Gnomes!

[Wids]

Gnomes don't get enough love. 

Whenever players want to roll up Fighters, they usually go with humans, dwarves or half-orcs.  When they want Rogues, they usually go with humans, elves or halflings.  But it seems like the only times when people even consider playing gnomes is when they want to roll up Wizards or Sorcerers, thanks in part to the gnome's free Spell Focus (Illusion) and Skill Affinity (Concentration) Feats.

But there's more to gnomes than an inclination for illusions.  I have asked myself several times, "Self, what possessed you to roll up a Gnome Rogue?"...or at least I did, right up until yesterday, when I discovered that a gnome rogue with a pair of dual-wielded daggers (and the Feats to back them up) makes a surprisingly effective giant killer.  (Or at least an ogre killer.  The giants come later.)

...and because this second image is large (and this forum doesn't do Spoiler tags)...

Not bad for Level 11, eh?

So it seems that the gnome's Small Stature stacks with the gnome's Defensive Training vs. Giants, resulting in several minutes of ogres whiff-whiff-whiffing with blows that could otherwise take a gnome's head off, even as said gnome is furiously stab-stab-stabbing them in the stones until they die.  And Ao forbid that one of their mages should dare to cast a spell while Pibbly's in stabby-stabbitty range, because Sneak Attacks bring the pain.  Huzzah! 

Gnomes also get Hardiness vs. Illusions.  How many times have you been repeatedly sucker punched after catching the business end of a Color Spray?  Gnomes don't have to deal with that as much.  Spin that free Spell Focus (Illusion) into an Arcane Defense (Illusion) with your next Feat pick and Color Spray becomes even less of a threat.  Maybe gnomes can also get the last laugh by the time they're Level 20 and going up against enemies who cast Weird....

The novelty of playing against type is a joy too.  It's just like how people yawn when they see yet another Half-Orc Fighter or Half-Orc Barbarian, but when a daring player rolls up a Half-Orc Bard, people take notice.  That half-orc may not be as good at Bard spells, Bardic Music or Perform as an equal-level Human Bard or Elf Bard, but when it comes to brawling, that half-orc might just eke out ahead.  I kinda-sorta feel the same way about Pibbly now; Elf or Halfling are the obvious choices when rolling up a Rogue, thanks to their Dexterity bonuses (and Small Stature, in the halfling's case).  But by going with a gnome, I now have a decent Constitution to help out with the Rogue's otherwise lackluster Hit Points, not to mention that I've rolled up a rogue who's also resistant to those bothersome Color Sprays and nasty against ogres and giants in general....


Anyway, gnomes.  Have you hugged a gnome today?  What sorts of gnomes have you played before?  Give the gnomes some love here, will you? 

[Darkzealot]

I have many times considered playing Gnome characters, but for me the odd arm-to-body rations in NWN always turns me off them. It isn't just that they are a .. let's say special type of race when it comes to non-casters, but coupled with the weird arms that makes them orangutanesque in appearance, I just don't really make them. And I confess, the ones I -do- make, typically are mages for the reasons stated above. But I love playing with gnomes, as long as I don't have to design a good-looking outfit and be constantly forced to follow the character around.

So.. uh. All glory to the gnomes! (But I am more of a human kind of guy)

[Tails1879_]

I'll be honest: I'm more of a human and halfling player. I agree with Darkie on the rather strange limb sizes; it's one of the larger reasons I've never played them. At least NWN2 didn't make them look strangely, but halflings ended up with such tiny heads in that one. 

The "break-the-stereotype" characters are always quite fun to do. Some that I have are Fera'vin (Elven barbarian screamer), Nadia (Halfling weapon master [Bastard sword]), and Vabik (Dwarven wizard). By far, this is the one reason why I like doing some somewhat unconventional characters. You don't need to play a kleptomaniac halfling or some high society elf all the time. Play a short character with a two-handed weapon or burning everything with fire.

If we want to go into all the dirty stats, at least everyone in Team Short gets +1 to AC as well as AB. Granted, halflings and gnomes get -2 STR, but the +2 DEX or +2 CON respectively does make up for it in most builds. The character already gets +1 AB with melee weapons when aiming for the knees of tallfolk, so it balances out. They also get some big bonuses to stealth (Halflings moreso, but also stereotypical).

