended. Having fun is what matters, after all, and there's no "right" way to do it -- do whatever makes you happy. 

Halflings = Gypsies. I know it's wierd, but it's the best idea I've had for them...they go where they're needed, traveling in mobile towns. Some try to make themselves useful in society, and others enjoy the excitement adventuring life brings.

Dwarves = Engineers. The dwarves will always be the ones making the useful inventions, the huge metal doors, the cannons, the gunpowder, etc. This fairly closely fits their 3e type. Don't let little Tinker-inspired gnomes take this away from dwarves. *They're* the mechinization type. Dwaves, IMC, have a working subway system. 

Gnomes = Funloving pranksters. Anyone who says Halflings shuold be this has too much Kender-on-the-brain.  Anyone who says gnomes should be useless tinker-people has too much Dragonlance on the brain altogether.  Gnomes are the secretive type, not likely to go in for people who can't take a joke. They aren't homebodies, since they're intensely curious (which leads some to develop mechinization skills, though their in-bred sense of fun often leads them to make it for trivial things), but they aren't truly engineers, either. They may get a bit of Mr. Science in them, but they're fascinated by it's "kewlness," not concerned about any rational implication. They're like the playful side that Elves are too busy being stuck-up to express with the "Wow! Neat!" side of technology that the Dwarves are too busy wedging sticks up their arses to express.

In fact, viewing the Gnome as a cross between an elf and a dwarf is fairly accurate...hmmm.....


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## eXodus (Mar 19, 2002)

i just LOVE gnomes. one day i will get a chance to play the gnome of my dreams. ah it will be great.

this particular gnome will be a rogue/illusionist and i picture him wearing silk shirts slightly unbottoned displaying his hairy chest, and his golden medallion depicting his patron deity. this little man will wear a big hat that is florished by a feather. he will carry a cane that doubles as a club. as gnomes typically have facial hair our little guy will have a 70's pimp-style mustache and goatee. 

personality-wise i see gnomes as being playful but not quite as annoying as halflings. i picture them as being fun-loving and into pranks, riddles, and jokes. but not to the point where it starts to affect relationships with companions.

well there are my little gnome bits!


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## Dark Psion (Mar 19, 2002)

Simple;

Gnomes have hair on their heads

Dwarves have hair on their faces

Halflings have hair on their feet

Everything else is negotiable


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## Jhamin (Mar 19, 2002)

I went a little diffrent with my Gnomes.

In my campaign I have made a big deal out of the Faerie Courts.  I got rid of Garl Glittergold and changed the Gnomes into Fey.  They keep all their powers but are now considered Fey and therefore immune to "affects humanoids" type spells.  In return they take extra damage from cold iron, a well known weakness.  This way Dwarves, Halflings, and Gnomes seem diffrent and I haven't released all that Gnome technology into my world.  It all belongs to the Fey courts.

Just to keep things interesting, the Gnomes' mortal enemies the Kobalds got the same treatment, becoming unseelie Fey.


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## Gez (Mar 19, 2002)

OK. I already said this several times, but Search is disabled here and topics are not safekeeped on Wizards' (autodeletion after X days), so I have to say it again.

Gnomes are keepers of knowledge. The word "gnome" comes from the greek word "gnosis", which means knowledge and wisdom. Mythical gnomes were said to masters the secrets of alchemy and nature. Several Hermetist mage would have loved to interview a gnome.

So, my gnomes are keeper of knowledge as well. The best loremasters are gnomes IMC. However, they also are wise and cautious, and for these reasons they like to go unnoticed. For this, they use illusionary magic (which school is Invisibility, again ?) and affects to be harmless pranksters. As they usually have a good sense of humour, this is easy for them. Hence, most people dismiss gnomes as pointless and unnoticeable. And that's exactly what they want.

Sometimes, you'll see a drunkard in an inn, who will tell you: "the world must know... the gnomes... they are not what they seems... it is a conspiracy... take care... they will rule the world if we let... Ah ! A gnome ! Run !" And the fool will flee the inn out by a window because a halfling entered the room. The usual reaction to these declarations is "ah, again a poor guy who got caught by a gnome joke. These little men should get a life and stop to play such tricks".

