Gnomes, Half-elves and Weapon Proficiency

[Malikor]

Just a though here, but it seems as if the gnome and half-elf are missing a weapon proficiency. Every other race gains one or more weapon proficiency, but the gnome and half-elf does not. Perhaps it was a oversite?
In my thoghts, the gnome should recieve proficency in light pick at least, and maybe heavy pick as well. Half-elves housl at the very least gain the weapon training of a human. I am not sure, even if they spent all their time with elves, that they should get the weapon familiarity ability of elves, they don't get as much time as adolecent elves get. But even humans gain a single proficiency.

[Heaven's Agent]

Martial-minded gnomes gain proficiency with the gnome hooked hammer.

[Mistwalker]

Malikor wrote:

But even humans gain a single proficiency.

But not if they already get access to martial weapons. That is they get no bonus.

[Malikor]

The point I was attempting to point out though, was that every race except for gnomes and half-elf recieve at least one free weapon proficiency.
Dwarves are proficent with battleaxes, heavy picks, and warhamers,Elves are proficient with longbows, longswords, and shortbows,Half-Orcs are proficent with greataxes and falchions, Halflings are profcient with slings,and Humans are proficient with a single martial weapon of thier choice, regardless of their class, but it seems as if Gnome and Half-elf was bypassed. It seems an oversite, and I was pointing that out so that it might be looked over again, since it seems a short shift to them.
It isn't an issue of marital mindedness or not. A sorcerer half-orc still get these weapon proficiencies. To a martial minded class, most of these proficiencies do not mater, since they usually gain proficiency in all marital weapons.
Picks seem to be a 'weapon of choice' to gnomes, and I was just pointing out that maybe they should recieve it as a weapon they are proficient with in thier race abilities.

[Agrippa]

I believe KaeYoss and I had a brief exchange on something similar about a week ago, specifically regarding Half-Elves. My proposal for their weapon proficiency was that if they were raised among Humans, that they receive a martial weapon proficiency of choice (or a single exotic weapon if their class gives them proficiency with all martial weapons already). If they were raised by Elves, then they would treat all exotic weapons with the word Elven in their name (lightblade, thinblade, courtblade, and double bow) as martial weapons. This was to differentiate Half-Elves raised by Humans from those raised by Elves (nature vs nurture, sort of). As a side note, I've never particularly liked the Elven double bow. If they were to be given a special bow, I've always thought the great bow would be a better choice to bear the name "Elven." Reminicient of the ones that Haldir's Elves carried in LotR The Two Towers (even if they were products of pure artistic licence on Peter Jackson's part ;-) ).

I believe KaeYoss' opinion was favourable (please correct me if I'm wrong, KaeYoss), and thought that the same type of thing could be applied to Half-Orcs as well. I would further suggest that if the Half-Race in question is raised in an entire community of their own (a hamlet/village/town of Half-Elves or Half-Orcs), that the player and/or the DM would have to determine which benefit they received. This would help show which race was the dominant influence in that particular community.

With regards to Gnomes, I think they should get a special weapon proficiency of some type. For those who wish to play martial-type Gnomes, they are already at a disadvantage (vis-a-vis weapon damage) due to their size. Allowing them to use Gnomish exotic weapons as martial weapons wouldn't be particularly game-breaking, IMHO.

[KaeYoss]

Rache wrote:

I believe KaeYoss

As you should. I'm an honest guy. :D

Rache wrote:

I believe KaeYoss' opinion was favourable (please correct me if I'm wrong, KaeYoss), and thought that the same type of thing could be applied to Half-Orcs as well.

Yes, I'd apply it to all half-breeds - which, in the core rules, is just half-orcs and half-elves.

I got the idea from Midnight (a veritable gold mine of great ideas), where half-breed races (as well as halflings, which are divided into settled and nomadic) get some abilities that depend on the race that raised them.

Midnight doesn't have any half-breed communities, so the question never arises.

But it's a good one. In fact, I could even see a third set of abilities for those who were raised by pure half-breeds.

I could even see it work for PF, since the races don't get that many abilities. It wouldn't be that much extra space.