A number of gnomes have been (and will be) played in our campaigns over the years.
i wonder how many folks would be upset if halflings were tossed instead of gnomes?
At least one fewer... Halflings join elves and half orcs as the races I've never played in 3.x
i wonder how many folks would be upset if halflings were tossed instead of gnomes?At least one fewer... Halflings join elves and half orcs as the races I've never played in 3.x
I vote dump elves. They've had it good for to long. they're "better at everything" "humans only better". Screw them. I want a game with Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, Orcs, Half-Orcs, Half-Dwarves, and Half-Gnomes. If anything make elves a monster.
You know, now that you mention that, I've not had a "normal" elf PC in a campaign in quite a while. Half-elves, yes, but no elves. A lythari and a drow (in my "evil" Skullport campaign), but not a traditional elf. Hm.
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I'm playing a Gnome in an ongoing campaign. Tammany, "the bug," Buggleby, kicks major arse. He's got a mean streak, loves evil practical jokes, and never forgets anyone who calls him "the bug." You'll make his "list" if you do, and no one wants to make his "list."
"Revenge makes life the sweeter," as Tammany likes to say.
Thoth-Amon
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I vote dump elves. They've had it good for to long.i wonder how many folks would be upset if halflings were tossed instead of gnomes?At least one fewer... Halflings join elves and half orcs as the races I've never played in 3.x
Play in the Dragonlance Age of Mortals era. I hated elves until then. Those are some elves that got knocked down a peg or two.
Last four of my campaigns:
Pathfinder Campaign: Gnome Cleric/Rogue
Epic level Campaign: No gnomes since about Level 10.
Homebrew Campaign: Gnome Barbarian, and previously Gnome Rogue/Bard (different player)
Other Homebrew: No gnomes
& 1st campaign:
Gnome Illusionist/Thief
They are not *especially* frequent, but I find they are almost always among the most memorable characters.
Edit: I forgot, I'm also *playing* a Gnome Cleric/Illusionist in a first edition game I just joined. But that's after the discussion of 4th editions "no gnomes" started, so perhaps it shouldn't count.
My group's favorite PC was my gnome. Most of my characters have been gnomes or half-orcs.
What a cruel joke 4/e is on me :P
I have 1 player out of 3 that really likes gnomes. I used to hate 'em. But they're starting to grow on me.
I've got some medicine to treat that :)
I've never had a gnome PC. But my group loves gnomes. Well, that is they love to hate gnomes.
Long before I joined my current group they have a campaign where one of them had a gnome pc (the player has long since moved on), and this character apparently was the brunt of many a joke. IIRC, the player took it in stride (suggesting jokes out of character to the other players that his character would react to) even if the character hated.
Ever since, it's been an un-spoken rule in the group that if there's a gnome PC that they will be laughed at in character. Most of the exsisting characters are racist against gnomes. It was quite unusual to run an Eberron game that had some events taking place in Zilargo (I think that's the Gnome Nation . . )
They may be not among the most frequently played races, but they're not among the least frequently played ones, either.
But if I'd compile a list of most memorable characters, there'd be several gnomes at the very top.
There have been tons of gnomes in my campaigns, both as PCs and as NPCs. In fact, the "Elminster" of my campaigns is a gnome. Several other gnomes (mostly former characters of my own) also figure prominently in my campaigns' history.
I didn't realize I had such an affection for the hairy little buggers until you asked this question. Interesting...
Back in 2nd edition I played a gnome jester that was a complete pervert, also he ended up bringing the idea of Unions to the nine hells (mostly in order to escape the demons hordes he encountered), he got banned from one of the major cities and he was working on making a Chickenmech (before the campaign ended and before WoW thought of it). Good times.
My wife is playing a gnome jester in my Pathfinder game, and she's having a blast.
I've played a gnome before on two different occasions. Once as a gnome paladin of Garl in a buddy's one-shot.
The other was a cleric of Gond in an FR game. I loved that character. He and another party member (a halfling with "issues") got captured and tortured by duergar before the party got them. Dungeon, run and gun fight ensues, and suddenly the fullblade fighter, half-drow rogue and her displacer beast pet, and Norbert (my PC) were in a mine cart barreling after the duergar high preist. We had dueling stone shape spells to cover and uncover the tracks, me taking pot shots with my flintlock, all kinds of fun. Of course, after the fighter got thrown from the cart after he tried using his fullblade for a brake, the rogue and her kitty bailed. Not me, I rode that thing a half mile below the surface, all the way to Graklstuhg (sp?). As I blew by the cleric and the town cronies, I used my last stone shape to make a banked curve, aiming me right at them. Nothing better then watching the guys who tortured you's face go ashen when you step on your 25 lb barrel of smokepowder and aim down with your gun. To quote the DM "At least you were sent to your god in a fitting manner: at the end of a massive explosion." Good times.
