What role do gnomes play in your campaign setting, if they have one at all? The often lose out on theme space between the other races and the default often isn't appealing, so I'm curious what other niches they might fill.
We had a racist use for Deep Gnomes. They were slaves, and most of the NPCs that owned them had an extremely thick southern accent. Later, we discovered that the gnomes were a chief ingredient in "Kelcet's Fried Chicken" food. Was a pretty fun side story.
>>46486558
We did the same thing, but with run-of-the-mill black gnomes.
>>46486276
Currently, the campaign world has no gnomes. That said, I could imagine them being another off-shot race of Natives -- currently, elves, orcs, and goblins, divided into various subraces based on ancient tribes -- that would probably live deep beneath the earth and end up dealing with the People of the Spider, the setting's equivalent of Drow which are currently assumed by most to just be a tall tale used to explain the actions of goblins. Though they look as drow might if it wasn't a divine curse that altered their appearance but rather their environment: pallid, translucent skin and hair as white as milk, as well being functionally blind in bright light.
That's it? I was expecting more than a couple a deep gnome posts.
I get the feeling they just kinda fade into the background of the setting most of the time.
I use gnomes as the curious, the technological, and the fae race.
Most people use elves for the "communicate with nature" race, but really, an elf has about as much communication with nature as an orc farmer. There's nothing special, interesting, or unusual that elves do with nature which can't be done (or isn't done) by other races. Sure, elves have their nature preserves where they keep everything in their desired place and balance - but that's more an art museum than living with how nature works. It makes sense, as someone living for 1000 years old would want a safe and consistent home, but doesn't fit the idea.
Gnomes, on the other hand, live right out in the forest. They carve their homes out of tree roots and live around where the tree has grown. They speak with animals and plants (depending on edition) and make it a point to live with them. And they blend in so well that most people don't even know they're there.
Gnomes are the only magical base race for most editions of D&D. No, an elf hearing really well or noticing drafty passages is not being magical. Making lights appear, creating magic sounds, or speaking with animals is. Gnomes are naturally arcane, which means they consider it normal and factor it into how they live. An elf might be a mage and use their magic to improve their life, but it's not any different from a human mage doing the same thing. A gnome would use magic in their day-to-day activities, and nobody in town would even consider it unusual.
Watching this thread because I was wondering if my setting should have gnomes or not. I've been immensely stuck about what they even add; they seem like a very nothing race, just small people.
What I'm seeing so far is confirming this.
>>46489904
Yeah. It's either you do the elemental fey thing or the tinker thing. Otherwise you don't need another little person race. Someone in the other thread recommend turning halflings into an alternative dwarven culture even.
>>46489904
To be honest, while I love my gnomes, I think that fantasy games have entirely too many races with too little distinction. In my mind, you should have regional humans (with stuff like "trained in longbow" or "good with smithing" varying by region) and then anything non-human should be distinct enough to warrant a new race. That is, actually, why I like gnomes so much: you can't play a human and just replicate the abilities that a gnome has.
Although really, the best reason to include gnomes is if a player wants to play one, and the best reason to forget them is if the players don't want to run any.
>>46489904
You could swap out the fluff and instead have a collection of fey-ish animal people, if that's at all appealing.
>>46489904
You don't need more than one shortstack race, so get rid of halflings and dwarves because gnomes are the best one.
>>46486276
Jews
They're incapable of thought or even a shred of goodness. Only real always Chaotic Evil race in the setting. Always eating babies and tearing apart adults, as well as killing the local Mushroom folk and turning their bodies into houses. They're made out of pure hatred, and the more hatred there is in the world, the more gnomes there are.
>>46489904
Well if you don't gnome then now you gnome nigga
>>46486276
Irredeemably evil, like Arcanum.
>>46490267
>You don't need more than one shortstack race
>gnomes are the best one
What is your basis for believing that?
>>46486276
anything less than crushed beneath your boots is unacceptable
Gnomes in Muh Settan, like practically everything else in the setting, are very different from your run-of-the-mill example in other game settings.
First and foremost, gnomes are Fucking Tiny, measuring in at somewhere between nine and twelve inches in height. Secondly, gnomes are also Fucking Strong - for their size, at least, capable of lifting overhead and pulling behind themselves roughly the same amount as a full-grown adult human can, and not pound-for-pound either. Thirdly, the average gnome can leap roughly four times his height in a single bound with relative ease (and reach five or even six times his height with proper motivation) and has the energy to maintain his Fucking Bouncy pace for hours without any more fatigue than an average adult human on a sustained cross-country march. Finally, a gnome's skeleton is notably thicker and more durable than that of larger humanoids, with particular emphasis around the crown and forehead of the skull; whether the cause of this fact, or merely its inevitable result, gnomes have a natural ability to Fucking Headbutt with considerable force, quite often breaking apart large rocks with their foreheads or knocking would-be predators silly or unconscious with a swift blow from one head to the other.
So in short, we have Fucking Tiny, Fucking Strong gnomes who can Fucking Bounce and Fucking Headbutt things all day long. And yes, those are the actual names of their racial qualities, at least as far as my player who runs one has convinced me to label them.
Oh, and those pointy hats they wear? Cloth or felt, covering wood, stone or metal. Family heirloom battle helms, on tiny assholes who love to headbutt things. Hell yeah.
>>46490921
>leap roughly four times his height in a single bound
>nine and twelve inches in height
>smallest gnomes can jump 36 inches (3 feet) in one bound (or 4' 6" with proper motivation)
>tallest gnomes can jump 4 feet in one bound (6 feet with proper motivation)
So your gnomes can jump as high as an average dwarf (or an above average human)
>>46491312
S'about right, yep. They're not world-class champion, scale-the-tower-in-one-bound sorts of buggers, just bouncy enough to be capable of bringing their primary natural attack into play if they so choose.
![05e771f24e3022c2573de290ff13280c[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/a5YSOaj.jpg "05e771f24e3022c2573de290ff13280c[1].jpg")
>>46486276
>What role do gnomes play in your campaign setting, if they have one at all?
Gnomes are just Dwarves that live exclusively above ground.
Being a Gnome or Dwarf is more about attitude and your cultural identity than actual species differences.
>>46491514
What about their culture causes them to be different size categories?