On the other hand, gnomes are geeks. Love of engineery is a geeky trait. And affinity to illusion (also known as virtual reality, eheh) is geekish also. A whole race of nerds.

Finally, they are fey-like. Elves often say they are kin to the fey, but gnomes don't pretend it, they are. They speaks with animals, are at home in wilderness, have innate magic, and genuinely enjoy the pranks they perform.


Well, basically, I go with the keeper of knowledge thing. Each subrace has its domain of specialization, though:
Forest Gnomes knows all the secrets of nature. All animals and plants have a name in the forest dialect of the gnome tongue. They are always at ease with animals, plants, and fey, but wary of other civilized races. Especially the ones that carelessly slaughter and destroy, like most orcs, goblinoids, and reptilian humanoids.
Deep Gnomes knows the art of engineery, stone working and metal working. They often works with dwarves IMC and have helped them in the creation of a magically-motionned subway system. They are architecture and engineery buff.
Rock gnomes often travels as they collect the lore of geography, political matters, and trade. They also act as middlemen between the other gnome subraces and the rest of the world. They are often merchants and charlatans.

I also have a custom subrace of gnomes, practically unknown to other, who are called by those in the know "night gnomes", "moon gnomes" or "mystic gnomes". Their domain of lore is legends and cosmology. They live the night, as bright light dazzle them. They are as pale as the moon, and have silvery hair and eyes. Seen from afar, they seem ghostly. They live near lakes that they "carve" until it is perfectly circular, and build underground homes around it.


Halflings are opportunists. They are not all rovers (funny to see that they turned the hobbits into gypsies in 3e -- that's quite a drastic change -- and yet how it was easily accepted and seen as natural), although some are, but they indeed do not have their own culture and civilzation. Instead, they meld into an existing one. You can find halflings everywhere, with humans, dwarves, elves or even goblins.


Dwarves are expert warriors, miners and crafter. Everyone knows that. They also have a caste society somewhat akin to medieval japan, with the people not being able to pray, fight, or smith being the equivalent of eta. Honor and bloodlines are important concepts to the dwarves (and totally irrelevant to the elves except the lawful evil high elves).


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## kenjib (Mar 19, 2002)

I would ditch the tinkering/engineering thing entirely.  I see them as unwelcome Dragonlance additions creeping into canon.

I see them as reclusive, secretive, and modest folk who use magic to hide their homes and villages from the bumbling big folk.  They are closely associated with fey and love to sing, dance, play music, and make merry.  Magic is built into their lifestyle and way of thinking and is undifferentiated from nature for them.  Magic is a natural thing.  They are also closely in tune with nature, living in the natural world and living in harmony with animals.

Gnomes also have great lore and ability in creating potions of all kinds, and they guard their secrets in this area jealously.

This accounts for all of their racial traits and gives them an identity very distinct from the other two races.

They like to play pranks on big folk because they are all such bumbling oafs.  Many of these pranks are also diversions to keep the big folk from finding their secret homes and villages.  They have a grand sense of humor and also enjoy playing pranks on one another in good fun.

I think that the little guys in Legend are pretty close to what I'm thinking of, but with a few differences.

EDIT:  One more thing - they are not often found in the company of people from other races.  They almost never have communities integrated with those of other races.  Adventuring gnomes are exceptional and are either very odd or the result of very portentious events (like the slaying of the unicorn in Legend, for example).


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## Xylarthan (Mar 19, 2002)

mmadsen said:
			
		

> *This brings up the wider question of whether there should even be a difference between Halflings, Gnomes, and Dwarves/Dwarfs.  [deleted]
> 
> Also, do we need to differentiate Kobolds, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Bugbears, etc.?  A lot of those monsters exist to fill a specific hit-die niche, not because they're qualitatively any different. *




One of the things that Birthright did well was todifferentiate between the various short races and rework some humanoid races well.