I think I've had two gnome PC's in my campaigns in my entire DM career (12 years with AD&D and newer). Needless to say, they won't be missed.
In my longest running 2nd edition campaign, one player was a Gnomish Fighter. This same player would later go on to play a Gestalt Chaos Gnome Sorcerer//Wizard.
In my most recent 3.5 game I participated in, a friend played a Gnome Cleric and I played a Gnome Paladin who was his father.
In the Savage Tide game I am currently running, we've had a Whisper Gnome, but he got picked up by a Terror Bird and it ran off with him.
~ Bryon ~
One of my players ran a gnome once. He was particularly memorable, since he played him as a compulsive liar, and a bad one at that. Ironically, the party's all time favorite PC that someone has run was a murderous but soft hearted half-orc. When I told them that gnomes and 1/2 orcs were out of 4th edition one of them said:
"This is b$&!#&#~. Grom and Gizzard exist, Dave!"
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Over the last three D&D campaigns I've played in, I've seen two gnome PC's. Compared to one dwarf, one half-orc, no halflings, no half-elves. It's overwhelmingly human/elf, but gnomes take a distant third.
As a side-note, I don't think I've ever seen a half-elf PC in 3rd/3.5. All the other core races got some play.
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We didn't have any gnomes in the AoW campaign we completed last year. There was a 1/2 orc monk though and everyone in the group loves 1/2 orcs as a race. Everyone is a dwarf in the savage tide game we are playing now. They love to hate gnomes though, so they are actually fans of the race. I like gnomes as tricksters, engineers and illusionists.
I played in a campaign a couple of years ago (right around the release of 3.5) that had not one, but two Gnomes (a Wizard and a Cleric) and a halfling. My human rogue was the tallest guy in the group at 5'8".
My first 3rd edition character was a gnome bard, "Neilin Bob". My uncle played a gnome illusionist/ cleric/ thief; way back in first edition. In a long faded SCAP campaign, on guy played a halfling ranger/ bard with gnome ancestry. One of my favorite DND villian (homebrew) was a gnome vampire bard/ rogue.
Gnomes have had good play time on game tables I played on over the years.
Rolled up my very first gnome just to spite their 4e lack.
d'Arnot is a swashbuckler, because I absolutely can't stand gnomes as tinkers or bards for some reason (their favored class will always be "illusionist" in my games!)
WoTC got rid of gnomes to please people who play WOW. This dude in our group used to play WOW, and he has an irrational hatred of gnomes. Apperently you can make them into (direct quote) "Trashcans of death" very easily. Yet another example of the insistance on making D+D as much like a video game as possible.
I can't believe no one else has had to put up with the bad puns that come with a gnome ranger in their game. That was 2.0 and I still haven't forgiven the player.
I played a gnome a couple of campaigns ago. She was a sorceress with an obsession for candy. Liked the suger rush.
One of the most memorable player characters (in my mind at least) of any of the games I've DMed was a gnome sorcerer who was quite mad. He ended up starting a cult based on the worship of the god of cheese.
Gnome wizard with CON 20, called Durrin Nobblegobb. HP goodness, I thought that if I rolled a PC with high CON and INT why not try a gnome wizard, besides the DM was pretty tough and we had a negative E using cleric so healing was not as plentiful.
Only one gnome- an illusionist/rogue that was rubbish at both jobs, but who had the finest run of save throws I've EVER seen.
Perhaps it's a cultural difference, but I've never had a group that hasn't had a half orc and half elf in it's make up (vanilla humans were always a minority) while playing in Ireland.
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For years, my namesake (my oldest semi-active D&D character) used to say, "There are no gnomes, just Dwarves that couldn't make the grade."
So, a little over a year ago I decided to try playing one, to give them a fair shake. Jebbedo Brightwhistle, my bard with Absent-Minded and Short Attention Span, was a hoot to play. He was also fairly effective in combat, though hardly a powerhouse.