Gnomes do get some awesome bonuses against other races (giants in particular, like dwarves), though halflings also get a free +1 to all saves, +2 versus fear, and yet another +1 AB for throwing things at people. That's like an extra Luck of Heroes and more right there, which is a big plus in my book.

Regardless of all that technobabble, we need more gnomes. Maybe some halflings, too.

Go Team Short!

[Wids]

Go Team Short!

Quoted for motherlovin' truth. 

And yes, the gnomes in NWN do have some odd bodily proportions: the long arms, the twiggy thighs between thick shins and chunky pelvises, the spindly upper arms with Popeye the Sailor's forearms...Bioware could have done a bit more work on gnomes in that department.  But the thighs and the upper arms can be mitigated with some proper tailoring, and I don't mind the arm length too much; the Heavy Weapons Guy (of Team Fortress 2 fame) got his orangutan arms from lugging around that massive chaingun all the time, so maybe the gnomes of NWN have a similar backstory.  And if I can love the Heavy Weapons Guy, I can love my gnomes too. 

And now I find myself missing Dushak Tor'Luthic, my Luthic-worshipping Half-Orc Druid from the bygone Pirate Isles server.  I also played a Sheena-the-Jungle-Queen-like Wild Elf Barbarian in a tabletop game years and years ago; her Strength wasn't too hot, but with a Dexterity of 20 at Level 5, who cares?  Playing against stereotypes is a blast, all right.  Do you suppose a Half-Orc Paladin would be too "mainstream," even though we hardly see any of those around?


(By the way, what's up with all the missing Imageshack images around the forums?)

[dylan_the_rabbit]

Fully paid up member of Team Short's, Play Against Type squad here.

Yuichan Twinkin: Halfling Sorceress -(or Sauciness as she calls it)- madder than a sack full of wet cats in a burning Meth lab, and cute as a button to boot. With an alarming love of setting things -including herself, in fact mostly herself- on fire.

Ukko MacRoth: Halfling Barbarian, and yes I am going for a Terrifying Rage build with him. Mostly for the laughs of having a 3 foot tall (when on his tiptoes) Hin, clear a room full of burly Big'uns with an ungodly shout of anger.

However I do need a Gnome....Ukko is only 3rd, I could rebuild him as a Gnome.... *ponders*
Lugging a huge Axe around would give a reason for his orangutan arms after all.

[TheMadPoet]

Ugh... gnomes. It's like someone managed to box up annoying.

I know some people love them, and I don't hate them or anything, but I was kind of glad when 4th Edition wanted to make them a monster race. Makes me want to play a barbarian named 'Krogar Gnomepunter'.

To me they just always felt tacked on. Like there wasn't exactly a place for them. I mean gnomes only get... what... Lantan in FR I think? An island? Almost makes me feel like they wanted to lock all the gnomes out on their own little world and ignore them. I think that if that's the attitude you have for them they should be left out. Most of my home brew settings just have no place for gnomes. Short is a quality for halflings, inventive and industry is for dwarves, and the whole 'Fey' or 'Nature' thing (some settings gnomes have it, some don't) is already taken by the elves. It's like they tried to mash it all together and made something less than everything else. Which is why Bard fits them so much to me. One useless thing made up of small qualities of other better things tied to another. (LOL)

That's pretty much the reason I don't play them in a nutshell. Also why I tend to avoid Half-Elves too. It's not really a statistics thing, but more of a difficulty on my part just finding a niche for them. Any concept I find myself working on just gravitates towards Human, Elf, Dwarf, or sometimes (rarely) Halfling.

[Tails1879_]

The niche thing is a little strange. In that regard, gnomes have a hard time fitting anywhere. Typically they tend to encroach on the other claimed niches like being miners with some technical knack (Dwarves do it better), but that's also where halflings are meant to be a bunch of thieving little bastards despite their culture being rather different to that. Hell, Brandobaris is the closest you'll get to thieving halflings, and he's less about stealing than other rogue-type deities. KENDER DON'T COUNT. *foams at the mouth*

There's also the forest gnome which is a huge departure from the usual eccentric ones, though they're typically left out since they're that darn shy. Might as well be fey / elven as you've said.