Dwarves were more than just dour, they were of a denser mass in bone and flesh that explained some oftheir abilities.  Halflings were what in 3e would be an Outsider race, being refugees from the Shadow World.  Gnomes were an NPC race that resided in the hills and forests,very bucolic and fey.  It was guite easy to keep[ them seperate in my mind with cultures that matched their backgrounds.

The Goblin Race consits of goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears, delineated as average, largeand elite 'goblins'.  goblins held entire kingdoms in Cerilia!  It was great.  

Orcs were revamped as a primarily underground race, called orogs.  they were tougher, more sinister and very  like what the drow started off as - mysterious and unalterably evil.

When I play one of the short races, and i prefer them over the others, I make a point to keep in mind the racial background while writing the character up.  My most recent is a dwarf wizard and much was set up with the DM about his being outcast from his clan due to his interest in magic.  Since then, in roleplaying a rebellious youth, he has gained some degree of acceptance by dwarven culture but not the part of it that he grew up in.  His primary worship isof a minor dwarven god and he pays homage to two human gods of magic.  With this acceptance he has surprised the other party members with some changes to his outlook on things, particularly that he was not willing to loot a dwarven tomb!  

A gnome illusionist I'd played previously was rather different.  He was fun-loving and a bit larcenous; he also caused a few battles to be more difficult than the DM expected due to using his illusions without consulting with or warning the rest of the party.  His opinion was that if he 'altered the battlefield' then they shouldn't go running across it, let the foes do that and suffer!  the party's fighters didn't seem to be getting that concept so the gnome switched to using Meta-magic feats to get more magic Missiles.  After a few battles of things dieing all around them from sippy lil balls of energy the party asked him to go back to using illusions!


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## Malin Genie (Mar 19, 2002)

Gnomes tend to have a sweet, almost nutty flavour, while halflings are strong and gamey.  Dwarf is aceptable, but only after long stewing, as it's tough and not particularly flavoursome.


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## BiggusGeekus (Mar 19, 2002)

I differentiated Gnomes by making them extinct.

But if I were to do it over again I'd make them servants of the undead.  More because I like saying "Gnecromancer" than anything else.


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## Tcheb (Mar 19, 2002)

In my campaign, we prejudice races with cultures.  For example, the dwarves are Russian, halflings are cannibal pigmies who live in harsh environments, and the gnomes are a seafaring Spanish type peoples.  Short, sweet, and just enough color to be different.  

That and the only accents I can do are Russian, Spanish, and pygmy gibbersih.  

Tcheb


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## Desdichado (Mar 19, 2002)

I developed a campaign setting where all non-human races were considered Fae, and were divided into Seelie and Unseelie races.  The Gnomes were Seelie and were much like hobbits: the +2 CON was appropriate.  I eliminated the favored class, though.  The halflings were Unseelie, and much darker in personality.  They were often used by the Unseelie courts as spies and assassins.

However, I'm revamping the campaign (since I never played it anyway) and making it more "d20" rather than D&D, incorporating a bunch of Star Wars and Wheel of Time rules.  In that campaign, I only have one race of small people.  They are still somewhat hobbit-like, only even more rustic and pastoral.


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## gamecat (Mar 19, 2002)

Seriously! Halflings fly well when kicked!


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## Deedlit (Mar 19, 2002)

The Krynn tinker gnomes I have used have
+2 Int(They invent so much)
-2 Wis(This should be obvious, Gnomes never have common sense)
+2 Dex(For dodging explosions)
-2 Str(They are small and weak)


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## Davelozzi (Mar 19, 2002)

Xylarthan said:
			
		

> *One of the things that Birthright did well was to differentiate between the various short races and rework some humanoid races well.*




I agree, I've always preferred the Birthright take on the races.



			
				Xylarthan said:
			
		

> *...Gnomes were an NPC race that resided in the hills and forests,very bucolic and fey.  *




Where is this from?  I always thought that Birthright simply didn't have gnomes.

