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Considering that gnomes in PFRPG are supposed to be more liked to fey and the natural world, would it not make more sense to give them sorcerer and druid as their preferred class? Halflings already have bard as a preferred class and there are currently no classes that have druid as a preferred class. Also, the iconic druid is a gnome and it would make sense that she would represent an aspect of gnomish culture. I know that this is not true with all the iconics, I would never suggest that dwarves get ranger as preferred class. However, have gnomes be tree huggers because of their ties to the fey makes sense to me.
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I've been a big fan of the Gnome since it first was put in as a playable character. (just ask my PC's Gnigel, Gnifty, and Gnorman)
One of the biggest "GAH!"'s that came out of my mouth was when 3rd edition showed up and you've got the wonky Gnome Bard. "GAH!"
They're FEY. The last thing they want is to be up on a stage with everyone staring at them. So Gnome's never got "Bard" as preferred class in my world.
In my campaigns Half-Elf picked up Bard as preferred because they had the "Trubador" feel about them -- when you don't fit in anywhere you gotta get them laughing right away!. I also added a few better elf traits to balance out the lack of class options. (and make the half-elf actually "interesting".)
This is an outstanding suggestion. Even if you don't remove Bard (shudder) then adding the others as options is a great idea.
Pete
I've been a big fan of the Gnome since it first was put in as a playable character. (just ask my PC's Gnigel, Gnifty, and Gnorman)
One of the biggest "GAH!"'s that came out of my mouth was when 3rd edition showed up and you've got the wonky Gnome Bard. "GAH!"
They're FEY. The last thing they want is to be up on a stage with everyone staring at them. So Gnome's never got "Bard" as preferred class in my world.
In my campaigns Half-Elf picked up Bard as preferred because they had the "Trubador" feel about them -- when you don't fit in anywhere you gotta get them laughing right away!. I also added a few better elf traits to balance out the lack of class options. (and make the half-elf actually "interesting".)
This is an outstanding suggestion. Even if you don't remove Bard (shudder) then adding the others as options is a great idea.
Pete
What's so un-fey about bards? They're illusionists, enchanters, tricksters, have a flair for the dramatic, and can enchant you just with their music or voice. There's so many blatantly obvious parallels between fey and bards that the assertion that bards are completely incongruous for fey just confuses me.
When Illusionist was dropped from 3.0 in favor of bard, I was actually very happy. Gnomes like knowledge and learning (bardic knowledge). Gnomes have a propensity for illusions (bardic spells). Gnomes are curious, personable, and able to catch people's eyes (bardic music). All in all, bard made more sense than just about any other class at the time. I can see a case made for druid, but Bard is perfectly logical as a favored class, IMHO.
What, pray-tell, is it about bards that makes them a poor fit for fey?
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What's so un-fey about bards? They're illusionists, enchanters, tricksters, have a flair for the dramatic, and can enchant you just with their music or voice. There's so many blatantly obvious parallels between fey and bards that the assertion that bards are completely incongruous for fey just confuses me.When Illusionist was dropped from 3.0 in favor of bard, I was actually very happy. Gnomes like knowledge and learning (bardic knowledge). Gnomes have a propensity for illusions (bardic spells). Gnomes are curious, personable, and able to catch people's eyes (bardic music). All in all, bard made more sense than just about any other class at the time. I can see a case made for druid, but Bard is perfectly logical as a favored class, IMHO.
What, pray-tell, is it about bards that makes them a poor fit for fey?
Bards tend to indicate civilization. Fey tend to be tied to the wild world. Certainly there is no real reason against a fey bard, but it doesn't fit the sterotype, which is what favored classes are.
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Considering that gnomes in PFRPG are supposed to be more liked to fey and the natural world, would it not make more sense to give them sorcerer and druid as their preferred class? Halflings already have bard as a preferred class and there are currently no classes that have druid as a preferred class. Also, the iconic druid is a gnome and it would make sense that she would represent an aspect of gnomish culture. I know that this is not true with all the iconics, I would never suggest that dwarves get ranger as preferred class. However, have gnomes be tree huggers because of their ties to the fey makes sense to me.
Honestly, i was thinking they should get Bard and Druid as favored classes... they only get sorcerer because of their inbred magic tallent, which is part of the Bard thing as well. Bard for the illusions and perchant to tricks and games, druid for their fey heritage?
Bards tend to indicate civilization. Fey tend to be tied to the wild world. Certainly there is no real reason against a fey bard, but it doesn't fit the sterotype, which is what favored classes are.
How do Bards indicate civilization? When I think of Bards, I think of travelling gypsy bands or the wandering troubadour that goes from village to village exchanging songs of the outside world for a hot meal, some beer, and a warm place to stay the night. I don't think rock star or concert pianist or opera singer. Although there's nothing preventing those three from being Bards, they don't really fit the iconic Bard mold.
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Bards tend to indicate civilization. Fey tend to be tied to the wild world. Certainly there is no real reason against a fey bard, but it doesn't fit the sterotype, which is what favored classes are.How do Bards indicate civilization? When I think of Bards, I think of travelling gypsy bands or the wandering troubadour that goes from village to village exchanging songs of the outside world for a hot meal, some beer, and a warm place to stay the night. I don't think rock star or concert pianist or opera singer. Although there's nothing preventing those three from being Bards, they don't really fit the iconic Bard mold.
You have actually made the argument for a bard representing the civilized world. In order for a bard to wander from village to village trading his services for a hot meal, a cold ale, and a warm bed indicates that a civilized society of some form exists. Historically bards were employed by the ruling class as propagandists who were supposed to compose poems and keep the geneology. This indicates a civilized society that had a social order and was able to employ professional poets because of the benefits of civilized life.
Gee, that's odd. I kinda figured that someone wandering the wilderness wasn't an indicator of civilized life.
Historical bards have NOTHING at all to do with D&D Bards. They share no similarities except that both did performances of some sort.
I love the Bard and Sorcerer. I understand the Druid idea, but to be honest, fey are in fact about arcane magic, not natural. I think a fey-heritage Sorcerer fits them extremely well. In addition, the Bard is not necessarily civilization-based; it is just as easy to have a charming, illusionist bard who knows a lot about nature. I mean, the Bards get A LOT of class skills, so a nature-bard is easily reasonable. Besides, the original Bard was based Celtic bard, which was part of druidic culture anyways.
Basically, keep Bard and Sorcerer.
Indeed. Most fey cast arcane spells. Most of them use Charisma, and typically are depicted as having higher Charisma scores. Some fey even use music to created magical effects (Satyrs). And Bards have Knowledge (Nature) as a class skill. Bards don't have to be urban, any more than any other class. You can always change flavor text like that, especially since there's nothing mechanically in the Bard class that forces them into an urban environment. Also, fey aren't exactly primitive. They are often portrayed as having a court, with kings and queens (Oberon and Titania).