Tabletop talky
Ok what do we do with gnomes.......
Maybe something related to their connection to earth in mythology?
Tabletop talky
I really hate gnomes in WoW, and gnomes in D&D always felt bland
How do you define them in a way that isn't "they're small" or "they're wise"
My leaning is defining them as "industrious" maybe and seeing what I come up with to fit that
Tabletop talky
@vahnj Maybe the earth thing *would* work. I've for ages been really taken with the idea of some non human races as more elemental, with older/higher level individuals becoming much more that element as they gain power and age so that your character progresses from being, say, a green skinned humanoid to a treant. That sort of thing.
Tabletop talky
@Leucrotta Yeah. I'm just wondering how I run with that in a way that doesn't scrape up against the concept of "bloodline magic" which is a quality you can build into at any point in your character's progression
Tabletop talky
@vahnj
What about like, as spies? Since IRL gnomes are in every garden and they always seem to be watching (see, travelocity gnome mascot), maybe they use the earth to travel? Gather knowledge for the gnome elite, disguised as kitschy statues.
Tabletop talky
@goatmoat im trying to avoid making any race being "sneaky" bc the world i'm trying to build in general has huge diversity of humanoid creatures and i want to avoid defining a race by something that can be construed as a negative quality
Tabletop talky
@goatmoat the closest i've come to allowing this is that orcs can use their physical strength stat for intimidate checks
it's one thing if you're scared of something (see them as potentially superior) and another thing if you find something worth dismissing (see as potentially inferior) if that makes sense
Tabletop talky
@vahnj
Okay, I get that. What about then as mythical long lost race, which is only known through statues left in greenspaces?
You can imply magicalness or advanced technology as needed to explain the statues away
Tabletop talky
@goatmoat hmm i'll have to think about that
a "lost race of people who suddenly reemerged into the world" could be an interesting idea to play with
Tabletop talky
@vahnj ...today I learned gnomes as a concept didn't exist before the 16th century! Paracelsus apparently invented them.