At any rate, in the past I have generally used gnomes pretty much the way that kenjib described them and probably would do so again if I was to include them in another campaign at all.  I dislike the technognomes that were spawned by Dragonlance.

In my current campaign, gnomes don't exist, dwarves are fairly standard (but no subraces), halflings are hobbitlike (although in the past there was a halfling culture that was very much like the ancient Greeks), elves are divided into high and wood subraces (but my high elves are more like standard grey elves, and both are fairly isolationist), and humanoids are done Birthright style as Xylarthan described.


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## Hattersai (Mar 19, 2002)

Okay every person i s different but here are some gudielines I go by...

A Dwarf is grizzled.
A Halfing is sneaky.
A Gnome is in the middle.


I have been no help I think but I like beards so..
GO DWARVES!!!


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## Kichwas (Mar 20, 2002)

In Fahla Halflings were created by the gods in an attempt to create a race that would wipe out humanity by filling the same niche yet being smaller and more able to avoid the very large predators the gods tossed down to eat all the humans... 
(this was before the humans invented religion and thus won the gods favor... humanity is the only race not created by the gods and thus why they wished to destroy it)
So they are quite literally just 'little people' and in the end the task backfired to the point that they joined with humanity and together the two built the first civilizations.

Dwarves are creatures of the earth. Born of the Earth mother's womb and kept secret from the world for many ages deep within their mother. They are similar to the DnD paradigm on them but colored to match stone and very 'mother-based' matriarchal.

Gnomes are a reflection of the drwarves from the Spirit world (where the faerie races come from) that have crossed over. They reside within the earth but are not truly of it. I haven't gotten a very angle on them yet as the question of 'what do you do with gnomes' has been one I've never truly answered well.


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## Dark Helmet (Mar 20, 2002)

*Tinkering? Heh! Pranks? Heh! A Gnome craves not these things.*

Gnomes=Yoda

Halflings=Willow

Dwarves=Yosemite Sam


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## Zhure (Mar 20, 2002)

Gnomes = Ferengi
Half-Orcs = Klingons
Elves = Vulcans
Drow = Romulans
Humans = Terrans
Dwarves = um Gorn, or those pig looking d00ds
Halflings = ... I dunno, it kind of breaks down there, maybe Orionese

Greg


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## kenjib (Mar 20, 2002)

*Re: Tinkering? Heh! Pranks? Heh! A Gnome craves not these things.*



			
				Dark Helmet said:
			
		

> *Gnomes=Yoda
> 
> Halflings=Willow
> 
> Dwarves=Yosemite Sam  *




That's great.  You win!


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## Quickbeam (Mar 20, 2002)

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> *I differentiated Gnomes by making them extinct.
> 
> But if I were to do it over again I'd make them servants of the undead.  More because I like saying "Gnecromancer" than anything else. *




Not only is this funny, but it's similar to something I've considered in the past.  Heck, sometime last year (on the old boards) I even posted a tongue-in-cheek thread about the uselessness of gnomes as a D&D race since they didn't fill a particular niche, and there was little agreement on their basic characteristics.
However, when our last campaign began, I let the rest of the group decide whether I should play a gnome or halfling.  The votes were 5-1 in favor of the gnome, primarily because nobody in our group has ever played one  .

For my part, here's how I differentiate the smaller races:
Dwarves -- gruff, solid, combat-ready, undermountain dwellers.
Halflings -- nomadic, sneaky, carefree, and barefoot.
Gnomes -- tricky, hilldwelling, alchemist, mechanical geniuses.


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## Falex (Mar 20, 2002)

> im dissapointed that 3e made them +2 con instead of +2int, so my dm changed that back. [/B]




Agreed, the change of +2 int to +2 con. displayed a whole new aspect about gnomes.  Originally they were designed for an "intellectually superior" race, but now it seems they are geared more towards of Dwarvish stance (I guess to stress the point that Dwarves and Gnomes do have a similar heritage).  It also depends on the campaign setting.  If memory serves, they are considered more along the lines of "nature-lovin midgits" in RL.  But in FR it was stressed that they were much more inginuitive.  Halflings are typically described as "homely little humans", the whole hobbit thing.  But the particular breed of the race plays an effect as well, like in FR (several types of each), which all vary.  Depends on your style of play, but Gnomes are fun any way you wish to play them.  Probably one of the most versatile races next to humans (halfings? naa).  Dwarves are just hardy, rugged fellows with large beards.  Halflings and Gnomes will vary depending on their particular breed (Gnomes smarter and larger, Halflings sneakiner and smaller).