If we based the races on having a specific niche to fill, then yes, gnomes don't have any real place except to be hyper-curious about anything. However, I usually don't worry too much about what niche needs filled in that case since all of the characters of each race have the capacity to be something completely different. Halfling druids and barbarians aren't unheard of, but I'd imagine even gnomes are capable of pulling it off as well. Reading up on some gnome culture here does make me think they'd be better inclined as artists, despite that pretty much anyone is capable of pulling that off already.

Lantan is a gnome / human island that is very technologically advanced thanks to having a state religion that follows Gond. A lot of their exports on such things are banned in mainland Faerun since they're capable of toppling economies with tools and causing a whole lot of pain if some rebel groups picked up enough of that 'smokepowder'. For 4e, Lantan was heavily flooded and left in ruins. I can understand if you wanted to prevent people from justifying gunpowder weapons and such, but that also means less technological creativity.

Gnomes certainly can exist like any other race. Many races (especially the more monstrous ones) don't exactly fill any real niche either other than being another fantasy creation, but they can still be interesting to have around. They do seem to have a more curious edge when it comes to whatever it is they do, be it research into the arcane or geological surveys.

As for half-elves... well, half-anything usually lacks a niche except for half-orcs. Genasi and tieflings sure don't fit into anything specific and vary quite wildly.

At least they don't have to be like kender.

[Wids]

Well, if halflings can be the "little cousins" to humans, then gnomes can be the "little cousins" to dwarves.  Gnomes strike me as being what would happen if you took an elf and a dwarf and mixed them together in a blender.  So gnomes fill that little "better at magic than a dwarf, but tougher than an elf" niche, at least.

Plus, gnomes are truly dapper dressers.  Let's not discount their penchant for fashion, now. 

[TheMadPoet]

then gnomes can be the "little cousins" to dwarves.

Laughable irony

I dunno, they just seem to be a little less than everything else. I really wish Gnomes had a bit more identity. Something that really set them apart. As they are I just can't see them as anything more than a mish-mash of qualities of other races. I can't remember specifics but I think it was like Eberron that made them have their own society, history, and a nation. Much better done IMHO than Faerun which kind of just... put them in I guess. It's probably that old problem of having too many writers with too many different visions working on the same product. I call it 'Marvel Fever' because... well... I think they might be the ones most infected with that illness.

I think I like gnomes to be an underground fey type personally. Kinda like Underdark Smurfs I guess. Eating mushrooms, growing beards with weird hats, and crawling out of the ground at night to rob farmsteads of their spoils. Of course I'm talking OOF (Out of Faerun) about this.

[Wids]

Pibbly had a pleasant day in the Crags yesterday.

Yep.  Pretty pleasant. 

Then when I thought she had done well enough, she went up to Mount Hotenow and pulled this off.  So I guess she's officially a giant killer now.   

I was kind of expecting a smidgen more XP out of that fire giant, seeing as she actually got a few good licks on Pibbly to the tune of 20-odd Damage (some of it Fire-based), but screw it.  Pibbly soloed a friggin' giant, man!  Not so terrible for Level 13, eh?

Apparently, trolls, ogres and bona fide giants have the hardest time thumping a high-Dex gnome wearing a Destroyer of the Hills belt.  Good.  Watch your kneecaps, big 'uns!   

[alkmaar]

well If you see me online got a gnome weaponmaster... lv 19 now..quite a tough pc ;=) need of company i love to part up when ye reach 15....! hm or more!

Alk

[Wids]

She just made Level 14.  Level 15 shouldn't be too far off now. 

[alkmaar]

team Short recruiting new members.. ! Poll: Are dwarfes accepted?? the are short but very broad.... halflings of course ...!

[Wids]

Well, they're short, but they're not small like gnomes and halflings are.  Like you said, that's dwarves for you: Four feet tall, but four feet wide. 

[alkmaar]

...and smell bad ...........