To further experiment, as a GM I've had my players encounter Jeremy Nettlesting, an evil gnome hexblade. I wanted to see if I could make a nasty, intimidating gnome. The answer is yes.
So gnomes are okay in my book. Kender still get killed within moments of drawing breath.
in my "monday night greyhawk game" before it ended and we switched to thursdays and varasia via RotRL, I had two gnomes played at seperate times, by different players one was a gnome rogue, and the other was a gnome favored soul/sorcerer/mystic thuerge.
One of the serial NPC's in that game was also a gnome, the much feared assassin "Shorty"
I my self have a gnome paladin of Tyr named Briebendorf Flewt, "The Hammer of Justice", that I occasionaly play in a friends Forgotten Realms game, though those sessions are few and far between these days (along with several previous edition gnome PCs that haven't seen play in years).
over the course of my gaming experience (stretching back to 1e AD&D) I have seen about as many gnomes as halflings played... the numbers of both fall short of other races though.
In the campaigns I've been running, no one has ever played a gnome, but they have often occurred as NPCs. I definitely have a certain fondness for them...
and I promised to myself, when I start my next campaign as a player, my character will surely be a gnome...hmm, seems I've just restricted myself to 3.5...
I've played 1 gnome character in 27 years but I played him for 5 years.
Gendal Cerwydd, gnome illusionist/thief.
The only other gnome PCs I've seen were played by our group "thespian" Paul. He played, in rapid succession, 3 gnomish bards that he killed off in spectacular ways (purposely). They were:
Wickity Wack, Clickity Clack and Nickity Nack
Luckily the 3rd time was the charm because the game (which obviously didn't interest him) ended shortly thereafter.
The only gnome PC I can recall in our group was not played by choice. In our recently finished SCAP game, our human wizard decided that it was a good idea to open up combat with a glabrezu(during the failed rescue of Alek) with his biggest offensive spell. Two attacks and one bisection later, we had no wizard. Our druid at the time decided to reincarnate him, and he returned to us in gnomish guise. Having survived the bizarre city of Jzadirune, and having an ever growing hatred of gnomes because of the traps therein, our poor mage was endlessly belittled by the rest of the party for being a gnome. He eventually used a Wish to return himself to his original state.
I've had many different bands of players in my games, and several of them have loved gnomes... most really enjoy the new gnomes of 3rd/3.5 edition, but the old school gnomes still had their followers too...
In my current Rise of the Runelords campaign, my sister plays Whistle Dee, a gnome rogue.
Shackled City campaign, we had Dilligaf, enterprising bardificer (artificer/bard), with his faithful warforged bodyguard-companion.
Erkie Timbers, fighter/cleric from the Sunken Citadel, starts as a rescued prisoner NPC, and is adopted as a replacement PC when our ranger was eaten by rats.
Sami Yimble, Ranger/Bard, ran thru the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil alongside the big guns, and was one of only 2 survivors in the inner sanctum.
And my old 1st and 2nd edition repertoire of personal characters included Hugo (gnome thief) and Adderly (gnome illusionist). Both were potent characters in their own right, and definitely not second-class citizens. If I had any intention of touching 4th edition with the 10-ft. pole I used to find in the PH, the loss of gnomes as a PC race would really bother me.
In my 20+ years of gaming, I have never played, nor seen anyone play a gnome as a PC. I guess my circles just don’t have much use for Darby O’Gill and his brood.
In my friends homebrew campaign we are all gnomes, Gimblesprocks.
7th level gnome rogue(me)
7th level gnome bard
7th level gnome cleric
7th level gnome ranger
7th levl gnome wizard
7th level gnome barbarian
It is the best group I have ever been in. I usually DM and normally we always have "that guy," the one who is always evil or a drow, but this time we worked together durign character creation. I have never had so much fun just roleplaying in town.
I love gnomes; have lots in various campaigns.
One PC is currently playing a gnome "bard" (the class was modified based on the harbinger variant in Dragon, to represent a pirate's "vaporing") in my savage tide game. Their spell like abilities and running rivalry with kobolds have kept gnomes distinct from halfings and dwarfs in my games, but then I don't use fey creatures that often.
So, um, I guess what I'm saying is that I don't like the thought of losing gnomes as a PC race.
I'm afraid you're really behind the times here then.
The gnome is not gone, they are detailed in the Monster Manual.
They are balanced against the main races, and their racial power is very good. They have the ability to go invisible once per encounter.