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## tsadkiel (Mar 20, 2002)

I use Space Gnomes - essentially refugeees from 50's Science Fiction - psionically adept, equipped with rocket-packs, lightning guns, and big, cigar shaped spaceships.


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## Gez (Mar 21, 2002)

The races in our prehistoric setting are each tied to a particular role, given to them by a god.

Elves and Gnomes were creation of Gaia, the Earth (CN). The Gnomes to take care of her. The Elves as a toy. Thus, Gnomes are druids in this world, and Elves often makes strange dreams that send them on strange quests.

Halflings and Dwarves were creation of Ouranos, the Sky (LN). Halflings are travelers and merchants (the absence of money don't prevent the existence of trade). The greatest halfling tribes have domesticated giant eagles or giant owls for their travels. Dwarves are master smithes. They live on mountain top (not in mountain cave) and domesticate griffons. Periodically, Ouranos will grants them a gift and make a star fall (a meteorite). It is then the sacred quest of Dwarves to go to the place where the Gift has landed, and to grab the precious ore from the sky. They will then forge it into tools and weapons (Dwarves are the only race who know how the secret of metal working, and their works only with meteoritic steel).

Humans (two subrace, cro-magnon and neanderthal) were creation of Azd, the Sun (N). Azd first created the Trusk (neanderthal) to have them keep the balance between the other races (and to fight the menace of That-Which-Can't-Be, the mythological villain). They failed, so Azd created a smarter human race. But these newcomers lacked the wisdom of the Trusks, and they decided that it was the fault of the trusk everything was wrong, and started to genocide them. Disgusted, Azd decided to retire.

Finally, IIRC, the Orcs and Hobgoblins were creations of Nocte, the Moon (N) but were corrupted and turned to Evil.


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## Gez (Mar 21, 2002)

Now, here comes the difficult question. Everyone knows that all midget "race" (dwarf, gnome, halfling) are in fact the same; everyone keep saying so.

But what about the medium-sized one ? How do you differentiate between elf, human and orc ? They are even more the same since you have crossbreeds.

And please, what niche does the human fill ? It has no clear stereotype. It seems these buggers can be anything. Just a grab-bag of "uh, if you don't find something else, take a human". That's a joke. Humans are completely useless. In fact, I have even removed them from my campaign world, because I couldn't find a way of putting them in the grand scheme of things.


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## Xylarthan (Mar 21, 2002)

Davelozzi said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Where is this from?  I always thought that Birthright simply didn't have gnomes.
> *




Gnomes were listed on the Monsters of Cerilia list in the first BR book.  Basically left them up to DM to flesh out their use.  In one campaign my Dwarf scion hired a Blooded gnome to be the court wizard.  It worked out great.



> *
> In my current campaign, gnomes don't exist, dwarves are fairly standard (but no subraces), *




I liked the Dragonlance Dwarf novels take on the subraces as the various dwarf nations.  It made sense for them to work together to protect the race while still allowing major internal intrigues.  I think it fit in just like the BR goblin race.  In my homebrew world I am using them both this way.


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## rootbeergnome (Mar 21, 2002)

Generally my dwarves are loud, boisterous and independent, and stubborn.  The halflings in my campaigns are generally brave little guys, although my upcoming campaign is going to have a cowardly halfling PC.  Generally gnomes in my games are full of knowledge, scholarly and old, or the younger ones are mischeviously good natured, but in the next campaign gnomes are essentially the ruling class. They have a stranglehold on trade and transportation in a world that relies on their technology and magical developments  I love the short races, they are so easy to play for me.


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